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Main site > Forums > Essential Money > Debt-Free Wannabe > Debt Free Diaries > 2020: Becoming a Saver, Not a Spender
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      SSDD23
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    • By SSDD23 31st Dec 19, 10:35 AM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    2020: Becoming a Saver, Not a Spender
    • #1
    • 31st Dec 19, 10:35 AM
    2020: Becoming a Saver, Not a Spender 31st Dec 19 at 10:35 AM
    Yes, it’s me with another diary

    However – my previous diaries were all about busting the bad debt. Mid-2019 I was “Determined to do it” and now I am “Becoming a Saver, Not a Spender”. In around 2 weeks, I will have paid the last penny to my £5k of “bad” debt I targeted in 2019, this year will be all about paying off my car finance and building up my savings along the way.

    It wouldn’t be a New Year diary without some clear cut goals, and they are as follows (for any newbies to my diaries)

    1 – Pay off my car finance. I am aiming to do this by mid-2020, then I will officially own my car outright. My original plan was to save at the start of this year and buy outright, but my old rusty car died rather suddenly.

    2 – Save a minimum of £2k into my LISA. This should be very achievable when I am no longer paying £££’s out to high interest debt every month.

    3 – Fill up my budgeting pots. I have a pot set up in Monzo for the following categories – Car Maintenance (Service, MOT’s, unexpected repairs or tyres), Dental Costs (To cover one annual dentist appointment, 4 hygienist appointments and one treatment at the highest treatment band), Annual Car Costs (Insurance and Tax), Hair Budget (highlights and haircuts), Gifts (Christmas & Birthdays) & Holidays. The idea is to budget each month for a worst-case scenario sum total, so that if things don’t go horrendously, there will be a nice buffer in some pots each year. I will also set up an EF with my bank for a better interest rate to pay into each month 😊 I have also signed up to the Virtual Sealed Pot challenge so will move pennies & pounds over each Friday, it’ll be interesting to see how much I can set aside doing this.

    4 – Don’t accrue any more debt! With the above, there should be no need for this at all.

    Non-finance related:

    5 – Hit 50 parkruns, this was a goal for last year but should be feasible assuming my hospital assessment on Monday goes well.

    6 – Lose 1.5 stone. This should be easy if I watch my diet and can resume high impact exercise when my foot is fixed

    7 – Complete my gratitude journal for the year, which I purchased and will make sure is complete by the end of 2020.

    I also signed up to the "20 things in 2020" from the Old Style Board, I’ll use the first post of this diary to copy those across, and do an update at the end of each month to see how I am getting on!

    So, there you have it, my lengthy introduction and list of goals for the year. I waffle, I whinge, but thank you if you’ve read along with my previous diaries and have come along for this journey, too 😊
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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      FootyFanDan
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    • By FootyFanDan 13th Jan 20, 3:50 PM
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      What's this?

    FootyFanDan
    Hey!

    Well done on becoming ' bad debt free' that must be such a good feeling. Fantastic achievement
    (Debt Target #1 - £0/£130)

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    • By SSDD23 13th Jan 20, 5:46 PM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    “
    Hey!

    Well done on becoming ' bad debt free' that must be such a good feeling. Fantastic achievement
    Originally posted by FootyFanDan ”
    It does

    It will feel even better when I have paid off the car finance and am truly debt-free
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By bd80s 14th Jan 20, 7:35 AM
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    bd80s
    Congrats on getting rid of that last bad debt, that was a nice and quick one for you!
    Settled to date - 1, fiend loan 6589.36/639.39, 90.3% pd. loan 2 237.93/162.93, 32%, LBS lost - 7

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    • By jwil 14th Jan 20, 7:52 AM
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      What's this?

    jwil
    Congrats on the CC
    "If you can dream it, you can do it". Walt Disney

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    • By SSDD23 14th Jan 20, 8:07 AM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    Haha, only as I had the money due to come in and earmarked it for clearing that last CC

    “
    Congrats on getting rid of that last bad debt, that was a nice and quick one for you!
    Originally posted by bd80s ”
    Thank you

    “
    Congrats on the CC
    Originally posted by jwil ”
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By SSDD23 14th Jan 20, 9:07 AM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    Morning all

