Road To Financial Recovery

FootyFanDan

alt80 said:

Yeah my little family are doing well. My boy is 10 going on 30 rn ha. You should not let the frustration get to you too much, I'd say most people fritter away at least a little money each month. It's keeping the right balance which is key and not beating yourself up for the times things don't go to plan - looking on it as a learning exercise. 

From what I've read from your posts on here you'll be an asset to any employer. Everyone starts a new role at some time or another, being a little nervous is expected but we've all been there. Get stuck in and don't be afraid to ask questions.

haha I know that feeling, my daughter is 9 but doesn't half act like a grown up at times! It is insane how quick they grow up, I see the whole facebook memories and wow I can't believe she was that tiny baby. One thing I thank my mrs for, I am not so keen on the whole photos/videos thing but she is obsessed with her photos, but it is nice looking back on the memories so maybe I need to do more of this. 

My current employer doesn't want me to go, but staff turnover is quite high recently and I dunno it just feels right. I don't really love change and in general I stick around a fair bit at jobs. 

FootyFanDan

Evening all, is everyone else fed up with the rain yet! ha.

I have spent the last few days trying to realign all my financial stuff & plans. I have put together a plan of how I think the next year should work in theory. This includes all my current expenses and also takes into account the expected raise in salary which will happen from end of May. The next few months will be pretty much as we are now with trying to squeeze in some additional payments to the CC / debt where possible and. looking at plans there is definitely scope for plenty of that provided I stick to the plan. I have setup all DD to come from the same account and from May the expected increase to salary should bring aprox extra £600 or so into the budget so things do get a little easier from that point. Based on projections I should be in a position to make a massive dent into debt but also to set some really solid foundations for strong financial future. The new role comes with Car allowance which isn't something I have ever really had so not sure the benefit, but it gets added to my monthly salary. I am really trying to be conscious of how this is distributed:

Option 1: Keep up the same payments plan now and put alot towards saving
Option 2: Not really worry too much about the savings aspect and just hammer the debt considering the CC is having interest going on and then save once I have paid these off

I am leaning towards option 2 as I really want the debt gone and the projection of funds once debt is gone is such a motivation. This would then allow me to start putting savings away consistently and hopefully build up quite quickly. I have also started to read up alot on saving funds / investments / future planning but need to do way more research and be in a better financial position before I go down that route

I know food budget is something I am trying to hammer down on, however I am also pretty aware of the need to have an healthy diet and a proper intake of food and at the moment that just isn't the case - certainly spending a bit but its just on rubbish with no real thought around meal planning and I really wanna change this even if this means spending a bit more. 

7 weeks until I start my new job . Really looking forward to the new challenge.

Next few days I need to get stuff planned out around gathering all my current work projects and stuff done and all ready for handover. 

Hope everyone is doing well.

FootyFanDan

To Do List - to do whilst on annual leave:

[] Car needs to be cleaned and vacuumed
[] Update my plans for work handover
[] Tip Run - got a fair bit to go to tip, normally go on Sunday's but does get busy. I am hoping going on a week day might be better, if so I will do a couple of runs
[] Sort through clothes and donate what is no longer required (My long term plan is to be a bit more minimal with clothing - spend a bit more than I currently  but on less items). A few items I have bought cheaply are wrecked already so end up throwing anyways.
[] Start couch to 5k - I really need to get back into some sort of fitness, I miss running so much but my motivation for it (or most stuff) has dropped off but I know it makes me feel so much better. I am going to start do some small exercise indoors too and hopefully get myself back in better shape. Although I wouldn't class myself as overweight or owt I am very much aware as I get older the junk food I consume is only ending up one way lol.
[] Make some time for movies with DD - she is wanting us to watch the Marvel stuff, so we will start those Friday.

Also got a planned visit to Manchester for a acting thing for daughter, so put a bit aside from personal spends for me to go have coffee whilst this is going on. I have cancelled my sports/TV package so that saves me some money I just wasn't really feeling like getting value as I rarely watched anything other than a few channels and sports. I am looking at possible a N*w sports as it is on offer at minute and offers better value as although paying it at least paying for what I watch rather than 400 channels that I never see lol.

alt80

100% mate I don't know where these post Covid years have gone, suppose I've had a lot going on trying to get my head straight but my boy seems to have grown up overnight idk. 

