Paying off £37065 unsecured debt by July 2027 while continuing to travel this amazing world

Sarahwithlove

Happy birthday. Lovely idea to ask people to donate to charity. 

I would focus on living in your means as if you are using your cards and dipping into emergency funds that means your budget isn't working. So maybe use this month and December to get a more realistic budget. 

amber03

Happy birthday, hope you managed to have a lovely day. I do ok with my monthly budget till about a week to payday then it just all unravels.x

biggerpickle

Happy Birthday!

Another 50 something year old here with 50/50 custody of teenboys that eat everything in sight when they're with me. And you know what, I am also carp at budgeting and keeping an emergency fund for things that go teets up each month (rear car tyres am looking at you - well not literally, am in a 2nd floor flat and the car is somewhere out there in the communal car park and it's dark). Your travelling is an inspiring - though also like you a lot of my travel is to an elderly parent overseas.

Humdinger1

Happy birthday @Nintud! Love Humdinger xx 

Nintud

biggerpickle said:

Happy Birthday!

Another 50 something year old here with 50/50 custody of teenboys that eat everything in sight when they're with me. And you know what, I am also carp at budgeting and keeping an emergency fund for things that go teets up each month (rear car tyres am looking at you - well not literally, am in a 2nd floor flat and the car is somewhere out there in the communal car park and it's dark). Your travelling is an inspiring - though also like you a lot of my travel is to an elderly parent overseas.

Thanks biggerpickle

Teenage boys are expensive! Constant hungry and growing.

My car will need new break discs in the new year. That’s another money pit.

You sound like my MSE twin. I’m in a 2nd floor flat too.

Nintud

Sarahwithlove said:

Happy birthday. Lovely idea to ask people to donate to charity. 

I would focus on living in your means as if you are using your cards and dipping into emergency funds that means your budget isn't working. So maybe use this month and December to get a more realistic budget. 

The budget this month was wrecked by my leasehold maintenance fee. I need a pot for that.

I underestimated the amount of fuel I would need. I’ve made three long journeys that weren’t in my diary at the start of the month and had to put an extra £45 of petrol in. They were private mileage so not claimable from work.

Im under on the grocery budget. I need to do the figures, but I think I’m under by about £50.  Shopping from home and bulk cooking has worked. I’ll do the same for the coming pay month. After that my next big shop will be Christmas food. The cupboards will be bare by mid January if I continue buying just what will be used up each week. That will mean I either continue buying in quantities needed for the short term, or I do a big shop on cupboard stock items like rice, pasta, coffee, tinned tomatoes etc.  I’ll use every scrap of food first and then be guided by my bank account.

Nintud

amber03 said:

Happy birthday, hope you managed to have a lovely day. I do ok with my monthly budget till about a week to payday then it just all unravels.x

That’s pretty much what has happened here. I’ve maxed out the CCs, ODs and tapped into the EF.

Petrol has hit me hardest. The car my daughter bought is a dangerous Dud.  It broke down in the first week she bought it, requiring me to make a long journey to collect her from the garage, and then back again the next day to take her to collect it. The ‘repair’ did not fix the car, and the engine died just as she got up the motorway slip road.  Thankfully I was driving behind her and pulled in with hazard lights on, calmed her down, and sorted the garage out.  Stern words in Mummy Bear mode, and she has returned the car and received a full refund.  I drove for 4 hours yesterday and was in no mood for a car salesman with a lousy attitude.

The third unplanned long journey was for a catch up with a friend for my birthday. Worth it, as I needed the happy face, but my car is a guzzler and needed a top up to get me home.  I turned down another long distance invitation for Saturday night, I just can’t spend anymore on petrol until pay day.

Theres the additional issue of my dislike of driving in the dark. Another trip along unlit roads on Saturday would have ripped me over the edge!

despite tapping into the EF and maxing ODs and CCs, and squeezing £600 out of nothing for the maintenance fee, I am still slightly less indebted than when I started this diary. The car loan, personal loan and mortgage have reduced (the mortgage by £60ish OP) and Very has decreased by £200.  According to the snowball calculator, I’m slightly ahead of the prediction for this month.

It’s too slow for my liking, but that’s the way of the snowball, tiny to start with, and mammoth at the end.  I need to develop patience.

5 days until payday!

BudgetingBelinda

Flat occupant here too, with break discs on the way out also 🙄. Keep up the good work, you’re going in the right direction! I found it so slow to start but it snowballs for sure if the mindset shifts and stays consistent. Just being mindful and noticing it all is really powerful for a shift change. 💯💪🏼

Nintud

Wow BudgetingBelinda! The debt busting figures in your signature are phenomenal.  I really hope I can follow your example.

Nintud

Busy work day today, back to back meetings and didn’t get home until 9pm.

Only managed to get two items uploaded to Vinted. One sold quickly and another item that I recently reduced also sold. £26.25 from recent sales should arrive later this week. That will be a nice OP alongside my minimum and snowball payments that will be paid to Very on Friday (payday!). I’d like to get Very down to £500 by December pay day, that means paying £241 (plus the interest) this month. Can I manage that? I’ve paid off £202 this salary month.

Had a nice surprise from EON, my DD has been reduced by £27.91. Freezing my butt off has benefits!

Ive booked all of my excursions and entry tickets for my next trip away. One free museum entry, two walking tours (different areas and themes) and one art gallery. Total spend around £45 after currency conversion. Hotel and flights were paid for around 6 months ago. I budget £50 per day (including excursions/entry tickets), so I now have £155 left for food, internal transport and souvenirs. Easily done if I walk to most places (must not be tempted by expensive guidebooks. They are too heavy to carry and I’m taking a tiny backpack!). I’ve planned the locations of museums etc so there’s a 30 minute walk between each. That’s 15 minutes walk, coffee/lunch stop, 15 more minutes walking. Must remember my watch thingy to count my steps. With walking tours, museum, gallery and walking to and fro, that’s a lot of steps!

No trips planned for December, unless I can find a cheap flight to visit family.