Slimming the Wallet... and Me!
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Alarae
Posts: 355 Forumite
I am a long time lurker of the MSE forums, and even when I was not in debt I loved to read the diaries here as there are just so many inspirational people on this board who really prove you can make the best of a bad situation! For a long time I have had the luxury of not having to 'relate' to those in debt but unfortunately in the past year this is no longer the case. I am no longer an arm's length lurker- I am a fellow DFW!
There isn't a good reason why the debt has crept up in the past 12 months,but I like to think that what the money was spent on was worth it, even if my net worth disagrees!
The main factors were:
Getting Married
Definitely worth it- although could have been cheaper. The memories are priceless though- unfortunately the wedding itself wasn't!
Losing Weight
Since January 2016, I have lost 3 stone 2 pounds to date, going from an obese BMI, size 14, to a normal BMI and size 8/10. On a 5'3 frame (on a good day), it has made such a massive change. I am so much happier in myself, in (and out!) of clothes and the gym has become my salvation. My OH likes to potter around the house in the evening after work so I would be sitting on my own in the living room feeling dejected- now I'm spending that same time in the gym, getting fitter and healthier and no longer dwelling thinking that he loves the house more than me! At times, I do still think he does :rotfl:
Basically, having to re-buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes, plus gym clothes AND replacing said gym clothes when they got to big, plus a gym membership has totted up to a lot. A fair estimate would probably be about £1000 since January
Buying a House
Definitely worth it but my expenses on the household (rent/mortgage, utilities) has gone up from £500 to £800 per month. This is due to us borrowing a deposit from OH's dad and we are paying this back at £400 a month (£200 each). Our mortgage is cheaper than renting and we were fortunate with the deposit so I can't complain really. Since April 2015 when we bought the house, it has raised in value by 40k.
Changing Career
Basically I decided to change careers to pursue different interests as my previous role just wasn't fulfilling me as it used to. So I moved from marketing repossessions for lenders to working in tax! Quite a difference, but I'm loving it. While my base salary stayed pretty much the same, unfortunately I lost the quarterly bonuses I used to get which could be anything from £300-£1000 after tax. It always meant I balanced in the black on average. My new role is a training role, fantastically flexible with hours and with magnificent people. They are paying for my study costs and paid study leave (appox 7k), so technically I am on a better salary- I just don't see it!
Debt as follows:
MBNA: £5,165.93
£2,392.00 - 0% until 17/03/2017
£2,826.11 - 0% until 16/12/2017
AA: £972.00
0% until August 2018 (unsure of exact date)
Barclaycard: £938.54
0% until 28/09/2018
So all in all, over the past 15 or so months my savings have decreased from £1,500 to zero and debt has crept up to £7076.47 :eek:
The Barclaycard has been taken out recently for 0% on purchases to cover my car insurance and MOT/Service. My car has cost me so much in the last year (new tires, new radiator) and I will have to get the cambelt replaced at some point next year... Trying to put it off as long as possible but it is said it needs to be replaced every 5 years, and it has been 7! Another thing to note re car expenses is that with my new job, my petrol costs have tripled. I used to be able to fill up once for a whole month at a cost of £35~, now that covers me for about 10 days.
My salary will increase as I pass my qualifications- my first pay rise should be to 25kish in November 2017 and then I am hoping for 32-35k in November 2018 when I finish my other qualification. It would be easier if I had it now though!
My plan is to try and eliminate the debt by December 2017, so I can squirrel away my pay rise to fund some house overhauling (i.e. new bathroom/kitchen). At the very least, I would like to get rid of the MBNA. My OH is brilliant and while he doesn't know the exact totals of my debt, he knows I have some and is happy to pay for the little bits which are required for the house. Obviously when I am debt free, I will be contributing towards it. At the moment, I feel a bit useless
If you have made it through all of that ramble (very cathartic!) then please join me for a :beer:, although mine will be water as I am not that fond of alcohol! Thankfully, it is nicer on the wallet!
There isn't a good reason why the debt has crept up in the past 12 months,but I like to think that what the money was spent on was worth it, even if my net worth disagrees!
The main factors were:
Getting Married
Definitely worth it- although could have been cheaper. The memories are priceless though- unfortunately the wedding itself wasn't!
