Oops I did it again

Aimingforthegoodlife

PADs this week:

CC: £37.37
Loan: £12.74

CC is now: £830.27/2162.22 
That is 36.7/100 steps 
So that means the OP needs to be £67.99 a month to be rid by December 2024.

Council tax is back with a vengeance, so no big OP's now, thinking that it might be a good idea to try and save a little as well to up our joint savings. Discussed with DH, we agreed any bigger monies should be saved for a while- we have LPG gas and usually after May, we don't need to buy any until Oct/Nov again. That is £149 a month (we have been lucky it hasn't been that cold or we can spend £300 on gas bottles in one month!). So on the months we are not paying, we will use the £150 to add to savings for a few months.

We also discussed postponing next years big holiday for a year, so I am going to look into this once the dates come out for 2026 (I picked a select rate so can move the holiday as long as it is equal or higher in value). Would just allow some breathing room and not just throwing money at holidays, though if it is way more expensive we will keep it as it is. Honestly, dog care is a really big cost for holidays let alone all the other bits!

Loan OP (starting Oct 2023) is: £545.11/651.80 
The £651.80 would be the next month knock off, feel like adding an extra month on as I hit a month, will help me to stay focused without feeling like it is an overwhelming amount. Especially given I cannot afford to OP lots at this time. So I need to find £106.69 to knock that extra month off, think this will still take a couple of months, but that is ok! Or is it, makes me want to use the little extra I am saving to chuck more, but saving is important too! Bah!

Aimingforthegoodlife

Oh three posts in a row, I have too much to say! Have just been thinking about the fact I am struggling with the desire to pay off, but also need to save, both personally and as a team with DH. I have concluded, adding stuff up on here makes me happy, so I will start to do my personal savings on here as well. This will only increase once a month when I get paid, but it might help me feel less like throwing all the money at the loan!

Personal savings: £2544.71/£3000

Would like this to be as close to £3k by the time I have my surgery, as it was £1k more than I anticipated so the loan doesn't cover the full amount. This way, I get to keep my £2k buffer. So I need £455.29, I think it will be in July sometime so that gives me four months, so I would need to save £113.82 a month to meet this target. This may be doable, I will use my expenses from work which is usually around £80-100 a month, then I round the account to £600 for the month which means I usually have an extra £10-40 quid to move over too. At the moment, I have managed to absorb the passport into this months costs, and I get paid next Friday, so hopefully the £40 I have left will last!

Won't be getting any expenses this month, as boss is off sick, I changed it to another manager as suggested, but that hasn't been agreed yet, so none this month. That is ok though, as I know I will get it the following month. Just makes progress look slower!

FacelessNumber

I think adding one month of loan to your target at a time is a great idea, makes it feel manageable but also you can continue progressing it.

If I'm aiming for multiple things I like to work out how much of my extra payments go to each thing - eg. 25% to one account and 75% to another depending on my priorities. Then I don't neglect one because I'm getting closer to a target in another one.

Aimingforthegoodlife

Have requested the council tax be extended over 12 months, waiting to hear back, can't see why they wouldn't!

Oh I like that idea @FacelessNumber, helps to keep targets clear I imagine! 

I believe my manager will be back next week, so hopefully will get Febs expenses in April as well as March's, that will be for the savings pot. Really not sure how much I will be able to add this month. Will make it to payday in the black (not in credit in case I have the colours wrong!), the only reason I absorbed the passport is because this payday falls on Friday when I buy shopping, so will make it next months budget and hope I can cover three food shops. Not expecting anymore big payouts....Watch this space!

Joint account is looking alright, better than usual at this time of the month, hoping this will continue. Eating out with friends this weekend, then going to see some live music, this was their Christmas gift to us. On annual leave next week, hoping for a relatively cheap week overall.

Aimingforthegoodlife

Ah Saturday, one of the best days for many reasons, including money shuffle day! And what a week it has been this week, I am ridiculously excited, DH got overtime and we decided to chuck that at the credit card, I think this will take us to over 50% paid off!!! Lets see shall we....

PADs:
CC: £260.46
Loan: £21.68
My savings: £120

CC is now: £1090.73/£2162.22 
Woohoo over half way!!!! That means I am at 50.45/100 steps! This makes me so so happy!
To be gone by December 2024 we now need to OP by £39.05 a month, what a huge difference, it feels so much more attainable to smash this debt now. We are going to increase the monthly payment to £100 given the Council Tax is now over 12months, so we have £19 'extra' a month (obviously losing two months payment free for that £19). When we do this, we will only need to find £19.05 a month to be gone by December. I am hoping it will be gone before then of course, but this gives me options!

