misstara's debt diary 2024

misstara

I've decided it's time to start a new diary as the old one has been on the go for a number of years and I feel a fresh start would be good especially since I have less than £600 left to pay off the credit card.  I'm hoping to stay debt free this time and hoping a new diary will keep me focused on this.

My first diary was around 10 years ago and at that point, I was around £10,000 in debt.  I paid it off but then moving house, buying a car and general over spending led to more debt.  This will be the 3rd time I become debt free and I'd really like it to be the last.  

Quick introduction - I'm 39 and live in Scotland with my OH.  I have a job in social care which I love but it can be very stressful with long hours.  OH unfortunately hasn't been able to work for about 7 years due to his health.  We live in a wee council flat and are currently saving money for a deposit to buy somewhere of our own.

I use YNAB for budgeting and it really has transformed my finances.  Over the last few years, I have been able to actually save money and have various savings pots that I try to add to each payday.  The credit card debt is at 0% and I have a plan in place to pay it off before the 0% period finishes.

Me and OH are heading out about 9am to see a friend and do some food shopping so I suppose I better go and jump in the shower.  Will do a post later or tomorrow with my plans for 2024.

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary. 

You will soon be debt free. 

DebtFreeMe6

@misstara I have just started my first diary and first time trying to clear my debt completely… what is YNAB? I think this would be useful for me!!

zedonk

Good luck! I am also a YNAB user (old legacy version), although I've mostly switched over to Monzo now as I find physically having the money in separate pots makes it easier to stick to my budget.

misstara

beanielou said:

Happy shiny new diary. 

You will soon be debt free. 

Thanks beanie, 0% period runs out at the end of May so it will be gone by then

misstara

DebtFreeMe6 said:

@misstara I have just started my first diary and first time trying to clear my debt completely… what is YNAB? I think this would be useful for me!!

Hi DebtFreeMe6

YNAB is You Need A Budget.  It's a budgeting app where you allocate your money to various pots and then update with spends as you go.  Google it and have a look, the website will explain it far better than I have!  You do have to pay for it but can usually get a free trial.  I've been using it for over 5 years now and it has made such a difference.  It's not cheap but to me, it has been worth it and I just put aside money each month to pay for the yearly subscription.  Good luck with clearing your debt

misstara

zedonk said:

Good luck! I am also a YNAB user (old legacy version), although I've mostly switched over to Monzo now as I find physically having the money in separate pots makes it easier to stick to my budget.

Thanks zedonk.  I've heard good things about Monzo.  It makes sense having the money in actual separate pots and it's something that took me a bit of time to get my head around with YNAB and looking at what I had in my pots there instead of the total in my bank account.

misstara

Plan of action for 2024

Pay off credit card
£578.48 to be paid off by end of May.  £100 payment will be made on 8th January and then £130 paid in February, March and April leaving £88.48 to be paid in May before the end of 0% period.

Maximise LISA
I have paid in £3425 this financial year so need to pay in £575 by 5th April to maximise this year's allowance.  I allocate £25 a week for LISA plus usually an extra £100 each payday so that would be £425 for February and March (January allocation already paid in).  So need to find an extra £150 which is easily doable with no council tax to pay in February and March.  I opened the LISA in January 2023 and managed to save the full allowance last financial year (due to existing savings and a gift from my dad) and will do again this year (from me saving regularly and another gift from my dad) which I'm very pleased about, however, both years allowance have benefitted from my dad's generosity which has obviously reduced the amount I needed to put in.  I need to work out how much I need to save monthly to maximise this and work out a plan.

Increase emergency fund
As the sole wage earner of the household, if I wasn't able to work for some reason, we don't really have much savings (that aren't earmarked for specific things) to keep us going.  Emergency fund currently sits at just over £1000 so my plan is to increase it until we have 3 months savings there.  I need to actually work out how much this would be so for the meantime, I'd like to aim for £1500 by June and £2000 by the end of the year.

Celebrate
Both me and OH have 'big' birthdays in 2024, I'll be 40 and OH will be 50.  Neither of us are ones for having a big party, can't actually imagine anything worse but we would like to celebrate in some way.  OH's is first and he has chosen to go to Edinburgh which we both love.  The accommodation is booked (not paid for yet) and I need to do some research into restaurants and book somewhere OH will enjoy.  I need to have a good think about where to go to celebrate mine.  I also have a long weekend planned with some friends from uni as we all turn 40.  Accommodation is booked for this and I've paid for half of it already.  There's a good amount saved in the holiday fund so hopefully will cover all plans but may need to budget a bit more.

Stick to the menu plan and minimise food waste
I am really bad for making a meal plan, buying all the food for it and then not sticking to it so things end up wasted.  A lot of this is down to work and being tired/finishing late and then not being bothered to cook.  OH can do some things but due to his health issues, isn't completely safe in a kitchen so I do most of the proper cooking and he just makes a sandwich or has a microwave meal if I'm at work.  This is a huge area that I could improve on so need to think about how to realistically achieve this as work pressures won't change anytime soon.

There's more little things that I want to do but will post about them tomorrow as it's getting very late and I'm working in the morning.

I spent £17.74 on food shopping this morning. Meal plan is done with a focus on using up what's in the freezer.  I just need to stick to it now!

Boodedoo

Plan of action looks well thought out and achieveable :-) I'm looking forward to seeing it all come to fruition.

Seems like you have lots to look forward to in 2024, I hope the year is a happy and healthy one for you and yours.

misstara

Thanks Boodedoo - same back to you

Happy New Year to everyone 🎉

Did a double shift yesterday so was in bed before the bells but we got woken up at midnight by the ships horns and fireworks.  Work today was a really nice shift and the double time is always good.  Hoping tomorrow will be the same and then I've got 2 days off.  Sorely needed as I feel really tired, in fact will be heading to bed shortly.

Today has been a NSD, hopefully the first of many.  If we stick to the meal plan this week, then we shouldn't need to buy anything else except perhaps some fruit and bread.  Tomorrow will be easy to stick to as there's enough leftover steak pie from today and I cooked enough tatties and veg to do 2 days.

misstara

Additional plans for 2024

Use my gym membership or finally cancel it
My gym membership is very cheap (£16.99) but my attendance is very sporadic and I haven't cancelled it as it would cost so much more to join as a new member.  But over the year, it is £203.88 which is a lot of money if I don't really go all that much.

Flat stuff
I'd really like to make more use of the garden this year and grow more veg.  Not sure what yet, more thought is needed for this.  There's also various little things needing done around the flat - paint work needing touched up, a proper spring clean, small DIY jobs, etc.  We also could really do with a new sofa - our current one must be around 20 years old and came to us free from a friend who had gotten it from one of their relatives.  We're happy to get a second hand one so will start having a look for one.