A space for my thoughts - tackling debt once and for all!

Debtfree2026

Good evening all!  Hope you all had a lovely Christmas!  

I'm still very much focused on my journey but I've hit a little blimp....mentally.....

So, I have a spreadsheet with all our monthly outgoings on it, these are fixed direct debits that come out every month.  I also have a column for payments I need to make - credit card payments, catalogue payment and the payments for the extra curricular activities for my daughters - then another column for payments into my Monzo pots.  I have made 98% of these payments for this month but I'm conscious that by making the final two payments towards the 'Holiday' pot and 'Extra-curricular' pots we'll be left with about £100 for the rest of the month in the joint account and that makes me a little nervous.  But I needn't be should I?!  That would be on the basis that all essential payments are made and pots are accruing.... we also have £609 still in the shopping budget pot for January and I have some spare in my Nationwide account if needed.

This is the whole point isn't it!  Previously, I wouldn't have made these pots and I would randomly spend the £100+ on pointless things.  Then when something came around - like a birthday, or window cleaner ....it would be taken from the joint account and not accounted for.  If anything, I want that £100 left at the end of January so I can plug it towards the debt!

Just another mindless musing on a Sunday evening!

Debtfree2026

Good morning,

So after my post above I bit the bullet and moved my money into the various designated pots.  According to my spreadsheet as long as nothing else goes out of the joint account (nothing else is scheduled to!) I will be left with £232.63.  The intention is to put this surplus towards my debt repayments but I noticed I don't have a 'Clothing' pot and with two young daughters I think it would be useful to start to grow this.  My youngest is starting reception in Sept but luckily it's at the same school as my eldest daughter so she has her hand me down uniform!  However, my eldest may go through a growth spurt and need new blouses.  Plus they will need underwear and general clothes throughout the year.

In a separate account is our grocery budget.  I am making an effort to meal plan and bring that monthly grocery bill down - we had so many left over potatoes after Christmas that I have made a few portions of chips and frozen them. I also make a turkey and leek pie with the turkey and two portions of that are in the freezer.  I made turkey curry too but we've already eaten that!  We also made bubble and squeak with the leftover cooked veggies and that always goes down well!  My daughters are absolutely fussy eaters and it drives me mad.  I told them I am sick of throwing food away because they ask for it and don't eat it.  It's a waste of food and money.

I'm feeling very motivated to have a sort out today, a proper declutter.  There's a lot of Christmas bits that we didn't even use this year and I'm tempted to sell them if I can.  Will clear space in the eaves and perhaps bring in some money towards something else.  We aren't going to be in this house forever though and in the future we will have a bigger house that could use more decs, so I'm not going to be too hasty in making a decision!

Finally, I have allocated myself a budget for personal spending and I have a manicure booked in for next week and pedicure for the end of the month.  So these are things I am going to keep money back for.  Last month I had £9 left in my personal spends account and put this towards the only credit card that I am paying interest on.

Just remembered, signature is not completed so will do that now!

LzzyIsGod

Oh I love separate pots of money - I have to separate everything out as my brain just cant compute looking at money in just one account and be able to work how much I have left after direct debits or whats yet to come out. 

Good idea with the clothing fund - I find it's the cost of school shoes that's the killer, especially when you're buying 2 lots, and kids who like to play football seem to destroy them very quickly (well might just be mine ! I've lost count the amount of times I've superglued the eldests back together over the years)

Debtfree2026

LzzyIsGod said:

Oh I love separate pots of money - I have to separate everything out as my brain just cant compute looking at money in just one account and be able to work how much I have left after direct debits or whats yet to come out. 

Good idea with the clothing fund - I find it's the cost of school shoes that's the killer, especially when you're buying 2 lots, and kids who like to play football seem to destroy them very quickly (well might just be mine ! I've lost count the amount of times I've superglued the eldests back together over the years)

Yes, I've just put £50 in a pot as a starter  but you are quite right - the shoes are sooo expensive! My daughter just tends to play football at school on a termly basis.  So they are about to start Spring term so I think it might be football now!  She was doing swimming last term and it's cricket next term.   She does hockey club but luckily I got her a hockey stick pre lightbulb moment so that should last her a while!

I'm definitely someone who has always been organised, and the school uniform is so often out of stock so I have pre bought school clothes in bigger sizes in readiness for her to wear it.  And as I said, the youngest will wear the hand me downs. Luckily her small blazer was kept in immaculate condition so that saves me £70 come September!  It is an independent school so everything is branded, including their bags and coats so no supermarket deals for me unfortunately!  

