Teetering on the brink

EatingBeans

@ManyWays Thanks for being willing to offer a challenging opinion. 

Tbh I do agree with you in some ways that the budget isn’t sustainable in the long term if everything stays as is, but for me it is short term pain for long term gain. I need enough space on the credit cards to juggle back to 0% then even if I just use half of what I currently pay on interest towards paying down the debt it will pretty quickly go back to being more manageable.

If my only problem was paying down the debt I have then yes, a DMP would probably be the route I would be choosing at this point, however it is not that simple. The principle reason for gaining almost £40k of debt in just over 2years is the house I bought has lots of problems that were hidden when I bought it and I am facing several tens if thousands more to truly put it right. Rather than throw good money after bad I have put a full stop on all work and I am focusing solely on getting the debt down so I can sell up and move. This is not the usual ‘house maintenance’ that you would expect with any house - I have owned houses before so I do understand houses need ongoing work - this is BIG expensive fixes. 

Taking the items you picked out:

Groceries is actually fine. I have more food than expected in the cupboards, meal planning just means i am wasting a lot less.

Clothing is fine too. I have a ridiculous amount of clothing in the house already. I am actually planning on selling a lot. 

Car maintenance will not be needed very soon as I am planning to sell the car to my dd1 who had plans to buy one. The car, whilst old, is in a good state of repair (an ideal first car) and I am not expecting anything to need doing to it between now and when I sell it. I have a perfectly good bus stop meters from my door which I can get on to work. The stop the other end is also meters from the door the other end. In fact I did choose to go car free for a while a couple of years ago and the only reason I bought another car is because it was cheaper than paying bus fare when the three of us went places together. This rarely happens now as dd1 is so busy with her own life now she is an adult. 

Entertainment is currently just Netflix. I have a separate ‘spending’ pot which means I can help fund the odd cinema trip if dd2 has something she particularly wants to see. I also use this pot for the odd lunch/drinks with friends although this month it has been spent on DofE stuff tbf.

Holiday is deliberately £0 for this year as I am prioritising debt. A small amount will be added to this next year but we only go camping and we have all the stuff already so our holidays are dead cheap anyway. 

Emergency fund I will agree is a bit concerning at £0 but it depends what people class as an emergency. I like to think that most if not all things that can be foreseen are already included in the ‘pots’ amount that I put away. There is an amount put away for vets trips, albeit recently drained due to a puppy uti. Other amounts go away for the boiler servicing, new glasses, new phones etc. and there is an amount put away for general house replacements such as the washing machine or fridge suddenly dying although all my white goods are less than two years old so I am not expecting them all to die anytime soon. In fact I would say 90% of what we currently own is less than 3years old thanks to a break up.

I would completely disagree that I am bringing my family up in poverty. At 18 my dd1 is an adult. She has been given the skills and support to manage her own budget and save for things she wants and she does a sterling job. She goes out with her friends whenever she wants etc. and still has enough to get her hair and nails done every 6weeks, goes to the gym and has over £2k saved towards her first car. Hardly poverty. At 16 dd2 is being taught to budget. She gets enough money for her basic needs and is being supported to get her first job. This is not just about cash, this is about gaining experience that will help her with life. Her DofE is for the same reason. She has an iphone, her own central heated bedroom (the largest room in the house), a tv, her own cat which she bought with her own money after saving, plenty of clothes, books, puzzles etc. Yes, she knows I am on a strict budget but it is me that goes without, not my kids. And for me it is a choice. I am prioritising getting the debt down asap so that I can move. My kids will both be at uni by that point so it is me that will be most affected. And, speaking as someone who grew up in real poverty I can tell you we are very far from it. When I was young my family was homeless for a time and when we were finally given an old previously condemned council house there was literally had nothing in cupboards to eat-free so school meals kept us going, we put hats and coats on to go to bed as it was so cold ice used to form on the inside of the windows, most of our ‘furniture’ was just cardboard boxes, we had no phone and only one tiny black and white tv. THAT is what poverty feels like and my mother worked her socks off to drag us out of it. Both my brother and I worked everyday out of necessity from the age of 13 so asking a 16year old to look for a part time job is not unreasonable. 

Like I said, I appreciate hearing another point of view, but I respectfully disagree. I am doing what I believe is right for MY family. Each to their own. 👍

ManyWays

I wish you luck - but you have no reasonable chance of being able to get a 0% balance transfer this year. You have nearly 40,000 of debt and not a high income. 

EatingBeans

I disagree since my existing card is offering me 0% deals as I type right now. What I need is space on the card to give me chance to take advantage of it. I don’t need a new credit card, I just need a smaller overall balance which is what I am working on. I can see you would do it differently, but since as of today I am £569.19 better off overall than I was on 1st January, I still think I have a chance. If I am wrong and I have just lined the banks pockets for 6 more months then so be it. 

Feel free to come back in 6months and tell me i told you so. 😁

EatingBeans

Thanks for your support @DrunklMunkee . You are absolutely right, no one debt method works for all. I know that if I am to stand any chance of moving from this house before the impending big works hamper my chance of a sale in the normal market then I must avoid any kind of defaults or DMP. I will need to be getting a new mortgage and for that I must have put at the very least a serious dent in the debt by just paying it down. It just is what it is. 

