The Vault with Financielle - "Am I Allowed to Take a Break from My Debt Payoff Journey?” | The Vault Episode 60

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Send us a textIn Episode 60 of The Vault, we discuss this week’s controversial opinion, “Cash stuffing is SO outdated”. We then dive into our listener dilemmas:💸 "Is it better to overpay on your mortgage or save for a bigger deposit?”💸 ”Am I allowed to take a break on my debt pay off journey?”We celebrate a listener who’s paid off all her Buy Now Pay Later debts (good riddance!) and is now working on her credit card debts - debt free here we come! 💸🤑 #CommunityWin #DebtFreeIf you’d like to share your money win, head to the community in the Financielle app or email [e-mail] your (totally anonymous) money dilemmas to [e-mail] and we may feature yours on a future episode 💌🐝Thanks to our partner PensionBee. They’re a leading online pension provider on a mission to build pension confidence so that you can enjoy a happy retirement. Pension saving is made simple with PensionBee - you can combine, contribute and withdraw online or from the palm of your hand with their easy-to-use app. Their retirement planning tools - like their Pension Calculator - blogs, videos and podcast - all aim to help you take control of your pension and build a better financial future.When investing, your capital is at risk.Guess what! As a Vault listener, you can get 25% off our digital course, The Money Playbook. This is a step by step guide to being financially well. It has 101 lessons where you'll learn how to budget, ditch debt, build savings and grow wealth. Use this offer code at checkout: VAULTCheck out The Money Playbook course here  💸Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:52 Casual Chat: Glasses and Scams04:19 Controversial Opinion: Cash Stuffing12:26 Dilemma: Overpay Mortgage or Save for Deposit?17:54 Community Win: Paying Off Debts19:39 DilemThe Vault is an entertaining yet thought provoking podcast that answers our community’s dilemmas and confessions surrounding women and money.Visit https://www.financielle.com to download our app.Watch the podcast on YouTube.Follow Financielle for more:▶︎ TikTok▶︎ InstagramAbout Financielle:Financielle is a female focussed finance app helping women to take back control of their money, ditch debt, increase savings and invest in their future.Recorded and Produced by Liverpool Podcast Studios▶︎ Web ▶︎ Instagram▶︎ LinkedIn

Oh hey, Laura here. I'm just starting off this episode of The Vault to tell you about the money playbook. I used to be terrible with money, designer shoes, fancy meals, all on credit. But everything changed when I realized I needed to take control of my money. That's why I created the money playbook, a step-by-step guide to help you take control of your money, ditch the overwhelm, and create a solid plan for your future self. With three stages, survive, build and grow, the playbook walks you through everything from paying off debt to building wealth.

Start your journey today by grabbing the money playbook for 25% off with the code VAULT. Check out the link in the podcast description. I promise you won't look back. Now, let's get to the episode. Welcome to the vault with Fine and Child. This is a safe space where we talk all things live and money and no topics are off limits. Howdy.

Hi, I wish I got the glasses in a moment because you are, they really suit you. They're so good. Thank you. I got scammed into Backsavers. Oh, I got scammed. Is this a dilemma? Did you email it?

Yeah. No, she was like, she was showing me all these glasses. She gave me my prescription and I was like spiralling because I was like, I thought I had 2020 vision. Like, yeah. You're like contemplating life. This doesn't represent me. Yeah.

And then I was like, wait, this could be fun. I could get some new glasses. I could get some new accessories. Wait, let's turn this into a positive. And then she was showing me all these glasses and she was like, oh yeah, these like, make me try loads on and stuff. She was like, oh yeah, they really suit you.

And then she was like, you actually get two for the price of one. I was like, oh, let's do that then. And then she was like, but you need this film coating and blah, blah, blah, blah. And then it basically, I ended up paying like way more than the price of two glasses anyway. Cause your one pair that you chose was like a bougie pair.

I look into the shop every time I walk past. Well now you can see into it. Yeah, but at your reflection. And I can see myself in the reflection. So this was one, and you had another pair? Yeah, this was one and then I got another pair, which I don't even like, so. Oh, how annoying.

Are they a sunglasses pair? No. Oh, that's the scam I got. I was sucked into it. I've got my prescription glasses. Oh, when you walk out and it takes five minutes, like adjust to the sunshine. Do you know like when they change? Oh no, my nana's got them. Oh, the polo. Is that what they call them? Bite focal? No, that's not. That's when you can make it bigger. Or if you've got shutters. That's where they're all panned close. Have you got shutters? No, I love them.

There's a guy that I can't remember his name, but he was on the BBC with me a couple of times, is a behavioral psychologist, really cool guy and wears glasses. And he's got this brand of glasses from America. And you buy the glasses and they're clear, so the frame's clear, and then you buy magnetic covers for them and change by the minute if you want to. So that's quite cost-effective. Let's pretend like it's like 60 or 70 quid for the base glasses, they're not expensive. Like obviously you pay for your lenses and that can differ, but you buy the base that's comfortable, they fit,

but the same front, so everyone has the same shape. And you just like tap them on. And I was like, oh my God, I love your glasses. I think they were polka dot, like he had a bit of bowels in him, he was cool. He went, I have more in my pocket. And he lifted these, he had this like, and they stack because they're all magnetic.

