Creating the life I want - and tackling my debt!

Artyfarty86

Hello all,

Years ago I had a journal, but back then, I was at home with my parents, trying to keep a business afloat that paid me a pittance.  Moving out felt like a pipe dream.  But I did.

After closing my business down in 2017, I took on an entry level government job and worked my way up a couple of grades [so far] and nabbed a house before the prices hiked to unimaginable numbers. 

It’s now me and my dog, alone in my little cottage and I’ve frittered away all my cash and incurred debt.  Not through big and essential needs but down to mindless spending and indulging every want I think up, feeling like I have to be the best gift giver or saying yes to every activity, even if I don’t want to do it.  It was always manageable as my cost of living was cheap, but that changed and I have not. It must stop. 

I’ve also had a tumultuous year in other ways and I’m determined to find myself in a more contented and curated life, freeing myself from the things that aren’t working for me, as best as I can.

The Debt

I had two credit cards,  both with high interest rates that I ignored for months, paying the minimums and still adding to them.  I have now managed to get them balanced transferred to a single 0% rate card and the balance is:

£5,831.20.

Sickening.  I have had credit card debt, but never this high.   

I’ve set the minimum DD up, but the aim is to overpay every month - but I need to do this alongside learning to budget, and saving for the things that trip me up.  This is something that might take me some time to get the hang of.

The Budget

My cost of living has gone up because everyone’s has, but also due to a change of circumstance and adding a new medication to my monthly costs [Mounjaro - which may be controversial, but this has changed my life entirely, and while a non-essential, it is my first priority after essential bills, I cannot be without it right now.]. The combination of the above has added about £400 to my monthly outgoings.

I make approximately £2,300 a month in my 9-5, have a mortgage and a car payment.  It’s just me as the only human in my little house, plus my dog, who is the apple of my eye.  I work from home, and live in a rural area, quiet area.  My world is pretty small.

My monthly bills total £1117, this includes car, insurances and subscriptions, but not my MJ costs, other non essentials, savings, debts or groceries. 

I’ve set up a budget tracker to see how I can make this work, and I’ve noted renewal dates for various bills to see if I can reduce the costs - for example, I pay for a dental plan but that can be reduced when it’s up in Feb.  I suspect I could probably knock at least £20-30 a month off the expenses eventually.  

After that I have my next highest expenditure, my MJ, which can be as high as £280.  I sometimes get discount codes that knocks between £10-25 off each month.

Alongside this, I have a grocery budget of around £250 a month - low because MJ has changed my life in this sense.

I am aiming to create savings pots/sinking fund pots to prevent slips in debt again.  Initially I am going to have an emergency fund, Christmas, birthdays and other gifting and then ‘fun’ - this last one being for things that come up that like gigs or spa days etc or funding hobbies.

My debt repayment minimum is about £60 a month - and once I know my budget is right, I will see what I can increase it by.

In theory, this all fits, along with other details I am sure I’ve forgotten to mention, but I will share more details once I have gotten my first month done, and I know my numbers match.

Side Hustles

I don’t have a huge amount of time for these - mainly because my mental health dips when I do too much.  

But I do have some established. I make £35 from a once a month opportunity from my previous career.  No opportunity to increase as I have doing it as it is 😂😂.

I’m a big Vinted fan and sell a lot of my stuff there, as well as trying to buy there first if I need something.  This make a few quid a month.

Then finally, I am on Prolific.  Some months this is worth £20.  

I have some goals, or intentions, both finance related and personal.  I think I will share these tomorrow! 

MoneySavingBadger

Fellow government worker here. I bet you can ‘work at pace’ to get on top of this.

but seriously….. you sound very committed, it’s all any step in the right direction 

Doris17

Small steps. Lots of knowledgeable people here to give you advice and guidance.

Will follow along your journey.