Losing Weight
Since January 2016, I have lost 3 stone 2 pounds to date, going from an obese BMI, size 14, to a normal BMI and size 8/10. On a 5'3 frame (on a good day), it has made such a massive change. I am so much happier in myself, in (and out!) of clothes and the gym has become my salvation. My OH likes to potter around the house in the evening after work so I would be sitting on my own in the living room feeling dejected- now I'm spending that same time in the gym, getting fitter and healthier and no longer dwelling thinking that he loves the house more than me! At times, I do still think he does :rotfl:
Basically, having to re-buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes, plus gym clothes AND replacing said gym clothes when they got to big, plus a gym membership has totted up to a lot. A fair estimate would probably be about £1000 since January
Buying a House
Definitely worth it but my expenses on the household (rent/mortgage, utilities) has gone up from £500 to £800 per month. This is due to us borrowing a deposit from OH's dad and we are paying this back at £400 a month (£200 each). Our mortgage is cheaper than renting and we were fortunate with the deposit so I can't complain really. Since April 2015 when we bought the house, it has raised in value by 40k.
Changing Career
Basically I decided to change careers to pursue different interests as my previous role just wasn't fulfilling me as it used to. So I moved from marketing repossessions for lenders to working in tax! Quite a difference, but I'm loving it. While my base salary stayed pretty much the same, unfortunately I lost the quarterly bonuses I used to get which could be anything from £300-£1000 after tax. It always meant I balanced in the black on average. My new role is a training role, fantastically flexible with hours and with magnificent people. They are paying for my study costs and paid study leave (appox 7k), so technically I am on a better salary- I just don't see it!
Debt as follows:
MBNA: £5,165.93
£2,392.00 - 0% until 17/03/2017
£2,826.11 - 0% until 16/12/2017
AA: £972.00
0% until August 2018 (unsure of exact date)
Barclaycard: £938.54
0% until 28/09/2018
So all in all, over the past 15 or so months my savings have decreased from £1,500 to zero and debt has crept up to £7076.47 :eek:
The Barclaycard has been taken out recently for 0% on purchases to cover my car insurance and MOT/Service. My car has cost me so much in the last year (new tires, new radiator) and I will have to get the cambelt replaced at some point next year... Trying to put it off as long as possible but it is said it needs to be replaced every 5 years, and it has been 7! Another thing to note re car expenses is that with my new job, my petrol costs have tripled. I used to be able to fill up once for a whole month at a cost of £35~, now that covers me for about 10 days.
My salary will increase as I pass my qualifications- my first pay rise should be to 25kish in November 2017 and then I am hoping for 32-35k in November 2018 when I finish my other qualification. It would be easier if I had it now though!
My plan is to try and eliminate the debt by December 2017, so I can squirrel away my pay rise to fund some house overhauling (i.e. new bathroom/kitchen). At the very least, I would like to get rid of the MBNA. My OH is brilliant and while he doesn't know the exact totals of my debt, he knows I have some and is happy to pay for the little bits which are required for the house. Obviously when I am debt free, I will be contributing towards it. At the moment, I feel a bit useless
If you have made it through all of that ramble (very cathartic!) then please join me for a :beer:, although mine will be water as I am not that fond of alcohol! Thankfully, it is nicer on the wallet!
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Comments
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A loose income/expenses is as follows:
Income - 1348
Salary: 1,348
Expenses - 1050
Household (mortgage, utilities): 800
Gym: 30
Mobile Phone: 10
Food: 100
Petrol: 110
CC Repayments - 107
MBNA: 52
AA: 25
BC: 30
Surplus for everything else - 191
The surplus is to cover everything else such as clothes, car, presents etc... Obviously it disappears! The food budget is definitely something I need to get hold of, as it stands since I have been tracking spends since my last payday on the 26th I have already managed to spend approximately £86! We are only a third of the way through the month *sigh*.
Things will be looking slightly rosier as I have secured a part time job to fit around my full time work. I swore up and down I would never return to retail, and yup, that's what I'm doing! Needs must though. I will be donning my Mr S uniform once again from the end of this month! Thankfully it will be online shopping, so no customer interaction for the most part.
