Adventure wanted, but first we must rid ourselves of debt

AdventureWanted · 7 February 2018 at 8:05PM

To do this week:
[STRIKE]1 Need to double check my direct debits/standing orders this month and increase a couple of my savings payments.[/STRIKE] done
[STRIKE]2 I had a renewal letter for tumble drier insurance DH took out which I dont want (gone up to £4.50 p/m). Need to phone them to cancel it. [/STRIKE] Done & also cancelled the DD
[STRIKE]3 Change reference details on banking for CC2 so I can make direct payments rather than making online payments via their website. done. [/STRIKE]
4 Accounts work
[STRIKE]5. Phone Tesco - 10p off a litre of fuel voucher was missing from delivery[/STRIKE] Done -They are sending me one.

Still have accounts work to do, so hopefully can do some in the evenings.

Today I’ve rounded down the bank accounts sending £20 to CC2 and 70p to the emergency fund. Am quite liking sending the odd pence to the emergency fund. It’s quite nice to see it getting higher without too much effort.

Has been a low spend day today. Me, DC1&2 all had haircuts today, which came to £18. Absolutely love our home hairdresser. It would be a nightmare going out to get haircuts for us all.

DH is visiting friends today and at the football tonight, so i imagine he’s having a fairly spendy day. (Thankfully it is out of his pocket money). Luckily he seems to be better recently with his spending and is more aware of what he’s buying. I’m so relieved, as was getting really fed up with being the nagging wife!

charlies_tribe · 8 February 2018 at 11:52AM

You are still doing really well.
I need to sort out hair cuts too, and maybe hair dye for me.. i've found quite a few grey hairs.

Have a lovely day.

AdventureWanted · 9 February 2018 at 2:56PM

Hi Charlies tribe, I had to dye my hair this week as I couldnt bear to look at the greys coming through any longer! I hate the process of dying the hair as it takes forever, but am pleased with the end result. Also this time I actually managed to buy the correct one (dark brown not darkest brown which I used last time and turned my hair black!).

Was planning on updating my diary last night, but was so shattered from a pretty awful night with DC2&3 the night before that I ended up going to bed at 8.30! DC3 woke up a couple of times in the night last night and DC2 woke up again after having a bad dream, but think I managed to get more sleep than usual. I even managed to wake up naturally by myself this morning which never happens.

Yesterday the £130 dd for cc4 came out and today I have managed to pay £100 to CC2 as DH was paid for some additional work.

Today is NSD number 4 of the month. Hopefully I can achieve a few more next week.

AdventureWanted · 10 February 2018 at 11:25AM

So yesterday didn’t end up being a NSD. Was doing so well until about 4 when I spoke to DH. He was having an awful day at work and sounded really miserable so I suggested getting a takeaway. The Indian we had was nice, but as soon as it arrived i regretted suggesting it. Luckily it only cost £18.20, so wasn’t horrifically expensive but still.
Weighed myself this morning and i have managed to put on 4 lbs over the last couple of weeks - really need to stop snacking quite as much, especially when I am stressed or bored. It would immediately reduce our groceries bill in the month. Also need to start exercising, as I know it improves my mood which would hopefully help with eating less and also losing a bit of weight.

Have rounded down my bank account today and sent £9 to CC2 and 90p to the emergency fund.

Current debt-
CC1 - £0
CC2 - £5,471
CC3 - £10,700
CC4 - £12,480

Total debt at 10/1/18 - £28,651

Emergency savings - £515.64

Really not sure what to do with the EF. Maybe the money I put towards the EF each month should be put half towards debt and half to holiday savings/home maintenance. Then I could continue paying the odd pence in a bank round down to the emergency fund. Hmmm.. actually maybe I should put the next couple of months EF money to the home maintenance fund as DH wants to finish the decking in our garden this spring/early summer so will need money for that. Hopefully I can save enough before he orders it!

Yesterday I had a chat with an old friend who has had a pretty rubbish couple of years. It really made me grateful for what I have. I think sometimes the debt level really gets me down, but in reality although it is depressing to think about we are paying it down and DH is currently being paid well for the work he is doing which is allowing us to make generous overpayments. Not sure how long it will continue, but I am really grateful for all of his hard work and that he is choosing to stay at a job he doesn’t particularly like to earn extra cash. I really need to start thinking more about what I am grateful for. I think it would improve my mindset and hopefully de stress me a bit. Take last night for instance DC3 was woken up by DC2 and awake from 4, but although I am exhausted today I wouldn’t swap them for the world.

