Another debt free wannabe

cwillow1983

Afternoon folks,

I'm starting a diary on here primarily to track my thoughts, repayment and spending habits. Maybe to find a sense of accountability too.

Long story short: been in debt pretty much my entire adult life whether that be due to stupid lifestyle spending, necessary house repairs or due to a recent period of unemployment that wiped out my savings and added a large amount of debt to the existing balance.

Current debts: 
Personal loan 13.5K (22 months to go from 48)
Credit card 1 14 k (balance transfer)
Credit card 2 8.5k (balance transfer to pay for OH's car purchase that she is paying off monthly)

I earn a decent salary of 50k working in a demanding role and I'm sick of constantly having to budget and count the pennies come the end of the month.

My goal is to retire in the next 15 years.

In the meantime, I plan to pay off the existing loan in 22 months (£600 a month) whilst paying the minimum payment/or slightly above on CC 1 when budgeting allows until it's time to transfer the balance. Once the loan is paid off I plan to put the £600 towards the CC 1.

My concern is that I've had such 2, 3, 4 years plans throughout my adult life and besides a brief period a decade ago, have never been debt free. I fear that another unforeseen life event will derail progress or that ill-discipline from either myself or OH will result in another loan being taken out. 

Anyway, good to be here and I'll check out others' diaries for tips and advice. 

Thanks
C

RedLipstick

Welcome to the forum and happy new diary!

Just a question/thought - how is your emergency fund? If you're worried about some events happening, maybe it's worth looking into getting 1-2k into untouchable EF first? Even slowly, £100-£200 per months, it all grows. Just a thought though. Solid salary, good luck on your debt free journey!

cwillow1983

@RedLipstick Thanks for the reply. At present the emergency fund is zero. I did have £3000 saved up but used that last year when I found myself unemployed for a few months. I started building it up again but had to use it due to another emergency: car break down and new battery required. So I'm starting from scratch as of next pay day. 

But yes, it's good to have something at least and I plan to put away at least £100 away if I can.

I looked into using a second bank accounting I have for transferring the planned monthly budget for guilt free spending (typically about £400 per month) to see if separating this from the main account for bills and the savings account helps.

How is your debt free journey coming along? I'll check out your diary if you have one. 

cwillow1983

Good afternoon folks. 

I've been reading through a few diaries/recent posts with interest and a common theme that resonated was the influence/effect other people can have on your money. I initially thought I'd be making an excuse to point the finger at the OH or my family for poor spending habits/expectations about going out anywhere or holidays. But the more I considered this, plus recent discussions I've had with my OH, the more I realise it is true (to an extent- I'm still capable of being silly with unnecessary purchases). I think I am a bit of people pleaser deep down (with respect my OH and kids) and want them to have the best life we can have. However, the financial costs of this aren't sustainable. 

So, with half term coming up, we'd originally talked about celebrating my daughter's birthday with a day out/meal AND going out as a family to a theme park (on separate days). We'd also planned to visit family and stay over for a night or two in a hotel or rental. 

As a compromise, and with the financial situation out in the open, we've now agreed that we will celebrate our daughter's birthday and go to the theme park on the same day, plus visit family without staying over, but rather drive back late in the evening.

I've also put my foot down about takeaways: it had gone from approximately once a week on a Friday to several times a week. I made homemade chips and burgers the other day rather than Ubering a cold Maccies with the inevitable missing item at a fraction of the price. Kids weren't happy but tough! I've also cancelled the Uber Eats subscription for 'free' delivery. 

Hopefully, I'll get to the end of next week still in the black by pay day. 

Slowlydoesit

Takeaways and buying lunch are my problem. It is crazy how much it adds up.

Im quite new to reassessing finances and budgeting so at the minute I can't really offer any brilliant advice, save to say good luck! I found canceling quite a few subscriptions and policies helped, can that be done?

cwillow1983

@Slowlydoesit

Thank you, and good luck to you too. 

Yes, I've checked the outgoings and what subscriptions could be cancelled. I may cancel Prime too considering I only really use it for Prime Video and even then most things I want to watch require an additional purchase.

One thing I did in the past and continue to do every year to eighteen months is renegotiate or ditch and switch utility service providers (gas/electricity, mobile, TV and broadband etc). This can save a considerable sum each month when added up. 

cwillow1983

Evening all.

