£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

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  • Great news that the work is picking up TOPM! How will you manage the childcare going forwards if things continue in this way?

    If you're finding that you're being over ambitious about what you pay off the card in a month can you make the standard payment as usual, and leave the remaining overpayment until you have a clearer idea where you stand for the month? Can you also maybe address why the card being in your purse means you feel tempted? If you had £100 of someone else's money that you were looking after for them in there, I'm guessing you wouldn't feel tempted to spend that? I sometimes think that we focus a lot on saying "don't spend, don't use your cards" and not enough time working out what the triggers for those feelings actually are.
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
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  • I personally think that anyone who is having financial difficulties should not be using a credit card at all.

    The relationship between spending and frame of mind needs to be reset so to speak as it often seems those who have difficulty living within their income spend to make themselves feel better, whether it is because they feel they work hard so deserve to be able to afford nice things or they aspire to a particular lifestyle. Sometimes it is simply there is not enough money to go round as in TOPMs situation but that is only because a large proportion of her disposable income is going on debt repayments.

    A credit card allows the user to spend impulsively which is the very worst thing anyone in debt can do. It is a brief moment of forgetting they cannot afford stuff. Using a bank account (with no overdraft) or cash means you have to think before you spend. Is there enough in there? What direct debits/bills are due? Is there enough food in the house/fuel in the car? Once you have thought through all these mental questions people often forget why they wanted the thing they were going to buy.
    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.
  • I personally think that anyone who is having financial difficulties should not be using a credit card at all.

    The relationship between spending and frame of mind needs to be reset so to speak as it often seems those who have difficulty living within their income spend to make themselves feel better, whether it is because they feel they work hard so deserve to be able to afford nice things or they aspire to a particular lifestyle. Sometimes it is simply there is not enough money to go round as in TOPMs situation but that is only because a large proportion of her disposable income is going on debt repayments.

    A credit card allows the user to spend impulsively which is the very worst thing anyone in debt can do. It is a brief moment of forgetting they cannot afford stuff. Using a bank account (with no overdraft) or cash means you have to think before you spend. Is there enough in there? What direct debits/bills are due? Is there enough food in the house/fuel in the car? Once you have thought through all these mental questions people often forget why they wanted the thing they were going to buy.

    I agree 100% with this. I am proud to say that I have no credit cards at the moment and never intend to have one again. I simply cannot trust myself with one. I know that if I don't have the money then I can't buy something, or if I do buy it then I'll have to go without food. Works for me :D.
    Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally
    Debt in July 2017 = £58,766 😱 DEBT FREE 31 OCTOBER 2017 :T 🎉
    EMERGENCY FUND 1 = £50/£5,000. EMERGENCY FUND 2 = £10/£5,000.
    CHRISTMAS SAVINGS = £0/£500. SEF = £1,400/£12,000 PREMIUM BONDS ME = £350. PREMIUM BONDS DH = £300.
    HOLIDAY MONEY = £0 TIME LEFT TO PAY OFF MORTGAGE = 5 YEARS 1 MONTHS
  • I agree 100% with this. I am proud to say that I have no credit cards at the moment and never intend to have one again. I simply cannot trust myself with one. I know that if I don't have the money then I can't buy something, or if I do buy it then I'll have to go without food. Works for me :D.

    Very good move. You are doing brilliantly on getting the debt down.
    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.
  • Week 32: Day 5

    Was lovely to be back home last night, what a busy couple of days! Even after business expenses it will be a good chunk of money in though, which will really help with getting back on track. I hear you all on the CC - I was so pleased with the fact that I wasn't using the CC at all from February, but it got to August and I realised I had badly miscalculated my summer income levels - something I was obviously doing every year before (but previously it would have hit in about June rather than August, as there was no cushion in place, so it would have been the whole of June-Sept on CC rather than a third of August and all of September). Acknowledging these things is all still new to me - I'm in my first 'round' of consciously meeting all these financial hurdles that I've been blindly wandering through for years, and some of them I'm dealing with well, some of them I need a bit more of a run up at. I'm not thrilled with the CC usage, but I'm feeling less stressed now that it looks like I'm going to be able to tackle them.

    On which note, one of my enquiries for next week has turned into a provisional booking - will invoice today and hopefully that will be confirmed. Not much money (around £50 profit), but better than nothing, and only for a couple of hours work.

    to do today
    1. balance budgets - I haven't spent much while away, but equally haven't looked at YNAB either.
    2. send off last corrections on website off to web guy so hopefully it can launch tomorrow.
    3. deal with all remaining work enquiries.
    4. catch up with contract work.
    5. finish off the last of the laundry/ironing that DH has kindly kept on top of while I was away (and done tons of cleaning, thank goodness).
    6. make dinner and pudding for tonight.
    7. make a list of all those little work and home jobs that should have been done this week but fell by the wayside and tackle them while DC3 is at preschool, as I won't get another chance before the weekend, and I'd quite like to not work ALL weekend.

    to do this week
    1. keep spends to a minimum while away with work. Went well, only ended up needing to buy one small meal/snack, about £8, in all the time I was away.

    to do this month
    1. keep the total spend for the month below £3,500 (last month was miles better than the previous average £3,900, going to try to repeat the feat). Currently on track to spend around £3,550, maybe we can chop off that extra £50.
    2. get my new website finished and launched (crosses fingers, toes and eyes).
    3. just work as much as possible and make some money back to recover the enormous shortfall that faces us this month! Going better than expected, although still need more work in to actually clear the CC
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • Good news you have a good chunk of money earnt this week. As you have said in the past the temptation is to blow the budget big time once you have gone over budget you have obviously realised there are trigger points for this. One is the summer when your income drops and expenses go up. A savings pot for the summer/holiday pot would preempt that.