    This mornings commute was much better now that I replaced the fuse in the back of the stereo, I am glad I bought an assortment of fuses as the one I had seen online that supposedly is the one I needed, was wrong so thankfully I still had the right one as there was one in the assorted pack

    We were supposed to gym it last night but with Storm Brendan in full force near us, neither of us particularly wanted to drive or walk in it, so I will go after work tonight as the weather has calmed down a lot

    Not much else to report this morning, fingers crossed for a quiet day with plenty of SE work

    I need to dig out my car finance paperwork tonight and familiarise myself with how to make overpayments, hopefully it's as simple as going online or an automated telephone system, I really hate speaking to people on the phone
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By beanielou 14th Jan 20, 3:31 PM
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      What's this?

    beanielou
    You could also think about setting it up a bill payment through your online banking. That's how I did my loan & the fact it was so easy made it so much easier
    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/03/14. MFW. 14 months to mortgage freedom.
    **Credit card debt free 30/06/10~**     **Weight loss 2 stone 11 lbs **

    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.
    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    It starts with you, it starts from now. *** It is ok to be me.***
    ***Keep plodding***     Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***

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    • By Purplemumof2 14th Jan 20, 3:43 PM
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      What's this?

    Purplemumof2
    “

    I won't call myself debt-free due to the car finance, but I will call myself "bad debt-free"
    Originally posted by SSDD23 ”
    Congratulations on being Bad Debt Free
    Official DFW Nerd Club - Member no. 791 - Proud to be dealing with my debts
    BC: £4100.00 Lloyds: £8000.00 OD £2000 MBNA: GONE
    Jan LTW 11/22 ~ Jan NSD 2/10
    PAYDBX 2020 #041 PD £40.00/£8000
    Xmas Pot £52.85/£500 ~ EF £280/£500
    20p Savers 2020 £2 Savers 2020 50p Savers 2020 SPC 13 2020 #003

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    • By savingholmes 15th Jan 20, 6:56 AM
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      What's this?

    savingholmes
    Great news on the CC, the bike and the domes. Things are looking up.

    I will recommend the domes to my DS - as he literally wears a hole in his shoes under the ball of his foot and I wonder whether it could help reduce that.
    During 2020: Target 1) £25,121 to be repaid in 2020 (0%) Now down to £24,703 Target 2) repay £1450 off (OP £102.51) mortgage now 144872 @1.7% Target 3) Set up SIPPs Target 4) Declutter 52 bags - now done 4/52

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    • By StartingAgainAt29 15th Jan 20, 9:23 AM
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      What's this?

    StartingAgainAt29
    Well done on getting rid of that CC! That must have felt amazing
    Nov 19 CC was: £1334.95 Now: £1150.28 1% challenge - 14% Savings: £473.46 January take lunch to work: 14/20

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    • By SSDD23 15th Jan 20, 9:28 AM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    Thanks everyone

    There was nothing actually in the letter I got from the finance company about overpayments or anything, so online chatting to them now to find out the best way [ETA - the online chat said the best way to get an answer for that is to phone them, I'll leave swallowing that frog until I have some money to overpay....!)

    I made it to the gym last night I only managed to do a 20 minute HIIT workout on the cross trainer, that knackered me out enough, plus they have moved EVERYTHING around in the gym and it was too busy for me to feel comfortable walking around looking for the weights machines I normally use

    I also cooked one of my favourite pinch of nom recipes, 4 portions in the recipe so always enough for at least one dinner and two lunches for work

    I took advantage of a cashback offer I saw on my Halifax banking yesterday, 12% cashback for Ocado who also had a deal on for new customers, 25% off orders over £60 and free delivery. The minimum spend for the 12% cashback was £60 so I saved loads anyway on the actual Ocado order, but should also get £7-£8 in cashback next month from Halifax I should also get my £50 Sky cashback at the end of next month, too.

    On another positive note, I had to hunt down the key stick thing that goes in the gym machines last night, finally found it in a hoody pocket along with £6 not a bad result at all and makes it worth it that I went to the gym

    Starting a squat challenge today and also aiming to try and plank for at least one minute a day, just so I'm doing at least something everyday. OH and I have a table blu tacked to the back of the kitchen door with all of our measurements we can get from the new fancy scales, it's not currently a competition but I suspect once one of us starts losing weight/body fat/etc, it probably will as it stands all of his figures are better than mine, but he is literally on his feet walking around ALL day at work, whereas I sit at my desk

    I am waiting patiently for my HSBC switch payment to be paid into the account, then I plan to do one of the TSB switches from the referral board, everyone seems to be offering some of their share of the £100 switch reward, too, then I think I'm all out of accounts to switch for money
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By StartingAgainAt29 15th Jan 20, 9:44 AM
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      What's this?

