Shopping Is Not My Hobby Anymore

When I was a young girl I considered horse riding, playing hockey and reading as my hobbies. Somewhere between the ages of 18 and 21 the horse riding got dropped for shopping; this happened after a move from the country to a city, which meant I was at the mercy of the newly discovered Chelsea Girl (Top Shop for the eighties I think).

Anyway, progress a few years later, marriage, babies and increased earning power meant that the hockey also got replaced, with more shopping! Suffice to say it got worse, London got replaced with New York, the shopping hobby got out of control and so did my credit card balances.

Fast forward to 2005 and I had over £45k in unsecured debt, FORTY FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS in debt from a hobby! Way, way, way too much for one person.

Shopping is no longer my hobby, or will it ever be again.

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July Budget

It's not payday until next week but here's my July zero based budget. I have a basic budget that I adjust month by month depending on different expenses that come up, usually to do with my daughter. This month I need to pay some money towards her 16th birthday party that she's having jointly with some friends.

Incoming:

£2133.50

Outgoing:

£800 Bills (joint stuff here)
£904.32 Loan
£18.00 Sponsor
£171.18 Daughter
£180 Food
£60 Petrol

I can't wait until that £904.32 is all mine!

July Mini Goals

I can't believe we're halfway through the year already, anyway July is nearly upon us so it's time to set a few personal mini goals.

Finances:

• Reduce debt by £1,000
• Earn £100 in extra income (reduced as I've been struggling to make £200 lately)
• Stick to using cash
• Keep grocery spending under £180

Health & Fitness:

• Lose 8lbs (Lost 5lbs in June)
• Increase fruit and vegetable intake (at least 7 items a day)

I'm printing these goals out to serve as a constant reminder.

Three Things That Keep the Momentum Going

I'll admit that I've been slacking a little these last few months. I've been drifting in and out of the three main reasons that I've paid off so much debt; my spending diary, my blog posting, my sticking to a budget. Losing focus on these three things has a detrimental effect to my finances. Once I stop doing these things constantly, I stop being as effective at debt repayment. I've also stopped setting monthly mini goals for myself at a time when I should be gathering momentum for the big finish.

There is only 6 months and a few days to go until debt freedom, I've not had that since I was a teenager!

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Snowball day

Payday came and payday went. I sent a snowball payment and it reduced my debt to £7,107. My next main target is £5k. This should happen by the end of August. I still have a direct loan payment to do this month which will take me below £7k.

I'm in super frugal mode at the moment and it's going really well. Every day I'm making a conscious effort not to spend money. It's addictive.

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No spending for me

I don't have any room in my personal budget for spending over the next few months. If I want to be debt free in 2009 I need to be really strict with myself or I will be carrying some debt into the new year and I really don't want that. I have big changes planned for 2010 and they can't happen if I have debt, so I'm going into super frugal mode.

I've been in super frugal mode before and it can really kick start debt repayment.

I like the ideas in this post from All Doors Considered which I'm going to use, along with the following -

• Do a car boot sale (like a yard sale, but in a field) to make a little extra cash
• Cook from our store cupboard twice a week to reduce grocery bills

What things do you do that are super frugal?

June Update; Back on the Horse

Where have I been? Nowhere really, just took a little break from this blog, which I shouldn't do as then I start spending. Anyway I'm back, it's a new month and I have a renewed focus to finish off this debt. My current balance is £7,837.

I'm trying to focus on the good stuff, like living without a credit card, paying in cash for everything and knowing that I've paid off over £37,000 in debt. I'm trying not to focus on only making £54.07 in extra income last month, not using my spending diary and buying too many cappuccino's.