My overhauling journey to debt freedom

overhauler

Oops, busy few days and haven’t updated

i also must admit I haven’t kept track of my NSDs although there have been plenty and still haven’t budgeted for the month

i I did however pass my driving test yesterday, me and Mr overhauler sat down and looked at cars and agreed that taking a car on finance would not be a wise move at present. As much as I would love to have a car quickly the cost of finance on top of insurance and patrol would just be too much.

we have decided to save 2-4k as a priority for a car for me. Once we have 2k we will keep an eye on used car sales to see what is available. If we do that the monthly cost for insurance/petrol would be similar to my current commuting costs 

the main downfall to that is that until the end of May I feel that every penny is pretty much allocated so I will try and trim the budget where I can to start building up savings but I’m not hopeful it will grow much yet. After May the previously booked holidays will be paid off and we will have more disposable income

i have been reading a few diaries and a comment that stuck with me on one, was someone asking if the poster had ever in their life stuck to a budget based on their income and it really made me think, I was a young single parent on benefits who then went into a minimum wage job so have always scraped by. It was only last September that my new job after going to uni is of a better wage, with it being a graduate programme my wage should realistically double after the 2 years are done but I have spent all of my life robbing Peter to pay Paul and never really having enough to fully get by, this really came to a head with the cost of living crisis we have all been through and I’m hoping me reaching out the step change was a pivotal point for me as rather than burying my head and juggling along I have faced it head on and I am really hopeful that I can start to figure out my budget going forward and really get to a place where I feel financially stable in the next few years 

enthusiasticsaver

Congrats on passing your driving test and good decision re the car.  You probably would not get finance approved anyway if you are on a DMP. 

CoffeeSonata

Just stopping by to stay congratulations on passing your test! 

overhauler

Thank you, we were looking at finance in my partners name as that would have been approved but it’s just not a wise decision.

Ive been keeping a track on autotrader and I think having something so wanted to save for will really help me. I haven’t been spending much that isn’t allocated but it all adds up so I will have to say to myself, do I want the £3 brownie or do I want an extra £3 in my car fund and I know which I would prefer 

Aimingforthegoodlife

Hey, massive congratulations on passing your test! Does your partner have a car? Could you just become a named driver, second hand cars are expensive I think lately. Mind you, isn't everything?? Apologies if partner doesn't! Also worth saving up to cover the cost of car insurance, tax, MOT etc. Have a look for cars you like, work out the kind of costs you would be looking at and pick the most cost effective! You got this!