The Little Cottage by the Sea

Humdinger1

@BrimfulofSascha you'll do it! Gosh, what an inspiration you are. So looking forward to hearing all about your adventures, debt free. Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx

BrimfulofSascha

Thanks @Humdinger1 I really appreciate you cheering me on from the sidelines.

Sascha

x

BrimfulofSascha

Good morning Lovelies,

The sky is foggy and my mood is a little grey.

I have left overs from last nights recipe box with me in the office for lunch (to be honest I am usually pretty good with bringing in lunch) The car told me I need to top up air in my tyres today but I have a compressor in the car, so we should have a second no spend day in a row.

I need to try and do a run at lunchtime. Only an easy 6k, I hope the fog clears in time.

I had a letter from CMS a month or so ago to say that they will finally be sanctioning my DD's fathers wages, after 15 years of his games. Annoyingly this won't be actioned until the end of April. I've not had a penny since October so this isn't any different from the nothing I'm receiving but it still annoys me. why does it take 4 pay packets to set up? We won't even get into the conversation of why absent parents don't fall over themselves to support their children. I know it's the last form of 'control' he has over me. Pathetic abusive little man. It's just so tiring constantly battling while being the one doing 100% of the parenting. I'm so proud of myself and her and the life we have created for ourselves though.

This last year of secondary school requires so much parenting, I knew there would be support with revision etc, but why the school have to have so many in person parent meetings, school trips, things to have to pay out for I don't know. Then there is prom. I have booked an appointment at a big Prom dress place in a couple of weeks. That's what all her friends mums have done. I dread to think what these dresses actually cost. The fact that you have to book a 90 minute private appointment, and that only 2 people are allowed at the appointment (including the prom girl) already tells me it is going to be the hard sell! Anyway, we have an appointment in a couple of weeks, and I will probably have to rob from the gifts pot, and I'll tell myself I only get to do this once and I'll always make back the money, and all the other justifications that aren't pay-off-the-debt-friendly. I know absolutely that the above absent parent problem is the reason I spoil her so much. I just want her to know that she is so loved, I know love isn't material things, but it is experiences, like crying at how bloody beautiful she is going to look in all those dresses. That my bombastic, funny, full of life toddler is almost a woman. That I made it as a parent despite the hardship.

Sorry for the big old rant.

Sometimes you just don't want to burden your real life ears.

Love and light

Sascha

BrimfulofSascha

I've just realised something. Something that just crept up on me so quietly I didn't even acknowledge it.

I made my final payment to my loan in February, this is the first time since about 2012 that I haven't had a consolidation (or payday) loan.

Okay so I have two small loans, one for my new car and one for the boiler, but this are for tangible things that I actually benefit from everyday.

Now just to really break the spine of all this credit card debt.

BrimfulofSascha

Good Afternoon Loves.

Well the past 5 months have well and truly kicked my behind.

My back seems healed, thank goodness, but treatment cost £2,400. not something I had planned at all.

Then in March I discovered that I might not have managed to bring a marathon medal home from Spain, but we did create something more precious. Queue weeks of tears and heart to hearts with DP. I was on contraception and had to have a number of invasive scans to try and find it, but all was growing well. Until 13 weeks when I started spotting. DP managed to make it to the hospital with me, totally fell in love with the little bean, only to be told there was no longer a heart beat.

I did manage a lovely Summer holiday with DD, I brought along her bestie to really celebrate the end of GCSE's came home rested. Returned home from work the next day to the baby cat unresponsive and rasping. Poor baby had gone into heart failure having shown no signs previously. Diagnosed with HMC and had to have his lungs drained of fluid. He seems to be managing well with medication and 90% himself, but he will die from this, and sooner rather than later. Poor baby isn't even 3. So far treatment has cost £1900, thankfully insured so only cost to me is excess so far.

Then to top it of, also the week I returned from holiday, I've been made redundant. Thankfully I managed to find an interim role to start straight away on the same money, but it's only a 6 month contract and definitely not my ideal job, the commute is pants and the company is worse. I am looking for something more ideal and applying/interviewing still.

