Oops, back again...

lcc86 · 25 August 2017 at 9:08AM

So, after thinking hard about whether to start another diary I've decided I need to do so in order to make sure I pay off my shiny new debts again once and for all!!! :mad:

To give some background, I was in debt for most of my adult life from 21 to 30 years old as I was just extremely irresponsible with money :eek: I kept it secret from my family and managed to pay it off earlier this year when I sold my flat.

I kept an 'emergency' credit card which was to be used for work expenses and any aforementioned emergencies. However I wasn't strict enough with myself and used it to book a mini break, and a couple of other things. I'd budget to repay it the following month, but surprise surprise actual emergencies occurred e.g my windscreen smashed and needed replacing, my car needed some new parts, and more recently I've had vet fees to pay. All of which has meant I now have £635 on there, with the final vet bill still to be sent to me, so realistically it'll be about £800. My phone also died a few weeks ago and so I used my Very account to get a new one at £200. On top of that I've also just signed up to a chiropractor treatment plan to fix some longstanding issues with my spine.

So basically I wanted to start a diary to help on the journey to clear all the debt again once and for all! My biggest error when I became debt free was not focusing on an emergency fund (I booked a holiday instead :rotfl:). I've been part of the 365 day challenge this year so have decided that that money will be my emergency fund and I'll hopefully add to it next year as well. No holidays next year outside the UK as I'm returning to uni via distance learning in a few weeks so I'm hoping I'll be so busy with that that time will fly and I won't even notice!

So time to bite the bullet and write down the totals:

Very account £177 (mobile phone) 0% interest
Credit card £625, 0% interest, broken down into:
- £129 camper an holiday
- £25 windscreen
- £25 chiropractor
- £240 vet fees (with more to follow)
- £136 car parts
- £60 car insurance (renewed a few weeks ago and didn't quite have enough)
- £10 work expenses (not too concerned about this as will be reimbursed)

Grand total of £802 :mad::eek:

I've seen over the last few weeks that it's incredibly easy to rack up debt when you don't have an emergency fund. Each time I've thought oh I'll budget to repay X over the next month or two months, but then something else comes along and throws a spanner in the works. So no more! Time to clear it once and for all! I'm annoyed with myself that after everything I went through to clear the debt last time, it's easily crept back up again within 6 months. I have the means to not be in debt, I just need to be smarter. And remember that emergency really does mean emergency!

I'll start contributing properly when I get paid next week. I've set the budget and the plan is to put £250 towards credit card, £30 to Very, and I also need to save £250 for various bits and bobs. I hope to be debt free again by January or February at the latest.

So if anyone wants to join me and listen to my ramblings again, feel free!

enthusiasticsaver · 25 August 2017 at 9:20AM

Emergency fund is a must to avoid debt and yes you have seen how easy it is to take your eye off the ball but at least you stopped at £800 rather than £9000 this time. Budgeting, living within your income and emergency fund will all help keep you out of debt for the long term. If your income is reducing then living within your budget is even more important.

Holidays often seem to be the sticking point for people. I wonder if it is because when they are booked they are often months away and people think oh I can save for this or repay the deposit paid on credit card then before you know it the holiday has been and gone and the cost still on the credit card. We had a holiday fund years ago and never booked until the money was there to pay for it.

System · 25 August 2017 at 9:21AM

I think people will resonate with you. I cleared £15000 of debt on a DMP 2010 to 2013 , but have ended up £5000 in debt again. This time though I found this forum and hopefully will be debt free in 18 months and will never happen again.

Good luck with your plan , EF is a must .

lcc86 · 25 August 2017 at 9:55AM

Agree with you both! I was so happy to be out of debt that I just wanted to enjoy it... Still, lesson learned and hopefully for good this time! Onwards and upwards.

Orange_Ena · 25 August 2017 at 11:24PM

Welcome back lcc

You can do it, and enthusiastic is right, it's good you're doing something now while the debt is £800.

I'll be cheering you on

redofromstart · 28 August 2017 at 9:15AM

Hello, and good luck to you.

lcc86 · 29 August 2017 at 11:20AM

Thanks Red!

No time like the present to start this new diary properly! I've seen my payslip for the coming month and it's as expected, no expenses as my manager didn't authorise them in time and I forgot to chase, but it's not the end of the world. I've managed to finalise September's budget so we're good to go :money:

I get paid tomorrow and will be aiming for 18 NSD's from tomorrow up until next payday at the end of September. Also aiming for 20 'healthy days' throughout the month as well, and to spend less than £20 on toiletries/household goods throughout the month. I used to spend £10-£20 on toiletries max but in recent months it really has crept up to ridiculous levels so I need to get that back under control.

