Reducing Debt - being accountable and taking responsibility
Options
Comments
-
In other news, today has been a NSD. I've been working at home, which has comprised of reading, emailing and eating :rotfl: Oh, and drinking coffee.
Tonight for dinner is leftovers - DF has something from the freezer and I have what is left from last night's chicken curry, but I'll have to add peas to it to bulk it out a wee bit as DF had an extra serving last night and there's probably only what amounts to a 75% portion left over.
Had homemade soup for lunch and there is enough to take into the office tomorrow for lunch too.
This weekend, we've friends coming and that is pretty much planned. Need to clean the house on Saturday morning!
My budget is on track and I've about £100 to last me to the end of the month, all categorised in ynab. I've put all my fuel, food and xmas pressie spends on my JL Partnership Card this month so the allocated money is still sat in my bank account (precisely £420.24 as of just now) which gives me some comfort and reduces my accidental overdraft anxiety. I'll pay my JL card off on 31st October and start the month with a £0 balance as usual.
Speaking of JL, I received £15 in JL / Waitr0se vouchers through the post today, which will be spent on either food or xmas pressies next month. November is looking tight due to tooth and boiler expenses, so any little extra will be useful.
DSL :j (a.k.a Debt Slaying Lunatic
) 0 -
Just think how good it was you decided to deal with it now when it was at £11k rather than leaving it another year or two when it may have been £20k or £25k.
If you are married or in a relationship and don't have joint accounts I think good communication about each other's finances is sensible especially if you have children in the future. It helps if you have the same attitude so if your DF is good with money and you are or were a fritterer this could lead to conflict if money is tight maybe when you have a higher mortgage to pay.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.0 -
enthusiasticsaver wrote: »Just think how good it was you decided to deal with it now when it was at £11k rather than leaving it another year or two when it may have been £20k or £25k.
Oh Lordy! I hadn't even considered what the future might have looked like if there hadn't been a LBM! £20k - £25k. EEEEEK!!0 -
Whoop whoop, it's the weekend! Only 3 days until payday!
Had a super busy day at work today with back to back meetings and interview panels (I always love being on an interview panel!). Went via the supermarket on the way home for milk and something easy for dinner (insert frozen pizza here - oh the shame). Got some reduced bagels for the freezer since my resident baker hasn't made me more bread yet. And some crisps because its The End of The Week. Forgot to get a chocolatey treat. Doh. DF has just nipped out for some beers and has instructions to pick up forgotton chocolatey treat. He also mentioned getting a Chinese for dinner. Hmmm.
Friends over tomorrow, not sure what else is planned for the weekend other than a quick scoot around the house with a duster and the hoover. Shouldn't be too spendy. Might catch up on some reading as I'm various ways though at least 4 books, if not 5. I like reading but I do a lot of it for my day job and, with being a visual person, I'd rather watch something in the evening, like a good documentary or (and don't tell anyone as I rarely admit to this) TOWIE / some other plastic fake person drivel (I find people fascinating in general and these reality tv shows don't half offer up an entertaining platter of debauchery and drama). Or Dave Ramsey. Or something on y0utube relevant to whatever phase I'm going through.
Got £1.01 cash back today from my bank for September spends. I've put it in my groceries budget as that now only has £10 in it, after my Fritter-tastic Friday Night Crap Food Spending Spree.
Payday on Monday night / Tuesday morning at 12am - can't waaaaait!
DSL:j0 -
I'm with you on the 'can't wait for last day of the month' thing!! I swear the other month it was early which just throws every other month into confusion-I thought seeing as next week was reading week it was a possible early payday, double edged sword though because it makes the month after longer... Full freezer here so it's fine..
Have a good weekend x0 -
Afternoon Debt Slayers!
Today is a lazy day. Stayed up a wee bit too late last night and haven't really benefited from the extra hour:rotfl:
Got a joint of beef topside to pot roast for dinner that will be going in shortly. Have everything in so no spends needed. It will most definitely last two days of dinners and I will probably have to freeze a few portions as its 1kg.
I've got a spending dilemma - I have at least 3 days of formal work wear events in November, much more formal than anything I've attended in the last 2 years. I have smart blouses and smart flats but no smart trousers. And, I have smart dresses but no smart well fitting comfortable heels. The smart flats I have will never in a million years go with the smart dresses so that is a non starter. I've thought about what would be the most cost effective solution to get me through my debt slaying months and I've decided to buy two different pairs of smart heel shoes for £28.99 each from the Clarks Outlet in the hope one pair fits and I can send the other back. It'll have to come off the repayment total I make for CC2 in November, or I could use my work expenses category. Will decide next week.