Sad to report that there has been a delay in Blueberry muffins as I failed to buy cake cases. A job for tomorrow. Something to look forward to. 😁

The roast however was delicious! I swear dinners always taste better when someone else does the cooking! It helps to have a dd who studied cuisine at school. 👍

Congrats on your two daughters, you must be so proud?! A homeowner at 24 is extremely impressive in this day and age. So is buying a brand new car at 19. Also, choosing to take an apprenticeship is a super mature decision. It’s these kind of things that I am aiming for with both of my daughters. Learning to budget is a far cry from poverty imo. I guess it is all a matter of perspective. 

Andyjflet

Good morning, had a quick catch up of your post this morning. Whats the plan with the overdraft? The system I used which was the Dave Ramsey baby Steps makes sure this is step one, clear the overdraft, then move on to step 2. Which I did, strangely 6 years later nearly I still have the O/D facility but have never used it, perhaps I'm still scared of needing it one day but I hope not.

Likewise I still have a credit card with £15k available on it but again, have not used it for over 6 years now. Old habits die hard.

~FlowerPot~

Hi there beans, 
Just wanted to say, I read your diary last night and wanted to comment on 2 things. 
Firstly, I think your doing amazing, I was expecting everyone's advice to be go on a dmp due to the amount of debt. But very impressed with your plans and really hope that you get a coulple of 0% offers to give you a chance to breathe! And take the debt your way.
And secondly,
I have also suffered from TN. I had type1 and type 2 and i know just how horrifically painful and debilitating it is. You are amazing for keeping it all together.💯
Do you take a vitb12 supplement? TN is known to be caused by compression of the nerve sheath. And vit b12 is known to help repair nerve sheaths. There is a specific one you can take to dissolve under the tongue which is v good. I can send you the link in a msg if you like? I know it's a cost. But your health really is the most important thing.
Have a great day
Love
 flowers x

EatingBeans

Morning @Andyjflet The overdraft is a bit of a funny one. My main account has an overdraft facility which used to be £3k but since I never used it for years the bank suggested reducing this to £250 so that is what it is now and I still never use it. The overdraft I owe money on is on my old student account. Technically I am only £378.77 into the overdraft on the account as that is the current balance on the account, but it is only that low because I moved my the money I put away for annual expenses into that account, rather than it sit in a separate savings account. This is not the plan long term, it is just to reduce the interest I am currently paying on the overdraft. 

In my head (and recorded in my “accounts”) they are all still separate things, each virtual pot housing a savings for a particular thing and the owed overdraft being £1129.15. 

In an ideal world I would just focus on paying the whole £1k+ overdraft first before moving on to the credit card debts, but, given the date of my 0% offers ending, it is space on the credit cards that is super important right now.

So, my plan is to pay down just enough of the overdraft that I stop being charged interest on the account (ie the actual account balance is £0 or above) and then focus on making space on the credit cards. If the account starts incurring charges again because I’ve needed enough out of the pots to tip the balance, then I will focus back on that, otherwise I will wait until I’ve shuffled the credit card debt and gained a bit more breathing space first. 

So I guess on the face of it I AM clearing the overdraft first. I am just doing it in a very odd way! 🤣

EatingBeans

Morning @~FlowerPot~ Many thanks for your kind words. I am really sorry to hear that you also suffer from TN. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

I too have a bit of type 1 and type 2 pain and before I was medicated the type 1 was so bad it used to make my knees buckle under me when it struck. It made for quite a few interesting supermarket experiences! Thankfully, with medication I am now able to function most days so long as I avoid triggers and stay in when it is cold/windy. My girls are also fantastic at helping out when they know I am struggling and work has been amazing too which I know I am super lucky to have.

I am not sure if you are the same but my periods of ‘remission’ are definitely getting closer together. I have had TN since a car accident a decade ago so it started pretty young compared to most. It does make me worry about the future, but at the moment I figure I have enough on my plate to worry about! One thing at a time right?! 😁

Please do send me the link to the vitB12 supplements you use. I have heard the under the tongue ones are good but I haven’t been able to find any. Yes, I know it is an additional cost but given the impact the TN has on life I am fairly sure if it can improve that just a tiny bit it would be totally worth it. 

Take care x

EatingBeans

Another £12.16 found in another random pot just lurking around my house. I have started looking for all the places I unconsciously just throw my change when I am emptying pockets etc. 😁

Andyjflet

EatingBeans said:

Morning @Andyjflet The overdraft is a bit of a funny one. My main account has an overdraft facility which used to be £3k but since I never used it for years the bank suggested reducing this to £250 so that is what it is now and I still never use it. The overdraft I owe money on is on my old student account. Technically I am only £378.77 into the overdraft on the account as that is the current balance on the account, but it is only that low because I moved my the money I put away for annual expenses into that account, rather than it sit in a separate savings account. This is not the plan long term, it is just to reduce the interest I am currently paying on the overdraft. 

In my head (and recorded in my “accounts”) they are all still separate things, each virtual pot housing a savings for a particular thing and the owed overdraft being £1129.15. 

In an ideal world I would just focus on paying the whole £1k+ overdraft first before moving on to the credit card debts, but, given the date of my 0% offers ending, it is space on the credit cards that is super important right now.

So, my plan is to pay down just enough of the overdraft that I stop being charged interest on the account (ie the actual account balance is £0 or above) and then focus on making space on the credit cards. If the account starts incurring charges again because I’ve needed enough out of the pots to tip the balance, then I will focus back on that, otherwise I will wait until I’ve shuffled the credit card debt and gained a bit more breathing space first. 

So I guess on the face of it I AM clearing the overdraft first. I am just doing it in a very odd way! 🤣

Sounds like you have a plan, which as I have previously mentioned, is half the battle or more. I hope this works out well.