I should have £120 left as 'spare' cash this month. I have a habit of dipping into this spare cash throughout the month, usually at the beginning, and then it leaves me skint. I want to try and spend as little of it as possible this month and then at the end of the month decide what to do with it, whether that's buying something I need, putting it towards the credit card or savings etc. I really, REALLY need to be more strict with myself.

I actually have £30 left in my food/petrol budget as well this month which is a first! I've decided to use £12 of that to buy a NUS card to get student discounts as I return to the OU soon. The rest I might leave in there as I do sometimes overspend on food/petrol and struggle with this, so it would be good to create a buffer.

lcc86 · 30 August 2017 at 8:39AM

Payday today and I've shuffled the relevant money to where it needs to be. I paid £15 off my credit card yesterday and paid £30 off my Very account this morning. I also decided to 'virtually' remove my expenses from my debt total. It's only £10 and realistically it's not 'debt' as it gets paid each time my expenses are approved. So I updated my signature to reflect all of the above, and the debt now stands at £743. I'm still expecting it to rise once the vet sends me my final bill. My credit card statement isn't due until the middle of the month so I haven't paid it off yet, but will be paying £250 which will make a nice dent in the amount I owe.

Shopping was delivered last night, £51 spent. Am buying a bit less meat (I'm veggie so it's just for OH) and trying to be more imaginative with what I buy to stretch meals a bit more. I'm not a very good cook! Also spent £7.20 on toiletries and household bits.

I received a letter from my credit card company the other day increasing my credit limit. Have sent them an email this morning asking them to keep it as is, I don't need it increased. It will be solely for emergencies from now on!!

I've also sent £280 to various savings accounts this month - this has gone towards Xmas, OH's birthday, my emergency fund and my holiday fund. I booked a weekend in Devon prior to my current financial trouble, it won't be expensive but it's an expense I could now do without. Still, we're going to go and it'll be good to get away as it falls just before I go back to uni.

I desperately need to book a hair cut and found a local college with a beauty salon who will do it for a fiver. I'm a little apprehensive about trying it, but I'm going to give it a go just for a trim. If it goes wrong then I'll go somewhere 'proper' to have it fixed. Will book that when the college reopens next week.

I have chiropractor today after work so will have to pay for parking. It's £1.50 I think, but that will be the only spend for the day.

lcc86 · 31 August 2017 at 11:26AM

Stuck to my planned spends yesterday and just paid for parking at the chiropractor. Today should be an NSD hopefully. No spends planned anyway.

I was tidying my desk-cupboard thing (looks like a little cupboard but when you open the doors it's also a computer desk) recently and two of the shelves have broken. I need a decent desk for studying at so looked around and couldn't find anything remotely decent and a good size for under £100. Then I remembered I have a table top in the basement, so measured it, and found some legs I can buy for £10 from the same shop that I got the table top from. Am really pleased with that as I can now create a fully functioning desk space for £10 instead of worrying about finding the money elsewhere and struggling with the broken one. Will go and get the legs tomorrow.

Nothing much else to report today, weather is good and have the chance to do a bit of work outside during the working day which makes a change so I'm off to make the most of it!

lcc86 · 1 September 2017 at 12:17PM

The majority of the direct debits and standing orders have gone through this morning - mortgage, council tax, savings for the house fund, and payment for my horse share for the month.

Today will be a spend day as we're off to Ikea later, there's a few things I'd like to get there but only one 'need to get' so I'll see how much the other stuff is when we get there. None of it should be expensive so we'll see.

I've spent £2 on buying some index cards online to help with studying as well.

Tomorrow will be walking a friend's dogs tomorrow morning followed by the first coat of paint in the living room, then OH is treating me to dinner in the evening. Sunday will be volunteering at RDA in the morning then riding in the afternoon. It's supposed to rain in the afternoon apparently so might stick to a relatively short one!

enthusiasticsaver · 1 September 2017 at 12:36PM

I am glad you have started up your savings accounts for things you want and an emergency fund. It just makes budgeting so much easier.

Keeping any underspends as a buffer is a good idea but if you find you underspend a few months in a row I think I would increase the payments to the debt to get rid of it sooner.

Oops, back again...

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