My new working schedule will look horrendous, but it is manageable, at least for 12 months or so:
Mon: 5-8am at Mr S, 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job
Tues: 5-8am at Mr S, 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job
Weds: 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job
Thurs: 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job
Fri: 5-8am at Mr S, 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job
Sat: 5-8am at Mr S
Sun: FREE!
As in my first post I am an avid lover of gym classes, so those will be slotted in as usual after work. So a revised timetable of my life becomes:
Mon: 5-8am at Mr S, 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job, 6 - 8pm at gym
Tues: 5-8am at Mr S, 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job, 6 - 8pm at gym
Weds: 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job
Thurs: 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job, 6-7pm at gym
Fri: 5-8am at Mr S, 8:30 - 4:30pm at main job (will give up gym this day, can't make the class as can't finish at 4)
Sat: 5-8am at Mr S, 10am - 12pm at gym
Sun: FREE!
The gym is my wind-down time, so I can't see myself giving it up. I am fully aware of when my body needs a break however so if needs be, I won't go to the gym if I just need a complete rest one day as I will be working a lot. Working for Mr S will net me an additional £300 after tax, so it will be valuable when tackling this debt.
I have also dipped back into Matched Betting, which is something I did loosely back at University, so I understand the mechanics. In the past two weeks I am in profit of £160! :beer: I then spent £50 in a student sessions night as there were discounts across all the stores and I recently found out none of my winter wardrobe fits me since I lost the weight
Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to destroy the MBNA balance that runs out in March. My current payments go against the longer 0% offer, as I took that out first, so I can't even chip at it. Will be saving my pennies in a separate account then paying off as a lump. The rest I may have to transfer but have an open Tesco CC that is always giving me 0% offers.
So this is my plan. It's not a well-thought out plan, nor does it have a lot of detail, but it is all I have got.
I am determined to get rid of this noose around my neck. I have seen what it has done to my two sisters and I refuse to admit defeat.0 -
This week I am on study leave, attending a revision course in town until Friday so it is saving on petrol costs. Normally costs me £4.50 or so in petrol everyday to get to and from work, so it is a nice saving! Also the same next week.
While studying is a bit boring, I do enjoy it- if only for the extra hour I get in bed! I need to get everything together quicker tomorrow morning though as I ended up forgetting my gym trainers and having to turn back to get them, meaning I didn't get a park in time beside the University. I had to leave the car in a retail park which allows a free two hours parking, move it during my mid-morning break to another free two hour car park opposite then move it again at lunch! Luckily I could park at the gym as the machine is still broken, so no need for a paid ticket. Did mean I spent my lunch break walking back to where I just drove from!
Finished study course just before 5, walked to gym (about 25 minutes), changed and did my Body Conditioning class 6-7 then Bokwa 7-8.
Quick shower at home before a scrummy stir fry of chicken, chow mein sauce, peppers, mushrooms, baby sweet corn and sugar snap peas.
I do have a £30 free bet to place, but no time tonight. Should get about £22 profit.
Funny thing, I checked my emails after gym and got one from Showcase Cinemas, somewhere I sent my CV to when I was looking for some part time hours. They are now interviewing tomorrow and Wednesday and asked me to call if I want an interview. I'm tempted to go, even though it would be in addition to the increased hours I've already signed up to. If it is only another 8 hours or so, and I get some free cinema tickets in the deal it doesn't seem too bad? Doesn't hurt to go for the interview... Does it? Not sure if I am being optimistic. Americans seem to work every hour of the day, so why can't I? :huh:0 -
Forgot to add the spends!
£1 on Special K Chewy Delight bars
£0.80 on chow mein sauce
Didn't really need the special k bars but I normally have a small chocolate treat every day (I have a drawer at work dedicated to it!) and forgot to bring anything with me. It is a box of four though, so I have one bar to take for the remaining three days of my course.0 -
Another day in town on my revision course, another near hour stuck in traffic on a usual ten minute journey! Ended up 25 minutes late :mad:
Technically a NSD as the razor blades I picked up my OH will pay me back for. Picked up in Superdrug as I get 10% off with my NUS card. I also went to Greggs during my travels and redeemed the free popcorn and granola bar via the Greggs app- gave the granola bar to the OH. He was happy for the treat and my wallet was happy for not having to pay!
