Trying to do everything all at once!

LiveLifeFull · 20 February 2018 at 11:52AM

I have been reading everyone's debt free diaries for years now, and finally had my lightbulb moment about a year ago. Since then, I have paid off around £1500, whilst still going on holiday, being accepted for a mortgage and generally still trying to live my life.

I can't thank everyone enough for the all the tips and ideas they have given me! It has really helped me stay on track. However, I can feel myself slipping back into old habits lately, so I think its time I started my own diary.

You will have to accept my apologies as I lay out my plans: I am a dreamer! But I keep telling myself, the faster I pay off debt, the faster I can start saving, and the sooner I will be off travelling the world!

So, here we go as it stands:
- £1250.00 Overdraft
- £849.69 Credit Card
- £4131.25 Car Finance 0%
- £381.60 Glasses Finance 0%
- £2800 Windows Finance 0 %

A little background: Basically, I met my partner around two years ago, and we instantly fell in love. In August last year, we got accepted for a mortgage and moved in together, and we had to do a few things to the house (hence the windows). But we want to get married in 2021 and try for a baby, but still go on holiday in between all that, and generally do 'relationshippy' things. My overdraft and credit card happened before I met my boyfriend, as I went travelling in Africa, but shouldn't have really, as I'm still paying for it now.

Our plan, which has been working so far, is for my partner to pay all house related costs (mortgage, bills) etc, and I use my money to pay off debt and put money towards savings. I know our debt isn't as big as others, but I also want to be mortgage free eventually, and save for a campervan so I can travel the world with my love!! (cringe haha). But we both have quite a bit of disposable income, so it should be manageable.

If you've read this far, thankyou! I will post the SOA as soon as I've finished it!

Thanks Everyone!

stvn1 · 20 February 2018 at 11:57AM

Welcome. I!!!8217;ll be following with interest. Good luck. I!!!8217;ll leave the advice to the wiser members, I!!!8217;m still trying to escape from my mess so I!!!8217;m not in a position to give advice just yet!

LiveLifeFull · 20 February 2018 at 12:27PM

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1472.96
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1400
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2872.96
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 395 (Partner Pays)
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 128.80
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 108 (Partner Pays)
Electricity............................. 34 (Partner Pays)
Gas..................................... 26 (Partner Pays)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20.67 (Partner Pays)
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 115.02 (For two phones, I pay one, partner pays the other
TV Licence.............................. 12.67 (Partner Pays)
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 52.99 (Partner Pays - For Virgin and broadband)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 (I pay £150, partner pays £100)
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 320 (£70 of this is mine, the other is partners, which he claims back)
Road tax................................ 5 (Only £60 a year between us)
Car Insurance........................... 90 (I pay half, partner pays half)
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 42 (I pay half, partner pays half)
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 20.76 (Partner Pays)
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 17.69 (Partner Pays)
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 10 (Partner Pays)
Entertainment........................... 50 (Partner Pays)
Holiday................................. 375 (I know this is high, but we are going on holiday Mat 2018 to Bali)
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2043.6

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 125000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 131000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 83619....(395)......0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 4131.25..(128.8)....
Total secured & HP debts...... 87750.25..-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Glasses........................381.6.....31.6..... .NaN
Windows........................2800......175...... .NaN
Credit Card....................849.69....14.95.....0
Overdraft......................1250......10....... .0

So, as you can see, I think we are quite frugal anyway in terms of our bills! Hopefully, someone can spot something I haven't. Our phones are on contract until Jan 2019, after that we will be going sim only. The rest of the money is going to be going into savings and debt repayments!

I want to use this diary, to make sure I'm not throwing away my money on ridiculous things. The amount I spent at work on lunch is EMBARRESSING. There is no need. I want to keep myself accountable, so that on day, I am debt free, with savings and I can live my life to the fullest!

LiveLifeFull · 20 February 2018 at 1:08PM

I am more productive when I write myself lists. So I will check in every morning, and evening to make sure I am keeping on top of everything! I forgot to mention, I am 26, and my partner is 28, so we are really eager to get on top of this debt business and live a debt free life.

- Keep on top of work (really want a promotion at some point in the future, so I am making sure I am on top of everything, to make myself available to help others) DONE.
- Make lunch for work tomorrow DONE.
- Make dinner from stores, and meal plan for shopping on Wednesday. (We go shopping twice a week, where we buy for the next few days, as we were having so much waste, it was costing us so much money) HALF DONE
- Do two loads of washing and hang to dry. HALF DONE
- Tidy and wipe down bathroom, kitchen and living room DONE
- Research my pension; how much am I paying in/ How much is my company matching? NOT DONE
- Paint my nails NOT DONE
- Finish book I am reading DONE
- Put away clean, dry clothes DONE
- Do budget for next month DONE

Really need some encouragement to stay on track and not blow my money on random things that I'll forget about in half a day because I've eaten it.

LiveLifeFull · 21 February 2018 at 1:43PM

Had a long chat with my boyfriend last night, and we are just not comfortable with having any overdraft/credit card debt. We have decided to let the 0% finance purchases and my car finance run their courses, but we want to pay the rest back asap, before we book any more holidays etc. So from May 2018, we should be able to pay approx. £500 per month, so it should be gone by the LATEST November, and that is without being extra frugal. If we really got stuck in, it could be done by August.