    Personally I think an emergency savings account is better than a credit card when you are in debt but if you have enough self control to only use the credit card in dire emergencies and pay it off almost immediately that is your choice.
    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.
  • Its fantastic the way you have thrown yourself into your businesses - I do hope this works for you.

    The diary shows your learning over time so well - perhaps we should have to sit an exam on managing finance before we can get into debt!

    Well done and I'm sure you will get back on track whichever track you ultimately choose.
  • Realised I had over-budgeted for expenses in my business account, so just made a £100 payment to the CC and have £80 worth of October's expenses budgeted. Invoices for work already done this month should result in around £350 profit, with a couple more enquiries hopefully still to come to fruition.

    For those who haven't read the entire boring saga about my business, I have certain fixed outgoings every month (currently £185, but likely to go up another tenner or so a month with website stuff) and need to earn a minimum salary of around £200 (I forget what the exact figure is, and can't open my budget for some reason), or around £350 if we are to save for extension at the rate we want to. One of the reasons for our debt was my failure to manage fluctuating income to ensure these monthly expenses and minimum salary commitments were met in the good months, and I'm still on a learning curve to figure out the best balance of saving a business account cushion, overpaying debt and allowing us slightly more money in the good months so it doesn't feel like I'm working for nothing (I appreciate I should work for nothing and throw everything at savings and debt, but that didn't work so well at the start of the year). It's all part of the process.
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • Good news about the credit card payment.

    Learning to manage money does take time. Not only does it involve learning new budgeting and money saving skill, it requires a great shift in attitute. I think you have to think differently than most people around you, many of whom spend a lot and live up to their income, whatever their income is. Every time most people get a pay rise, they just spend more and consequently don't feel any better off. Spending to keep up with the Joneses is another common but fatal error.

    If you can learn to value saving more than spending then not only will the debts get paid but the mortgage too.

    That's my dream, but I know I still have a lot to learn :).
    Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally
    Debt in July 2017 = £58,766 😱 DEBT FREE 31 OCTOBER 2017 :T 🎉
    EMERGENCY FUND 1 = £50/£5,000. EMERGENCY FUND 2 = £10/£5,000.
    CHRISTMAS SAVINGS = £0/£500. SEF = £1,400/£12,000 PREMIUM BONDS ME = £350. PREMIUM BONDS DH = £300.
    HOLIDAY MONEY = £0 TIME LEFT TO PAY OFF MORTGAGE = 5 YEARS 1 MONTHS
  • It's interesting, this learning to manage money thing. I feel like such a waste of space when I see so many people on these boards decide to pay off their debts and just crack on and do it without any dramas whatsoever, just cut back and get on with it. I suppose my diary would be a lot less interesting if I did that. :D

    Still trying to empty the freezer, it still seems to be pretty full. Hoping for yet another moderate food shop on the weekend.

    Looking at YNAB we are on track for our total outgoings to come in at (or even just under) £3,500 for the month, making it the second month in a row we'll do that. Given that for every month from Feb-July we were spending at least £3,900 (and often over £4,000), and I suspect that pre Feb LBM we were regularly spending another few hundred on top of that, I feel like that's massive progress, even if there is the whole lack of earning/CC issue to deal with.

    We have a family meeting every week to discuss anything that affects us all. I asked the children this week what they liked and didn't like in their packed lunches. DC1 said he likes everything, but can he have just normal sandwiches sometimes too? After all my angsting about giving him interesting lunches! Ungrateful swine. :rotfl: :rotfl:

    to do today
    1. balance budgets - I haven't spent much while away, but equally haven't looked at YNAB either. Done. Not too traumatic.
    2. send off last corrections on website off to web guy so hopefully it can launch tomorrow. Done. Fingers crossed everyone!
    3. deal with all remaining work enquiries. Done. Two bookings for next week, with a bit of luck. More finger crossing.
    4. catch up with contract work. Done. Turned out I was a week ahead of myself so no catching up required :T
    5. finish off the last of the laundry/ironing that DH has kindly kept on top of while I was away (and done tons of cleaning, thank goodness). Um. This has just reminded me that I put the machine on at 6am. Should probably hang it out at some stage. Or re-wash it, since it's probably smelly by now!
    6. make dinner and pudding for tonight. Done. Leftover chicken and leek pasty filling turned into a pie and chocolate brownie pudding which was slightly overcooked but more than acceptable with a dollop of ice cream on top.
    7. make a list of all those little work and home jobs that should have been done this week but fell by the wayside and tackle them while DC3 is at preschool, as I won't get another chance before the weekend, and I'd quite like to not work ALL weekend. Well, I made the list, so that practically counts as done.

    to do this week
    1. keep spends to a minimum while away with work. Went well, only ended up needing to buy one small meal/snack, about £8, in all the time I was away.

    to do this month
    1. keep the total spend for the month below £3,500 (last month was miles better than the previous average £3,900, going to try to repeat the feat). More or less on track. Ish.
    2. get my new website finished and launched (crosses fingers, toes and eyes).
    3. just work as much as possible and make some money back to recover the enormous shortfall that faces us this month! Going better than expected, although still need more work in to actually clear the CC
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
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