    StartingAgainAt29
    If you're trying the squats and plank, a great one is wall-sits (sorry if you've heard of them already!) You just squat until your legs are at right-angles, but lean against a wall, and time yourself. I used to do it while the microwave was going it's amazing for the legs though
    Nov 19 CC was: £1334.95 Now: £1150.28 1% challenge - 14% Savings: £473.46 January take lunch to work: 14/20

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    • By SSDD23 15th Jan 20, 9:46 AM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    “
    If you're trying the squats and plank, a great one is wall-sits (sorry if you've heard of them already!) You just squat until your legs are at right-angles, but lean against a wall, and time yourself. I used to do it while the microwave was going it's amazing for the legs though
    Originally posted by StartingAgainAt29 ”
    Haha, that's a great tip as I always have lunch to microwave at work, and that's when I was planning to do it anyway
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By doingitanyway 15th Jan 20, 4:01 PM
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      What's this?

    doingitanyway
    “
    If you're trying the squats and plank, a great one is wall-sits (sorry if you've heard of them already!) You just squat until your legs are at right-angles, but lean against a wall, and time yourself. I used to do it while the microwave was going it's amazing for the legs though
    Originally posted by StartingAgainAt29 ”
    OMG. I got a headache and cramp just reading this
    If you have built castles in the air, your work should not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

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    • By SSDD23 15th Jan 20, 5:49 PM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    Just sat down and calculated our total household expenses/bills to check it's still 50/50, OH pays the rent, CT and utilities whilst I do the food shop, pay for Sky, Wi-Fi and then send him over money to balance it out, too. A quick tot up shows I'm paying a little more than my half, so asked if I can tweak the SO to him and also stop paying him my voluntary extra monthly payment towards some money I owe him for a few things last year, then pay that off in chunks when I have paid my first SE tax bill, just so I know where the land lies with everything, can't see it being an issue now that he has cleared all of his debt, he earns a good wage.

    My aim is to have a watertight budget over the next few months to see how that goes (and know that I can stick to it) and then I'll know which tweaks I need to make (if any). Then, come April, that will be the start of my 'proper' budget as:

    a) I will have repaid my PAYE tax (although most of this will be sent to the pension via additional contribution each month)
    b) I should be getting a tiny amount more monthly if I can show my boss I will be barely above minimum wage with the National Living Wage increase
    c) I will be about to pay my road tax and car insurance in full
    d) I will commence paying heftily into my pre-planned pots

    This all sounds a tad waffley but it's just me getting my thoughts out into written words, and making it make sense in my head.

    Off swimming tonight which is good as my muscles feel like they need a stretch, plus then I only need to gym it once more this week to hit my personal target of gym/swim sessions
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By SSDD23 16th Jan 20, 8:37 AM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    Morning world

    One more day to the weekend!

    I enjoyed the swimming last night, then got home and there was still a bit of SE work to be had, so did a little bit on there last night. It looks like the workflow *might* be getting back to normal now, so fingers crossed.

    Today I plan to head into our Boots opticians and check out what glasses they have, I got a voucher with my advantage vouchers for free eye test, and £30 of Boots points if you spend £150 on glasses, so I just want to see if they've got any that I really like to make the offer worthwhile.

    The kids were on good form yesterday which was nice, we had a fairly chilled out evening for a change, think everyone was knackered from swimming

    I need to phone up the actual underwriting company that my phone insurance with my bank is provided by, as I've been trying to update the phone on there and it is not recognising the serial number, but some googling shows that some other people have had the same issue and just phoned them, instead. So, that's on my to-do list today.

    Our food shop is coming nice and early on Saturday, my bike should also be delivered on Saturday, so once that's all out of the way I have the whole afternoon and evening to do as I please, I suspect if my grandad seems ok, that my nan may come over and visit for a couple of hours.