Finally used up the £30 free bet. Profit of exactly £22 :T
Not at the gym today, and I have to say I am missing my usual pilates/spin classes but I do have a lovely night out with the OH to the comedy- seeing Romesh Ragna(something). Tickets bought months ago and not planning to buy a drink. Hopefully the OH will pay for parking so I can keep my NSD! If not it is only £3.50 so can't complain. May lose the NSD anyway as I am lusting after a KitKat McFlurry at the moment..
Dinner is ready- reduced M&S battered fish with chunky chips from L!dl. Finish it off with some ketchup- scrummy!
Oh- I also have an interview tomorrow for Showcase. I sent my CV ages ago but they didn't have vacancies. They are now interviewing so I'll go to see if I can pick up an evening shift. I heard that apparently they give out two free cinema tickets per week if you work there, so that will mean I can go out with OH/friends for free! If all it means is that I give up a bit of my time to do so, I'll do it. Plus I'll get paid for working there, so all the better :money:0 -
Good luck - you certainly have a busy life in and are well organised. Congratulations on the great weight loss!Finally Debt Free! - July 2016 🌟
Finished Emergency Fund- £10,000 April 2017
🌟
RETIRED: MAY 2021!!!!😀🎆
My diary: “Seasidegal's Scrimpy Retirement Diary!”0 -
Thank you Seaside! Congratulations to becoming debt free as well- I bet it is a wonderful feeling. I can't wait to feel the same
Not sure I agree with the organised though- I think my diary may be misleading! My friends always used to give me 'wiggle room' with times as I was always late... 'wiggle room' became bigger to 'wiggle mansion' in the end!
Managed to keep my NSD yesterday- OH paid for parking (I drove) and I resisted the urge for the McFlurry. Not good for the waistline! Tipped below 9 stone 7 this morning so chuffed with that. Haven't weighed this little since I was... 10? Short people and a lot of McDonalds add up over the years...
Another day on the revision course and it feels like I actually know my stuff. Shocker! My exams are coming up quickly on 1st November... :eek: Definitely need to knuckle down and study. I only need 50% (50 marks) but it is so easy to miss things and lose marks quickly. I can't afford any failures if I want to keep on track to qualify in Nov 2017, with my higher qualification to study for in 2018.
Not a NSD unfortunately as I wandered through M&S during lunch and they were selling the chocolate biscuit boxes half price at £3. My dad, sister and nephew are coming up this weekend so thought it would be nice for them to snack on. At least that was the idea until I opened it when I got back home and scoffed one of the milk chocolate shortcake biscuits...
Had my interview today after my revision course and got offered the position :T Twelve hours minimum but that will be one weekday evening and a Sat shift, so not too sad. I wouldn't be doing much then anyway! Extra pennies and all that. Turned out that the free cinema ticket thing I read on the web was true as well. Just have to be there at least a month and work twelve hours a week and I'll get two free tickets to use a week. Result! Plus if I don't want to use them I can give them to someone else as long as I print them off first. Two cinema tickets for a fiver anyone? :rotfl:
Had a reload free bet offer for £5, so did that today and made a cool £3.80. Paid for the box of biccies!
I've re-downloaded Fast Budget app to my phone to track my spends. I paid for the full version yonks ago but never used it properly. It's quite nifty; you can create budgets for each month, input your salary, credit cards etc and allocate your spends to catagories so you can see where you overspend. I'm already over on clothing... oops. That is because of a halloween outfit though, so all for fun!
Anyway, the OH is out of the bath so dinner is calling out to be made. Until tomorrow! :money:0 -
Congrats on getting the position! :j
Having a budget app is so helpful. I use YNAB and it really opens your eyes to how much all the little things can mount up. I love it!Finally Debt Free! - July 2016 🌟
Finished Emergency Fund- £10,000 April 2017
🌟
RETIRED: MAY 2021!!!!😀🎆
My diary: “Seasidegal's Scrimpy Retirement Diary!”0 -
Seasidegal58 wrote: »Congrats on getting the position! :j
Having a budget app is so helpful. I use YNAB and it really opens your eyes to how much all the little things can mount up. I love it!