So he had six others with him. And they just, there was like a brown pair, a tortoise shell, stripe it, blue, burgundy. And in fact- That is so barbie. So you don't have to keep buying new glasses. You buy the glasses once and you just choose so. Lucy, can you change your personality every five minutes?

I'm going to make a new room. Let me just do that. I'm going to the toilet. That would just be my excuse though to then get loads of personal questions. I got 10,000 and I can't make a choice. That's so interesting. The pitch is this cost-effective thing,

but then you buy some new ones. I think they're only like 20, $30 per new front. There is a lot of websites that you can just get like five pairs for like 20 pounds. As long as your prescription's pretty basic with mine, it's like you can just change it. pairs for like 20 pounds. As long as your prescription is pretty basic with mine, it's like you can just change it. Oh, my dad's so bad. You went to Specsavers.

There's the reading glasses everywhere. Yeah, my dad does that and he looks like Louis Spence. And what is wrong with that? It looks great. Okay, controversial opinion time. Cash stuffing is so outdated. You might have to explain what cash stuffing is to most humans. So in Patreon, we've got binders out. It's in cursive writing, petrol, dining out, call maintenance, and we're taking the cash out of our bank and we're stuffing it in and we're

paying out of them. Yeah. Hang on. So I never did cash stuffing, but Laura did. Sorry, me under the bus. Well, I think it was a start of Laura's money journey and I think it helped, you know, you can speak for yourself but helped you organizing your head and get some sort of methodology as to how you could manage your money

and compartmentalize different aspects of your budget. Yeah, cause this is pre-financial budgets. We didn't have the budget planner. You're also lucky. I know. Didn't have the app then. I did the work. So yeah, I think once,

when I was trying to get a handle on my money and when I was trying to stick to the budget and when I was trying to use my excess to build up savings and overpay debt, you had to make sure you stick to the budget. And when I was trying to use my excess to build up savings and overpay debt, you had to make sure you stick to a budget. And I wasn't great at keeping on top of writing it down. So this is where it came from, writing it down. And so I had these little like wallets.

Later I think I got cash envelopes, but I had these like A5 buying little, like they had little slidey things on the top. The zip lock thing. Yeah, like a zip lock bag. And I put stickers on them and it was like food. And I was like, this is, I don't know if I got it a little bit from Nana. She didn't do that. She used to put, she used to withdraw cash and put it into savings for things. Compartmental.

I feel like my nanny does this. Yeah. And so I was like, yeah. In her purse, I think she used to compartmentalize it. Yeah, she did. Yeah, she did. You know, even like this bit's for food. She knew that that was for food and that was for like taxes and spends and stuff. And so I decided for like food, for petrol, and for like coffees and eating out, and really

they were my main expenses like years ago. That was the budget. And if it was getting, you could physically see the envelope getting low. So if I'd gone a bit crazy with food shopping, I would be like, I'm really gonna have to work my way around the supermarket and make sure that like, I put that back and I do have more of this. And it's just that fit,

I did really benefit from that physical connection because at the time I didn't have the Stalingham Monzo's of the world with the pots, it was all sloshing around in one place. So. And it would made you be really mindful. Oh my God, I would be like, the tail and Holly would be like, what are you doing? I was like, wait a minute, I need to get my envelope out.

Oh yeah. We're literally all looking at her like, what is going on? Cause we'd all split the bill and I'd go into my handbag and I'd get the envelope out and I'd find money and I'd be like, how much do you need? Only because previously Laura would be like the bougie, like let's get a bottle of champagne. Like I've got a Chanel handbag for Christmas.

Like I bought Louis Vuitton's and literally like Louis Vuitton's. Louis Vuitton's. Louis Vuitton's. Knockoffs. Knockoffs, yeah. Oh my God, imagine like Louis Vuitton LVs and then a red soul. Oh my God. I'm sure it's been done. But Laura imagine like Louie, Vitton, LVs and then a red soul.

Oh God, yeah. I'm sure it's been done. But Laura was the bougie, like, we're going on holiday, we'll do this. And I was a little sister, like, yeah, I'll follow along. And then all of a sudden she was like, no, no, no, counting out cash. At the table. How vulgar. It was just like all the family looking at each other in the eye, like, well, what is

going on? She's having a nervous breakdown because it was so different to Laura that we'd known before. But I think it was a really good reset for you to be like, no, no, I need to sort my money shit out. So drastic action has been taken. But people, financials not too dissimilar, like creating sinking funds and pots.

