My Intentional Journey to Debt Freedom

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

I do have a love of expensive skincare @PennysIntoPounds.  I will try the bulldog clip.  I was astonished at how much was left.  

My expensive skincare habit is parked for the moment following my Christmas inventory which revealed about 6 months worth already purchased so I’m going to use that up and then consider options.  It may last even longer once I’ve butchered the tubes of expensive cream as per your instructions 🤣. 

L x 

jwil

Great small steps progress!

foxgloves

I cut my moisturizer expenditure down to a top of the range B*dySh*p one, then when that rose in price, swapped to a cheaper range. I never pay full price there. Stocked up last month on a 3 for 2 offer & also take advantage of the loyalty card points as the £5 vouchers reduce my moisturizer spend still further. 
Agree it is amazing how much is still left in tubes & bottles when cut open. Worst ever was recent pump-top body lotion. Asked Mr F to 'caveman' it open when it 'ran out' as was quite a tough plastic. Must have been almost a quarter of it left but (helpfully for the company's shareholders) completely unreachable by the tube as it was all down at the bottom & slarmed thickly around the sides.
I have also managed about 6 more uses from a shower cream bottle over the last week or so by adding a little water & shaking it up. Let's start new ones when we have properly finished what's left, not the amount crafty manufacturers think we should use before dipping our hands in our purses again!
F

EssexHebridean

Definitely a vote here for adding a little water to bottles of various things before they finally hit the recycling bin - I did it with a washing liquid bottle just last night in fact,  and shampoo, conditioner and shower gels all get the same treatment! And yes to cutting tubes too if needed - it's one of the reasons why I like the "baking soda toothpaste" made by a fairly well known brand - their tubes are a lovely soft plastic and very easy to squeeze every last scrap out of - I did try cutting one open once, but the way I'd squeezed the life out of it there wasn't even enough left for a single additional brushing! 

enthusiasticsaver

I cut tubes open particularly toothpaste but have never been a fan of expensive skincare products luckily for my personal budget. Boots or superdrug only for me.  

twiggy86

I just thought I'd say, if you have clothes that don't fit but you "hope" you'll fit back into get them out of your wardrobe! I was ruthless one day - if it didn't fit me then it didn't go back in, not matter how much I loved it. I then did a car boot (complete waste of time) and put stuff on V*nted (I don't have the same success as literally everyone else seems to have!) - so it only made me a small amount of money, but it was more having the "pressure" lifted that they weren't staring at me every time I went to get dressed! 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Thanks everyone.  Lovely to see you @twiggy86.  I’m not quite ready to get rid of the stuff that doesn’t fit but it’s definitely something to think about.  

I listened to the latest Zoe podcast today and whilst it was about habits for healthy eating it had James  Clear as the main guest and obviously the habit stuff applies to lots of areas.  It was excellent.  I have read Atomic Habits but this was a timely reminder.  He talked about tiny actions now that are like cheques that you cash later as they  build up to the version of yourself that you want to be.  

I am making progress but this is the absolute crux of it all for me - believing that tiny steps are worthwhile as a benefit for my future self.  My general attitude has been that it’s too small a step to make any difference or that a small negative (drive thru coffee, extra bar of chocolate when I’m already full etc).  Mr L has built up a 45 minute gym habit (at home) by following the advice in Atomic Habits and building the habit by starting with 5 minutes a day.  Big sigh….still, I’m making progress. 

Interesting about skincare.  I had very bad skin when I was a young adult @enthusiasticsaver and found a couple of expensive options that worked well and have never lost the habit.  However I have good skin now so could definitely look to change this.  As I say I have about 6 months worth “in stock” so will park this until I use this up.  I havnt shopped in B***Shop for years @foxgloves so I’ll have another look there as I know they do lots of offers and I used to like their stuff. 

Friday tomorrow- looking forward to the weekend. Out early tomorrow- very nippy this morning but not too bad really- the roads were very dry it seemed.  

Stay warm everyone - but of a long post this evening. Well done if you’ve made it this far 🤣.  

L x 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hi all
@EssexHebridean. I would like to give you massive virtual hug.  Entirely due to your suggestion, I applied for a balance transfer card at 0% for 27 months through MSE.  This has been approved and takes nearly all of my balance (£8000 leaving me with an interest paying balance of only £500 which I can clear next month).  I am so thrilled by this and I would not have done this had you not prompted me - I thought about it but didn't think it would be worth it.  How wrong I was.  I have set the direct debit on that to the minimum payment to be repaid (currently) at 24 months.  I would Like to repay earlier than that but will focus on interest bearing debts first.  
I am so so pleased with this.  We will now focus on Mr L's card which is a much lower balance and we can clear in the next three months or so - not worth doing a transfer and paying the fee on that one.  
However, our new mortgage payment (higher interest rate) is now paying off less of the capital each month than previously due to the rate increase each month so my first action from next month is to overpay by at least that amount and then re-organise a bit and go from there.   Once Mr L's card is paid off we will set up higher overpayments for the mortgage and also have a look on the loan (very low interest rate - less than the mortgage- but would still like to get rid of that early.  It has a couple of years to go).
I suddenly feel like I have made massive progress and it's all thanks to the wonderful people on here who have encouraged me, given me great suggestions and generally been all round good guys - thanks so much.

L x 

PennysIntoPounds

Hooray for you, @EssexHebridean, and moneysavingexpert! Very pleased you've been able to make that progress x

Cheery_Daff

Hello 😊 I've just sneaked over after spotting your post on EH's diary - what a fantastic result!! Definitely worth trying 😃 

I too am a daily MSE waffler, and have been for many years 😁😂 I find it extremely helpful for sorting through my thought processes around money (and other things too). I look forward to seeing where your ponderings take you!