InDebtEnby

Your food bill for one seems very high. My single person budget is £130 per month. I cook a lot of meals that get frozen and some weeks I don't cook any main meals as I plan around what is in the freezer.

doingitanyway

Well done for coming back and addressing your debt. I will be following your journey as you clear your debt

Your food bill doesn't seem very high to me...

Is the CC debt your only debt?

Artyfarty86

Thank you all. I’m excited to get my ducks in a row and untangle the less than pleasant parts of my life.

Yes, just the one credit card.  And it’s on 0% until September 2028.  My aim is paying off before this, but I am not in a race to pay off immediately, or by cutting everything in creation to do it.  I know some need to, but I am lucky enough to feel I am not in this situation yet.  If I deal with it now!

My aim is to reduce my debt alongside building the means to not need to get in to it again.  My trip ups are always gifting, minor emergencies, and not having a budget for the small things that make life worthwhile.  If my debt was smaller, I might consider a very tight 4-6 months but even if I did this, it would not eliminate the debt, so I want to enjoy the journey, not suffer.  

Re: food bills.  I guess some could do it cheaper, and some would need a lot more.  This is my first month, and based on judgement around the last three months of food bills. It includes dog food, of which she eats some fresh chicken, and cleaning supplies.  I eat meat and dairy, which is pricier, and I like better quality of these.  Month on month will fluctuate as I try to bulk buy some pricier things based on supermarket club card offers etc.  I actually think January will be lower as I stocked up on some good Christmas offers of my faves and have a decent amount of meat in the freezer.  I suspect I will mostly need a few fresh bits and my dog’s dry food. 

Any left over budgeted funds will go either to emergency fund or debt.  

Artyfarty86

OK, so reviewing my goals for 2026 and beyond.  A lot of the are financial but I thought I would throw in some others too, just so I can look back at this later on, but also because some of them strongly correlate to how I spend money mindlessly.

The Money Goals

• As well as making my minimum payments to the credit card, I want to overpay by £1000.  My plan for the first couple of months of the year is to figure out what I actually need to spend each month, how my saving/sinking pots grow and what’s left over so I can more accurately guess what I need to be putting away.  To make sure I don’t get too excited, I will probably pay my minimum as per the DD, then put the extra I want to overpay by in a Monzo pot until the next pay day, just so if something crops up I don’t dip into credit.

• Establish and begin to fill sinking or saving funds for: Christmas (£50 pm) general gifting (£50 pm) fun activities (£50pm) and an emergency fund (£75 pm).  I’m starting with putting a small amount in on pay day and will increase as I get used to the budget, especially for that emergency fund.  I’d like to get that to £100 per month, more if possible. I’m being a little loose to with this and the above just so I can figure stuff out, I know by Spring I will have a better handle on a routine with it.
• Try to stick to 4 no spend days a week.  Exceptions are of course, direct debits etc.  This is one of those that I know will be tough for me.  I have a TERRIBLE Amazon habit.  Instant gratification of any little want that pops in to my head.  I looked over my bank statements since the summer, and can honestly say there is only 3 or 4 days a month of these at the moment.

• Look to see if every bill or contract can be lowered or cancelled.  I have done this with two things already - I’ve been paying for a quarterly subscription for a family member - originally as a gift, but its risen sharply in cost in the last two years - literally almost doubled from £16 a quarter to £28.  Even the family member asked me to stop paying.  I’ve cancelled it now, and it runs for a few more weeks for them.  It was a great gift, so if I ever get an offer for a new subscription, I will take it up, on the understanding I don’t renew it beyond the offer period. Also sorted my internet - brought it down £15 per month to £29!  There’s a few subscriptions I want to review and can do at any time - but I share a lot of them with family (who share theirs back!) so I need to be fair and clear here.  In addition, I will review my utility bills, insurances and mortgage as they come up through the year.  Dental will be first, and then car insurance.  Both I can save a little on I think.  I do have a habit of renewing automatically.  

