My Debt Diary

Archives for February 2019

Keeping A Home Business Afloat When You Have Debts

February 26, 2019

Running a business from home can be hard enough at the best of times, but when you also have a lot of debt hanging over you, it can be especially challenging. For a lot of people, it would be enough not to even start such a business, but it’s important to remember that home business can mean a huge range of things. It could just mean working from home in a self-employed manner, and therefore being registered personally as a solo business. Whatever your situation, you can be sure that you will need to keep your debts in mind if you hope to keep that business afloat for good. In this post, we will look at some of the simple things to consider in order to make sure that you can do this.

Credit

Speak To An Accountant

For a lot of people who have plenty of debt, the idea of spending further money on an accountant can seem impossible. If you want things to continue moving in an upwards trajectory however, you will actually find that speaking to an accountant is a great way to go about doing things. This is particularly true if you have a home business to worry about.

In fact, it is likely to be especially convenient if you can find a business accountant who can help you with that side of things, as that is likely to be even more important than your personal accounts. Hiring the likes of Metric Accountants will mean you know that your business finances are being looked after, which will in turn result in a safer position for you personally. This will make a huge difference to ensuring that you can keep your home business afloat – and your life in order.

Portion Off Some Earnings Towards Your Debt

Of course, when you start to make real money from that business, then you have a clear and obvious path open to you: namely, you can start to pay off your debts using the income from that business. This is definitely something that you will want to consider, and is one of the best things you can do with the earnings from a home business. Make sure that you don’t siphon off too much towards your debts, however, as you want to keep enough in the business for it to remain operational and profitable. But putting a little aside to help with your credit card payments is certainly going to be a good idea.

Credit

Sort Out A Payment Plan

If you find that the debt lingers over you too much, and that it makes it hard to run your business, then you can alleviate this anxiety by drawing up a payment plan for your debts. If you can get such a plan agreed with your creditors, then all the better. Once you have arranged it in this way, you can focus on building your business much more easily – hopefully building it to the point where you can then begin to use its earnings to pay off that debt, as we have discussed.

 

(this is a collaborative post)

Leave a Comment · Healthy Finances, working from home

Debt Payment Progress Report 15 – 22/02/19

February 22, 2019

Every two weeks I will be sharing my debt payment progress report with you. I’ll share my new debt total and some of the things I have done to make this happen. It will help me record my journey and it will also help me to stay motivated!

Debt Payment Progress Report – my new total!

As of February 22nd 2019 my new debt total is £11,753.58 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that since I last updated you two weeks ago I have paid off £2406.49 My new total debt payment to date is now £5060.71, which I have calculated to equate to 30% of my debt total. (I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest). The following debts now remain:

  • Loan One £6236.92
  • Loan Two £5516.66
  • Credit Card One £0
  • Credit Card Two £0 (yaaaaaaaahooooooooo!!)
Debt Payment Progress Report - new debt total on 220219

Debt Payment Progress Report – new debt total on 220219

The past two weeks have been very successful with regards to my debt free journey. That’s a massive understatement actually. Thanks to some financial help I have leapt forward. So much so that I can officially say goodbye to my second credit card. It’s paid off! I’m also 30% of the way through my total now. That feels incredible!

I won’t go into detail about the help received as it’s obviously quite private but what I can express is how grateful I am for the support. When you are moving so slowly on your debt free journey, as I have been over the last few months, it can be draining and disheartening to say the least. This boost has not only helped get rid of a good chunk of my debt, it has also rebooted my motivation.

Now I am left with two loans to pay off. Both with the same bank and both with penalties attached for paying them off early. I’m going to work out my numbers and see if the penalty is worth paying. Of course, following the debt snowball method I should throw everything I have at them and just pay the penalties in order to get rid of the loans. What would you do? I’d really love some advice on this one!

My next debt payment progress report will show a far smaller number, most likely my minimum payments on the loans minus the interest I have to pay. If you’ve been following my journey for a while now though, you’ll already know that I’m absolutely fine with that. As long as the number continues to go down, I’m happy.