By some miracle, despite the above money hasn't been a total disaster,

Sinking funds total:£885.85

Emergency Fund: £7,571.02 (This is the most I've ever had in savings that wasn't a house deposit)

Debt: (£27,697.14) (not at all where I should have been given the five months between posts, but a couple of grand reduction)

So what is the plan? Well stick out this job until I get something better, plod along with debt payments. I plan to reduce by just under £8k by the end of the year, rounding up CC payments, minimum on loans, paying off lumps as 0%'s expire. Debt payments should see my savings drop to just under £7k. All CC debt to be gone by xmas 2027.

One big factor to this plan is the fact that baby cat now needs medication strictly every 12 hours, I have no one to help so plans for travel, holidays, weekends away, nights out are all out of the question for as long as he is with me, so I will definitely save there. Although I do have a weekend planned in October that DD will do medication for. I dare not leave him other than that though. Going to have to think outside the box to add some fun to life. I can't do my bootcamp sessions in the week either as this is bang in the middle of medication time. I also can't travel for races so can only do local ones. This has lead me to look at Triathlons instead of OCR. mid-life crisis for sure! I have started swimming 2 nights a week with DP, and treated myself to an indoor trainer for my road bike out of my redundancy settlement. Obviously cycling outside is free, but I don't like cycling alone just yet, I live in the countryside and drivers are crazy.

New job also in the middle of nowhere so have to bring lunch in everyday. This should save pennies. It should also help me lose the stone I've put on through injury, pregnancy and overall stress. I'm still a healthy BMI but I just don't feel good in myself.

Here's to a better 5 months.

Love and light

Sascha

BrimfulofSascha

Thought I'd be a big brave girl and post an SOA too, although doesn't include assets and debt.

	OUT	Sep-26
Bills	Mortgage	1,000.00	I round this up
	Council Tax	130.00	single person discount
	Gas/Electric	93.10	Recently gone up a little bit
	Water	55.00	Also just gone up
	House Ins	15.58
	Life Insurance	14.02
	Pet Insurance	29.36	Godsend recently, expect this to go up loads on renewal due to Baby cat prognosis
	My Mobile	24.76	Need to look into this but can't access account as uses an old email that was hacked
	DD Mobile	15.00
	Internet	24.98
	TV Licence	15.45
Debt	FD CC	-
	Virgin CC	200.00
	Barclays CC	102.99
	Natwest CC	250.00
	Car Loan	189.03
	Boiler Loan	47.72
Sinking	House Maintainance	20.00
	Car Maintenance	100.00
	Gifts	75.00
	Holidays	300.00
Spend	Weekly Spending	740.00	I budget £185 per week for food, fuel, DD pocket money/train to college etc
			SO from current account to Monzo every Friday
Save	Savings	1,172.46	Balancing amount (will be less on a 5 week month- and if CMS not received)
TOTAL		4,614.45
	OUT
	Salary	4,207.00
	CM	299.25	this is sanctioned from Ex's wages although it doesn't arrive most months or is short. Currently £3.6k in arrears
	CB	108.20	I still claim this as my earnings are under £80k with pension contributions, half comes back out in my tax code
	Other
Total		4,614.45

As you can see I have a healthy excess each month so I should have done better the past few months. But I will not beat myself up for needing creature comforts during some of the hardest months of my life. I'll find some balance.

Rhyddid2026

Wow! What a difficult few months! I'm sorry it's been so rough for you.

Well done for everything you've managed to achieve. I really hope you have an easier time ahead.

DancingInTheRain

Oh what a time you've had, sending love ❤️

BrimfulofSascha

Good morning Loves,

I fear i may have jinxed myself with yesterdays post. Managed to have my first ever car accident on the way home from work last night! Thankfully no injuries for either party. I *Think the car is reparable, but that's £300 excess to pay and inflated insurance premiums for the foreseeable. plus the complete inconvenience of being carless until I get a courtesy car.

I am grateful to be healthy, to have sinking funds for car expenses, for living somewhere with a train station.

I guess I just have to keep rolling with the punches and find the joy where I can. Such as DP having a rare mid-week visit so we could all watch the solar eclipse in the middle of the gorgeos wheatfields and rolling countryside.

I am challenged, but the blessings are so much bigger.

Love and light.

S

Humdinger1

You are due some amazing good luck now @BrimfulofSascha. Well done on persevering; hold your head high. We're all so proud of you love Humdinger xx