There is always tomorrow

Sponge_pudding

We live on a smallholding in rural Wales.  We don't keep any other animals than horses that are oldies now and it is only me and DH at home.  Compared with a few years ago there is a lot less to be paying for although the costs of previous years have caught up with us and we are paying loans and credit cards. The purpose of this diary is for reflection for me, so I can slow down in everything I do and at the same time hopefully speed up the debt reduction.  I intend to batch cook, budget and generally make do and mend whilst also improving our quality of life as we are in our 50's now, and it is our time. My new mantra is progress and not perfection, there is always tomorrow.

OopsIdiditagain1

Hi and welcome from a fellow newbie and horse/dog owner, also taking one day at a time to become free of debt and taking care of her pennies. Wishing you well on your debt free journey.

Sponge_pudding

Today has been about organising finances.  I've been through the bank account to see what we spend our money on and made a list of regular outgoings such as mortgage etc.  a list of outgoings that are not strictly essentials such as pension payments and insurance and then another list of expenses such as loans, credit cards and the cost of the horses.  Finally I have made a list consisting of shopping budget, holiday budget, savings, a buffer account and also a separate account for me and DH to spend as we wish.

My income is regular and is the same amount weekly and DH's varies so I have taken on paying the credit card out of what I have left over.  That leaves me and DH with the same amount left over each month.  We're not big spenders, in fact DH is a definite no spender.  Everything is made, repaired or acquired from skips and other peoples rubbish.  I am, or was, a lot less worried and am far more impulsive in what I buy.  We do like our holidays however and to abroad twice a year, on a budget holiday somewhere warm.

I had a gel nail kit as a gift a while back and have recently in an effort to improve self-care started using it.  I am not that good at it and the polish falls off soon after I put it on.  Yesterday I went on impulse to a nail salon and luckily for me they could not fit me in.  I saved £35.  This afternoon I decided to do my own nails properly, I worked out it would take about an hour to an hour and a half for a salon to do them, and half an hour to drive there and half hour back. So up to two and a half hours in all and £35 plus diesel.  Instead of rushing and feeling like I didn't deserve to give myself time, I spent an hour, slowly filing, sanding and painting my nails.  The perfect example of how I can improve my life and self-care whilst saving money.  I need to learn to give myself the gift of time.  My nails are usually broken, short and covered in goodness knows what, sometimes though, it is nice to look after yourself and that is how I felt today.  I also didn't want to spend £35 out of my money for the month, so organising the fiances today has been a wake up call for me already.

Sponge_pudding

The shopping budget is a weekly budget of £60.  That includes toiletries, our little dogs food, cleaning bleach etc.  I use Tesco home delivery and pay for the saver of £6.99 a month.  This means I can order at a time to suit me, I can check my basket a few times and I don't get tempted by what is on offer on shelves in a shop.  This week I have spent £20.15 in Tesco in the local store.  DD and I only called in quick as she needed butter but I was able to buy a few things to tide me over so now I have £39.85 to last me until Saturday.  This may mean I can almost miss a week money wise or at least save something.  I have had to buy my probiotics today, it is cheaper to buy 3 months at a time so anything saved on shopping this week can go towards them.  I also have some money in my survey account so between it all I am hoping they will be covered.

I have enough in the cupboards to last till the next order. I make bread each day and have done for a long, long time, in fact DH wont eat shop bread anymore other than the occasional crusty roll.  We usually buy a large sack of potatoes from neighboring farms but as the old potatoes are now too old and are growing eyes we are back to buying small bags from Tesco.  The freezer has milk and quite a few meals as well so that is also ok.  

We have a large veg plot and greenhouse but it is overgrown.  We used to have it full with lots of bits and bobs from runner beans to melons, tomatoes to cabbages but not any longer, it takes too long.  We have cut it back drastically and have two tomato plants this year, if that goes well, next year we may sew some runner beans as well.  Both of us work full time, we have the land and the horses and it all takes time.

DH is cooking tonight, he is having pork loin and salad in pitta bread and I am having mash potato and probably a chicken and mushroom slice.  I nearly always have chicken but have run out as our little dog has some as well so we go through it quickly.  Either way I am looking forward to my dinner and a sit down this evening.