Resisted the calls for a takeaway this evening and made homemade burgers again. I'm experimenting with what ingredients to add to the mix. Tried Worcestershire sauce tonight but couldn't tell much difference really. Maybe I need to up the quantity.

I also double checked my netflix subscription only to discover I'd been added to the premium (most expensive) option without realising. I don't need ultra HD/4K resolution as I have a fairly basic TV so wouldn't get the benefit, plus two screens on Netflix at the same time should be sufficient. So with cancelling Uber, Prime and changing the Netflix subscription that equates to a monthly saving of £18 approx. Just need to ensure I don't simply squander it on something else. 

cwillow1983

Slowlydoesit said:

Takeaways and buying lunch are my problem. It is crazy how much it adds up.

Im quite new to reassessing finances and budgeting so at the minute I can't really offer any brilliant advice, save to say good luck! I found canceling quite a few subscriptions and policies helped, can that be done?

I've started taking a flask of coffee out with me everywhere: the commute to work, the park with the kids etc. it's nice to get a coffee out but it can easily become a £20-30 affair when the kids demand ice creams and a drink. I also hate it when you order a takeaway coffee from somewhere and have to wait ages for a lukewarm overly milky drink that sets you back about £5. 

Rhyddid2026

Welcome and well done for facing it all and making a start. 
I started on this journey around December and it looks like I had about the same amount of debt as you have now. It's not been an easy year, lots of ups and downs, but things are a lot less stressful now I know how much money I have and am better prepared for things. 
Those little things you notice and change really start to add up, so keep at it. 

RedLipstick

Sounds like you're making a lot of progress already, well done! Seems like you know the value of the emergency fund, so that's half way there, really it all adds up. Lots of very insipiring diaries to keep you focused on your journey.

My own journey is very messy - initially started on the MFW board with all big plans for overpaying my mortgage but what supposed to be a steady year became a year of heart break, never ending reno and chunky debts. Not too concerned for now though as it's all 0%, just need to finish the last bit of reno, note the CC numbers and start throwing all the money at it. Few bleak months ahead but oh well.

With the subscriptions, I used to rotate and kept one active per month, maybe worth looking into what you watch most and pause the other when not in use? You don't have to delete the accounts - it can all be up and running again in few minutes.

Have a great week ahead, hopefully you'll manage to squeeze a NSD here and there!

cwillow1983

Morning all. 

So another potential setback on the debt free journey (god, I hate that word "journey" haha) - I decided to embark on some DIY over half term in a bid to cut costs of hiring tradespeople where possible.

Fixing a faulty light was fairly straightforward - turned out to be a loose connection behind the switch. Similarly, fixing a broken drawer was a quick fix rather than replacing. I'm still waiting for my son to tidy his room so I can put up a curtain rail for him...

I periodically have to replace the silicone around the bath/shower which is straightforward enough but there's always that worry you missed a spot and the next time you shower there'll be a leak. 

The toilet seat needed replacing after over ten years of use. Easy enough to remove the seat and find a replacement. However the fittings attached to the bowl had rusted to the point they were impossible to remove. I've currently got a plumber in using a massive drill to drill the defective fittings out (I didn't trust myself to do this in case I cracked the bowl!). 

Then there was the grouting on the tiles, specifically a window ledge in the bathroom that unfortunately tends to get wet with shower spray due to its position over the bath (Whoever designed the bathroom originally is a bit of a wally). Overtime it wears away/chips. It's a tricky job particularly creating an effective seal on the corner and using a strip of trim. Anyway, I discovered water has penetrated behind the tiles in that area and it's only a matter of time before the whole lot need replacing  as they are starting to come away from the wall and I think the existing grout is holding them in place (had to do something to a few tiles a couple of years back too). It was already leaking through the ceiling below though I attributed this more to the silicone become defective over time. 

We've put off doing a full bathroom refurbishment via a professional company for years due to cost. However, frequent repairs and leaks mean it may be time to bite the bullet. 

What I hoped would cost about £100 plus my labour has already come in at £200 approx if I include the cost of the plumber and the ridiculous prices of materials in BnQ. (Incidentally, the only toilet seat available was the most expensive, naturally!). 

On the plus side, we saved money having a few no spend days as well as having to cancel a few plans due to unforseen circumstances. So, swings and roundabouts.

Hopefully, you've not had a similar dispiriting DIY themed week.