Daisy's Debt Free Diary [29F/Autistic]

daintydaisy

Hi everyone!

After spending some time lurking and reading other DFD's I've decided to start my own to track my journey to becoming debt-free.

Right now, my total debt sits at £3,124.06, spread across two CCs:

• Card 1: £826.70 (0% interest until 8th September 2025)
• Card 2: £2,297.36 (0% interest until 17th January 2026)
  

I'm currently paying £120 per month toward card 1, but in reality, I'm still spending a lot on my credit cards. Mainly on takeaways, my current hyperfixation (pokemon cards) and other things that I convince myself I'll "pay off later" but never do... 
I was recently diagnosed as autistic, which has helped me understand my impulsive spending habits better, but I know I need to take control before the debt spiral worsens.

My goals are to:

• Track my spending and curb impulsive purchases
  
• Create a realistic budget that I can stick to
  
• Stock check my fridge/freezer to avoid waste and overspending on food
  
• Shift some weight before my partner and I go on holiday in August (hopefully cutting down on takeaways/stock checking will help with this)
  
• Clear my debt before the interest kicks in
  

I still want to enjoy my hobbies, but I've realised my spending is very impulsive. I'm thinking of allocating myself a set amount each month so I can still engage with my hobbies without going overboard, but I'm definitely open to tips and advice on how to manage this better. I also previously had a diary as a university student but now that I'm in a 'big girl job', I felt it was time for a fresh start! 

If you have any advice (especially for budgeting and managing impulsive spending/staying motivated) it would be massively appreciated!!

Hoping this diary helps to keep me organised and accountable. My plan for today is to try and track my income/expenses to see where my money is actually going each month. Hoping this will give me a wake up call. I'm then hoping to do a 'debt snowball' approach to my first card, so that I can start paying off the 2nd card. 

Sunshine_girl2

I give myself a set amount of personal spends to use every month , when it's gone it's gone. I boost it by doing surveys , sometimes I don't spend it all and roll it over to next month. 

Good luck with your journey. 

Pinknails101

Hi, it sounds like you've got a good plan. One thing I found at the beginning was having a monthly budget didn't work for me, I struggled to make it last the month (still do) - I've broke down mine weekly which seems to be working better, and just take it a smaller step at a time. In terms of impulsive spending, what I've started doing is if I see something I want, I make a note, and then at the end of the week if I still have it in my allowance and I still want it (usually don't) then I can get it

daintydaisy

@Sunshine_girl2
I like that idea! I used to do Prolific surveys a lot but haven't for months. I will see how I get on with my budget and if I'm finding it too tight I may have to pick them up again... Thank you so much I have subscribed to your DFD thread too!

@Pinknails101
Yes, I have just been working out my monthly budget and I think a weekly plan will work better for me too. Thanks so much for your advice! I have also just subscribed to your thread! You are doing so well with your own journey. 

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I have just finished doing a budget spreadsheet and I am horrified at how much I am spending every month... The end of March will mark my new monthly income (previously I was paid weekly) and I am guessing how much it will be from the income calculator on this website.

On the budget, I have input my monthly outgoings which total £949.62. This includes 2x Klarna payments which total £65.90. Those are the final payments so my monthly outgoings for April should be brought down to £883.72. 

I have also input my weekly outgoings which brings me to a monthly total of £476.67. This includes petrol, our weekly food shop and a 'savings pot' my partner and I do which is £10 a week. I have then input my irregular yearly outgoings which means I need to be putting £63 away each month.
I have also input my CC payments which are £120 for card 1, and the minimum payment for card 2 which is £56. This will change as I hope to pay more in order to beat the interest rates in Sept/Jan. 

Total outgoings each month: £1,665.29
Which leaves me with £526.71.

I'm kind of just rambling as the spreadsheet I have does a better job of breaking this all down than I have here, but I'm appalled at my outgoings and this is before even working out my spending on hobbies!! Definitely had a lightbulb moment. My aim is to give every £ a job so that I'm not tempted to spend it. It is a long time until payday at the end of the month and I have already overspent so no doubt my CC will grow to cover costs, but I'm determined not to be frivolous with it now. No more spending on hobbies this month. 

daintydaisy

Just adding to my previous post:

I went for a lunch time walk today and listened to an audiobook. I had an Audible membership about a year ago and still have loads of books I’ve never finished. I love to read so I’m hoping listening to audiobooks will motivate me to go for more walks, especially as the weather gets nicer! 

I am also in the habit of having 1 takeaway per week so I’m hoping with a bit more planning/preparation I’ll be able to enjoy ‘takeaways’ instead as the weekly cost definitely adds up…

I also forgot to mention my main motivator for wanting to clear my debt! It is my 30th birthday this year (and it was my partners a couple of years back) and we have spoken about going to Japan for a joint celebration. Unfortunately due to my silly spending I’ve not been able to save much so I’m hoping this LBM enables me to get a savings pot together so that we can go in April next year. 

castlelough

Good luck daintydaisy. It sounds like you have got a good plan and are ready to move forwards! 
I have a feeling you will get this debt under control quickly! I find I need to obsessively budget and revisit my budget repeatedly throughout the month to make sure I stay within it.

