Credit Cold Turkey Advice

MidsHollie wrote: »

Hi All,
I suppose I had my light bulb moment in October and have been working since then to budget properly inc planning ahead for bigger expenses, pay off debts and cut down spending.
I feel like I did really well last month, but I'm struggling this month and really feel like I might have to use a credit card to make it through the month.
I've cut spending down (I think, anyway - I certainly am tracking every penny), I'm eating out of cupboards and freezers, and bought Christmas presents with vouchers where possible. I've put money aside in to a Monzo account for eating out, groceries and fuel, and money in to a savings account for annual expenses such as car expenses, insurance etc. I'm adding to an emergency fund.
I seem to be struggling with the transition from constantly using credit and paying it off (mainly), to cashflowing everything. Does anyone have any advice?

Hi MidsHollie
If you post a Statement of Affairs it will help people to advise you. In general I have found repaying debts takes far longer than I anticipated. My main advice would be keep going and try to be patient with yourself. As long as you have a budget that is workable and some disposable income including enough to repay your debts you are on the right track. I still used credit cards towards the end of each month but my debts have still reduced. It's not ideal but doesn't bother me any more as I know that my overall debt is reducing. It sounds like you could be doing what I do which is trying to pay off your debts too quickly and ending up without enough cash for the month.

That's not quite the way the SOA works, ideally. Your best bet is to put one together at the start of your debt-busting - which will reflect the way things are right now - and will also give you a document to look back on and see how far you've come, down the line, too! If you post that in here there is also a good chance that we might well spot areas where you can make savings that you might currently have missed - and the sooner you can start making the savings, the better, after all! Mostly what people find where their monthly spends are fairly low on things like energy etc but they are still struggling to make ends meet without resorting to using CC's is that they are spending money on small items which have crept up (The classic we always mention is the coffee every workday which can total to best part of £700 over a year!) Another area which is often underestimated is food - people go to the supermarket on a saturday and spend £50, so presume that their monthly spend on food is £216, but they forget the lunchtime meal deal a couple of times a week, the friday night takeaway, and the "top up shop" mid week when they just go ion for bread and milk and come out having spent £20 - that lot can easily total to an extra £50 a week - so doubling that annual spend!

Tracking down that surplus is definitely key!

Sometimes it works out cheaper to buy smaller bags of value range rice and pasta than buying the bigger bags that are not value branded. Tesco 20p spaghetti has been an MSE staple for many years, and I always buy their value long grain rice too! Check the price per 100g on everything before you make your purchase!