Money is the root of all evil. I forget who first said that, but it has some bearing in truth I think. Money is certainly causing me problems at the minute. Well that's not true – my past spending habits are causing me problems. The ghosts of spending past are coming to haunt me now.
It's my own fault of course and it's something I'm aware of and happy to accept responsibility for. So right now, I'm making out what www.moneysavingexpert.com calls my Statement of Affairs.
| | Debits | Credits |
| Incomings | | |
| Pay | | £2,407.00 |
| | | |
| Outgoings | | |
| Rent | £625.00 | |
| Council tax | £89.00 | |
| Gas | £16.00 | |
| Electricity | £12.00 | |
| Gym | £28.95 | |
| Water | £25.00 | |
| Mobile | £25.00 | |
| Landline | £25.00 | |
| Virgin | £33.00 | |
| Contents Insurance | £8.65 | |
| Car Insurance | £30.65 | |
| Union | £10.96 | |
| WLR | £7.33 | |
| TV Licence | £12.29 | |
| Lotto | £9.00 | |
| Magazine | £2.00 | |
| Food | £200.00 | |
| Petrol | £100.00 | |
| Loan | £610.00 | |
| BOI min | £76.50 | |
| Tesco min | £45.00 | |
| BC min | £178.00 | |
| | £2,169.33 | |
| | | |
| Left: | | £237.67 |
Currently, that £237 is going on physio and counselling – both of which are instrumental in getting me back on track life-wise, so I am comfortable with the need for them. However, if I were to put that money towards the debt, it would come out like this:
| Debts | | Paid by: (current) | Paid by: (extra £200/month) | Paid by: (new job) |
| Loan | £6,100.00 | Jul-12 | Jul-12 | Jul-12 |
| BC | £7,902.00 | Apr-13 | Dec-12 | Aug-12 |
| Tesco | £2,000.00 | Aug-13 | Feb-13 | Sep-12 |
| BOI | £3,060.00 | Jul-13 | Apr-13 | Aug-12 |
So, paying off that extra £200 a month would reduce the life of my debt by four months. If I get my new job and stick to this payment schedule, it would knock an entire year off my repayment time. All of this is very exciting, but either way, I will be debt-free in August 2013 – the first anniversary of my wedding :) I can't wait – for both occasions!
As for the wedding? That's being paid for out of revenue – that is the money I currently spend on shopping, food, petrol etc, as well as any money I make off ebay or my writing. Those amounts are not being considered in the calculations for debt repayment because a) they're in no way consistent and b) I can't guarantee they will be a continuing source of income.
All very sensible, isn't it? Of course if Al and I finally manage to move in with each other that will free up another £500 a month as things currently stand. But that isn't likely in the near future so I must wait and see how that goes. I am determined to enter my marriage with less than £10 k of debt. That is entirely achievable. There is nothing about this that I can't do. So – I'm going to do it. This weekend is full on 'ebaying and emptying the house' weekend. I'm aiming to get 100 items listed on ebay. Even if I made £1 profit on each, that would be another £100 to put towards the debt.
I'm also thinking that a good clear out will let me assess a few things for myself as well. A food inventory will need to happen this weekend since I'm sure there's loads of food in my kitchen that is perfectly edible, I've just forgotten about it. I am determined to get through the next two weeks spending less than £10 per week on food. (And that will be mainly on bread and milk). If food is about to go off, I need to cook it and freeze it. I can do batches of things and freeze the left-overs for another night. I that is my aim and I plan to stick to it!
So there we go – it's all out there in black and white now. It's not the end of the world and I can stop things getting out of control again, I know I can. Besides, these thrifty habits will stand me in good stead in years to come. I enjoy things like baking and cooking. I enjoy making things. I enjoy spending time over things for other people. That means that all my 'things' that I've collected over the years can be made into other 'things' or remade to suit other people or whatever for presents that are coming up.
My daily spending notebook will be making an appearance again and I will be faithfully recording every penny I spend and where – including credit card and cash spend. I will no longer be recording cash when I take it out of the bank but when I actually spend it. That seemed to make a huge difference last time and I think it will again.
So no major political debates or whatever else today, I'm just planning my future. Fun, isn't it?
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