Loan OP (starting Oct 2023) is: £566.79/651.80 
Another £85.01 to get that next month gone, not sure how long this will take, maybe sometime in April?

Personal savings: £2664.71/£3000
This needs a further £335.29 to reach the goal, I am hoping I won't need to touch any savings this month, so will keep an eye on this!

Aimingforthegoodlife

My 1poll is now up to £23.79, might get a pay out in a couple of weeks. Still on waiting list for prolific- I think it was that one! So that will help towards the loan when I finally cash out and the month it takes to arrive, haha. I think we have a few pounds waiting for us in cashback too, so will wait and see what that brings. Hoping we won't need to buy gas after May, so will free up £150 a month for a few months which I *think* we will save (or smash the debt!!!!), as would be nice to have more savings tbh.

Joint account is doing ok, which makes me think we have missed something, but I also didn't move any money to savings this month, which might make more sense. 

Waiting patiently for my loan payment to go out- due tomorrow so we all know won't go out until Monday, why do weekends still affect these things? Makes me mad, just take my darn money so I know where I stand! So that is my usual payment of £162.95. Finding thinking of the loan in single months much easier than the whole 5 year term, makes it feel much more comfortable to not think that far ahead! The loan is also sat in a good interest account until it is needed. 

I am definitely feeling pumped about debt payments this week!

FacelessNumber

Great progress on all fronts! Sounds like things are well under control

enthusiasticsaver

Sounds like debt OPs and savings going well. When is your op? 

Aimingforthegoodlife

@FacelessNumber I am waiting for the desire to spend instead of save to kick in haha. But so far so good!

@enthusiasticsaver I am speaking to the Consultant next Tuesday and I believe he will offer surgery dates, I am thinking July/August. I would have liked straight after our big hol, but too much time off work and June is going to be busy so best waiting to make sure I give myself time to heal.

40 days until big hol today- Orlando, have booked to go to Oga's cantina in Galaxy's Edge, this is super exciting. I have a birthday whilst we are there, so I am nosing to see if there is anything I really want to do as a birthday present, or just mooch for something nice. They do a dessert party which could be interesting.

Have almost ran out of budget in the joint account, had been going so well, but spent more on meal out with friends than we meant to- paid more of their meal by accident- not an issue though as they got us tickets to watch an Orchestra playing famous movie themes, which was great fun! We also had to pay remaining money to EDF- £88 and new electricity company have debited £77 as they do this a month in advance! How rude! So instead of £66 in electric we have spent £167. That has not helped the budget, but has explained why we are lower than I expected. We have also had to buy more dry dog food, which is covered though we are going to get another bag this weekend with DH discount in his store, so will get 15% off then- we would not have enough to cover this. I will have a proper go through of spending I think as well. 

1poll is up to 2404, so close to payout. As I am off I am checking regularly and only earned 25 over Monday and Tuesday! Normally I am screened out of lots after work but no surveys seem to be coming through. Bah humbug!

Aimingforthegoodlife

1poll up to 2459, I am sure it should be more like 70 something, hmmm. At least I got some surveys!haha. Edited to add: 1poll did me real dirty, ended yesterday at 2499. Will check today, but I suspect they won't do any one bank holiday days. Boo!!

So I did a thing, I have requested via Supadrug Drs that I be prescribed one of the weight loss methods- injections/tablets, it is costing £245 for one month. Have said to DH that although I suspect I will still need surgery as my weight is so high, loosing some before hand would help with recovery and helping me move more. So may end up being a huge waste of money or a positive boost. I used my savings so will set my plan to save £3k back. Hmmmm. They can also decline, had to weigh myself for the online form. Honestly, the anxiety has palpable, I don't weigh myself, I do not find it all helpful and it can lead to a binge as I feel so bad about myself after. I was 'pleasantly' surprised to find that I have in fact been maintaining for the last year or more since I weighed myself last. This maintenance is likely due to not obsessively weighing and feeding into my terrible relationship with food. 

Have been enjoying my days off, pottering out with the dogs and generally trying to re-cooperate, still having anxious thoughts about work, so am just reminding myself there is nothing I can do now so drop it! Have bought a giant bag of guinea pig food, two dog food bags and a bag of bird seed this week, hoping that I won't need to buy anymore pig food for quite a number of months now. Dry dog food should land on the extra discount weekends DH gets from now on, so that will be an extra few pennies off and if I can get the bird seed on these weekends that will be good too. Got so many lovely birdies here and have noticed a squirrel recently as well! Love wildlife, we definitely have rats and mice too haha. 

Also a bit gutted that we have ran out of gas, was really hoping it would make it into April. Won't be ordering until next week as I believe it is reducing a little next month. Worth any pennies saved here for sure!