You can find my previous reports here.

 

debt payment progress report fifteen - 220219 - pinterest

2 Comments · Debt Free Community, Debt Free Journey, Debt Payment Progress, Financial Freedom, Money, Money Making, My Debt Story, Personal Finance

Finance Book of the Month – Get Rich Lucky Bitch

February 19, 2019

As I make progress towards becoming debt free, I am making it a priority to educate myself more about money. I want to have a better understanding of handling finances, financial mindsets and many other useful topics. My favourite way of doing this is reading. This is a part of my journey that I’m particularly keen to share with you as I believe you could get a lot of value from it. This month I would like to share Get Rich, Lucky Bitch.

Finance book of the month – Get Rich Lucky Bitch

Now on first reading of the title you’re probably having the same reaction that I did. That sounds like a really obnoxious book and definitely won’t be for me. I really want to urge you to look past the title and read on because this book has been incredibly beneficial to me!

I wouldn’t blame you for assuming that the book’s pages are filled with get rich quick schemes and tips on how to make a million in your first week, however this couldn’t be further from reality. In fact, the author focuses with great importance on incremental change and simplicity. This one portion of the book alone has been invaluable for me.

I have a bad habit of covering my noticeboard and planner in a lot of different goals. Instead, I now have one simple goal set and marked clearly. I’ve found myself more focused and intentional as a result. My brain isn’t jumping from one to the other and therefore neither are my actions.

Mindset is also a key factor in Denise Duffield-Thomas’ book, but not in the outlandish way that many books use it. Denise spends many of the pages focusing on money mindset and blocks. She takes a healthy approach to handling bad money memories and encourages you to deal with and clear them. Then you go on to explore and adapt your current money habits in order to move forward.

Most importantly she encourages you to become comfortable with the idea of money. Being rich doesn’t make you a bitch and it certainly doesn’t come from luck. It’s OK to want more. Having a lot of money will not make you a bad person. It opens up opportunities and gives you freedom.

A book that first appeared very over the top and aggressive to me actually turned out to be one of the most common sense pieces I’ve read in a long time. Get Rich Lucky Bitch isn’t about making your fortune at all. It is about becoming familiar with yourself and your behaviours and growing these gently over time in order to achieve the big life goals you have your heart set on, without fear of judgement.

You can find Get Rich, Lucky Bitch here. (This is an affiliate link. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to use it. Thank you!)

 

I absolutely encourage you to begin reading (or listening to audiobooks) as part of your debt free journey. Not only do you learn something as a result, but it also allows you some time to switch off from your debt and all the other goings on in life and just focus on the book in hand.

You can read my previous Finance Book of the Month post here.

Finance Book of the Month - get rich lucky bitch - pinterest

Finance Book of the Month – get rich lucky bitch 

Leave a Comment · Debt Free Journey, Finance Book of the Month, Financial Freedom, Healthy Finances

Debt Payment Progress Report 14 – 08/02/19

February 8, 2019

Every two weeks I will be sharing my debt payment progress report with you. I’ll share my new debt total and some of the things I have done to make this happen. It will help me record my journey and it will also help me to stay motivated!

Debt payment progress report – my new total!

As of February 8th 2019 my new debt total is £14,160.07 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that since I last updated you two weeks ago I have paid off £112.67 My new total debt payment to date is now £2654.22, which I have calculated to equate to 16% of my debt total. (I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest). The following debts now remain:

  • Loan One £6236.92
  • Loan Two £5679.79
  • Credit Card One £0
  • Credit Card Two £2243.36

debt payment progress report total 080219

We’re already into the second month of the year and time is slipping away. I cannot believe how quickly the weeks are passing now. In saying that, I am please to report that so far things are going well for 2019 and I’m in line with my goals. Freelancing work has remained busier than it was at the end of last year and it looks like it might stay this way for a while yet. Of course, I won’t be getting complaisant. My intention is to find one or two more clients, ideally, to help boost my hours.