And seeing how far along that bar is, like seeing how much you've got left. Yeah, we're just doing it in a digital age, I suppose. Yeah, like I said, whether it's using the app or whether it's using POTS, it's the same principle, but interests, so would I do it now? No, not everyone takes cash. I have got a system and I am good at sticking to the budget

that I've got, not always, like I'm only human. But actually, when you put it like that, Holland, the reason I did it back then was I didn't connect with money. Like it was so digital. It was like tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. And it's got even worse. We connect with nature, the paper. You have to feel it.

And like seeing it, seeing like if my, if my grocery budget then was 200 pounds, seeing 200 pounds in an envelope looks like a lot of money. When you then spend 60 of it on your first shop on day one of your budget, you then see, you physically see the amount of cash in that envelope go down. And when you've got a 20 quid, a paltry 20 quid for your grocery budget, and it's gonna last you five, six days, you don't want to be there again next month. and you suddenly are more inclined to go to the back of the cupboard and find the thing than your freezer

and go to mum's for tea. Project pan your ass out of that budget. You've got it. But if you've set a budget and it's all sloshed around your bank account, it's just a number. You've not physically seen that. So actually, if I was brand new to financial today and I was an overspender,

whether it's because of impulsivity and close spending or whether it's because I just not really good at counting it and I just like nice things, nice food, and I've suddenly bought steaks and I've suddenly run out of money, oh, better put it on the card, cash envelopes is a really good way to get the discipline of it, I think.

Yeah, if you've never been that girl that's managed money, it could just be a good, but we were laughing, I think we spoke about it together, looking at YouTube and there's so many cash stuffing people on YouTube. Yeah, there's loads of TikToks and it's like, we were like, is it ASMR? Yeah, we were like. Is it because people, it's like playing short.

People know to know what people's budgets are. Like, cause what is it about seeing someone put money in an envelope? Is it cause you want to know what their budget is and then comment on, well, that's too much for... I watch people cleaning the house on like Tiktok and stuff. Is it similar, like getting,

someone getting organized in order? Like it's very satisfying. Like I'm going to put £80 in if. We might need to do one. Some people might not know this. after someone getting organized in order, it's very satisfying, like I'm gonna put 80 pounds in here. Some people might not know this, so we might have to show what cash the thing can look like. I do remember I used to have a little piece of paper per envelope that was my little ledger.

Oh yeah, that's a good idea. So for food, I would write down how much I spent and how much was left, I'm just gonna just recount it, I don't know why I did that. I thought that was quite satisfying. it's like tracking your expenses. You don't want to be stood in a queue counting your cash though. You want to be like, how much have I really spent?

You can do that in the financial app by tracking your expenses. You can see how much you've got left and stuff. Yeah, you can do that. Go and do it. Like it's a real good exercise. You don't want to do the cash exercise, do the digital one.

And if you don't track expenses, but you have sinking funds or flexible pots, or whatever it is, by using things like Monzo and styling, you can, before you go out to the supermarket, I do that. How much have we got left in the groceries? We've got two weeks left to go. What we're talking. I still, I still, I still buy the same thing every week.

My budget should just be the same. My shopping list is so predictable. So predictable. Yeah. Okay. Dilemma number one. It's the moment you've all been waiting for. It's time to reveal our controversial money opinion from our friends at Pension B. It's

too difficult to track my pension, so I'll worry about it later. I couldn't disagree more, although it depends who your pension is with. Mine's with PensionB and I can check the progress of my pension with ease using their app. The trick to tracking it all is in the payday routine. Each payday I create my budget, I pay into my pension using the app, I check the performance of my pension plan and then I update my net worth to show my money progress. It genuinely couldn't be easier. I have to agree with Laura on this one. It's so important to understand how our pension

is performing and it's all about visibility. Gone are the days when your pension paperwork lands on the mat once a year. Ladies, we need to be in the know. Download the app today to get started or head to pensionb.com forward slash UK for more information. And remember when investing your capital is at risk. Is it better to overpay your mortgage or save for a bigger deposit? Hello, I have a question. Is it better to overpay on a shared ownership mortgage or save for a larger deposit when we plan to sell in the future? I'm currently not working due to ill health and whilst my partner works, his income wouldn't be enough to secure a mortgage on his own. Any help

would be greatly appreciated. So we've not had, so we get this question a lot, but the shared ownership situation is particularly interesting. It's a matter of it in other countries as well, but in the UK there were lots of attempts to bring about schemes that could help people get on the property ladder. And the Brits love a good getting on the property ladder. And actually it really did help to make a lot of them accessible. The way they would typically work is you would share the ownership of the property, typically a new build, I'm pretty sure they were nearly all new builds, with the local council or

like a housing trust or fund. And so say you bought 75% of the property, they would buy or own 25% and you would effectively pay rent on 25% and you would pay down your mortgage on the 75%. And then what everyone hopes is that the property and property goes up in value obviously, but you both benefit from that. Like it's not just you, you only own 75% of it. But you get to a point where affordability is better or you sell and buy something new. And then when you remortgage, if you want to remortgage or when you sell, the housing association gets their 25% and you get your 75% and you kind of carry on to the future. I don't think it's been as