Other Goals

• Consider second hand first always.  I’m on a weightloss journey and therefore drop clothing sizes often.  I need to ensure I always shop second hand first for everything beyond underwear and shoes, and I only buy when I need things.  My work doesn’t require lots of formal wear, and I am not someone who has formal events very often.  I should be buying because I need it, not because it’s cute and cheap.  I also want to consider second hand for some gifts, if they are suitable - thinking things like toys for kids, that you often see on Vinted new with tags for cheap.
• Reduce my excess toiletries, makeup, home consumables (cleaning products/soaps etc).  I have SO much.  Literally some categories will take years to go through.  I want to use what I have, and only replace something when I have none of it.  Eg.  New mascara because I’m down the dregs of the last tube.  I need to also get over sunk costs - I keep some things because they were expensive, not because I will use them.  They can be declutterred - I have to get over it, the money is gone.  I suspect personal care wise, it would only be foundation and mascara I replace in 2026. I got some skincare for Christmas that’s bulked the stores and I have even listed some on Vinted already - ones kindly gifted that I know I won’t use.  
• Learn to look after what I have got.  I don’t truly know how best to look after a lot of things.  I will take steps on how to repair stuff I love, stuff that I need, so I can avoid replacements.  First up - learning to sew up a tear in a bedsheet-  its linen and part of a set that cost a fortune years ago and from a brand no longer around, I wanted to replace the whole set, then just the fitted sheet, but actually, I should just fix it.  I will learn! I’m going to google, YouTube or whatever to learn how to make things last the course!
• Reduce my screen time.  I have a number, but I will not share because my screen time is downright embarrassing.  I attribute my godawful TikTok scrolling to a lot of my spending and a lot of my reduced attention span.  It’s making me dumber!!  I hate what it’s done to my brain and I don’t know how to get on top of it for good.  I’ve put a lot of things in place and have still failed.  
• Increase the amount of books I read.  I love to do it - before doomscrolling, I read more than a book a week.  Now, it’s not even one a month. I need to get this back. I am aiming for 12 a year and I will log them.  Add to this - no buying books til I have read EVERY single one on the TBR pile.  If I am not going to read it, it needs to be donated or sold.
• Take my hobby to the next step - publicise it.  I’m being vague for privacy, but I started a hobby this year, creative one, and I am loving it.  It’s been my saving grace in hard times, and has been amazing for my mental health and the only time I detach from tech.  I want to increase time spent on this and then put it ‘out there’.  I’m good at it - potentially very good in the future, as I progress.  I want to increase my skills in it and increase my time in the community of it and show what I can do. I will probably elaborate in the future!

That’s it for now.  A lot of rambling!! Pay day is NYE, so I will put funds where they need to go and share how it’s going.  I’ve already sold some stuff on Vinted today that won’t clear til January, so I’m already getting ahead of the game!

Thanks for joining me folks!

jackieblack

Well done for setting down clear goals.

I identify with your reading and crafting goals, I have a HUGE TBR pile, I used to read several books a week but, for various reasons, haven’t been able to read a book since before Covid. I’m hoping that this will change in the second half of 2026.

TikTok - just delete it. Your life will not be poorer without it and it will free up time to spend on reading and your creative hobby.

I lost a lot of weight quickly a few years ago (it was a by product/benefit of tackling a health issue rather than a goal in itself) and had to buy new clothes often as everything was too big after a few weeks. Charity shops worked better for me as I was never sure about sizing and I could try things on.  I bought a few things on Vinted but ended up reselling or donating most of it. 

I go through phases of spontaneous/ mindless spending with Amazon. What has worked for me is, firstly, I don’t have Prime so I’m not tempted to order bits and bobs.  Secondly, I put things in the basket but don’t check out straight away, when I come back to the basket a day or two later I find I can happily delete about 3/4 of the stuff (or Save for Later and wait for a price drop). Thirdly, I have that mental conversation with myself of which do I want more, the thing in the basket or that money towards one of my goals? And lastly, if temptation still gets the better of me, and second thoughts pop up, there is a short period before it enters the despatch process in which an order can be cancelled.