One or two small ebay sale have also helped contribute to my payments over the last two weeks. I always say that the pennies add up and small things like selling unwanted items and surveys do help me out. My listings are running low now so I’m going to go through my wardrobe and have another clear out. With any luck I can find another 10 to 20 items that I can list and hopefully boost February’s payments a bit more!

After a couple months off from goal setting I also took the time earlier this week to set myself some goals for the month. You can read them in detail here. Mostly, I just want to get my head down and push on with work but I’ve also added a “treat” in there. Like most people paying off debt I’m in it for the long haul and as motivated as I am, it can be a bit of a downer to constantly be throwing every penny at loans. In February I’m going to make a point of treating myself to something small to keep me going. Maybe just a nice lunch, that would do the trick!

You can find my previous reports here.

debt payment progress report 14 - 080219 - pinterest

2 Comments · Debt Free Journey, Debt Payment Progress, Financial Freedom, Healthy Finances, Money, Personal Finance

My Money Goals for February 2019

February 5, 2019

After losing track of my goals in December and forgetting to set any altogether in January I am so happy to be back and bringing some focus and intention to the coming month. With tax payments and the expense of Christmas long gone it is time to focus on my second credit card and clear it as soon as possible. Here are my goals for February 2019.

You can read my goals for December 2018 here.

My goals for February 2019:

Increase income by £500 per month.

Over the winter months my work load always drops dramatically, so much so that you’re probably sick of hearing about it by now. Whilst it is an expected dip I’d rather fill my hours a little more if possible. Instead of relying on side hustles only for this I’m making the effort to increase the number of freelance clients that I work with on a regular basis.

It is always difficult to determine how much work a new client will bring and I am very familiar with the promise of lots of incoming projects only to be left disappointed. At the same time, I don’t want to take on too many new clients at the same time and then completely overwhelm myself. Ideally, all going well, I’ll be able to do enough to add around £500 to my monthly income. I’ll keep you posted on this!

Begin a sinking fund for the Spring.

There are birthdays and weddings galore this spring and I am going to be spending a lot of money. I will be able to keep my spending to a minimum in some areas, by gifting my help to a friend for her wedding instead of giving money, however for most of it I will just have to bite the bullet.

I’ve estimated that I will need around £600 to cover everything that is going on so I’m going to be putting about £50 aside each week. Now you can see why I want to increase my income so much! It will be a lot of work, but it will stop me panic spending in the moment and will avoid any credit card related disasters. Saving so much each week is worth it when the only other option is to go further into debt!

Make an additional £200 payment to my credit card.

As I mentioned before, my credit card is the next item in my debt snowball and I am determined to get rid of it as soon as possible. It’s been hanging over my head for so blooming long now I’d like it paid off and out of my life. Of course that’s how I feel about all of my debt, but you know what I mean.

As £200 isn’t a huge amount I’m going to do my best to side hustle this amount. Between taking surveys (if you’re new to surveys use prolific academic, they’re by far the best), decluttering more items for Ebay and a few other things it might just be possible if I get my head down.

Allow myself a treat.

If you’ve been following my journey for a while you will know that all of my goals always focus on paying off debt and saving money as quickly as possible. The ones above demonstrate that by themselves. Well my final goal is shaking that up a bit. I’d like to set aside some money for a treat for myself. Nothing big. Just something that brings me joy and helps keep me motivated when my spending is normally so tight.

My original intention was to get myself some flowers however I found an awesome deal and got some free. (I posted about it here on Instagram if you fancy a nosey). Instead I have considered taking myself to a really nice cafe or hotel for some lunch. Feet up, read a book and just enjoy a really tasty meal. That would be an awesome treat!

