Champagne supernova’s debt free to savaholic diary

ChampagneSupernova36

Good evening all,

from my deathbed as I’ve been stuck down with covid … I know , I didn’t think it was still a thing either  . I’m through the worst of it now but trust me to get a flu like cold illness when it’s the hottest week of the year!

well, here I am, posting here in the spirit of being positive and on my refund hunt. I found an article on MSE about student finance refunds and thought hmm? Why not request a refund and see, it turns out I’m due £163 back which is a nice little surprise. Silver linings again, I had a flight delayed and landed nearly 4 hours late (missed work totally yikes) and have £220 compensation coming my way thanks to that. 

Just when things were looking up, the lord has smite me down but I’m trying to remain in good spirits and positive because overall things are looking up. I think I will take up the Covid booster next year 

i hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine for me ; im still waiting to hear from 118 about the ombudsman’s recommendations but should hear by next week, hopefully will hear back from my other cases as well. 

See you all soon
E x

ChampagneSupernova36

Evening all !

Blimey, it’s been a while since my last entry here.

Update on the ombudsman situation, they actually found my cases to be affordable. I’m glad I went through the process as it’s been a real learning curve and I am now becoming much more financially literate. I was hoping that a nice lump sum of money could make me happy but that’s not my key to happiness!

I have been really trying lately to replace the ‘highs’ I used to get from spending stupid amounts of money ( that I didn’t have) by pushing myself out of my comfort zone & trying to achieve new things.

I applied for a promotion at work and went totally out of my comfort zone to go for an interview where I was successful! Overcoming something that was challenging and nerve wracking was so rewarding and actually getting the job is so validating. It’s an unparalleled feeling , and it didn’t come from money or booze etc it simply came from me….

so that is now my main focus in life , setting goals and achieving them EVEN if it terrifies me because the feeling afterwards is just so fulfilling & I don’t really need to spend a penny .

i hope everyone here is well, im trying hard to save but making really slow progress. Any tips to get motivated will be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes 
E x

ChampagneSupernova36

Evening all and HAPPY new year, hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.

i was working right over the Xmas period from 20th to New Year’s Day eek but took my mum along with me on a trip and we an absolute ball. 

I FINALLY start my new role in Jan , I’ve signed my new contact, passed all my training and assessments and have one more 5 day course to go before it’s all official (it’s been a long journey but the end is nigh). Get a nice little pay rise also so I’ve decided to take affirmative action to actually, finally be a saveaholic.

i have made a standing order to save £300 odd a month moved into a locked monzo pot and I’m hell bent on saving. I finally cleared my DMP last year and lived quite a restricted lifestyle whilst I did that, I think I’ve been enjoying the freedom a little bit toooo much (not living beyond my means but just not putting enough aside to save) but NOW I’ve implemented my plan to save save save…. No excuses !

Im going to continue to document this journey as saving feels just a slow as clearing debt, I’d LOVE to have 10k just sitting there but that takes time. I manage to pay off 11k in about 18 months so if I can do that then why can’t I save that much?

im still going to have my little goals of 2k and make baby steps towards it and just forget about the standing order and hopefully will look back this time next year with a nice little pot.

actually, also, I have had an unaffordable lending complaint upheld but the ombudsman about my past monzo overdraft. I have to wait and see monzo’s response but I could potentially see some fees and charges returned to me. I am going to reserve judgment and be realistic about this though, as I had similar findings with a 118 118 money loan only to have to ombudsman not upheld it… it would be a nice little kick start to the saving though.

So my first amount comes out in januarys pay I’m hopeful it’s onwards and upwards from there 

this forum has been such a wonderful support to me over the past year or so , and for that I am very grateful. I need to motivation to save so that’s why i keep coming back !

Hope everyone is doing well,

E x

vampirotoothus

Happy New Year, Good luck with the new job and your savings plans V x

ChampagneSupernova36

Thank you !

i began the 1p challenge today as well , 1p so far but it’s a start 

ChampagneSupernova36

Heloooo all !

woah it’s been bloody AGES since I last made an entry here , I’ve just been out here living my life really.

Updates   

SO, I’ve been in my new role for 9 months now nearly & I absolutely LOVE it. It was tricky at first learning the ropes, I had a couple if incidents and then I got sick for three weeks after a trip to India… so it did feel like a bit of a false start, but I’m settled now and really thriving in it. The increase in pay is helpful too.

