Redemption - The journey of a recovering gambling addict.

Lonelygambler

FacelessNumber said:

Car costs can be a killer, definitely worth having a contingency fund to deal with it. I generally have a target amount to have in easily available accounts, and then anything extra I decide whether to put it in or investment accounts or pay off the mortgage. 

I'm not convinced that the extra hours of childcare will kick in, but it will be a nice saving if they do! There just isn't the infrastructure in the childcare sector to deal with all of the extra hours. My youngest will be over £900 to go in 3 days a week next year if we don't get any funding!

Hope you had a nice weekend with the family.

Weekend was great thanks! 

Yes we do need a contingency fund, I’m going to have to put aside £150 a month moving forward which means slower debt repayment however with the security of having money to pay these bills off. 

Nursery we use are using the 9 Month hours, they are working it out currently, it’s a forest school place paying ££££ 

Any savings would be good 

Lonelygambler

backinbusiness said:

Hi @Lonelygambler. Congrats on how far you've come! I also think you should allow yourself small "treats" to break up the slog of paying off debts. Doesn't have to be often or even particularly expensive; £5 cinema ticket, £3 tub of ice cream? Whatever you'd view as a treat - it helps keep the whole process "doable". BiB x 

Many Thanks for your input! I am setting aside £160 a month £40 a week for treats / things. 

If it’s not spent by Sunday Night it’s going on debt. 

Lonelygambler

enthusiasticsaver said:

You are doing brilliantly.  I think you should build a contingency into your budget for car costs and emergencies.  It saves putting stuff on the credit card just when you are working so hard to pay them down.  You also need a  fun fund. If the debt is at 0% it does not matter  if it takes a few months longer to repay it as long as you have a budget which works and covers things like car insurance and chipped windscreens. 

Yes - Agree on this. Going to take a while to build a month’s salary however we will work to it. 

Lonelygambler

alt80 said:

Doing well mate.

I feel your pain with the car insurance, we have an EQC and an EQE - they were about £2.5k a piece to insure this year. !!!!!! madness, they have doubled pretty much since we got them. Tbf I do have 9 points and a claim for driving into the back of another car but I hardly drive these days, doesn't matter to them, it's still absolutely !!!!!! crazy. Do save up a contingency over the year for the next round of them robbing you agree with the others about the fun fund too.

Lovely Cars. I sold my CLA45 for my EV. Saved so much on fuel costs over the two years it’s crazy. 

Insurance seems to be so high! Hopefully I can get something around £40 a month 

Lonelygambler

Aimingforthegoodlife said:

You are doing fabulously! Annoying about the windscreen and car insurance though, necessary spends, but an annoyance for sure!

FootyFanDan said:

I feel you on the car costs! I don't regret learning to drive and it opens up so many opportunities and freedom, but the costs just seem to be going up every year. I would try build up some car maintenance/emergency fund to fall back on when required, I really struggled with budgeting car costs for a long time. This service and the massive repairs weren't fully covered but the fact I had even a bit saved away made a huge difference. Keep up the good work you are doing brill.

Many Thanks! 

backinbusiness

Lonelygambler said:

backinbusiness said:

Hi @Lonelygambler. Congrats on how far you've come! I also think you should allow yourself small "treats" to break up the slog of paying off debts. Doesn't have to be often or even particularly expensive; £5 cinema ticket, £3 tub of ice cream? Whatever you'd view as a treat - it helps keep the whole process "doable". BiB x 

Many Thanks for your input! I am setting aside £160 a month £40 a week for treats / things. 

If it’s not spent by Sunday Night it’s going on debt. 

Great plan - good luck going forwards. I have subscribed and will follow with interest. BiB x 

alt80

I hope you've checked the comparison sites and are fairly sure about the £40 a month mate, we were really !!!!!! shocked when ours were last renewed. Don't want to be a bad news merchant but I'll be surprised if you can get it for that even if you and your Mrs have a clean driving record.

I've been really impressed with both Mercedes, both under 5 sec to 60 and the tech is unreal, next one will be a EQS SUV. Despite my !!!!!! crap driving record I was big into cars, had all sorts but went all electric only because I am a company director. Cars have cost me a !!!!!! fortune over the years, my old supercharged Range Rover was costing me £1200pcm on a pcp with a !!!!!! massive balloon at the end, madness really. I now put both the electrics through my ltd and charge them at my office, they cost the business which can afford to pay for it but only cost me pennies personally. Even without the cost savings I wouldn't buy another Range Rover, the Mercedes are better cars, better tech, customer service is a lot better, 100% recommended.

Like the £160pcm for the little treats but if you don't use it pay it off the debt - win win there. 

Re saving a month's salary whilst you're still in debt, I don't really get it. I haven't done it, just set up a solid spreadsheet budget and work to that each month with quarterly and yearly reviews. I get why others save up the initial emergency fund but don't think it's 100% needed. Tbf once I've cleared my card balances for good, the first new goal is the 6 month emergency fund but until then it is what it is.

Lonelygambler

Update for the diary. 

First GamFam Therapy session tonight. 

Lonelygambler

alt80 said:

I hope you've checked the comparison sites and are fairly sure about the £40 a month mate, we were really !!!!!! shocked when ours were last renewed. Don't want to be a bad news merchant but I'll be surprised if you can get it for that even if you and your Mrs have a clean driving record.

I've been really impressed with both Mercedes, both under 5 sec to 60 and the tech is unreal, next one will be a EQS SUV. Despite my !!!!!! crap driving record I was big into cars, had all sorts but went all electric only because I am a company director. Cars have cost me a !!!!!! fortune over the years, my old supercharged Range Rover was costing me £1200pcm on a pcp with a !!!!!! massive balloon at the end, madness really. I now put both the electrics through my ltd and charge them at my office, they cost the business which can afford to pay for it but only cost me pennies personally. Even without the cost savings I wouldn't buy another Range Rover, the Mercedes are better cars, better tech, customer service is a lot better, 100% recommended.

Like the £160pcm for the little treats but if you don't use it pay it off the debt - win win there. 

Re saving a month's salary whilst you're still in debt, I don't really get it. I haven't done it, just set up a solid spreadsheet budget and work to that each month with quarterly and yearly reviews. I get why others save up the initial emergency fund but don't think it's 100% needed. Tbf once I've cleared my card balances for good, the first new goal is the 6 month emergency fund but until then it is what it is.

Thanks for your engagement. I have checked and thankfully my MG ZS EV should be around 40-50 a month. 

I wish I could run my car through a company. I work for the state! I would like another Merc however prob not for a fair few years now. 

Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it. 

Lonelygambler

Mid Week update 

£0 in the bank account till Friday so haven't really spent anything had some change and bought a couple of drinks on the way to work. 

Having to make a few adjustments to the budget - increase in council tax, water and service charges.

Food bill is looking likely to be £575 for a family of four a month - £25 increase. 

All spending has been on my tesco clubcard and now starting to see the benefits coming in nearly £60 in vouchers. 

Paid over £2000 towards debt since I've joined here. I think this is sadly going to slow down for a few months, hopefully we can save £200 with the 9 Month Childcare scheme.