Sounds like you've a good plan for clearing your debts and moving forwards thereafter. Clear the debts - they will be at a rate much higher than anything you can make from savings or any investment that isn't extremely high risk. The car allowance will just be treated as additional salary by the HMRC, so make sure you account for PAYE when working out your new pay however, it is not pensionable. Moving forwards once you are looking to save / invest iirc you have a Help to Buy ISA, work on getting that maxed and a three month emergency fund. South Yorkshire, you can get a 2 bed flat in a purpose built, relatively modern block for c.£70-80k or a 2 bed house for not an awful lot more although they will require a lot more maintenance and will likely be in bad condition. That is either a burden or opportunity depending on your outlook and circumstances. Get one bought, I'm sure it won't be your dream home but it gets you out of rented whilst you save for the next. At the point you can refinance it onto a BTL and have a 10% deposit saved plus fees for your next place, move up the ladder. Even better if you have bought something requiring a bit of work after negotiating money off, completed works without spending too much. That's where going for the house is more likely to be beneficial. Repeat it over and over. I appreciate you'll likely want to diversify your investments, you can do this through your pension. 

Had to smile re Couch 2 5k, I planned to do it this first quarter but between being !!!!!! whacked most of the time and the weather I just cba. I used to run fairly regularly, not more than 5km at a time though and my wife runs three/ four times a week so should be fairly easy but I just can't seem to get started. Need to get back to the gym too. I'm not overweight either but definitely !!!!!! skinny fat through doing !!!!!! all proper exercise and giving in to my sweet tooth too often idk.

FootyFanDan

Happy Bank Holiday weekend all, hope everyone has some good plans

Payday as been and gone lol.

The two payments for the debt have been made. £250 to the Monzo Flex & £100 to the CC. I have managed to get through March without adding anything to these balances which is a positive, given that hasn't happened for a while. All funds have been put away to cover the direct debits for normal bills and put away some money towards spending money for holiday. 

19 working days until I leave my current job ,the handover stuff is going to be pretty hectic.
9 Weeks until I can get some sunshine - Can't wait

There are no major spending to be done this month, although I do have a few things coming up we are off to see cirque de soileil this weekend (already covered except travel and drinks). Also at end of April I am off out with the work lot for leaving drinks so will need to make sure this is counted for, although will come from personal funds rather than household budget.

FootyFanDan

Morning all, nice rainy start to bank holiday Monday. It’s been nice to have a bit of a break, yesterday we went to Manchester for cirque du soleil which was amazing! Not really much expense either on the day so that was good.

My morning will be spent at soft play….yay 😂. Not my best idea ever haha. Hope everyone has a great day.

I’ve been reading other diaries and always amazes me how much people do to get their debt cleared and it’s made me think I might need to sacrifice short term for long term gain. 

WinterWarrior

I hope you survive soft play 😅

FootyFanDan

WinterWarrior said:

I hope you survive soft play 😅

haha, it wasn't too bad actually although did get there quite early and it was getting busy when we were leaving so timing was on point. It gave the little one a chance to run off some energy whilst I had breakfast and caught up on some life admin stuff on phone.

FootyFanDan

Today was back to work following a nice bank holiday, can't believe how quick it seemed to go. I was not an happy bunny when that alarm clock went off this morning and hit that snooze button way to many times 😂. Last night was a very late night as I was at football and ended up not getting to sleep until about midnight. This resulted in me not making up lunch so unexpected spend out of personal spends for food. I am trying not to micro manage every single spend but having bought food in for lunches its annoying. Tonight meal will be beef stir fry and noodles which I will have whilst watching some tv, hoping then for an earlier night although i am not the best for sleeping early. I did enjoy seeing some element of sunshine and these brighter mornings certainly make me happier.

alt80

It's good to hear you had a nice Easter and are making progress with the balances.