Feels like ages since I’ve talked about budgeting, and for a reason… with excess spend on frivolities, a loan to pay off two credit cards one of which I didn’t close and am steadily filling back up, an expensive honeymoon (which I barely contributed towards) back in October 2016 and the increased cost of US-based services since the Brexit vote, it’s obvious I’ve had my head firmly planted in the sand. Or up my arse, if you like.
But I have a problem. And not just the problem of big scary debt which I promised myself I’d never get hooked into: the problem of a mortgage deal that ends in just over 12 months time and only self-employment income to prove my ability to buy or re-negotiate. If I have extra debt when it comes to sorting out a new deal, nobody is going to touch me. All of my mortgage over-payments will have been for nothing.
So I have a year. A year to do all the things I’ve blogged about doing a million times: reducing outgoings, making my projects successful (or closing them down) and putting any ‘side’ income straight into debt reduction.
And as that won’t be enough on its own, I have no choice but to go back to full scale frugality as per maternity leave income levels: meal planning, £20 a week shops, turning the heating down to 19 degrees and putting on an extra jumper… the kind of money saving stuff I used to do as par for the course.
I know I can do this, I’ve done it before. So why does it seem the most daunting of all my plans and goals for the year?
04 Jan at 4:30 pm
Good luck getting back on track with budgeting! I’m still trying to save for a mortgage deposit, but somehow ended up dipping into my savings quite a bit over Christmas.
I can’t imagine doing a £20 a week food shop. There’s only two of us and we spend over £40 a week (all my friends are shocked whenever I tell them this, so I’m clearly doing something wrong).
Hope you manage to do it!
04 Jan at 4:44 pm
I’ve been spending upwards of £60 a week at Tesco for a good while now – that’s to feed four of us and doesn’t include pets. Shopped at Aldi for the first time in ages this week and spent £23. Made a massive lasagne yesterday which fed us, and with half left over should do for my lunches this week. Got a chicken carcass (not from Aldi) from Sunday simmering to make stock for soup which should do a couple rounds of meals this week and sausages for tomorrow evening to break up the boredom factor. All in, this should last us til Monday when I go again.
26 Jan at 11:07 am
You can do this, Jem. In terms of food shopping, we’re Lidl fans and we also get a lot of stuff on reduction which really helps to keep our bills down.
08 Feb at 8:15 am
Turning the heating down to 19 ey? Check out big spender over here.
08 Feb at 9:02 am
I LOLed.