I have recently started to use Revolut to seperate my income into "pockets" so that I am aware when I am overspending on something eg if I don't stay within the grocery budget I am going to have to take money from the childrens gymnastics fee pocket and I don't want to do that! 

Also, if you have anything related to hobbies that you don't use any more - could you sell it to put off the credit cards?

Sarahwithlove

Is that £500 spare as personal spending money? As that's alot. I budget myself £150 a month personal spends which I give myself £30 every Friday.

I would take your credit cards off everything. Stop relying on them and instead focus on staying within your budget. Otherwise you will never get out of the debt cycle if you keep falling back on it. 

daintydaisy

@castlelough thank you for the words of encouragement! I feel like it won’t take me long to pay it off either if I knuckle down. I like the pockets idea. I previously used Monzo to separate things into pots but I found I was always dipping into them so stopped doing it! Now I have a proper salary and get paid monthly I might start doing this again. My budget sheet says to put away £63 each month in order to save for my yearly expenses so I think I will start doing that. 

@Sarahwithlove  it is everything left over after bills! I am hoping to use the extra money to put into an EF and also pay more off my 2nd card (at the min I’m just paying the minimum which isn’t enough to pay it off by Jan). I’m also estimating as this will be my first monthly pay check since starting my job so only have a rough idea of what it will be! I think £150 sounds like a nice amount for personal spends - what do you include in this? There’s a part of me that feels guilty for even budgeting for personal spends when I have debt sitting but I know if I totally deprive myself I will end up splurging. I think I need to work on seeing the budget as something that is there if I need it, not something that needs to be spent each week!! 

I will definitely look at taking my CC off once I get my monthly wage but at the moment I am relying on it as I have overspent for
the month. 

———————————————

I ended up spending £54 tonight!! Prescription (£10), petrol (£30) and things I needed for school tomorrow (£14). I work in early years and find I am always buying things for the classroom (we are baking tomorrow so I had to buy things for that). I am thinking of maybe setting aside some money per month for classroom things so that at least it is budgeted for. If there are any other teachers out there who have advice let me
know. Buying things seems inevitable in EYFS. I’m angry at myself for making silly decisions regarding money which has now left me in the position where I’m having to pay by CC just to get by. I’m just glad I have had my LBM now before things got worse. 

The spend has been put on CC2 for now as the money in my current account only just covers bills/payments coming up. I am glad I am becoming more aware of how much I am spending on my CC because it is all too easy to just pay with it and ignore the balance. 

My payday will be the 28th March I think. Once I have my payslip I will do a more in depth budget analysis as I have my insurance and MOT to pay for with it which leaves me with less disposable income than I originally planned for. 

In other news, I am tracking not only my spending but my caloric intake. I managed to stay 300cals under yesterday and I’ve only gone over by 12 today. Will continue to track cals and hopefully will begin to notice a difference. I slept horrendously last night so my plan for tonight is: do the dishes, have a shower, play Pokemon (if I’m not too tired), read my book (or some diaries on here) and then have an early night. I am usually in bed really early anyway and usually asleep by half 9/10. I’m starting to get poorly which is why I think I couldn’t sleep last night! 

I’m also on the hunt for books regarding finance as a lot of the ones I’ve been able to find are American. If anybody has any recs let me know. 

Hope you all had a lovely day! 

Sarahwithlove

My £150 is for anything fun related, eating out, activities, etc. Any sweets or treats, coffees, toiletries etc. 

Petrol I budget for separately and I would suggest doing same for you and for work costs. 

I put seperate money aside for clothing, hairdresser, etc. It's about working out what works best for you budget wise that means you stick to your budget and still have a nice life. I used to try make the 30 a week do everything that's not essential bills food and petrol but it didn't work. I couldn't stick to it. Maybe work out how much you need to pay per month to clear the card before debt and see what that leaves you with and if that's a realistic budget for you. 

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff

I’m also on the hunt for books regarding finance as a lot of the ones I’ve been able to find are American. If anybody has any recs let me know. 

with reference to the above there is a British guy over on "yo*tube" who has a channel called meaningful money. I like him and he has a website called "meaningful academy"  I signed up to his academy and there is one section which is free with lessons on finance, he is great and explains things in an easy to understand way. He includes free budgeting spreadsheets etc

daintydaisy

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff said:

I’m also on the hunt for books regarding finance as a lot of the ones I’ve been able to find are American. If anybody has any recs let me know. 

with reference to the above there is a British guy over on "yo*tube" who has a channel called meaningful money. I like him and he has a website called "meaningful academy"  I signed up to his academy and there is one section which is free with lessons on finance, he is great and explains things in an easy to understand way. He includes free budgeting spreadsheets etc

I love your username 😂 this sounds exactly what I’m looking for - will have a look! Thank you!