Good luck!

Artyfarty86

Thanks @jackieblack.

Amazon Prime has been cancelled.  I’ve decided that if I feel the urge to buy from there, I will add it to the basket and leave it for a month.  Either the need will wear off, or I get it in person elsewhere and save shipping costs or I decide it’s worth paying a shipping fee.  I can always bring it back for a month if I feel it’s worth it.  That’s what I am telling myself, haha!

Tiktok - honestly I KNOW you are right?  And yet…such a bizarre mentality. Truly an addiction.  I have decided I will do it before the year is out.  I won’t delete my account immediately- I will leave it logged in on this here iPad. I follow a handful of creators related to my hobby and I want to keep seeing that content.  It lives in my living room only, and I don’t like using it for TikTok to be honest, so it’s a case of weighing up if it’s worth it.  Other apps like Insta don’t seem to be a problem for me, I check them a few times a day but never more than a couple of minutes.  It feels easy to log off.

Tomorrow, my phone’s primary purpose is going to be for putting music on while I work!!! I really hope I can get shot of this issue, I feel when I’ve gone too nuclear on it in the past I just cave so quick.  

On the finance side of things…I am prepared for payday!!  It’s tomorrow and I have my slip to know the new total, since a pay increase.  I can’t wait to jiggle my pots about!!  

I had a small amount of cash left in my account (don’t think I lived within my means, my credit card got used before I did my balance transfer in early December!) so I moved £35.97 into my emergency fund, so I can work from from £0 to £0 each month. 

I have put loads on Vinted on the last few days.  Made £56.60 but some of it belongs to my gran, so I can include £34 in my additional income column when it clears. I also am expecting a refund from a New Look order, but I have a small Simply Be balance to pay, so when that comes in, it will cover that, while leaving a little extra to go back in the pot.

The only thing I want to spend before the weekend (outside of bills) is that tomorrow is NYE, and we traditionally have a takeaway.  I have some leftover Christmas cash in my purse, so that should cover my meal.  And then I can hopefully crack out some no spend days - possibly until Monday, if my milk and bread last me

Happy New Year everyone!

RedLipstick

Welcome back to the forum! Really love reading about your plans and goals, sounds really exciting! Wishing you all the very success in 2026, and that your hobby will work out and you make some extra money!

Re spending and overpayments. I don't know if this is something that may work for you, but I have noticed for me January and February are the quietest months with the lowest spend, I try to use up what I have in the freezer and cupboards, I don't travel much, lots of NSDs, everyone is just staying home rebuilding savings after expensive December, so I'm hardly out meeting friends, etc. Could be a way to front load the debt even a little bit if that's something similar for you? Come join us in the Debt Free by Christmas 2026 challenge if you like xx

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6644624/pay-all-your-debt-off-by-xmas-2026/p1

Artyfarty86

Happy New Year folks!

Thanks @RedLipstick - yes, I fully expect to be paying down a little more in these kind of months. I’m an avid cold weather hater, especially now I’m so much slighter - really feel it! - so I avoid going anywhere which helps with money saving.  I also have just two months in the year without a family birthday or gifting event (like Mother’s Day etc), and I will be making best use of those for debt payments.  

I’ll abstain from any challenges for now - I deffo won’t have this debt paid off this year, it’s not realistic for me but I do want to overpay by a £1000.  

First day of the year, and a NSD in the bag. Looking at the calendar, I will hopefully make 4 per week this month if I am careful with my incidental spending.  

Bills haven’t started to trickle out yet with the BH, so hopefully tomorrow I can see what’s going on with my money after they depart my bank account!

Also sold a few more Vinted items so that’s approximately £70 total that will come my way and making my house a little tidier!  

Made an effort to go for a dog walk today even though it’s super cold.  My dog is pretty lazy, and isn’t bothered about missing a walk, but I made us go, got some fresh air and felt good for it!