Road To Financial Recovery

FootyFanDan

I hope everyone managed to enjoy the festive period, we had a really quiet one but was really enjoyable. In the run up to Christmas we were so busy, so many activities and it was good to re-energise over last week or so. We did go and see my Dad which was nice as not seen him for a while and little one was desperate to see him too.

I have started taking a serious look over finances, and over the last few months (probably since the higher income if I'm been honest with myself) I have kind of taken my eye of ball financially. Luckily there is no new debt and it hasn't been anything silly, just probably not been as strict with the food budget, eating out more often and just not really worrying over money which isn't my norm!. Whilst the higher income affords us a little more flexibility I want to get back to a place where there is some element of control around spending and we are wise with the savings.

I have re-jigged my YNAB budget and tweaked the targets and ensured that every part of my budget now has a target, I am going to probably end up playing around with figures over next few months whilst I get used to the adjustments. I really want to be in a position where the debt is gone by this time next year, not only to free up money within the budget but to also give me a little freedom if I chose to re-consider my current position at work. The main focus for the next few months is to top up the car maintenance fund as the MOT/Service next big thing on the horizon and should I need repairs I certainly don't want to be adding to the CC if at all possible. 

I have managed to arrange a click/collect weekly shopping for tomorrow, so early start tomorrow and I plan to start looking at other stuff that seems to have gone off track. I feel certainly over the last 4-6 months I have felt like I have started to fall back into a trap of not exercising/doing stuff that I know is good for me. I need to really put some serious focus back into getting myself in a decent headspace and tackling some of the issues work wise.

FootyFanDan

Happy New Year All & hello 2025.
I have enjoyed a really nice break over the festive period which I don't normally get so that was nice and new. However it has also given me a lot of time to review/think (dwell perhaps) on the past year. I reviewed a lot of my spending both personal and joint and feel that I / we really let it slip towards the end of the year and didn't really focus on any of our financial goals and we ticked along. The year brought some amazing memories, we had our first family holiday, our little one is enjoying her acting/drama and we had loads of little trips out. It is also a year that has totally drained me and challenged me so much and I know the impact that has both mentally, physically but also financially. 

I have sat and worked out where our current debts are at and also (although not the YNAB way) done a budget forecast in spreadsheet. I have forecasted this on my current salary, but I have also done another few projections on salaries for other roles I am looking at. I believe at some point this year I will likely move on from my current role, although we would sometimes not like to be self critical, I have to accept that I just don't think I am a fit for this role. I need to prepare us financially for all eventualities and I know the one thing holding us up is debt.

With the above in mind I went a little rogue and made a decision that we will have to roll with but should be fine. We normally get income weekly but due to the early pay on my salary we had a surplus amount that was in groceries and petrol so I used that to pay off a lump sum and the usual monthly payment to Monzo flex to bring this balance down a huge amount so that monthly payment as now decreased from £130 a month to £33 a month. The balance is now £530 which sounds way better than the 4 figure sum it was We usually store our weekly income until I get paid and it then releases into account once I get paid but I figured we would be fine and likely will probably budget this way moving forward. 

My plan when I took the new job was to stick to the same budget as we were using on a less salary and to throw the extra at the debt to get this paid off quickly, but of course that never happened. I am now more determined than ever to get this debt paid off. I am hoping that this would then free up enough flex, that if I should get another role that it won't impact as much. The debt payment coming out was near £400 a month so if I can work on that it would be good.

Over next few posts I need to get my figures and plans down, but I think I am going to do quarterly goals/reviews so I can see the progress.

sorry for the waffling - this place gives me a area to vent/get plans down

EDIT: Balance £593

FootyFanDan

Monzo Flex
Current Balance: £593
Monthly Installment: £33

I am pretty happy with the decision to knock a huge sum off this particular debt. I was able to do this through a combo of the usual monthly payment and moving other savings/funds around. I like the idea of having savings but I felt that if we could try lower our monthly outgoings it would give us a real good chance of getting this card/debt cleared by March and our current income allows for us to be able to withstand most emergencies we can get. The only real emergency for us (given we are council tenants) would be a car repair or appliance breakdown. I know the sensible / MSE approach would be to have possible spread the extra across other areas, but seeing a debt decrease of over £700 was an amazing feeling. 