easy for everyone as that. I think that there's been definitely scenarios where house prices may not have grown as much as people would have liked, which would have helped, but also cost of living makes things more difficult. Interest rates have gone up. And so the idea of just moving up in house and buying the next house, um, isn't as easy. And so I think I've seen this quite a lot. People feel a bit stuck. Um, our listener, she says she's not working, she's not very well. Yep. There's two ways of answering this one,

obviously it all depends on your personal circumstances. I'm so sorry that she's not well. And when you're at that point, if there's any extra money in your life, you pile it up. As well as you don't give it to anyone. Don't worry about overpaying things. Like it's a, the overpaying the mortgage thing is a kind of nice to have,

but you've got to look after your own four walls and you need to make sure you can always pay your mortgage that you already have. And so if you are not working, if you're not in great health, or if you're taking time off work or if you're in between jobs, lots of different reasons, I am a fan of keeping that what we call liquid, so having access to it. If you were working and this wasn't an issue, then it's a really interesting question. It all depends on what you're doing next.

If you are going to be moving up in home or selling that home and moving to a different home, then you have two choices. If you overpay and you overpay your mortgage, whenever I've seen formal guidance and stuff like this, it's not to buy back bit from the housing association. Just 25%. Yeah. I think there's sometimes fees involved. It would depend on a case by case basis, but you can always overpay your portion of mortgage.

And if you're going to be selling the home to buy a new one, it's as broad as long. Like you're going to, it means you're going to get more on the sale. But likewise, having it in a separate account, ready for the next house deposit, You've got access to it there. So you overpay, the upside to that is you obviously, it could impact obviously the amount you pay on your mortgage, but you get it back when you sell.

So you get more money back than you would have done because there's less mortgage to pay. But the downside to that is you don't have access to it. The flip side, if you put money into a savings account, you can be tempted to go after that money. I've seen people do that. Should I go for pay the mortgage? Should I build a house deposit for the next one?

It's like, well, how likely is that next purchase? If it's super likely, then overpaying the mortgage means you benefit from it and you're not tempted to touch it. If it's not quite set, you know, and you might need access to those funds, putting them in a side account can be better. So you're not working, you just don't know how long you're gonna to be out of work

for, if there's an emergency pops up. She might have an emergency fund in place, but like you said, keeping it liquid probably while you're not earning an income is probably the ideal. Yeah, and ultimately, it's all about the next steps that are going to happen and caveatting that with how well you are and how likely is that move? Like how are you going to be able to move

or are you not going to be able to move? Are you going to afford another mortgage if you're not earning? There's loads of ifs and buts. So it's a great question to be like forward thinking and looking at it as a sensible question, but making sure that you've got enough immersion. I feel like that's what I would do.

So I answer these about what would I would do. I would always be tempted to, I like the idea of overpaying a mortgage, but I like the idea of a big fat emergency fund better. But making that work for you as well, making sure you're getting the right returns on it. The ideal would be that you don't have to dip into the emergency fund,

and then when you are generating income, you could then take a, if you're over exceeding on that emergency fund, if it's super juicy, you've got an OTT to make sure. You can drop some on the mortgage later. You can use a proportion of it and put it into the mortgage, but at least you've not made that decision upfront

and it's gone and then you need the, you're not gonna just, it's locked away. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Exciting. Yeah. Hope she feels better soon. Very exciting. Okay, community win.

All Pay in Three and PayPal credit have been paid off. Now to tackle the big ones from next month, the credit cards. I love the baby ones first, right? Buy Now Pay Later, we're coming for you. Yeah. You're like an easy one to get rid of, probably, though.

It's like practice. Just like your practice lap. Like, okay, because it's manageable, hopefully, it's not always, but it's manageable. And it's also that habit of like not then using it. Yeah, check out. Because that's like the easiest one to use. Breaking up.

Cancellation corner, breaking up with your Buy Now Pay Later providers, the Pay Pals. like the easiest one to use. Cancellng Klarna, breaking up with your buying our pay later providers, the pay pals. It's so easy to use buying our pay later. Like the amount of people that come to us and they're like, just you've positioned it in a way that I just never thought. I thought they were helping me

and I thought it was just an easy way for me to be able to afford things that I want, but you can't afford them. Cause if you could, you'd have paid for it in cash. And it's just that like, oh, like light bulb moment. And it's that every checkout we talk about. You can clanner a pizza. You can clanner a pizza.

That's insane. You can clanner a pizza and pay for it three months after. Can you imagine paying for a pizza three months after? Lucy's having pizza for a tea there. I thought that's what it's like. It's like, one pound for a moldy. Oh, not some cloner. Paid in cash. What a flex.

