Confessions of the Anti-Thrift

Oh boy, this is going to be hard...

Okay, so I quit my job in February partly due to stress and anxiety and partly due to the fact that I wanted to start my own at-home business. I've started that business but it's not bringing in the millions yet so I'm getting into a bit of a pickle.

Here's "The Situation":

MONTHLIES:

• My rent is £550 per month (I live with my partner -- he lost his job in March and has only just started a new job, which is the main reason for the pickle!) 
• Our council tax is £126 per month. 
• Our water is included and we don't have gas which simplifies things!
• Our electric bill is looking like it will be around £100 per month. It would be less per month now we're entering summer but we were underpaying in the winter at about £62 per month so a little behind with that bill.
• My car insurance is £79.58
• Our Sky bill (TV, line rental and broadband) is £29.50
• I subscribe to Netflix, Spotify, Last.FM, Laughing Squid, Xbox Live and Audible which totals to £33.46 (holy sh*t)
  
• My partner pays £14.99 per month for Cineworld Unlimited
• My partner pays £15 per month on finance for a previous purchase
• My partner is charged £30/£31 per month overdraft charges

This amount to average monthly bills right now of: £978.53


DEBT:

• I have a £1400 overdraft from my student bank account, £400 of that now has interest charged on it and as of September this year (2013) another £500 will begin being charged from it.
• My partner has an overdraft of £2000 which is fully charged interest of £1 per day. 
• Neither of us have had the balls to take out a credit card!
• I owe £384.07 from a previous council tax account.
• We are a month behind with the Sky bill of £29.50
• I owe one friend £300
• I owe another friend £200

In total (not including my student debts) we are in debt of: £4313.57


That's the financial situation. We are waiting to hear about the proper salary for my partner's job but I think after tax it will be £900.
My income varies depending on how many items I sell each month, I'm hoping to see if I can make around £600 in PROFITS this month. I need to better myself about how to determine profits too... If it's not working out, I may have to bite the bullet and return to a full-time "proper" job for a while to help us more.

What is it that I want to happen?

• I'd like to reduce our monthly bills as much as possible so we can begin using extraneous income to begin paying off debts. I'd like to get the bills down to around £900. This would mean that my partner's wage would fully cover the bills and then whatever I earn is extra to pay things off.
• We are hoping to start looking for a new place to live in June 2014 so by then I'd like to have reduced my overdraft to £1000 (from £1400) and his overdraft to £1500 (from £2000). So to take off around £900 altogether in 13 months.
• I'd like to be caught up with the electric bill - £566.51 in 13 months.
• I'd like to be up to date with the council tax - £500 in 13 months.
• I'd like to be up to date and free from contract with Sky - £29.50 in 13 months.
• I want to fully register as self-employed and be properly paying my income taxes on that.

That sounds like a lot to want to pay off in 13 months but I added it all together and divided it by 13 and it came to £153.54 per month which is NOT too bad at all.

And what's the end goal? By June 2016 I want to be fully debt-free (bar my student loans) and able to apply for a mortgage and start a family (if I want to). Yup, that's the end goal. I bloody well intend to achieve it.

It's doable and I want to do it! Will you join me in my thrifty journey to save and stockpile money each and every way I can? If you do, please subscribe to my blog :)

The next post will be able the immediate changes I can make to "The Situation" and try to create a timeline of savings for us.

Toodles!