The car servicing/MOT has already been funded and this will happen early February, so I aim to funnel all the usual monthly saving into this category from my 31st January pay packet. I suspect tyres might be needed and hoping that is it. I had a huge repair bill last year (and unfortunately ended up putting this through an interest free payment plan - which has now ended so that is another £54 that will filter back into budget). We usually save aprox £300 a month and general build in a surplus so fingers crossed this will work out. Following this we will then set targets for all our goals and move forward from there.

On reflection this card really helped us out in a time of need ( i mean poor planning and budgeting of course). We ended up putting carpets on this card, Servicing/Tyres, some holiday stuff and whilst I can justify some of this, some of the other stuff is just really not needed. (trips/eating out/treats)

At the beginning of August the card balance was £2000! So to be in a place where this is under £600 was a really good way to begin the year. 

FootyFanDan

Capital One Card
Current Balance: £1600
Variable monthly instalment

I guess where there is good there inevitably bad. This card balance just fluctuates every month, the reality is that this card as a pretty big limit and therefore I think ah whats it matter if I pay for my lunch and coffee on it this one time (Spoiler alert, it does if you repeat this several times  ) Also chuck in a couple of grocery spends that of course I will pay back at the end of the month...... I think the reality is this card balance been high is 100% percent on me. I haven't been managing my own personal spends the best way I can (which is embarrassing given its a decent sum) Therefore when I have gambled that money away the credit card gets it. Now fortunately it isn't life changing sums and there has been wins mixed in with it of decent sums but I have realised this is a problem, I thought I had avoided it. I have signed up with the relevent self help and that is now blocked so that is good. 

I did a review of all the spending on this card and was totally embarrassed, however it has also shocked me into changing this habit.  

I think one element of this is my phone bill comes out of personal spends and this bill has slowly crept up over time without me really doing anything about it. I was going to look at potentially doing a upgrade to a lower amount but then I just thought that lower amount becomes a longer period / new contract.
My contract finishes in November 2025 so I think I just need to suck it up.

FootyFanDan

I suppose the feeling at the moment is a mixture of frustration and disappointment in myself and has probably contributed to my low moods and feeling pretty rubbish. I have reached out to support groups and I have started looking to get out walking again.

My partner trusts me to look after our budget and we have always been pretty level headed with things. We had a period before our little one was born where we had nothing, so I know we can be frugal but I wonder if the more my wages increased we just let go a little bit more. So whilst there hasn't been too much impact on the family budget as I pay the other credit card mainly from my personal spends, I do feel I have let them down a touch despite us being in a decent position financially

Me/partner discussed our upcoming year events and goals. Our budget seems to always have some surplus and this should really have a job in the budget so it doesn't get frittered. We are going to look at getting out as a family once a month, allocate 1 takeaway a month and then try go out to do some free / low cost events the remainder of time. I think it really as hit home that we need to be spending more time together as a family, our little one is growing up so fast.  We normally do go out to cinema/eating out and do go to a few events but in general we don't get out in nature enough. We live close enough to so many beautiful areas so this is a goal to do more.

We do have some planned events already that we need to account for and have a place in the budget

London 2025 - West End: July 2025. Drama group that we are in perform in West End in July so we need to allocate hotels, train and tickets

Harry Potter Studios: We are doing this in Feb, I haven't decided if I am driving down on the day or whether to stay overnight. 

School Residential : This year there is a school residential that little one will be going on so. We have paid the deposit but the remainder is due by July so this needs to be accounted for.

I have no doubt there is going to be other stuff that comes up but for now these are the ones we know off

Appreciate some of the rambling totally as nothing to do with debt....but hoping getting this down can push me towards my aims and goals this year.