Sponge_pudding

Thank you OopsIdiditagain1.  Will be lovely to ride this path to debt freedom together

OopsIdiditagain1

I'm right by your side Sponge_pudding. It may well be a long and bumpy road at times, but we will get there. One foot in front of the other 😊

Sponge_pudding

Another day where I have planned to sort out finances.  So far I have cancelled a patreon subscription which will save me £54 a year.  I have never used it, I just wanted to support the people doing it. 

I need to be more organised and plan ahead.  I have had to spend money on a loaf of bread today as I did not make any yesterday (too tired).  I went for a compromise between a proper bakery loaf and a basic packaged loaf, but it still cost more than making it.  We will eat it but wont enjoy it.  DD picked it up for us on her way over. 

To avoid interest charges, I have budgeted to take house insurance due in January out of the savings that will have accrued by then.  I have done the same for the travel insurance due in July, except I wont have any savings by then . I have pre-existing conditions that they don't like so I get charged more.  To pay the bill in full, I need about £150. 

I am toying with the idea of working an extra half a day this week for overtime.  I want the money but I don't know if my mental health will take it, I have to be careful. Out of choice I definitely would not do the overtime.  I have to consider my real reasons for wanting to do the overtime and I think it might be impatience to see the debt reduce faster.  If I didn't do it, the debt would go down slower but my mental health is guaranteed stability from that area.  Also some guilt attached, if I did the overtime each week for 5 weeks I could cover the whole travel insurance bill, that would mean no more increasing debt.  I feel sick at the thought so it's a no. I will have to think about other options.

Notes to self:

Make bread first thing every day, aim to get a few in the freezer for emergency use.
Aim to pay all monthly bills (unless interest free) in one go, to avoid charges.
Do not use Klarma and Paypal in 3 if at all possible as I think they are affecting my credit score as I think they are considered short term loans.

Sponge_pudding

Total debt as of 1st June is £20513.36.  This might go up by 1st July as there have already been some purchases this month, there will be payments later this month though so let's hope it does not increase.

Survey earnings total this month so far are £23.32 - hoping this can go towards my probiotics which have been put on the credit card and are part of the potential debt increase this month.

Kettle broke and have point blank refused to buy another one.  All week we have been using a saucepan on the hob which turns the smart meter orange whereas the kettle turns it red.  It is so inconvenient though!  Had enough of this lunch-time and asked DH to bring up an old kettle from the yard.  Was used in the horsebox when we used to go to shows.  A good clean up and it's working fine, no expense there.

Have listed 11 items on Vinted this morning, desperate to cover all additional costs this month without increasing debt.

So far need to cover £150 travel insurance (approx)
£64.78 probiotics (3 months worth) I left it in my basket overnight and in the morning I had an offer of 10% discount on top of the 15% they had already offered me, win win
Total =214. 78 - 23.32 = £191.46 to find.

Sponge_pudding

More planning required. Just asked DH if we had any upcoming bills this month and next month.  Apparently we do.  Car MOT, Cambelt change and Euros for holiday.  MOT £50, Cambelt change approx £200, can't even begin to consider euros at the moment!

June needs £191.46
July needs £250 (car) plus Euros, approx £500 (always get more and use them in September as well). Total = £750 (how?)
Proactive changes - have now budgeted for euros to be saved monthly from now on to avoid this happening next time.  The car MOT and repairs will have to either come out of savings, mine and DH's individual money or the buffer account each year.  We can't have it all.  We already have two holidays a year and expect our wages to cover them and give us individual money as well, if push comes to shove then we have to pay for our 2nd holiday out of our individual money accounts.  DH will be fine with this!

Have checked the blackcurrant bushes, they are not far off ready and then I can make jam.  I have lots of jam jars saved up just need to see if I kept the lids.

Doris17

Hello from South Wales.

Love the thought of a small holding, a girl can dream. Will be following along on you journey, good luck.

OopsIdiditagain1

It sounds like your day has delivered some wins and provided clarity. It is so difficult to get going with the budgeting when unexpected or expected expenses crop up and decide to rely on available funds instead of credit. Moving money from different categories and pots to cover one cost leaving you short on others. It's stressful but part of the game of managing what you have. Perhaps that's how we need to look at it, make the challenge something of a game, and the feeling of accomplishment if you win the game! 💪

I think you need to listen to your inner voice when decided on the overtime. Think of the hare and tortoise. The journey might take longer but you are doing it with balance. It has to be sustainable and you also have to look after you.

The surveys are a great idea x