A question about : The "time to be a grown up" diary!
Hello!
Newbie here... Have been lurking on a few diaries for the last few days since having my LBM during the holidays. A friend pointed me in the direction of the forum and told me to jump in head first!
So, background info: I live in SW London in a rented one-bed with my OH and our two cats, am in my late twenties, have a well-paying job and nearly Ј14k of debt that has slowly built up over the past 6 years through a combination of living outside of my means while I was a student, moving to Brighton in my early twenties and having to furnish a house, visiting friends in Canada, recklessness and woo! Free money!ness.
My debt is mostly in the form of a 3.9% HSBC loan (Ј9,739), with an HSBC credit card (Ј3,958) which has Ј1,500 at 0% for another 28 months and Ј2,500odd at 0% til somewhere around now, and a regular rate of 18.9%. I can pay extra off my loan whenever I want without incurring charges (and also get 10% cashback on the interest paid) and the card is no longer used, except for work expenses when I know I'll be getting the money back.
My credit rating isn't too bad, last time I checked I was out of poor and into fair - I've moved cards about a few times and frequent applications pushed my score down a bit, plus I used to have lots of small debts and had trouble keeping track of them all so there were a few missed payments here and there. No defaults to date, though.
I've been worried about it for a while but since I'm earning quite well have always dismissed my worries with well, it'll be paid off soon!. But my LBM came during the holidays when OH and I visited friends in Brighton, decided to stop talking about moving back there and make it a reality, and realised that in order to do that we probably need to be in a position to buy. And Ј14k of debt does not make a happy deposit-saving partner!
I've set up YNAB and have put together my budget; based on a snowball calculation I think I can reasonably pay off my debts in two years. If I can keep that up and save the same amount once I'm debt-free, I can save Ј25,000 in 3.5 years. But of course I may have my head in the clouds about how much I can actually pay off! 
Here's my SOA with comments where necessary. I've not included my OH's salary, nor his share of the bills, as he doesn't earn as much as me and has a small amount of debt so we're keeping our finances separate for the time being:
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2 (only my finances included)
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... (we are very lucky to have access to a car at the moment - insurance, tax, repairs etc are paid by OH's mum)
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1920.16
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1920.16
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 525
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 50
Electricity............................. 15
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 13
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 6.06
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 25 (TV, phone + broadband together)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 (for the both of us)
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 20
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0 (I have an annual travelcard, comes out of my salary)
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 7 (I only get it cut maybe twice a year, costs Ј38)
Entertainment........................... 200 (I include my Ј40 p/w budget in this)
Holiday................................. 0 (no holidays planned this year)
Emergency fund.......................... 0 (I have Ј200 put aside for emergencies in a savings account)
Credit expert membership................ 14.99 (could do with cancelling this)
Gym + yoga classes...................... 49 (plan to cancel gym membership, leaving Ј20 for yoga classes p/m)
Total monthly expenses.................. 1255.05
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
HSBC Loan......................9739.13...166.......3.9
HSBC credit card...............3957.97...85........18.9
Total unsecured debts..........13697.1...251.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,920.16
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,255.05
Available for debt repayments........... 665.11
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 251
Amount left after debt repayments....... 414.11
So that's that. I plan to pay Ј600 off my debt each month, starting with the credit card (and usual loan payment) + then clearing the loan early.
I've spent the last few days of the holiday assessing my cupboards/freezer and meal planning, making a list of direct debits I don't need, making an exercise plan that I can do outside/from home, de-cluttering the house + making piles of things to sell - long overdue as we've accumulated lots of junk in the last couple of years!
OH is on board and can afford Ј200 a month to pay off his debt (Ј1,200 so 6-7 months) and then he'll start to save, too.
We're also putting Ј10 a week aside each, so that by the end of the year we'll have Ј1040 to use for something useful. Using part for Christmas, paying off more debt, treating ourselves to a small break since we'll have been stingy all year...
Will have a delve through the OS thread for some ideas. Mostly in the next few months I want to use up my plentiful craft supplies to make some presents for people. Creating space and saving money on gifts!
Phew! An essay. I thought a diary on here would keep me on track, and so far it's 2/4 NSD for January! (and yesterday was only 49p on a pint of milk - don't usually have it in the house but wanted to make soda bread!)
Well done and thanks if you made it this far 
I'm excited about starting this journey to DF! Happy Sunday everyone 
Best answers:
- Hello! You sound completely in control and organised, great stuff!
Good luck with your plans - Hello there
Well done in making a positive start to your New Year on the financial front.
