From debt to freedom...

Honeysucklelou2 · 31 December 2016 at 5:05AM

For a couple of months I have been lurking and reading diaries which have been helpful and inspiring. I thought that I would start a diary to keep myself focussed on getting rid of the debts.

I am a working mum, recently separated from my husband. I have a large family which makes for an interesting and busy life! I have had a couple of LBMs in recent years and tried to stick to a budget. I had 2 loans totalling 17, 000 at one point. One loan was paid in Aug 2016 and the 2nd has just over £2,000 to go and is due to be paid off by August 2017.
Other than that, I have a cc with a £475 balance, 2 home improvement loans ( for double glazing) that both have about £1700 outstanding. These have a horrible interest rate of 22%, so I'm eager to tackle these first.

Honeysucklelou2 · 31 December 2016 at 5:20AM

One of the areas I need to sort out is the food budget. I have used a spending tracker app for a couple of months and was shocked at how much is spent on food. It's often snack foods that are the issue as I call into the supermarket on the way home from work with hungry children in tow...not a good idea! I do enjoy baking so I think I need to be more organised and make sure I have flapjacks or pots of grapes etc with me so that I can stop spending on expensive snacks!

Yesterday I did do a menu plan for the coming week and filled the car up with diesel in the hope that I can start having NSDs.

I do have a large allotment so also need to be organised with my time to maximise the benefits. The ground can be quite wet so all growing is done in raised beds that have to be fenced to stop the rabbits eating everything! At the moment I have gooseberry, red currant, black currant and jostaberry plants in 2 of the beds. In the past I have been able to grow some veg too but the last year or so has been very tough emotionally and my youngest is 1 so opportunity to put in the time has been limited. Hoping that I can build up perhaps an hour a week and see what can be done.

The other main debt I have is to a family member for 10,000. My family kindly lent me the money to be able to get a vehicle after I was denied the use of the family vehicle. Since we live in a very rural area this was a necessity. Keen to pay this back asap.

beanielou · 2 January 2017 at 3:16PM

Happy shiny new diary

keep posting!

Seasidegal58 · 2 January 2017 at 3:29PM

All the best for your MSE journey How nice to have an allotment!

Honeysucklelou2 · 3 January 2017 at 12:43AM

Thank you Beanielou and Seasidegal. Yes the allotment is one of my favourite places to be!

Spent most of today trying to get ready to go back to work tomorrow. Managed to make some vanilla muffins so the children are stocked up with packed lunches and snack pots and am planning a NSD for tomorrow.

Looked at the debt free challenges over the new year weekend and signed up for the 365 day challenge and the debt free by Christmas 2017 one. Hope it will focus my mind to get the debts down and gone.

Made a repayment to the family last Friday and have regular loan payment coming out tomorrow so a little less in debt.

Little_Miss_Winner · 3 January 2017 at 12:59AM

Good Luck with your diary. How old are your children?
x

Honeysucklelou2 · 3 January 2017 at 10:03PM

Thank you Little Miss Winner. They range from 17 to 1! All at school apart from the youngest. This year will be interesting as I have one finishing sixth form and one doing her GCSEs so lots of changes likely later in the year.
The snack pots worked today and my menu plan is holding so far which meant I didn't have to nip to Tescos and have actually had a NSD...hurray!!
Started back to work today after the Christmas break. It's the juggle of work and home that has been a challenge for me in the past with menu plans but have tried to be organised again tonight and baked some flapjacks while the oven was on, so lunch boxes and snack pots are packed up ready for tomorrow.

Honeysucklelou2 · 5 January 2017 at 10:36PM

Hurray!, I've managed 3 NSDs in a row! Wouldn't have managed 1 in a working week before, so feeling pleased. Money saved by not nipping into a supermarket for 1 thing and coming out with 5!

Oldest daughter pleased as she has a uni interview next month. This is all new to me as Student life and even the whole UCAS application process has changed since I was a student ( wow that makes me sound ancient!) but am aware that I need to plan financially for this time in her life. Will start by adjusting budget to allow more room for travel costs. Anyone been through this and have any tips?

Honeysucklelou2 · 13 January 2017 at 1:36AM

Been busy at work for the last week. I really enjoy my job but it does take a fair amount of time outside of working hours. Have managed 3 NSDs again this week, so am feeling pleased. That brings the monthly total to 6...hurray!

Have a day off tomorrow so am hoping to get a budget review and menu plan sorted.

Honeysucklelou2 · 13 January 2017 at 8:08PM

Day off wasn't quite as I'd envisaged. Spent the morning driving DD2 to DD1's college about 40 miles away so that the younger could help the elder with a project. While I was waiting I took DS in his pushchair and went round a large pet chain so that he could see the small animals. A cheap way of amusing him! Resisted the temptation to go to C0stas, which was a battle given that it was so cold!

Have used the time this evening to make tuna plait for tea, warm and filling on a cold evening.

Intending to sit down and rewrite the budget for the next month. I find that things crop up that knock out my budget, such as children needing new sports shoes or equipment for their courses etc. Things that are important and necessary. I guess I need a category for surprise needs like these. Some of it is learning to manage it all on a single income.

Also need to sort out an EF. When I returned to work after maternity leave last year, I started to save £25 a month, which was all I could manage so that is slowly building. That's in an account that I could get to if necessary but it is postal, so I don't have instant access to it. Off to crunch the numbers...!

Honeysucklelou2 · 14 January 2017 at 10:34AM

Paid £15 off the cc this morning and worked out a menu plan. Homemade pizza tonight, then turkey pie, finishing off the left over Christmas turkey that had been frozen on Boxing Day, for tomorrow. Have some blackberries in the freezer to make a crumble for tomorrow.

From debt to freedom...

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