It's crazy. I've gone from one job to three in the space of two weeks. Was also offered another part time role but I've let that one slide as the hours overlapped.
I always wanted to try YNAB but from what I understand now it has changed to a subscription model now? Missed the one-off cost train unfortunately. Fast Budget seems to do what YNAB would offer though, so I'm giving that a go for now!
Had my induction today for Showcase, around two and a half hours of admin and showing us around. Shifts are to start straight away- although I was the only one to go on Box Office and my scheduling manager isn't there, so was given an odd shift by one of the other managers. Got home and told OH, only to be reminded we are seeing Jimmy Carr that evening! I need to drop paperwork in on Saturday though so I'll speak with them then and try and move it to another weekday. Put my availability down for Weds and Fri night, 6pm - close and Sat. I may change Sat to day only after 9am, but the only issue is I will be at Sainsburys (15 miles away) doing the 5 - 9am shift. Then I can't go to the gym either if I do days... I'll leave it for now.
Get paid weekly from Showcase, so things won't seem too sad on the debt front as I can add to my totals weekly, 4 weekly and monthly from the respective jobs! Showcase is minimum wage but with the recent boost to £6.95 I will be looking to take home around £66 per week on 12 hours. So an extra £260ish every 4 weeks. Coupled with Sainsbugs, I'll be earning an extra £560ish every 4 weeks. If I can really knuckle down on miscellaneous spending from my usual salary, I may be able to put away around £700 a month to debt. In theory I should be able to save up enough to pay off the first lump of 0% on the MBNA when it expires in March... £2,392 in five months works out to be £478.40 per month. I think I'll set that as a goal.. my two part times should cover that easily but you never know. Disasters happen!
Last day in town for my revision course, the afternoon was a 3 hour 15 minute mock exam in test conditions :eek: If my exam paper in November is exactly the same as the one I sat, I'll be laughing as I could do all of it!
Couldn't park for free and walk in this morning (no spaces) and ideally needed my car nearby to get to my induction for 5pm so had to park in town. £16.50 it cost me!! Luckily I can reclaim via work expenses, so no real expense to me.
Nothing bought today, so ignoring the parking as I'll get it back at the end of the month anyway I'm classing today as a NSD! Even ignored the multipack of mini skittle packs on offer for a pound in Tesco :T
Did a couple of bet offers today, but free bets won't credit until after the first bet has settled. Two £20 free bets swinging my way on Sunday, so realistically should get 70-75% of that back. So looking at around £30 profit. Not too shabby for about 20 minutes work! I've made around £200 (pure profit) in two weeks so I'm really chuffed at the moment :A0 -
You'll be amazed how much you can save if you can drop most of the miscellaneous spending!
Finally Debt Free! - July 2016 🌟
Finished Emergency Fund- £10,000 April 2017
🌟
RETIRED: MAY 2021!!!!😀🎆
My diary: “Seasidegal's Scrimpy Retirement Diary!”0 -
Every pound here and there certainly adds up and it is something I am trying to knuckle down on. Aiming for NSDs are really important at the moment.
Unfortunately, no NSD today. £36 on petrol and £27.45 on some Toms for the OH for Christmas. They were half price in the sale, and I also got another 15% off! Not too shabby.
Work expenses have been claimed today while at work as I am out of the office Mon-Thurs again to study for Paper 2- the one I hate. Ugh.
My dad, sister and nephew have come up tonight and will be staying until Sunday. I'm absolutely loving having them here, as it is often me travelling to them as opposed to the other way around. It does mean this weekend will not be very MSE as we have planned a trip out to the science centre and a trip to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. The buffet is pretty standard affair for when my family finally comes up to see me!
Forgot there was an extra £8.15 on spends in L!dl getting some brekkie bits and a couple of ciders for OH, which he will give me money back for.
OH also surprised me with a bunch of flowers and wine today. Apparently I had ruined his plans as he wanted to surprise me with them after I got back from the gym, but I didn't go so ended up home before him and saw them on the counter! I got to give him a free surprise though, as we had a working lunch today due to training they provided us with platters of M&S sandwiches. I ate my fill and didn't need dinner and brought back a load for OH to scoff on! Best wife ever.
Anyway, off to sleep as no doubt my nephew will be up nice and early. Night!0
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