 

Have you set yourself some goals for the month? Let me know in the comments!

my goals for february 2019 - pinterest

Leave a Comment · Financial Freedom, Goal Setting, Money, Money Making, Money Saving, Personal Finance

Cheap Wedding Rings | Five Frugal Things for January 2019

February 1, 2019

In an effort to pay off my debt as quickly as possible, I’m looking beyond simply making extra money. I have been assessing all of my spending habits, adopting a more frugal lifestyle wherever I can. Each month I will be sharing Five Frugal Things that I have done to help improve my finances and ensure I can reach my goal of becoming debt free as soon as possible.

One

Free flowers. A week or so ago a blogger that I follow posted an Instagram story about some beautiful flowers she had received in the post. At the beginning of the year I set myself some goals and always having fresh flowers in the house was one of them. Yes it’s a small goal, but they make me really happy and so it was an important one for me.

It turns out that the flowers had been free thanks to a coupon code which I could use too. I ordered my flowers straight away and we both received a free bunch of flowers. Now that they’ve arrived I’ve shared my own code with friends and family and it looks like I might be getting free flowers for another month or so. I’m so happy! (Of course this is a subscription service, so I’ll be cautious of the future payments).

Two

Using loo rolls in my living room decor. This one sounds classy doesn’t it? Are you picturing a sofa made of toilet roll or something? Don’t worry, it’s not that weird. I have curtains with eyelets at the top which hang straight down. When I open them in the morning, if I don’t spend time evening them out they always look a bit…meh.

Then Beckyhomesweethome (if you love interiors and chatty stories you’ll love her) shared a tip on Instagram. Pop a loo roll tube between the eyelets of your curtains as you loop them over the curtain pole. It spaces them out really nicely and means that they hang well without any effort. Of course the loo rolls are also free and recycled now too!

Three

Cheap wedding rings. I have mentioned previously that I will be getting married this year. All the big things are sorted now so we’ve been working through the “bits and bobs” list as the big day gets closer. One of the most important things left on our list was wedding rings. We had been warned by friends who have married recently that they would be really expensive so we braced ourselves.

We had a good idea of what we were looking for, something simple and classic with mine matching my engagement ring. Now we just had to find them. A quick browse online took us too Amazon (of course it did) and within about half an hour we had both chosen rings that we loved. The grand total? Around about £115. For both! I was a little sceptical about quality but they’re both high quality materials (14k rose gold for me) and just as promised.

Four

Using the resources I have. As someone who runs two businesses from home I am always looking to expand my knowledge. In the past I have been the worst for purchasing course after course, filled with motivation to learn more. Of course most of them were looked at for a moment and then quickly forgotten about. If I’d given them focus I’m sure they would have been brilliant but without actually using the courses they were just the biggest waste of money.

Predictably, as often happens when a new year rolls around, I found myself filled with new motivation once again at the beginning of January. This time however, I chose to look through the resources I already had stored away instead of looking for something new. I’ve tried to keep things as simple as possible and just focus on one course at a time. So far the one I am working through is helping me a lot and I am now actually gaining value from it and I have spent nothing!

Five

A romantic meal for two…at Ikea. So I know Ikea is a bit like Marmite; some people love it and others hate it. Well myself and my better half LOVE strolling round the shop, having a nosey at all the decor ideas and of course always enjoy the classic meatballs!

Normally we go during the day, most likely on a Saturday but when I found out that the shop stays open until 10pm we had to change things up. This time we arrived at dinner time, enjoyed our usual wander and then sat down for an awesome and very cheap meal. No, it’s not a swanky place and OK it’s not the most romantic, but that’s not the point of dinner with your significant other is it? We had a blast and dinner cost us a whopping £12.

There they are, my Five Frugal Things for the month of January. You can read last month’s post here.

I’ve seen a number of people talking about doing a “no spend month” in February and Nicola from Mum on a Budget has even written a great survival guide about it here so that may be frugal approach to the next 28 days. You’ll need to come back next month to see how I get on!

 

I’m linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s Five Fabulously Frugal things I’ve done this week linky.

five frugal things January 2019 - pinterest

4 Comments · Debt Free Journey, Financial Freedom, Five Frugal Things, Healthy Finances, Money Saving

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