If you'd like to tell us your win, head to the community in the app or email it to the vault at financial.com. Okay. I like this next one. Just a quick one, Laura here. If you're wanting to take back control of your money, ditch debt, make better decisions and build wealth for the future, the Financial App is for you. With Financial, you can track your spending on the go, hit your money goals faster and create

a realistic budget that you can actually stick to. Not to mention, you'll be part of an exclusive money community who share tips, offer support and celebrate your successes along the way. Click the link in the description to download Financial and start your free trial now. This is your sign to take control of your money today. Okay, I'm done. Let's go back to the vault. Am I allowed to take a break on my debt payoff journey? Hi girls.

Let me start by saying I love Financial and listen to the vault and the vault unlocked every release day. I have a dilemma for you. I started my debt payoff journey in September and have since paid off two credit cards and my phone contract. I have one credit card left and my car finance. I have put every bit of spare money or overtime towards this

and I'm really proud of myself. My dilemma is this, I'm bored. I love the honesty. I'm bored. I've been extremely frugal and lived on very little to do this. For context, I'm a full-time student and also work part-time contractually, but work the equivalent of full-time hours nearly every week. I'm getting burnt out and really want to break from the debt. On average, I've been putting around £800 a month towards various debts and extra into savings to build up emergency funds and sinking funds for later in the year. Am I allowed to take a break for a month? There are so many things I've allowed myself to go without over the last few months and I'm really starting to feel negatively towards the debt.

I want it paid off as soon as possible, but I don't want to go without fun things for the next two years. Am I allowed just for the month to make smaller repayments and give myself an extra few hundred pounds to reward myself for the journey so far and to remind myself of what lifestyle I'm working towards or would it send me back into bad spending habits? Never had one like this before. And I love the honesty. I'm bored. I'm bored. My children say that all the time. I'm bored. I'm bored. My children say that all the time. I'm like, boring.

Boring. This goes bored. Stop being so Nigel. Like, yeah, she's allowed to be bored. She's worked. She's worked hard. It's a, I don't know what you're going to say to it. What are you going to say to it?

I just picked up on the comment that was like, I want to be reminded of the lifestyle that I'm working towards. And I'm like, that's the whole convince yourself of. Are you going to go back? I'm like, I'm going to go back. I'm like, I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back.

I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back. on the comment that was like, I wanna be reminded of the lifestyle that I'm working towards. And I'm like, that's the whole convince yourself of. You're gonna go back to how you were before. What like, what do you mean by that? I imagine that honestly, like I loved buying clothes,

eating out, going on holiday. So what I wanna do is I want to be able to do that. And quite frankly, there's a swings, like you can do that. Like you can be like, do you know what, I really enjoyed all that spending. I just didn't have the money for it. It's kind of honesty I'm here for.

Because some people actually, weirdly can afford the spending on clothes, eating out. Like we always say, like we- Yeah, we wanted to get there. It's just the way- It's unfugal phase. No, you are always say, like we manage. It's just the way. It's frugal fairies. No, you are not living, we are not fire. Fire, glad it is.

We're not fire. We're not telling you to go without for the rest of your life. Like you'll see people in our community that have done survive, build, they're in grow, they're living the best life. They're able to buy a capsule wardrobe when they want to. They're able to go on holiday. They're able to eat out. They're able to buy a capsule wardrobe when they want to. They're able to go on holiday.

They're able to eat out. They factor it into the budget. And at the moment- And they want to learn more as well. So the idea is not that you then use credit. The idea is spending what you can afford whilst having like a balanced thought, investing in the future, saving the future,

making sure you grow your net worth with assets that grow up in value. But still, if you like doing these things, you do these things. It's when firstly, you couldn't afford to do them. Like, that's like me going, like, I wanna be able to travel first class. Yeah.

I can't afford it. You've got one new. Yeah. I'm gonna have to say it. I wanna do my big shop at Waitrose. You can't afford it. I love it when people do. But I want to.

I'm gonna do a, you always tell, my community tell me that Waitrose, we can't afford it. I love it when people do. But I want to. I'm gonna do, you always tell, my community tell me that Waitrose is exactly, I can get as much for my money and they do it and they're like, it was a lie. Like it's really expensive. We did it the other day. And it was ridiculous. Yes, yeah.

So would you do it again? Yeah. So you like spending money on food? Yeah, that's what I spend my money on. That's your jam. You don't go out drinking at the weekend, so you can go. That's how I justify buying like 20 pound bottles of olive oil, because I'm like,

I don't spend this on wine. Yeah, but people might spend money on wine and then do that as well. And you're like, you can do it if you want to. Like if you don't want to be debt free, carry on, it's fine. I do empathize when you're in the trenches of paying down debt, it can get exhausting.

It's like a cheat day, isn't it? Yes. It's that equivalent. And maybe you need, like, I definitely like on a debt-free journey, mini milestones. So like when you've hit a milestone, equate it to, we're going to have a nice dinner out. And listen, so some of this behavior before,

it might have been the quantity of what you were doing. So there's this mindless spending, which I didn't even value, I don't remember it. That was a pain. That's a lot of upsetting, right? And there's other people get into debt for like helping family out or different situations. There's then the, I just way overspent.