    I also NEED to tackle the mountain of ironing over the weekend, I just reeeeeeeeeeeally don't want to but needs must....

    Right, time to crack on. X
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By savingholmes 16th Jan 20, 7:37 PM
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    savingholmes
    You are sounding really on it SSDD23. Great that you've made it to the gym. Had to laugh at the thought of doing exercise near the work microwave. It's a very public place where I work.
    During 2020: Target 1) £25,121 to be repaid in 2020 (0%) Now down to £24,703 Target 2) repay £1450 off (OP £102.51) mortgage now 144872 @1.7% Target 3) Set up SIPPs Target 4) Declutter 52 bags - now done 4/52

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    • By SSDD23 16th Jan 20, 10:49 PM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    “
    You are sounding really on it SSDD23. Great that you've made it to the gym. Had to laugh at the thought of doing exercise near the work microwave. It's a very public place where I work.
    Originally posted by savingholmes ”
    Haha, thankfully I have a little staff area to myself most of the time!

    I have decided to switch our broadband provider, our plusnet connection is really bad, the speeds are not great either. Sky pretty much offer the same, but Virgin offer an absolute minimum speed which is quite a bit higher than our maximum speed we can currently get, and their 12 month offer is cheaper than what I pay now. Also, £130 offer through TCB there will be an early termination charge obviously from plusnet but I am hoping to haggle that due to the rubbish connection and the fact they haven't been able to generate a bill for months and months which leaves me unable to use half of the "my account" stuff online. Seems easy enough, pick up the pack and set it up, thanks to there already being a Virgin connection box in our house

    Didn't go to Boots as the weather turned awful, neither did I call the underwriter, two jobs to do tomorrow, as well as phone 'Swan' as our kettle lid has been sticking on the rubber seal bit since pretty much the day after we bought it, and I currently have to wedge a knife under whilst pushing the lid button to get it open, looked today and it has a 2 year warranty so I'll be looking to get that replaced. My focus at the moment is working on the little niggly things to build a more peaceful day to day 'big picture'

    Booked into the squash court for Sunday with OH, don't mind managing the pain in my foot now that I have a possible self-diagnosis from the things they are checking for on the ultrasound, and the fact that I have an ultrasound. I'll just tape it up and it should be fine for the 40 minutes - I've missed how much of a good, fun workout it is

    That's enough waffling on for now I think, my eyes are sore (hence I really need to sort out some comfier glasses!) and I'm sure you all have better things to read
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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    • By jwil 17th Jan 20, 8:02 AM
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      What's this?

    jwil
    You are going great
    "If you can dream it, you can do it". Walt Disney

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    • By SSDD23 17th Jan 20, 9:32 AM
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      What's this?

    SSDD23
    Thank you

    “
    You are going great
    Originally posted by jwil ”
    Frogs swallowed so far this morning: TWO

    I phoned up plusnet and said I was giving my 14 days cancellation notice as I am changing provider, he looked and triple checked I knew I was in contract for another year, so I explained that the connection drops out all of the time, I can get minimum speeds elsewhere higher than the maximum I can get with them, and that at least any other company could offer me a bill every month, at which point he kind of went "Oh, well that's understandable". All went smoothly, I'll get a figure at some point with the Early Termination Charges but I've worked them out and it shouldn't be too painful

    I also sorted my phone insurance out, they don't need the serial number if you phone them, so that took a matter of minutes and is all up to date

    I meant to sort out the kettle warranty claim, too, but I forgot to take a note of the serial number this morning, so I will do that tomorrow as long as their helpline is open on Saturdays (no information on that front on the website)

    Feeling uber productive and it's not even 10am

    Our grocery shop comes between 10:30 and 11:30 tomorrow, so no rushing around at all in the evening to get it all done. That reminds me, parcel force should be calling me at some point to sort out the £12 fee to deliver my bike on a Saturday ()

    I even managed to do the washing up this morning before leaving work, and put a wash in on a delay start so that it should finish as we are all getting home from work. I reckon I've got at least another 2 loads in the washing bins alone, plus I want to do everyone's bedding

    Just the trip to Boots to tick off of my to-do list today, then I will be feeling super smug
    Bad Debts Busted: 10/10
    NSD Target: 8/20
    VSP #12 £11.31

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