Do it for your future self

honeybee1234

Agree with everything helping towards Christmas - I always think of bits of money like your vouchers in terms of what specifically it can cover eg 10/20 pounds' worth of those vouchers could be a present for a particular family member, or pay for a chunk of Christmas dinner, and mentally it's something to tick off the Christmas list, which is great! 

Waywardgirl3

So yesterday was not a NSD but only £2.40 paid for a toll road (IYKYK) and was back at my parents house for a delicious home cooked dinner after a long long day! Money spent this morning on coffees for me and my partner as we are away from home (£9.20!!!!) but that is my only spend for the day and definitely a treat. Partner also treating us all to a takeaway tonight which is lovely. Finalising budget now - September is going to be a tight month but determined to stick with it 

Waywardgirl3

Payday in the morning!

September pay is - £3029

Budget break down thanks to my snazzy excel sheet a friend made me;

• Joint account - £1570 - covers my share of all bills/mortgage/groceries.

• Personal spending money - £52 (this works out as £12 per week on any coffees out/socialising etc).

• Monzo - £5 (completely changed the way i budget with the pots and categories so well worth it imo)

• Calorie counter app - £5 (trying to lose weight, tale as old as time)

• Contact lenses - £27 (budget brand)

• Fuel - £200 (more this month due to travel expected)

• Parking at work -£10

• AA - £18 (nationwide and home recovery plan, i do a lot of driving when not wfh).

• Partners birthday - £100! We have a weekend away which has been planned for a while and i have a pot for that, this is for dinner out whilst away and maybe a small token pressie. 

• Horse costs - £100 (they are on grass livery with a friend atm which is really helping to keep costs down). 

Debt repayments 

• MBNA 1 - £147 (minimum payment)

• MBNA 2 - £134 (minimum payment)

• Virgin cc - £0 - so this is a bit of a weird one, i requested the payment date be changed to the 1st of the month to align better with my payday but theyve changed my next date to the 1st October - ive been in contact with them and they have confirmed this is correct. So i dont actually have a virgin payment in September - which will give me some breathing room and allow me to put money in my sinking funds. However, this is my priority card so any money i earn from vinted this month is going to go towards this card. Ive set myself the goal of raising £200 to go towards this.

• HSBC cc - £25 (minimum payment)

• Barclays cc - £285 (minimum payment)

• HSBC loan - £110

• M&S loan - £170

Total to debts from wages - £871

Sinking funds 

• Emergency fund - £25 (this goes into a separate savings account with HSBC where i don't look - all other sinking funds are in monzo saver pots)

• Car maintenance- £10

• House/garden - £50 (a few bits need sorting soon)

• Christmas - £10

• Birthdays/gifts - £10

• Horse - £50 

Phew! First thoughts are it’s crazy to me that this is a lower income month and i do realise how privileged i am. Only a few years back i would have killed to be clearing 3k a month! It’s just a bloody shame I’m having to use it to clean up my own mess but i’ve learnt the hard way i guess. 

Sarahwithlove

Have you considered asking virgin for some breathing space? I take it you don't have any balance transfer offers? Hopefully as you pay off more debt then other offers may come. 

birdsfoottrefoil

Just a comment to say I’ve subscribed and good luck!! I’m similar age and several animals though not a horse atm….. is the toll the weird bridge road thing that looks really higgly piggly? 

Waywardgirl3

birdsfoottrefoil said:

Just a comment to say I’ve subscribed and good luck!! I’m similar age and several animals though not a horse atm….. is the toll the weird bridge road thing that looks really higgly piggly? 

Thankyou! Do you have a diary i can follow? It is lol - another annoying £2.40 for going back over it today!

Waywardgirl3

Sarahwithlove said:

Have you considered asking virgin for some breathing space? I take it you don't have any balance transfer offers? Hopefully as you pay off more debt then other offers may come

I did consider this but you have to call them and go through outgoing etc and I have a horse haha so i’d feel like i was taking the p

I can afford the minimums aswell, i just need to get the balance down as the interest is brutal!

yes, no balance transfer or money transfer offers available to me on any of my cards atm nor when i search for a new card - my credit utilisation is too high. Hoping as i bring the balances down some offers will come up, it’s just going to be a slog for a bit. 

Waywardgirl3

I forgot my phone from the above budget! But it is on my excel sheet so the numbers are still ok - this is £15

Waywardgirl3

I’m in such a bad mood today. I’ve been paid and all debt payments/bills have been paid, pots all allocated. But I’m just really fed up - its payday and i already have no money. 52 pounds personal money feels like nothing - I just want to be able to go out with my partner for dinner or something this weekend and not have a whole month spends gone straight away. Working both days again this weekend and just fed up. Sat here on my work laptop at home and just burst into tears, so stressed and so so fed up. Just want to scream or hit myself to relieve some stress

Chocolatefund

Waywardgirl3 said:

I’m in such a bad mood today. I’ve been paid and all debt payments/bills have been paid, pots all allocated. But I’m just really fed up - its payday and i already have no money. 52 pounds personal money feels like nothing - I just want to be able to go out with my partner for dinner or something this weekend and not have a whole month spends gone straight away. Working both days again this weekend and just fed up. Sat here on my work laptop at home and just burst into tears, so stressed and so so fed up. Just want to scream or hit myself to relieve some stress

Hi!

Hang in there, you have only just started your journey.  There is lots of support here on this forum from fellow debt busters.

The best thing to stop it from consuming you is to work out a plan.  It creates a sense of ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ so to speak.  Have you worked out how much you can overpay your debt each month? A debt free date?  There’s some handy debt payoff calculators online.

If you post an SOA (statement of affairs) we may be able to give an extra pair of eyes.

You mention a partner and joint account.  Could they take on some of the bills so you can focus on the debts?  Are they all in your name?

Will be following your diary to cheer you on.