And if I'd have just done a 10th of what I would have got the same dopamine, the same vibes and same enjoyment, but you know, or even a quarter of it or even half of it. Yeah. And so this could be where we're at, which is she could factor in these like treat moments as many rewards or like, you know, I've said this about like, you know, money date nights, spending money on a money date night, whether that's like paying for a takeaway or paying for a nice meal can actually tempt you.

And like think about what life could be like. Like I do like that idea about this is temporary. We're gonna be working towards something that's different but not in the way that it goes back. So you just don't wanna get into old habits and be the way you were before. Yeah, sort of flexing that muscle again. That's why you're here.

We don't want you to go back there. But there is a balance. I love the fact that she's got in head with sinking funds. Love the fact, like tick, tick, tick. Like you are doing an amazing job. We're laughing and we're joking, like genuinely. It's really difficult to go on a debt-free journey and come out the other side and stick to it.

You're doing an amazing job. And I get that it's tired and tiring and I get that you're bored. Like Laura said, I think an agreed, if you're doing it as a couple or you're doing it on your own, a milestone where you go, we're gonna go out. We're gonna celebrate. But not-

Time off. So what I want her to do is put what she wants to do in the budget and what it will do is it might slow down a debt overpayment. But I really don't like the idea. Like imagine if she's been making like progress at like 500 overpayment. Imagine if she goes, so we're not doing it this month.

Yeah, just cause we wanna spend it on. So then you've got 500. So then we'll, what I would like is, what's the thing that you wanna do? Put that in the budget. If that's cost 250 quid, if it's like we'd like a night overnight or I wanna do a really bougie meal

or I would like a new outfit, whatever your thing was that you seem to be missing, put it into the budget. I bet you don't spend it. I bet you don't spend it. I was gonna say that. You won't spend it. You won't spend it.

Because you'll look over at the debt and you'll go. That's more annoying than not going out for a meal this month because I'm X amount months away from being debt free and once I'm there, that excess that was going to my debt every month, I can go on three meals in the first month because I will have planned for it. Or another way of looking at it is you get excited about,

like let's say it's a meal and let's say it's a 150 quid meal, good, good meal. I don't know where I'm going, I can't. Well, have you got lots of kids? Have you got lots of kids, because it might come up to that. But you're like excited for it. Five guys, it was really expensive when I went with my kids. Oh, I know, it's so expensive.

But imagine you're excited for it, and you're like, finally, I'm being able to do the thing that I've missed and that I'm longing for, and you get there, and you get there and you go. It was cold. It's only okay. Service wasn't that good. Like is it rose tinted glasses where you're like,

I definitely like. Everyone's having a great time in Nando's without me. Lucy. She is. Having a great time in Nando's without me. But getting there and yeah, living it, is it as good as paying the, is it as good as dopamine hit?

Yeah, you have to be. To be the thing that you're missing and you get there and you go, are we enjoying it? Really liking it? Ish, I don't know. I always think this sometimes and I'm like, should I just give myself a month? And I'm like, I'm not gonna pay into my savings.

I'm not gonna invest anything. I'm not gonna like pay into any sinking funds. I'm just gonna like, yola. Like the opposite of a no-spend challenge. Spend everything. I bet you couldn't do it. Yeah, I don't think I would like that. You would hate it.

You'd give money back and you'd take it back. I was about to say, it's a feeling of being out of control. I'd just be like, are we gonna have enough of this? I don't like the thought of that. No. So there's two things here for me.

One of them is this concept of milestones. So think about the things that are important to you. You don't have to do all of them. Pick a couple of things and put them in every month's budget. You know, like it, well, this isn't two things and it's actually the same thing. So sorry, but there's two different concepts. One of them is making sure that you factor in this into your budget and giving yourself permission to slow. I don't like the idea that you would stop every single month. You need an excess and you need to put it towards the things

that you're working towards. I don't like the idea that you would stop. Forgo it for a month. But slowing it is fine. Like that's fine, especially after you've been so intense. Cause I think it'll give you a little, she needs a judge. Yeah. We've all needed to pick. We've done that before, we were like,

how do you spell a judge? Oh yeah, a judge. We all need a little pick me up. I remember a dilemma that was like, how do you spell George? Oh yeah, George. George, George, George. We all need a lot to pick me up. I remember a dilemma that was written in a few months ago and it was a mum that was in debt and she wanted to pay for a son to go on the school trip. Yes. And we, everyone thought that we were gonna be like,

no, you have to carry on with your debt-free journey. And we were like, you've got permission. Yeah. Because you will, you are living at the principles, you kind of evidenced over all the work that you've done over the past few months, you are still committed to this journey, you have created good habits, you have put all these things in place

and by God, your son deserves to go on this trip and the guilt that she was carrying about and potentially not going on it. And it was like a gift to herself to get the child to go on the trip. And everyone thought we were gonna be like, no, you're not allowed. And we gave grace and permission