The great declutter continues today!

warby68

It sounds like you're making good progress but of course you probably should as that was a chunky pay rise

I think just being organised with your spending via your pots and knowing how much really is non-negotiable will be a big help with your 'reset'. Perhaps not overly joyful but realistic as to how much you truly have left for frivolous spending. 

Obviously relative to income your debts aren't huge but its bonkers paying the high rates of interest if the business can comfortably pay you more. 

Good luck with the plan - it should all look great if you prioritise the debt for a year or two.

LzzyIsGod

How did your decluttering go today?

Debtfree2026

Thanks Warby!  I am being quite obsessive with this budgeting but after 20 years of depending on debt and being frankly, naïve to the long term consequences I think I need to be!  My husband is fully on board, particularly seeing how happy this is making me.  As I said before, we have a nice life but we don't have savings or money ready for unexpected things.  This new way of doing things is giving me back an element of control that I need.  Last night my husband asked if we could get a takeaway, I said I was planning on making a lasagne.  And my daughters ate the lasagne! They are so fussy when it comes to eating so that was a great win.  And I've got a portion of lasagne in the fridge for lunch tomorrow!

@LzzyIsGod it went fairly well!  I've listed some things on a local selling page and a lady is coming to collect a Manzanita tree that I've had in the loft since our wedding six years ago! Only £10 but better than nothing!  Hoping the other three sell as well.  Got lot's of stuff sorted for charity as well.

Today I am focusing on getting the girl's stuff ready for school tomorrow and meal planning for the week ahead.  I decided to use our online shop once a week (I have an annual delivery pass) and it's naturally fallen on a Wednesday but I think I might rearrange it to come on a Sunday going forwards, I just feel like it's more convenient to get it all in on a Sunday?!  I know it doesn't make a difference in terms of the amount of days but it just seems, more organised?! 

Dry January going well also!

Ooh and just remembered the new series of Call the Midwife starts tonight, whoop whoop!!

Debtfree2026

So I've done a meal plan for the next couple of weeks - our next food shop is being delivered on Wednesday evening so I've planned for a week and a half and then changed over onto a Sunday.  It means we'll need to inevitably get bread and milk top up but we would anyway to be honest.

My daughters' school have now published their Spring Term menu so I can see what they are having for lunch everyday, which is extremely helpful as I did have some similar dishes i.e. I was going to try a chicken egg fried rice fakeaway on Friday but just noticed they are having chicken biriyani that day so have switched that around a bit!  They always get a roast dinner for lunch on a Wednesday so I've opted for quick, easy, beige evening dinners on those days with no guilt!

I moan about them being fussy but the saving graces - they love broccoli and cauliflower and easily wolf it down most meals!  Also obsessed with watermelon so I buy one a week and chop it up in readiness for snacks - so much cheaper than buying pre-cut fingers.  My eldest doesn't drink anything other than water and we have a lovely cold filter plumbed in to our fridge so just change the filter twice a year and she can drink to her hearts content.  Four year old still drinks a lot of milk but then so does my husband!

Right, must crack on with these school uniforms for tomorrow!

LzzyIsGod

Sounds all lovely and organised!! 

I think whichever day suits you best for the supermarket delivery - I like a friday so I've got all weekend to prep for the following week but that wouldn't be everyone's first choice. And there's the disadvantage that the kids potentially could eat everything earmarked for later in the week within in a few days.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the odd beige tea 😅 

Debtfree2026

That is a very good point re the Friday...... for now I've done the Sunday morning, my husband takes one daughter swimming at 10am so I've done it for between 10-11 as I know I'll be in then, certainly until the end of the month.  I'll review then and see how it's going.   

The lady came to collect the manzanita tree so that's £10 cash in the pot!  Hoping to sell some other bits and then put that towards outstanding debt.

I got my nails done yesterday - my nail tech has become such a good friend and we have a great natter whilst she's here.  I have allowed for my nails in my personal spending money, so that's my treat!

The situation at the moment - I have allocated all payments out.  I have £190 left in my personal spending money and £394 in my grocery budget, so I'm feeling pretty good.  My online shop is due today and if I've worked out everything correctly that should last us until Sunday 19th - with a couple of small top up shops for milk and probably bread. I have to say, the list doesn't look a lot for £123!