DSL :j0 -
Hope you find the right shoes, I hate buying shoes.My mortgage free diary: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6498069/whoops-here-comes-the-cheese0
-
Me too, Redo. I have awkwardly shaped feet and can't buy shoes off the rack, hence me not having any comfy smart heels already. I'm trusting Clarks and their wide fitting to help me. Fingers crossed!0
-
I always forget that the clocks going forward makes me tired. Odd.
Working at home today and have some lovely sweet potato soup for lunch. I use this recipe but I will reduce the amount of paprika next time as its a bit too dominant. And that is with putting only half the quantity in. We have leftover pot roast for dinner tonight, so I don't envisage any spends today.
November's budget is going to be tight and I will lose some momentum in my debt slaying. I have a few work trips, so I'm ringfencing £130 to cover any expenditures associated with those - I don't want to use my credit card anymore as its false economy. I also have £225 at the dentist and £610 for the boiler. And £28.99 on work shoes. I don't need to spend on xmas pressies as I did that a few weeks ago. All in all, probably only £500 of total debt repayments planned in November. Better than nothing I guess, and all spends accounted for by available cash rather than credit.
DSL :j0 -
Hurrah. It's payday! Ending my second full month on budget and starting my third. Exciting times. Decided to compare and contrast my budgeted spends with my actual spends to demonstrate how fluid budget can be due to unexpected costs and changing circumstances. I've felt like an bloomin' accountant this month! Or a money launderer
So, the low down of my October spends are as follows:
Salary: £2,251.61 (net after tax & NI, student loan and 9% pension deduction)
Other Income: £694.07 (£507.01 from a work fee, £26.13 from T0pCashBack, £1.21 in interest, £65 from a British Gas refund, £93.71 in expenses refund, £1.01 in BoS cashback)
Total Income: £2,945.68
Debt Payments: £1,435.84
Monthly Spends:
Groceries: £234.13
Fuel: £45.02
Cash: £36.68 (on takeaways & coffees. Ahem)
Toiletries: £33.21 (foundation, shampoo etc)
Household Misc. £14.99 (small household item)
Work Expenses: £79.79 (book, train & tube)
Misc. Expenses: £27.24 (£7.99 DVD purchase & £19.25 on train ticket to visit family)
Socialising: £57.50 (birthday celebrations & the pub:o)
Immediate Obligations inc. mortgage & bills: £504.01
Yearly Expenses:
Health: £245.69 (dentist:mad:)
Presents: £278.65 (a big birthday & 70% of xmas)
Books: £21.28
Interest: £1.44
Spent Residual & Savings from September: £41.05 (you’ll see I don’t have an emergency fund or car maintenance savings anymore - I redistributed this to my dentist pot and paying more off CC1)
Unspent Residual from October’s Budget to Carry Over to November: £10.50, which represents £5.25 in fuel, £5.25 in cash.
Unplanned & Unbudgeted Spends on CC: £57.99 (for two pairs of work shoes, one to be returned when delivered & tried on for size. Used Partnership Card yesterday but budgeted for in November spends).
Outstanding Work Expenses: £87.64 owed, to cover £79.79 of October spending & £7.85 from September.
How do these spends compare with my 1st of the month budget?
Debt Payments: £1,435.84 vs. £1,057.91 budgeted :exclamati
Monthly Spends:
Groceries: £234.13 vs. £234 budgeted :starmod:
Fuel: £45.02 vs. £80.01 budgeted :starmod:
Cash: £36.68 vs. £12.92 budgeted :exclamati
Toiletries: £33.21 vs. £30 budgeted :exclamati
Household Misc. £14.99 vs. £610 budgeted :starmod:
Work Expenses: £79.79 vs. £20 budgeted :exclamati
Misc. Expenses: £27.24 v.s £0 budgeted :exclamati
Socialising: £57.50 vs. £0 budgeted :exclamati
Immediate Obligations inc. mortgage & bills: £504.01 vs. £504.01 budgeted :starmod:
Yearly Expenses:
Presents: £278.65 vs. £111.25 budgeted :exclamati
Health: £245.69 vs. £14.30 budgeted
:exclamati
Car: £100 shifted to cover health expenses vs. £0 budgeted :exclamati
Books: £21.28 vs. £21.98 budgeted :starmod:
Interest: £1.44 vs. £0 budgeted :exclamati
Reasons for Shifts in Spending:
- Unexpected dentist bill of £245.69 (and another £225 in November. Sigh)
- Deferment of boiler installation until mid November
- Xmas present purchases of £167.40
- Paid an extra £281.22 off CC1 & £3 off CC2
- £19.25 on the train to make an unanticipated family visit.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.1K Life & Family
- 247.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards