My Intentional Journey to Debt Freedom

beanielou

You do need a smart meter. 

janb5

Thank you ++

RosaBernicia

Smart meter and join 0ctOpo1nts, it's Caffe N3ro or Gr3ggs.  Annoyingly I have neither anywhere nearby any more!

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hi everyone
Two weeks since I was on here - not intentional, just so busy.  I have also been trying to reduce my screen time when not working - I had a couple of visual migraines about 10 days ago (where I get the disturbance of lights across my vision but no headache).  I don't get them very often and it's unusual to have two close to each other (although not unheard of) so I have tried to restrict myself to mainly work stuff.  Nothing since so seems to have settled.  
Finance update:
- All budgets in order.  I now know my new basic pay following NI changes, pay rise etc, so am able to plan ahead on that.  Also lots of increases to Mr L's various pensions which seem to have worked their way through now so we have a figure to work to.
- Remaining interest bearing CC should be gone next month - we have focused on that.  Only left with the 0% card then and the loan (1.9% interest but still 2.5 years to go).  Once we have paid this card, the 0% card can just tick away as it is set for a payment to pay it off in the time allowed.  We will then review the loan and see where we are.  Potentially we are thinking we will set aside the equivalent of the payment into a savings account and once the two meet (ie our balance is the same as the loan balance) we will pay it off.  We might decide to try and do it sooner but this feels a comfortable approach and will cut the remaining time by half.
- We have sat down this morning and created a workable budget for the rest of the year - anything extra (expenses etc) can be reviewed as they come in.  I only claim mileage expenses every three months and the petrol has been paid for by that point, so may channel this money to a car pot which can cover servicing etc.
- Mr L's pension which is from July is going to go straight into savings for the rest of this year and then we will review at the end of the year.  
- Pleasantly surprised to get the £100 from the Nationwide - we have a couple of current accounts with them (neither of which is our main one) which we use to separate our food money or we put a holiday budget on there and just use that card when on hols).  We also have some savings pots with them and one of these obviously met the qualifying criteria.  
- I am on holiday w/c 3rd - again not away but several things planned and have worked out a budget which will go into the N'wide account so we can just use that card all week - this works really well and that money is put aside already.

So generally all ticking along okay.  Work based coffee purchases still going well.  Only one purchase this month - pleased with that.
Lots of travelling and hotels (work) through June and July so will aim to have a plan for that - work pays for pretty much everything so it's up to me to impose a modicum of discipline on the rest!!!  Getting better at that.

Skincare - have finally reached a regime which seems to suit me and my skin is looking good.  My main moisturiser is Cliniqu* Moisture Surge - not cheap but definitely suits my skin and I have decided that this is something that I am prepared to spend some money on.  What has helped enormously is creating a regime where I do something in the evening and the morning (never used to bother with the evening).  I can see a noticeable difference and several people have commented.  I hunt around and can normally find deals on the moisturiser somewhere.  Still using up various serums and cleansers but gradually getting there.

Thanks for the free coffee comments - we are with Octopu* but don't have a smart meter and don't intend getting one to be honest, so can't get the free coffee.  Sometimes get the free Greg hot drink with the O2 app but it's usually gone by the time I notice it.  Mr L is much more observant and quite often picks up the Greg one when he is out with the dog.

The online selling comments are interesting and I have been asking around as well.  Honestly, i havn't got the space in my head at the moment but I am parking all the thoughts and will definitely have another look at this in due course.  I think I would only be interested in selling things that would go for a bit more money rather than general clothes which (if good enough) I would rather give to a charity shop based on time taken to put on site/follow/post vs the return I would get.   I prefer the look of Vint*d but understand that most things are selling at quite low prices (not sure if I have got that right....).  Also, I don't do social media (FB or Insta or X), have never been on EB to buy or sell and don't have a PPal account,  so none of this comes naturally to me.  More thought needed on this I think.  Thanks to all of you who put comments on- much appreciated.

I've just caught up on all the posts from everyone else - big challenge after a couple of weeks of no reading.  As always I continue to pick up tips and tricks from you all - thanks so much.

L x 

EssexHebridean

We do pretty well out of the Octop1us offers - had a few of the "extra" Gr3ggs freebies now, as well as hot drinks both from there and from N3ro - I especially like that the N3ro offer seems to include all those at mainline stations too - and you can get a large drink from them rather than just the regular sized - so we nab one ahead of a train journey and then share, for example!  Also discovered an unforeseen advantage to smart meters while we were away - the ability to check that all is as expected on the electricity front, and so to be confident that the freezer is still working as it should! It had never even occurred to me, but that is definitely another "peace of mind" advantage! 

Online selling - I don't, for the most part, although I have done. Ironically enough for one who spends so much time with a camera in her hand though I just find the photographing of stuff beyond tedious - and frankly it outweighs the odd amounts of money I could make from it, so I have decided that it's really not for me! 

foxgloves

I've done online selling on the well known bay site in the past, but not for a long time. I have mostly sold plus size clothes back when I lost a significant amount of weight, vintage postcards, books, knitting magazines, music scores & other miscellania. It was a useful enough side hustle at the time, but like everything else, we tend to remember the minority of nuisance customers don't we, rather than the majority of transactions which went smoothly. We still occasionally use Z*ffit for selling books, CDs, DVDs etc if we have a sufficiently large pile to make up a consignment. Payments tend to be on the low side, but have to factor in that they do include collection of the boxes & it can be convenient to shift everything as a job lot rather than faffing about posting off individual items. I like the circular economy side of their business model as don't like to waste things which could be useful to somebody else.
I've never used the newer online selling sites so can't comment on those.
F

PennysIntoPounds

How are you getting on @Less_Talk_and_More_Action, how was your holiday week? Hope all is well

debtfreewannabe321

The online selling comments are interesting and I have been asking around as well.  Honestly, i havn't got the space in my head at the moment but I am parking all the thoughts and will definitely have another look at this in due course.  I think I would only be interested in selling things that would go for a bit more money rather than general clothes which (if good enough) I would rather give to a charity shop based on time taken to put on site/follow/post vs the return I would get.   I prefer the look of Vint*d but understand that most things are selling at quite low prices (not sure if I have got that right....).  Also, I don't do social media (FB or Insta or X), have never been on EB to buy or sell and don't have a PPal account,  so none of this comes naturally to me.  More thought needed on this I think.  Thanks to all of you who put comments on- much appreciated.

Th return really is quite low to be honest. I do it because I have the time to do so. But if I had a job or a side hustle where I could make more money focusing my time on overtime money I would probably do that instead and dump everything in the CS. 

Hope your holiday went well!