and I feel like they were exceptional circumstances. I don't know. You're not selling these exceptional circumstances. Do you just wanna go buy some clothes? I know, I wish I knew more about what she wants to do. Yeah, what is it? What is this like, this is a long journey. And this is a change in the way you live and the change in the like and this change

happens slowly you know quite frankly sometimes you don't want to go too quick because that's like the yo-yo diet concept. It's like really intense and really down and like what you know what's maintainable. What I do like is some intense months so I think when you first start this it's like go ham like all in and like be really aggressive because you'll lose momentum. Like that, we always say strategy over willpower because willpower will go. So when you've got that adrenaline and when you're excited and when you're obsessive and when you're trying to sell everything on Facebook marketplace, when you're trying to like say, we're not going to meet this week. Like, Yeah, you try all the random shit. Just play with it and just go,

because I promise you that will go. So when that goes, you need strategy, which is your budget, your systems, your processes. And part of strategy is having things in the budget that you wanna do, because those are the things that make sure you stay on track. And that's why no spend months,

really, really good at resets. But you don't do a no spend life, because's the thing that's going to send you off track. So I definitely feel like the permission to slow down, permission to indulge a little bit, but making sure that, and it depends on what your weakness was, but it's not going to derail you. I can't remember, obviously, like it's been a long time since we paid off our debt, but there would have been. I can't remember, obviously, like, it's been a long time since we paid off our debt, but there would have been... I like holidays, we would never have compromised, aren't you?

Like some things people, but I'm never going on holiday. I'm not that person. I'm going on holiday. So we would have found if there's a will, there's a way. Like how can we get around it? So what happens is you have to cut back on other things. You have to pay off rates slow. Yes.

Yeah. And other things slow, but you, so that you can cash flow the holidays that you want. Oh, you have to give up all the stuff. Like I go without clothes. I go without clothes. All right. I like, because I don't know what to wear. I don't know what to wear anyway. It's too stressful. I like, will just wear and wear and wear and wear because I'd rather invest. Yeah. And I'd rather go and hold like you've got your things. Like your non-negotiables we always talk about.

Yeah. Yours would be food. Like you're not gonna go bare bones, basic be on food because that brings you immense joy. Gets you through the week. Like it's your thing. Yeah. First, Lucy's also, we always say this, she's very lucky that she came straight to financial so she has not been on this like Debt Merry Go Round that lots of us have had to undo really,

really poor choices and bad behavior and bad habits. The first one to two to three months that you get so obsessive, you would have cut back on some food or you would have worked out like, it's like work worth the would have worked out like, it's like work with the graft, you're like, I will make this shopping basket worth it. Meal prep and I'm gonna make sure I've used everything in my freezer and it becomes a game. But that is not sustainable.

I also think she said that she's a full-time student and I don't know how long he got left, but if there's a time to just be frugal and get you deck-lid, like surely. It's when you're a student, yeah. You're a full-time student and you're basically working full-time. This is the time that it's gonna be.

Yeah. Yeah. Suck it up a little bit. Yeah. Need to know what you wanna spend your money on though. To cheat day to not cheat day. I think I like the idea of having a nice little thing in your notes being like, okay.

Oh yes, okay. Month one, I'm allowed to take having a nice little thing in your notes being like, okay. Oh yes, okay. Like month one, I'm allowed like to take myself on a little coffee date. Yeah, yeah. And like do something that you like doing. And then like it's clearly gets just the little rewards. I like that. I love it.

And I don't hear about that. I know if I would love people to share that with us. I always remember a friend of mine and her husband when they paid off their mortgage, they worked really, really hard to pay off. It was a mortgage is big for anyone, but it was relatively modest. And they worked really hard to pay it off.

And they went for a meal and night at Gotham. Oh, just to celebrate. Celebrate, they celebrated it. That's something to celebrate. I mean, oh my God. That's something to celebrate. I mean, I was like, oh my god. That's why I wish there were smaller examples of that, but that was this like- Yeah, those mini milestones.

You know, sometimes we can be focused over here on the pennies and these little breaks and these little celebrations. Like I said, I'm really passionate about the money day and sometimes putting the money day in the budget and going, having that steak dinner and paying for the babysitter and being all in because you never know like a decision you make that night

could make you millionaires. It could because all it takes is that focus and attention and you invested a little to do that. And it's the same with her like if investing in a little bit of a splurge. I don't like the idea of real apps. I'm telling you now, she's gonna buy it up. She's gonna take it back.

Yeah, whatever you're gonna buy. If you eat, I feel like going for a meal, like I love going for a meal, but once you've had the meal, it's done. Yeah. Like, and you go home. Life's still the same. Yeah, and you buy the top and it sits in the wardrobe

and you don't wear it and you feel guilty for buying it, it's going back. I had a Wagamama's yesterday. Yeah. Didn't live up to the hype. It was cold and I had to send it and you feel guilty about it and it's going back. I feel like she's- I had a Wagamama yesterday. Yeah. Didn't live up to the hype. It was cold and I had to send it back. Oh no. It was like lukewarm.

