Shaking off the debt

kimwp

ShakeItOff said:

I have struggled a bit today.  Work has been a bit on the mad side for a few weeks now, and it's catching up with me.  I had forgotten that I have the day off tomorrow, so might pull forward my plans to start ebaying stuff rather than wait to the weekend.  

Normally when I feel a bit low, tired, run down or grumpy, I shop.  I know this is so silly, because happiness doesn't come from "things".  I know this. And still, my little brain wants to chase a dopamine hit of a shop. Not allowing myself to do that, combined with an awful lot of shame and guilt is adding up to not being too much fun.  I've plugged away at little tasks all week, but I can't see the needle moving yet (of course I can't - it's not even a week yet). So I am retreating to the sofa with some knitting, trying not to feel too sorry for myself, and considering what I might do tomorrow.

For me, it's eating tasty food when I'm tired or upset, usually a takeaway, so I have similarly embarrassing high cost in that area (and a big waistline).

It's great that you are doing all these things to get your debt down, but make sure you are doing (low cost) fun things too, so it doesn't take up all your time and energy and then feel deflating when it feels like progress is slow. Maybe once you have the big things done, set aside a regular time to have a think about what you can look at next?

BadBookkeeper

ShakeItOff said:

@BadBookkeeper - thank you! I hope so.  I've just spotted your signature - three weeks to go to debt freedom!! That is so incredibly awesome!  How are you feeling about it?

I’m extremely excited, however other than my hubby no-one else knows so it will be quiet celebration!!  Looking forward to having extra money for nice things.  I’m hoping my good habits continue.  The last few months have dragged! 

just a thought, have you heard of the bank switch rewards? You can set up a burner account to use so your main account isn’t used.  I’ve done about 4 of these and all went smoothly.  A quick way to make some money but may impact your credit score slightly. 

ShakeItOff

@kimwp - It's good to know I'm not the only one! Our Chinese (my poison of choice) is also really tasty and the people who own it are lovely too.  You are right, I need to have some other things to look forward to though.  I'll give that some thought. 

@BadBookkeeper - Do you know how you will celebrate yet? I am sure you will continue with the good habits - you've come a long way to get to less than 3 weeks of freedom!  Thank you for the tip about current account switching - it's a good idea.  Ironically, my credit score is currently listed as good and haven't opened any new accounts for some time.  I think I remember seeing a First Direct one recently.  It's something I am going to look at around pay day to see what I can do.  I'm wondering how best to structure some of my finances - like you say, burner accounts really, that I could use as different pots for different things. 

ShakeItOff

Today has been a better day.  I had the day off, having worked extra some time ago and I needed to use the lieu time before it was taken away. The dog and I had a lovely walk around a new-to-us lake (£2.50 on parking, and I completely avoided popping into the cafe for an ice cream and dog ice). Around that, I've tried to get the kitchen back into a fit state (how and why does the clutter appear more frequently than I clear it away!?), and I've caught up on most of my laundry (Mount Washmore was the cost of being away for two weekends in a row). 

I've put the food shop in for next week - currently looking like £58.00 for the two of us.  I am definitely at crunch point though - my credit card interest is likely to eat into the small remaining balance, and my overdraft interest and dentist DD has reduced the current account down to having an available balance of about £25 which is deeply uncomfortable. I have also reduced a dog daycare day next week, and will work from home instead, which saves me both fuel and daycare costs. 

ShakeItOff

The last two weeks have passed in a blur of work, busy weekends and hen dos. I have been doing bits and bobs in the background, though. I would love to say it has been big in roads, but that would be a lie. I've mostly been trying to not make it a worsening position, though that has been hard. 

I have been working weekend, and due to budget constraints at work, it has been lieu time instead over overtime, which normally I am ok with, but I did ask if there was an option to be paid it instead. I suspect the answer is no, and there is now talk about me doing less of them too, which is great on one hand, but not on the other. 

I got paid last week, and managed to pull together my budget and start fresh on YNAB yesterday, which is good. The less good side is most of my money is overly accounted for, in so far as I can see me accruing a little more debt this month, though the net position will be an overall reduction. The car tax and insurance are due, and while hub goes halves with me, it's an expensive month with the actual wedding taking place (my sister's, not mine), so it's a lot of travel. Bad planning on my part is to blame. 

I will spend some time to work out current balances of things and just have a bit of an update. I still need to get stuff ready to go on Vinted/eBay too. 

Sarahwithlove

Well done for using YNAB again it will help you stay back on track with finances 

biggerpickle

ShakeItOff don't blame yourself too much for bad planning - hen dos and weddings are a one off, enjoy them!

And I am as bad as you on car insurance - comes round every year doesn't it and I am still surprised! I don't know what your mileage is like but I got a good deal with ByMiles last year which us aimed at lower mileage users - you need to pop a tracker on your car but it only logs miles and I should be in line for a refund by the end of the year as won't have done all the miles I paid for upfront.

ShakeItOff

Thank you @Sarahwithlove! Annoyingly, I've already buried my head in the sand about it and stopped using it.  Thankfully, it isn't too late / hard to reconcile the transactions and get back on track, which is what I am about to do.

@biggerpickle! The wedding was truly lovely, my sister has never looked more beautiful. That was a great idea on the car insurance. Unfortunately, I do a lot of miles, so it was actually cheaper to go with my renewal price with my current insurer.  This is the first time that has happened - I always shop around for insurance, but this time, it was actually cheapest staying.  

Sarahwithlove

Did you ask them if there was any wiggle room in the renewal price? Never hurts to ask. It's what I did they couldn't take much off but it all helps. 

ShakeItOff

I have just looked through all my accounts, and some have got worse (as expected) and some have got better (also as expected).  New totals are:

Natwest OD - Start: £1,500 Current: £1,500 |  Creation Loan - Start: £2,152.33 Current: £2,082.90  |  Barclaycard CC - Start: £5,242.42 Current: £5,416.45  |  Novuna Loan - Start: £8,598.43 Current: £8,366.04  |  Tesco CC - Start: £9,420.22 Current: £9,885  |  Northridge Car - Start: £15,584 Current: £15,017

Starting total on 02.07.2024 is: £42,497.40  |  Current total: £42,267.39 (0.5% paid off)

So I need to update my signature. 

I've also just applied for another 0% balance transfer, as I have realised I do not have enough money to cover my Tesco CC payment this month, which makes me a bit sick to say (type) out loud. I didn't want to borrow more, but if this helps me out of a hole and takes away a little of the interest rates, I can set my DD up to pay the new card off in equal amounts each month during the interest free period.  I have done this before, successfully. I'll be cutting the card up once it is received so that I don't spend on it. 

I also need to update my YNAB, as I have fallen off the wagon. Thankfully, it isn't so far ahead that I need to make another fresh start.