I would definitely cancel the Ј14.99 a month to the credit reference agency, just check your reports a couple of times a year (Ј2 each time) with each of them; Equifax, Callcredit (use Noddle it's free!) and Experian. It will save you quite a bit of dosh and will give you all of the information held by all of the agencies. You can then add that Ј14.99 to your savings pot for something nice.
Good luck! - Hi Cwtchie, thank you very much! I've always had bad habits of spending first and worrying later so I'm hoping my new found focus will stop me from doing that
My worst habit is forgetting to take breakfast/lunch to work and buying it which very quickly adds up, so the meal planning is a must!
Hellooo solentsusie! Ooh brilliant - thanks for the advice... I didn't realise you could check them as a one off anymore, will definitely call and cancel tomorrow. Thanks again! - Happy Monday everyone! Hope everyone who went back to work this morning wasn't too bleary...
Aiming for at least 5/7 NSDs this week. No plans other than dinner with a friend tomorrow at one of our houses so confident I can do it!
And one little treat is that just after Christmas (before my LBM!) I'd decided to start collecting a dinner set as I googled some plates I inherited from my grandad and saw that they were from the 1940s. Better stop putting them in the dishwasher! I ordered a couple of the teacups from eBay for a bargain price that day so they should be here at work somewhere of course I won't be completing the rest of the set for some time...
Luckily at work they provide free cereal/fruit so I don't need to spend money on breakfast! I've been a bit worried about saving money when back at work as I'm in the Blue Fin Building, surrounded by amazing food and lots of little shops and I usually end up spending loads without really realising it. We've got a subsidised cafe in the building too, a huge portion of hot food for Ј4. They even put the menu in the lifts to entice you. But am focused and will not succumb! - Hi betsycat!
You sound so focused, well done! I'm going to subscribe to your diary as I think we're in a similar time of life and I'm going to be trying to do a lot of the same things that you are. I've just started my diary and will have to do a SOA too. My debt is mostly silly student debt too - i.e not living in my means when I was a student. Something like 'keeping up with the Jones' was too easy at Uni!
Anyway, keep up the good work! - Thanks Beckie! I'll go and subscribe to your diary too - we can keep each other company! So easy to fall in the debt trap as a student, isn't it? All feels like free money when you're young!
- Successful NSD today so that's 3/5 for January! My friend has cancelled dinner tomorrow so hopefully that's another one tomorrow. Still feeling very focused and dedicated. It was easier than I thought not to spend money at work since I've decided to just... Not
I debated going through my old bank statements to see where I was wasting my money but really, I think I'll just get angry that I ever allowed myself to spend so much in supermarkets. So I'll see how this month goes and re-evaluate if necessary instead!
Looking forward to getting some things on eBay this weekend... Need to finish off the Christmas holiday decluttering.
I made a spreadsheet today of all of the birthdays this year, plus Christmas, so that I can plan gift budgets and start making the things that need to be made - lots of sewing and cross stitching to do! - Ah, rats... no NSD for me today. Sponsored somebody at work Ј5 before I really thought about it! I work at JustGiving so there's always somebody raising money... really need to limit the amount I donate this year. It usually averages out to about Ј20 a month.
I think I'll give myself a limit of one Ј5 donation per month. I've fundraised myself recently so don't feel comfortable ignoring everyone else's efforts! - So a good MSE day yesterday - I cancelled my Credit Expert membership, reduced my pension contributions slightly (temporarily) which should give me Ј30-40 more per month. Every little helps! Combine that with the Ј14.99 to CE and the Ј29 gym membership I cancelled and I'm already at least Ј75 up a month so that's encouraging.
A spending day today as I bought a stamp for Ј1.20 to send a birthday card to Canada, and had to outlay Ј65 for a work lunch (but will get that back in expenses on payday). Ј65 seems like an obscene amount of money now... 1.5x my weekly budget! And yet a month ago I chucked Ј50 away on some make-up... the times they are a-changing! - A lovely NSD today so far... hooray! And so it shall continue normally by this point in the week I'd have spent at least Ј15-20 on food at work, but my meal plan is really helping. I try to work it so I can just make a double dinner and take the leftovers the next day, or I batch cook at the weekend for the next few days.
It's really cut down on my day-to-day grocery spending too as I've been planning from the food we already have and I've not had to supplement it. I've been keeping track of the things we've run out of or are running low on so I can do a bit of a bargain hunt for them.
Still feeling very positive! I did mean to be being healthy (as we all are in january) but I think if I try to deprive myself of treats altogether I'll be miserable... so I've been eating the various sweets/chocolates/cakes everyone's been bringing into work. I won't be thinner but I'll be happier, there's only so many things you can deprive yourself of in one go! - 4/8 NSD in January so far, hooray!