Re my unaffordable claim with monzo, well, it was upheld partly. The initial overdraft was found to be affordable but the increase to £1000 was not , so I got some fees & interest back. I don’t think I mentioned this before but I DID have an overdraft with monzo whilst on a DMP & a monzo flex… I have been in my overdraft my ENTIRE adult life and I was just absolutely sick of it. So I used my refund to reduce my balance and then made a plan with monzo to reduce the balance each month. It actually only took me 2 months to clear it and I did a full account switch away from monzo completely. I did have a flex balance but it is now closed altogether, I was just absolutely sick SICK of having any debts. 

As positive as I was from clearing my DMP, I still had that overdraft and flex hanging over my head but now they’re closed I feel much better. I also got into a little cycle of using zilch but I really have had an epiphany and totally deactivated my account. Now, I have my savings pot, I have a trip to Australia booked for the whole of November, I actually booked my flights yesterday so my savings have dropped a little bit it’s so nice having money aside. I used to have absolutely NOTHING left but last month, for example, I could dip into my savings put aside instead of relying on a credit card or overdraft. I do have a credit card now but I’m using around 25% of the balance because that’s what my research (MSE website  ) tells me is the best way of rebuilding my credit health etc. 
lt’s nice to not have to spend half my wages repaying any creditors !!!

Speaking of credit files , I have a dispute/correction in progress re my old capital one cards. They have been reported as missed payments but I made the payments via my stepchange DMP. No matter what happens, though, they’ll drop off my file in just under 3 years. So that’s my timeframe to improve my credit worthiness and save for a mortgage… 2028 I know credit files are a tricky subject on this forum but I’m aiming to just be more financially literate and aware & i’m doing my best to improve & stabilise my future.

This is all part of me being more mindful and looking after myself. I have started strength training and have been really focussed on my diet and eating well. I have lost 1 stone 3 so far and feel so much better. 

So, all in all, things are on the up & up. I just want anyone struggling to know that things do get better. One thing I struggled with whilst I was getting myself into debt was delayed gratification… I was prioritising short term pleasures and not looking at the consequences. Trust me, I’m paying for it now BUT shifting my focus towards my long term goals is a lot more rewarding. The gratification of finally paying off my debts was unmatched, it was extremely SLOW progress but absolutely worth the wait. So, if you’re feeling like sh*t and like it’s never going to end, read through my diary and you can see that it does.

ANYYWAY wow I am babbling & I hope this doesn’t come across as bragging or rubbing anything in but I’ve truly learnt my lesson after 2 DMPS & being in my overdraft for my whole life… it gets better trust me.

hope everyone is well & will update again soon xxx

SuzeQStan

Just read your diary and wanted to say how helpful and positive it has been to read.  

All of the links and good advice - you have done more than completely turn your financial life round, you must have helped so many on here as well.  What an achievement and wonderful to read.  

You mention the hard lesson learned more than once - it’s evident you have not only learned from it, it’s a part of your life now - a gift you have given yourself.

well done on the weight loss and the loss of all that debt 👏🏻👏🏻

 You’re an inspiration

debtfreewannabe321

You've come so far @ChampagneSupernova36 well done! It's so nice seeing the updates. I've no doubts that you'll have reached your savings goals if you put your mind to it like you did the debt 👏🏻.

ChampagneSupernova36

debtfreewannabe321 said:

You've come so far  👏🏻.

SuzeQStan said:

 👏🏻👏🏻

 You’re an inspiration

Thank you so much for taking time to read ! I’ve been at the pits of despair and it’s a slog and a long way out but a way out none the less. Gotta keep pushing on

ChampagneSupernova36

Evening all ,

being back on this forum has made me have a sit down and proper look at a robust budget.

i have been working with chat gpt who has mad me a numbers spreadsheet (with the formulas already added in  ) to make a watertight budget for the year. In my previous post I have mentioned dipping my toe back into the credit card and overdraft world but 1. I’ll absolutely NEVER have an overdraft ever ever again and 2. I want to work on my credit file & credit utilisation to work towards my 2028 mortgage goal. I have a couple of credit cards with 0 balance that I don’t have access to & some I can access with a 0 balance. My plan is to make little purchases each month, alternating them and paying them off in full. 

I know I can absolutely trust myself with this because of all that I have been through , credit cards can be a great tool with great benefits if used wisely, I know they’re not there to be absolutely maxed out 100% of the time. Now all the money I earn is mine, using my budget, it turns out I can live comfortably and within my means. I don’t need to treat myself 24/7 and the delayed gratification of saving for something is so worth it, I have my trip in November and whenever I am contemplating buying something (I spend more time thinking about purchases these days) I think ‘is this really worth taking money away from my trip’ and the answer is always no! 

I’m feeling positive and excited to get proper serious about this and watch my savings pot grow. I sometimes look back and kick myself because it’s taken me so much to become this disciplined but the light bulb moment has finally arrived.

hope everyone is all well out there ,

see you soon 

E