To do list:
- Stay on top of work related tasks DONE-ISH
- Make dinner from stores DONE
- Make lunch for work tomorrow NOT DONE (GRR)
- Clean kitchen/bathroom/living room DONE
- Two loads of washing ONE DONE
- Do meal plan for Friday/Saturday/Sunday. We didn't do a meal plan yesterday for the week, as its payday on Friday, and we are trying to be extra frugal this week, so we are making do with what is in. NOT DONE

Next months budget:
Salary: £1472.96

Car Finance £132.90
Phone £55.02
Windows £175.00
Cineworld £17.95
Gym £21.00
Glasses £31.67
Petrol £29.98
Food £150.00
Savings for Bali £375.00
Debt Repayments £20.92
Birthday £160.00
Mothers day £55.00
Boyfriend £20.00
House Renovations Fund £55.46
Car Tax £30.00
Radio 1 weekend £74.00
Car Insurance Renewal £69.00

I've just done a budget with my own wages, as my boyfriend pays all the bills, so that is what the budget looks like for next month. I've said before I want to pay off debt and still have fun, so that is why I'm only paying off a minimal amount of debt for next month. I wont be pay off a lot until after we come back from holiday in May.

jvr · 21 February 2018 at 2:04PM

Hi

Nothing wrong with having big dreams

I noticed you put £200 down as food budget for both of you but then you say you spend loads on lunches.... is this accurate spending? Birthdays and mothers day seem quite high too, is this a lot of people or something could save money on? Looking forward to seeing how you get on!

enthusiasticsaver · 21 February 2018 at 2:25PM

Is that credit card and overdraft really at 0%?

You need an emergency fund as you have a house and 2 cars.

It is very easy for debt to increase and never get dealt with especially when people enjoy a relatively good lifestyle with holidays etc which you obviously do. There has to be a balance and good that you are saving for this holiday and the credit card and overdraft at the moment are just over £2k. Where incidentally are the holiday savings as you haven't shown it on the soa?

Is the HP the car? Birthdays and Mother's Day is high and will take up your whole annual budget of £20 per month. Why not take lunch from home every day and buy it out as a special treat once in a while rather than it being the norm. I think in the 30odd years I was working it was rare for me to buy lunch out any more often than once a month. Home made sandwiches, wraps, soups or leftovers. It just takes a bit of organising and saves a fortune.

LiveLifeFull · 21 February 2018 at 2:36PM

jvr wrote: »

Hi

Nothing wrong with having big dreams I noticed you put £200 down as food budget for both of you but then you say you spend loads on lunches.... is this accurate spending? Birthdays and mothers day seem quite high too, is this a lot of people or something could save money on? Looking forward to seeing how you get on!

I am going to try not to spend anything on lunches, as its such an expensive cafe, and take my own. My partner also spends a load on it, when we really don't need to. We have decided that I'll put £150 and he will put £100 towards food shopping, and that will cover BF/Lunch/Dinners, anything left over at the end of the month will go into another savings pot.

I have been umm'ing about the amount I am putting towards mothers day. My mum has had a really stressful year so far, and deserves something nice. I was going to buy her Pandora earings, (that's why I've put aside so much) but I guess I could try and find something else that is just as nice. Any ideas on cheap but nice mothers day gifts are welcome! She really needs a treat though, shes been through so much.

Its my partners birthday in April.. and we already have tickets for the Harry Potter Tour in London, and I kind of wanted him to be able to 'go wild' in the shop at the end. But I completely agree that £160 is ALOT. I will reduce this.

Thanks so much for replying! You've really made me think!

LiveLifeFull · 21 February 2018 at 2:42PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Is that credit card and overdraft really at 0%?

You need an emergency fund as you have a house and 2 cars.

It is very easy for debt to increase and never get dealt with especially when people enjoy a relatively good lifestyle with holidays etc which you obviously do. There has to be a balance and good that you are saving for this holiday and the credit card and overdraft at the moment are just over £2k. Where incidentally are the holiday savings as you haven't shown it on the soa?

Is the HP the car? Birthdays and Mother's Day is high and will take up your whole annual budget of £20 per month. Why not take lunch from home every day and buy it out as a special treat once in a while rather than it being the norm. I think in the 30odd years I was working it was rare for me to buy lunch out any more often than once a month. Home made sandwiches, wraps, soups or leftovers. It just takes a bit of organising and saves a fortune.

Thanks for replying enthusiasticsaver! I was worried nobody would!

I didn't really think about an emergency fund. But it does need to be addressed. Especially as our boiler is super old, we are constantly thinking it could conk out on us at any moment. I will discuss with the boyf later tonight, and see how much we can put towards an EF each month. What do you think is a good amount?

The credit cards and overdrafts are definitely not 0% - I need to figure out how much interest I am paying. The OD is way more expensive than my card though. I might look into seeing if I can get a 0% card and transfer them on. HP is my car. My partners is already paid for.

Home made lunches are the way forward for us! £5 + a day in the shop downstairs is ridiculous. We've budgeted for extra food money to make nice lunches, and then anything spare from that at the end of the month will be split between us to have something nice!

Thankyou!

LiveLifeFull · 21 February 2018 at 2:47PM

Sorry - missed the bit about our holiday savings pot! I have an ISA for all our savings. There isn't much in there at the moment. I have £200 for "house renovations" which could also double as the beginning of an emergency fund. and I also have £848.42 saved so far towards are holiday, the flights are already paid for. My plan is save £375 per month up until we go! :A

jvr · 21 February 2018 at 3:09PM

Previously I never saved any emergency funds or pots and tried to throw against the debt... a year later I am in more debt than ever so EF is not my priority over my debt. I know that mentally when I was forced to put stuff on cc because I had no back up I also thought why not put this or that on cc too... and now I am in this situation! So its new for me too!
As for mothers day group on do lots of offers on afternoon tea and things, obviously depends on what your mum is into but think its nice sometimes to do something fun together instead of material gift?

Trying to do everything all at once!

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