It should never be cold by the way because they're literally walking it behind you. I know, I know and it wasn't even that busy either. So- No excuse. So then my, because I had girls as well, my girls had came and it burnt my mouth off, it was so hot. Because they were deep fried.

We were like, make your mind up guys. I was like, what are we? But I took one bite and I went. No. So I said to her, I was like, I'm really sorry, can I have this hot? I was like, don't mind if they put this back in the pan. Like I'm not full, so I don't need a brand new one,

but it's not hot enough. And it came back and it was obviously hot again. They were like, we'll show her. Oh no, can you imagine? Flamed off. It still wasn't that hot. I like piping hot food though, I'm the person that at home. If there's like chicken in it or seafood,

it's got to be piping hot. It needs to anyway. And then, and I'd been looking forward because we don't eat out loads with the kids. It's just, I was really looking forward to this Wagamama's because it was moving without. With no kids. With no kids, I was meeting a friend.

And I was like, oh. Not worth it. Just, and because it did re, like warmed up mine, it wasn't as good. Like it wasn't as good. like it wasn't as good. And so I imagined, I'd looked forward to it and it was like, hmm. Let down.

So imagine this woman building something up. So I think we're trying to tell you like, don't build it up, because you might feel a bit let down. And you can't take a meal back unless it was really shit, but you can take a top back if it was really shit. But you know what, the milestones are really important. I think that when you make a decision to become debt free, you're weird.

And you're going on a journey that not a lot of other people can empathize with, can understand, but you know, stick with the community, like message and empathize with them. Surround yourself with like-minded people. Surround yourself. They will get you through. I think you should ask,

this was emailed in, she should put this in the community as well. Would love to hear what other people did. Do you remember the holiday one? Yeah, and I talked her out of it. Everyone else was like, go to Mexico. Go to Mexico, definitely.

You were like, no. I'm thinking Mexico, but it'll put me back over. And I was just like, nope. I was like, no, just no. And she was like, oh, I actually probably needed someone to say that. And so when I put my reasoning down, I think it was like, oh, this is really bad.

I don't want to offend Mexico, but. She wanted to go to like an all inclusive Mexico, like Riviera Maya, like Cancun, where I was like, can I just be really honest with you? There's a big wide world out there. Yeah, like a resort all inclusive in Mexico where you don't leave and experience the culture and the food and the people and the traditions.

You can literally do that in Europe for half the price. And that's what you're looking for, literally. I was like, don't pin your hopes on Mexico being like, especially the types of holiday she was doing in Mexico. This isn't about Mexico. It was the type of holiday she wasn't gonna leave the resort style holiday five star. It's like people being like, especially the types of holidays she was in in Mexico, this isn't about Mexico, it was the type of holiday she wasn't gonna leave the resort style holiday five star. It's like, I'm gonna go for life changing holidays

to the dorm rep, you're not, you're going to... Sorry, I know it's so ridiculous, I have to be careful what I say. Don't worry Greg. Oh my God. I'm taking it out. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no I don't know if anyone's watching this. But those people are watching this, it's an example. This is not to hash on them. No, no, it's an example.

This is not a life-changing thing. It was stopping her from paying a debt. It wasn't special. It was like sixth grand or something, and I was like, no. It was like, go. Everyone else in a third-grand. Was like, oh, live, laugh, love.

And I was like, guys, we're in the financial community. I think you forgot yourselves. We're not on Facebook here. Yeah, I think you forgot where you were. Like, let's have a minute. And I was like, I just gave an example. I was like, a two grand holiday in Spain, put four grand towards your debt, you still can have a really nice holiday.

Yeah, and this is like about, yeah, remember yourselves. But also this is like not a, do not dare enjoy yourself. Get to the end of the debt, you will die. But also this is like not a do not dare enjoy yourself. No. Get to the end of the day. You will die. It's like, no, no, but be like we all we couldn't convince ourselves of anything. And sometimes you do need that person to be like, be careful. Yeah.

If you convince yourself that that's that, then the next one is, and then I should probably do this. And then we've all we could we need this dude in the house. And then suddenly you've gone backwards. So no, stay focused. This is a long answer to this question, but I feel like we've had a good debate around it. And hopefully those of you listening at home can get some color to why something is so simple as being like, can I take a month off? It's like, yes, but-

You can. There may be consequences. But Holly will be in your dreams. I dare you to. Oh God. And then you're like, oh, I'm Holly will be in your dreams. I dare you to. Oh God. Any final words? Nope.

Oh, is that an offending or not? Just don't want to offend Mexico, Dominican Republic, like they're all beautiful places to go on holiday. But not to all English. Mexico, Dominican Republic, like they're all beautiful places to go on holiday. But not all in Greece. That's all for this episode. The vault is now closed. Just a quick disclaimer, the vault is just a chat for our life and money topics. We are not giving financial advice.