AdventureWanted · 11 February 2018 at 8:56AM

Yesterday was NSD 4/15.

Today I have rounded down the joint account sending £11 to CC2 and 58p to the EF.

Today wont be a nsd as I have got food shopping coming. I have been so rubbish recently with meal planning so my food shops have been awful recently. I am hoping to make an inventory of all food in the cupboards, fridge and freezer so I can try and reduce the amount of shops I do for the rest of the month.

Treadingonplaymobil · 11 February 2018 at 9:04AM

You are doing so well, and those overpayments are adding up massively.

Are you going to keep building up your emergency fund, or are you happy with it at £500 for now? I really struggle with saving for emergencies when there is debt to pay off, and our emergency fund is always being raided before it can build up, but I would (in theory) like to get it up to £1k.

AdventureWanted · 11 February 2018 at 12:49PM

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

You are doing so well, and those overpayments are adding up massively.

Are you going to keep building up your emergency fund, or are you happy with it at £500 for now? I really struggle with saving for emergencies when there is debt to pay off, and our emergency fund is always being raided before it can build up, but I would (in theory) like to get it up to £1k.

I’m completely in two minds about the emergency fund. My head says I should build up a really decent emergency fund of at least 3k asap, as DH is self employed (I work for him too) so if he is off sick, his current contract drys up or he goes on a training course we would have no income! On the other hand I really hate seeing the level of debt we’re at and desperately want it gone.

CC2s 0% deal ends in July, so once that is dealt with (either balance transferred or paid) I will have until Dec 2019 to pay off CC3 and then I think it’s Oct 2020 for cc4. This month I put £200 into the EF, so I could continue to pay that until July when I could change the amount saved/going to debt. I guess having it sitting in my savings account instead of going straight off a 0% card wouldn’t be too bad (as long as I don’t spend it!).

charlies_tribe · 11 February 2018 at 1:01PM

AdventureWanted wrote: »

I’m completely in two minds about the emergency fund. My head says I should build up a really decent emergency fund of at least 3k asap, as DH is self employed (I work for him too) so if he is off sick, his current contract drys up or he goes on a training course we would have no income! On the other hand I really hate seeing the level of debt we’re at and desperately want it gone.

CC2s 0% deal ends in July, so once that is dealt with (either balance transferred or paid) I will have until Dec 2019 to pay off CC3 and then I think it’s Oct 2020 for cc4. This month I put £200 into the EF, so I could continue to pay that until July when I could change the amount saved/going to debt. I guess having it sitting in my savings account instead of going straight off a 0% card wouldn’t be too bad (as long as I don’t spend it!).

I know seeing the debt go down feels really good but having a good emergency fund would also stop you having to reuse the cards if any of the situations were to happen, putting the debt back up.

It's something i've done many times, paid every penny to the debt and then had to use the card when something unexpected crops up.

enthusiasticsaver · 11 February 2018 at 1:15PM

In your situation where you have no income and your DH is self employed then having a decent emergency fund is a must to stop you resorting to cards. Having the level of debt that you have means that the mentality of relying on the cards has to be halted if you dont want the debt to rise.

Also the habit of spending (on a takeaway in this case) when things dont go right compounds your problems. Not only are you spending out of budget unless you borrow from a spending pot but you are also using spending money as a panacea to having a bad day which we all do from time to time. There is a strong link for many of us between state of mind and spending which essentially is unhealthy if you are in debt.

AdventureWanted · 11 February 2018 at 1:50PM

I think I am getting better with spending and have often told DH that we have to save for something before buying it. I definitely struggle on bad days not to make myself feel better by either buying something or more often eating chocolate/sweets! I know it’s completely unhealthy, but it’s such a hard habit to break.

With CC2 coming up for renewal so to speak in July should I continue throwing extra money at it and try and pay it off or put that extra cash in the EF? If I don’t balance transfer it then I will save the fee (unless there is a 0% fee card available at the time). I really would love to not have to use credit cards again and have a substantial EF - at the moment I know if DH goes on a course and doesn’t earn money we would end up doing a 0% money transfer. One of the problems I’m always fighting is DH! He still doesn’t really see a problem with our debt balance and wouldn’t think twice about borrowing more so he could go on a course, as he knows we can repay it (as long as he is working!). On the plus side I deal with all the joint and business finances (he has his pocket money each month), so hopefully I can build a savings buffer before we need it.

Adventure wanted, but first we must rid ourselves of debt

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