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Hello foxcubs.
There's just over a week until payday. So far this month I have spent £1,502 - the grocery budget is on track with 81.10 left to spend which ought to get us another week of food. Unfortunately we have hordes descending this weekend, so it will need to stretch further than normal, so I'm thinking of making enchiladas, and spaghetti bolognese, and maybe a tuna pasta.
We filled the van up tonight and there is £2.25 left in the fuel pot, so it's nice to know I am accurately predicting that too. Naughty Fox has had three takeaways this month, one to cure a godawful hangover (it didn't work and was cold, I was mortified at the waste and ate it anyway), one because there was nothing in the house and I was feeling sorry for myself (bad idea) and one when I accidentally worked a 14 hour shift and forgot to eat lunch. Oops. That being said, I'm still down about £300 on where I was last month on the whole takeaway front, so progress is being made.
I got my security clearance through at work finally, but they want to interview me about my finances in 24 months time… which has really put the frightener on me to sort things out. I can't imagine the humiliation of being interviewed by them in 2 years and being no better off!
I've booked next Friday off as Mini Fox has an inset day and desperately needs new clothes having outgrown basically everything she owns in the last fortnight. Children are like weeds honestly, you turn around and they're several inches taller than the night before. I'll take her to Primark and she can choose a few outfits there.
I keep thinking that £400 a month towards the debt is crazy to not see much downwards trending progress, and imagining what I could have done with that money instead. Am driving myself a little bananas with it.
I bought a countertop dishwasher off marketplace for £50 instead of new for £270 - as it turns out this was very smart as I cannot get it connected and it takes up WAY too much counter space so in all likelihood I will just sell it on rather than getting a kitchen fitter to take out a cupboard, build a new cupboard and plumb it in. I think I'd rather just get a bigger sink put in!
I have started an Ombudsman complaint against my previous energy provider for continually dinging my credit report with late or missed payment flags despite getting their agreed payment amount every month. They had offered me £30 goodwill gesture initially, which I accepted and then they did it again! So now its with the Ombudsman, and their last offer six months after me initially querying it was £100 off the outstanding amount. I have pushed back, so I guess we will see what happens.
I've done my overtime for the week, so looking forward to a weekend of pottering in the garden trying to sort out my roses from the brambles that have sprung up everywhere, and clearing out some cupboards and finding things to list on Vinted. My biggest problem is not spending once I've got a positive balance on there. There's just so many nice things out there….
Anyway, enough waffling from me. I am going to listen to my Robin Hobb audiobook now, and have a relatively early night.
Love,
Fox ♡
@foxandflowers I hope you're pushing to have your credit record corrected too? What news of Mr F's new job as this will make a huge difference to your situation and stabilise things so that your report is good in a couple of years. So good to see you posting again love Humdinger xx
Current amount outstanding: £32,019.56
Monthly payments: £417.32
💀
Good to see you back, Fox. Sounds like things are going better. Heartbroken to see you are still the only one working.
Its too hot to sleep.
I'm finding it very annoying that I get paid on the 27th but my money tracker runs from the 1st of the month, mostly because currently I am only £9.08 over on my grocery spends for the month, BUT I am doing a Big Shop on Friday to restock as we are running low, so I will almost certainly look to be way over what I actually am. Argh.
I have £6.40 left in the bank and one full day until payday!
Mr Fox and I had a good talk tonight about the debt. I need to ring Stepchange and change my monthly payments with them as they are still only £56 a month, and I know for a fact I can get them paid down faster than that.
He came up with ten cheap date night ideas, and we worked out how we want to tackle things.
Feels nice to be on the same page for once.
Love, Fox.
Payday here is 27th of the month too, so my budget cycle runs from 27th to midnight on 26th of the month. I find it much easier to tie payday & each monthly budget start date together. Before I started doing this, in the early months after the LBM, the 27th - 1st thing created a sort of 'twilight zone' where accounting errors could often lurk, as well as spending temptation to squeeze purchases in because I knew we'd been paid. I'm maybe not explaining this very well, but I did find it all felt much easier & more logical to run my budget from payday.
Are you all up to date outside of the step change debts? You could save the extra into a fighting fund for full and final offers in a year or so or would it be too tempting to have the pool of money?
Mr Fox has a week of work in August, for a total of £1000. 🎉
what’s it being allocated to?
Hello foxcubs,
My plan is to give him some of it, chuck £250 into savings and spend £5-600 on clearing debt, but we will see.
We had a very successful trip to Primark yesterday coming in £6 under budget, and fully restocking Mini Fox's wardrobe. I also got some new underwear sans holes, and some vest tops. I came home and listed some things on Vinted, and made £34.50. Posting the parcels out today, and then listing some more things tomorrow. I have at least a whole suitcase of clothes to list, and I really want to get that done this weekend.
This morning I have paid off a credit card, and made enough overpayments that all my other cards are now under 90% utilisation. I also bit the bullet and did my budget review on Stepchange. I put my payments to them up from £56 to £200 and in doing so shaved 27 years off my DFD. At £200 a month it will be gone in 10 years instead of 37. Mr Fox says that if he enters regular employment he will be matching this, so then it will be gone in 5 years.
I've also moved Mr Fox from Vodafone (£18 a month, 10gb data, consistently running out and having to top up data at £16.75 each time so spending £60 a month) to Tesco (£20 a month, unlimited everything + 100 extra clubcard points a month).
Hopefully the Ombudsman makes a decision soon - my credit file has been rectified, and now I'm just waiting to see what the compensation amount will be to be taken off my balance, and therefore off my Stepchange balance too.
Savings/Investments topped up - £252.66 in savings, and £130.52 in investments.
My lightbulb has been flickering for years, but is now firmly switched ON.
Love, Fox
Total debt at end of June: £31,663.64