FootyFanDan

Career: I think I need to take a bit of a serious look at this. Is what I am feeling natural and all part of the process of learning something totally new or is there just a lack of me been good enough for the position. I think likely a mix of both, I am happy I moved on from my old role and maybe this new job was meant to just be a stop gap but I am feeling a mix of emotions around it. The issue I have is the salary is way above market value for jobs like it, there is also a salary review to come shortly. However the job is leaving me feeling stressed/anxious a lot of the time and I am not sure that is a route I want to go down. Ideally I would like to move back into a similar role I was in before where I have all my experience, but this is going to mean a significant decrease in wages, although likely a less stressful work life. 

Actions:

- Speak with manager and explain again my current situation (we spoke a few months ago about some concerns). I am hoping we can sit and work through a development plan. There is a few minor projects this next few weeks which I am under pressure to deliver and was the cause of a lot of anxiety in the month of December. I think if I can get these pushed over the line it gives me a grace period of about 6 weeks with no other major projects to deliver.

- In my own time I have signed up for a level 3 online course in my old field that gives me a qualification that a lot of employers in the field look for, hoping this then could give me options that allow me to move for the right opportunity and not lose a large amount.

- Soak up as much knowledge and try not take each little setback as a way to self destruct and think the world is ending. 

I have slowly started building up my knowledge and I can see the light (however dim it currently is) at the end of the tunnel but I also feel in a place where I don't know if I can push through until it gets better. Each time i think its improving, stuff just goes to poo and brings the failure feeling with it. I am starting to put together templates and processes and documents that are making my job seem easier but there are frustations that jobs fail for reasons I can't control and that ends up annoying me.

FootyFanDan

Goals in 2025

I am putting this here as I am going to have a think about some serious goals and update these as I go along and then I can look back (hopefully on a successful year): 

1. Be accountable for my actions and be mindful of how my actions/mood affects others around me. Try appreciate just how lucky I am and be thankful for what I have.

2. Limit alcohol consumption. In theory this should be simple, I am not a huge drinker but over last few months its creeping in a bit more. First goal is get through January

3. Gambling stops! Same as above really. First goal get through January

4. Walk daily where possible. I think I need to start looking at how I can achieve this. The weekends should be easy enough. I want to start exploring the countryside more and get our little one out and about. I think its too easy when we are feeling lazy to just mindless scroll. This year is countryside and pub lunches!

5. Be more frugal, I want to enjoy things and events. However if I am being honest I have spent a lot on things that are material items and bring enjoyment but in reality can be done on a budget. 

6. Become healthier. I am in no way overweight but I think over the last 6 months my clothes would agree that I need to get a bit more in shape. I haven't really felt like exercising or eating healthy (or eating at all some days). I want to be around for the long haul so I need to buckle up and stop being lazy.


I have seen quite a lot of forum users who do daily gratitude and maybe I need to do this or maybe journal. I think I need to realise that for as rubbish as I sometimes feel there are people in the world in a lot more turmoil than myself and in reality we are very fortunate. I just want to not feel as wasteful and feel like I am showing a good example to our daughter.

FootyFanDan

My income vs outgoings are well within reason and give  plenty of surplus to chuck at the debts whilst being able to save for the expenses that we know are coming at some point. I think its just poor planning and this money then gets frittered away cos there is no plan for it. I am thinking of budgeting it all out with the exception of a tiny amount (still to be determined) that can sit in the joint account which then can cover the 'stuff that gets forgotten' without impacting the rest of the budget.
My partner generally is happy for me to budget and that has worked quite well and we are in a better place than before. However we now need that final push, whilst she never really jumps in with the budget her self control is a damn site better than mine. Therefore I have removed the credit cards from my apple pay and my actual wallet and she now possess these . 

Lonelygambler

Hi mate. 

The best way to journal I find is to write down three positives and how they made me feel. I try and do this every day. 

There are lots of free apps to do this on or you use an actual book to write in. 

Hope this helps, 

LG

alt80

You’ve got a great set of goals there and whilst it’s !!!!!! hard for me to read it you are right about being fortunate. 

I do journaling usually when my head is in the right place, really it should be each day regardless and tbf when things are tougher is when it is most beneficial. 

Couple of thoughts on a couple of your goals alcohol and gambling; if you can work out what you’ve spent on these over the past quarter and set aside that money to invest at the end of the quarter if you have not indulged perhaps.