The last few months have been tough going for our financial goals as we have spent quite a bit of money on our home, some were planned and others not so much so.
This means we are pretty much back to square 1 and we need to go again.
Now, in the past, this probably would have been enough to make me want to quit and pile on the damage but now I have a better approach to our journey and know that it is just a bump in the road which is pretty long!
With everything we have paid out lately and still to pay out and the cost of living increases, we have taken the decision to stop overpaying the mortgage for a bit. This is to allow us to divert that money to the outstanding debts and clear those as quick as we can. I don’t think we will keep it off until we are completely debt free but for now, it will give us that little bit of breathing space until things calm down.
So, what exactly are we doing to get our goals back on track?
Re-assessing our budget
With costs rising and our direct debits going up on some of our bills we are going to take some time out to go back through our budget and put a realistic budget in place.
I need to take it back to basics and look at all of our costs for the last few months and put in realistic figures for the rest of the year.
Reduce our spending –
With food costs going up, we can’t afford to keep buying what we do.
So I am going to take a little time out to look back at our spending over the last few months. Our bank allows us to download our statements in excel format which makes it really easy to colour code and work your way through categorising the spending. It can be a little scary doing this as you get a dose of reality on just what you have spent your money on but it also helps you get back on track with future budgets too.
Once we have these figures we will look at reducing the spending in a realistic way.
I will also make sure that I am taking full advantage of cashback sites such as Quidco and loyalty cards, every little helps after all!
Re-negotiate deals and contracts –
It might not be for everything we pay out however for things such as our phone contracts, virgin media etc I will be looking to make sure we are getting the best deals we can do. It might not seem like much but if I can save £10 – £20 on each it will be worth it. Here are some suggestions on how to negotiate a better deal.
Take a deep breath –
It may feel a little overwhelming when you look at just what you need to clear to get to your goal but taking a deep breath and realising that it is all doable is a great first step.
Take time to look at how you got to where you are and what you need to do to get yourself out of there. It may feel like a mountain that you need to climb but you will get there, even if it is a little longer than you first imagined.
Short of winning the lottery, there is no quick fix for us to get to our goal of being debt free and retiring early. It is just going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to get to that point and now the focus and grind begin!
