SKINT AND FABULOUS 4: WHAT BEING SKINT HAS ACTUALLY TAUGHT ME!

Being broke and even sometimes being in debt is the biggest wake up call ever, especially when you get that sinking feeling when your bank account goes into overdraft, and nothing you do seems to be working. It's a very disheartening situation, but trust me, you CAN get your way out of it if you just take some forward steps and start thinking positively.

My first encounter with debt was when I was 20 years old and about to start my second year of Uni. I was approached by a rep from Clothes Show Live to sell at a stall in the Christmas event, and to my delight, I said yes! But then what they didn't tell me was all the costs and things that would later come into it (£5,000 just to have a frigging stall for 3 days! I would have better luck in selling for Camden Lock Market every day for a year!) and I obviously couldn't afford to fund myself whilst being away from home and only just started my business the year before, as well as the fact that I had no money apart from my student loan, so I told them that I no longer commit to this, so they said I had to pay 1/2 the amount of money to break the contract, and so I did, but I was £2,500 in debt, I barely had enough student loan to pay my rent and I was only really left with £200 a term to live on, and it was very uncomfortable living on that, my budget on food was £7.50 a week- how I actually survived on that was beyond belief.

It was saddening that I spent my 21st birthday in so much debt that I could even barely afford my birthday meal, as well as travelling from Farnham to South London for it.

So after that, I said to myself that I had to get myself out of this pit that I was in, even if it takes years and years.

The steps I took towards clearing this debt involved:

• joining a job agency (ones that involve catering work are often easiest to get work for). I joined 2 agencies to make sure I had some kind of consistent work.
• starting my own side business- maybe you want to sell things on eBay, have a cake sale or like me, you would like to upcycle clothing and re-sell them?
• setting and sticking to a budget, but allowing a little bit extra room for emergencies, so you are not overspending massively.
• batch buying/cooking- I would buy a months worth of food and cook it and then freeze them all.
• asked my landlord to pay the rent quarterly rather than monthly to avoid being unable to pay it later on.

It DOES take some committing, especially when you are a student, but when you are someone that studied a creative course that always requires money, you HAVE to grow up and do things you don't want to do.

Luckily, my Uni had surprised me and gave me a £700 bursary, and then shortly after, Student Finance gave me an extra £1,000 to live on for the rest of the year, which paid off all my debt so as you can imagine, it is the biggest relief when you stop seeing that dreadful minus sign when you check your balance!

Currently, I'm not exactly rich right now as I'm saving any extra money towards my baby girl's arrival and for mine and my other half's new home, but I'm happy that I'm taking positive steps towards a more comfortable life whilst on Maternity Leave, which would prove a new challenge, but everyone that knows me knows I like a bit of a challenge, and although I may cry and panic at times, I always come out doing the victory dance ;)

Ify Katherine xo

P.S- if you are struggling with debt, and I mean really struggling- there are other websites that can also help you, like Citizen's Advice Bureau and Money Advice Service . I hope this helps!

SKINT AND FABULOUS NO.2: ORGANISING YOUR INCOME

Hey guys,

Today I'm going to talk about budgeting, but in a more organised way, and this way really does make sense!

It's so easy to write down a budget and day you are going to spend this much this month and hope it lasts, but sometimes with bills that cost more than expected or all the little emergencies, your money really does disappear quicker than you actually think.

The way I am going to talk about organising your money is to put your money into 3 bank accounts- it's really not a crazy idea, I promise you! I personally have 3 separate bank accounts, which is 1 for my main income which I then send part of my money to a bills account and another part towards savings. This way, I know that my money is sorted and I can enjoy whatever is left in my main account.


                                                 (source)

If this isn't possible, then you can also do this with jars or plastic containers, but then also ensure are a little bit organised as to know when bills are due, so that you put the money back into your account. You could even do add an extra container if you want to include paying credit cards or overdrafts!

This is also a really good way to ensure you get out of debt quicker too if you have any as you would for sure be saving money.

I hope this helps! :)

Ify Katherine xo

NEW BLOG SERIES: SKINT & FABULOUS NO.1

Hey guys, I'm introducing a new blog series here- on being skint & fabulous- just because you have no money doesn't mean you cant have a life or have to just completely be a homebody! With the right tips you can still have the things you would like, without burning a hole in your wallet ;-).

I personally love living frugally- it makes my life so much easier and so far it has meant that have a very good credit rating too! I handmake/recycle/mend a lot of my clothes, my whole online business is built this way  and I live by budgeting and shopping lists and it has meant that I save a huge chunk of my weekly income, so that I can save for other things like holidays, renting deposits and for other special occasions!


I never used to be like this, obviously- when I was younger, I used to just splurge money on things I didn't really need, but instead on what I thought looked nice or tasted good. But I then learnt how to budget when I moved away from home for a year because my parent's weren't going to support me financially anymore.

And when I started my first full-time job as a waitress the spending habits did get worse- I spent half of my first weeks wage on a pair of Doc Martens, because even though I did want them for about a year beforehand, I wanted to show people that I can afford nice things. Luckily I wear them very often, otherwise it would be a very costly mistake. However it did get worse- bi-weekly shopping trips in Hammersmith on my break, or in Westfield whenever I finished work early, because I thought- I deserved it- I worked for it, so I earned every nice thing I had in my wardrobe.

Then I decided I wanted to move out of my parent's house again, but with no intention of moving back in, mostly because I wanted to support myself fully and live a fully independent life, and a year and a half later, I'm still living that life and it has quite literally been the biggest wake up call ever... I lived in an overpriced tiny council flat with like 6 other people where there was no privacy, constant noise, and no relaxation. Since living away from home, I've had to re-learn how to budget, save up for rent deposits for when my tenancy was finishing, and have small treats rather than splurges!

Now though, I live a fairly comfortable life. I live in a cool-enough bedsit, I have nice things that I have worked towards, I finally am planning holidays, and I'm working towards better things.

This week, I am going to talk about budgeting. If you want the nice things you want, or if you are in debt, or even if you just want your wages to actually last, rather than living from paycheck to paycheck, then you have to plan!

Here are a few things to consider when budgeting-

• Make a list of all the essential things that you will need to pay for, in terms of bills, rent and groceries, and a tiny bit for going out (because we all need a life!) and if it helps- withdraw the money left over and only touch that cash for emergencies, and save for other things!
• Buy in bulk to cut costs- in terms of herbs and spices, loo roll, washing up liquid, etc.
• Plan your meals in advance so that it's easier to just buy the food you need to avoid waste. There's a good website to help with this too: http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

Here's an example of how I budget:

I make about £250 a week (not including the extra money I make from my tips that I've gotten via card payments, which frankly only really pays the tax before it touches my wages)

£120- rent

£20- groceries

£10- meter key

£4- launderettes

£15- travel

£17- bills

= £186 on necessities, £64 leftover!

I don't always spend money when I go out because it's usually to go to other people's houses, or I spend very little- but I normally spend no more than £20 a week or sometimes even fortnightly.

You may read this and think- how the heck do you live in London and live so cheaply? and I won't lie I have had a lot of trial and error, so it's only really been the last few months that I have worked this out to my benefit, and I will expand on that in future blogs- you would be surprised at how much you can save if you are realistic and plan smartly.

Good Luck!

Ify Katherine xo