Really getting into the swing of making sure I have food at work every day - I haven't bought any food this week, which I don't think has happened since I started working here! Had delicious sesame noodles with broccoli and salmon today, although I over-egged it on the garlic - a whole large raw clove chopped up in the dressing, nobody's going to want to come near me this afternoon
Homemade pizzas with the OH tonight, and a nice, cheap weekend planned. Lots of eBaying, continued de-cluttering and a little bit of freelance work. Got a whole chicken being delivered with my fruit and veg tonight so a delicious roast on Sunday, too. Might try and get out into the garden and do a bit of weeding and leaf clearing if it's not tooooo chilly, too.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone! - Hi Betsycat! Well done on your NSDs, it's definitely easier to save money by bringing your own lunches to work and setting out meal plans!
- Hi KarenMM, thank you!
Isn't it just - I used to know that really, but in practice was terrible at remembering to bring anything so was buying lunch almost every day... I didn't buy any food at work last week which is unheard of for me! - Friday and Saturday were NSD too so that's 6/10! It's addictive, this non-spending isn't it... I was helped yesterday by my OH who got a few food and household bits we needed - usually I buy all the groceries since I earn more than him so it's nice when he's able to help out sometimes! But that's Ј12 that I would have spent so very useful.
Spent most of yesterday clearing out boxes and shelves, discovered some lomography cameras that I'd forgotten about so those can go on eBay, they seem to sell quite well. Put a truck load of books on Zapper so just need to find some boxes big enough to send them. And was going to sell my Wii but have just seen on eBay that a Wii with 15 games only goes for around Ј38 so not sure it's worth selling for the money I'd get for it... might hang on to it for those occasions when people are over and we want to play Mario Kart! Might encourage me to stay in, too. - Had a NSD on Sunday but was offered a free ticket to see Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ballet at the Royal Opera House yesterday so needed to buy dinner beforehand! We went to Strada with a 40% voucher so it wasn't too bad, Ј15 for a drink,mains and some bread to start with... I also bought lunch today at work (the queue for the microwaves was enormous...) so I'll eat my burrito tomorrow. Still very much within budget for the week - Ј18 left of the Ј40 and next week's budget starts tomorrow - but just need to make sure I don't get a spending hat on. So 7/13 NSD this month which I suppose is not so bad!
I've got Thursday off work (needed to use up some holiday) so going to spend the day prepping stuff to go on eBay as I didn't get time over the weekend.
Got this month's credit card statement and the 0% offer runs out next month, which is month later than I thought. So that's something! Not sure whether it'll add on all the interest from the previous 3 months or just start charging interest from then, but I should be paying at least Ј800 (maybe Ј1,000!) off it within this statement month so that will at least offset it.
OH is cooking tonight (phew - I cooked all last week!) so a night on the sofa for me, might browse some OS forums and do a bit of knitting. Very tired from my night out at the ballet! First time I've been to anything like that... it was lovely! And more than a little trippy - Well done on all your NSDs! Sounds like you're in the swing of it. It is satisfying not to be buying lunch because of planning better - just think of all the savings!
I'm going to take a leaf out of your book on Thursday and do some ebaying, I'm off work too (although I might indulge in an hour extra in bed first!).
Keep it up - sounds like you're doing a great job - Thanks Beckie! Hope you enjoyed your extra hour in bed eBay is a bit of a pain in the bum (although much simpler than it used to be...) but I suppose it's money for things that are cluttering the house! My last few rounds have been a bit easier as I printed off postage labels through PayPal and popped the packages in the post room at work - saves heading to the post office in my lunch break!
Bought a few bits in Sainsbugs yesterday to tide us over 'til the end of the month, and another NSD today so a nice 8/15... as long as I can stay halfway or over I'll be happy!
Have been budgeting for February today - heading to Brighton for a weekend to cheer on friends in the half marathon, so trying to make cuts elsewhere for that so I can still make a decent payment. Was supposed to be running it but my ITBS has come back with a vengeance!
We'll have another mouth to feed come end of Feb, too - one of my very good friends is coming back from Canada, having moved there in 2013, and needs somewhere to stay for a month or too while he saves up for a deposit. And a month later his fiance will be arriving too! Although I think by then they'll have somewhere to live. Will have to make sure there's lots of sausages on the menu, as the sausages over there aren't quite like our thick juicy ones!
Have had a nice day of more decluttering and getting lots of washing done, at a leisurely pace I might add. And read the last few pages of the lovely liltdiddylilt's diary! Now scouring Pinterest for recipes for next month's meal plan with this furry one plonked in my lap purring away:
(Not Betsy I might add - she's off causing mischief elsewhere!)
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