How I’m Clearing My Debt After Buying a House

Clearing My New Homeowner Debt: My 4-Month Strategy

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Since moving into my house back in June 2025, I have accumulated a little bit of debt. The thing that I didn't realise was that, when you move into a house, it starts revealing all of its secrets to you, and often these secrets come with a price tag. In addition to these, depending on what your space already has, you've got appliances to buy as well as bits and pieces of furniture and what have you. I honestly believed that I would have everything decorated and furnished within a few months (HA!) As it goes, the process is a hell of a lot longer and more layered than first thought which has resulted in me spending a little bit more to get situated.

To be transparent, and to give you an idea of what kind of money one might need to put aside for these things - I had allocated around £8000 purely for remedial issues, appliances and homeware. Within the first two months, I had splashed it on the following:

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Electrical work - £1500

Boiler servicing/repairs & gas work - £800

Appliances - £900

Furniture - £3000

Other Trades/DIY/Tools - £2000

Other Homeware/Misc - £900+

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After all this, I went slightly over budget, thankfully nothing too drastic, but enough for me to put a halt on purchasing anymore until I've cleared things.

On the plus side, as far as many of these items go, I'll only have to purchase them once, and if I ever do have to buy another (like my bed for example) it will be a very long time before this is needed.

But now, my focus is entirely on post-move debt management and setting up a strict new homeowner budget to clear it all down.

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Monzo Pots

These have been an absolute game changer. Being able to split everything into their allocated pots has made it a lot easier to control my spending and be able to actually quantify things and gauge how much I'll have left by the end of the month. Prior to the pots I would just impulsively spend and worry about the other shit later, resulting in me being overdrawn by the 20th, using my credit card and Klarna to fund my dopamine fixes until payday. My pots are:

- Meds/Toiletries

- Groceries

- Takeaway

- Spending Money

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My travel, cat costs and subscriptions are all packaged away at the start of the month by themselves so the Monzo pots don't include these.

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Weekly Payday

I split my pay into weekly pay and live off that for the entire week. Whatever day of the week I'm paid, serves as the pay day for the following 4 weeks until the next payday. I schedule my bank account to automatically release the budget amount (which changes from month to month) on the allocated day and then from there, everything gets divided into their respective pots.

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Treats

I love a lamb doner meat and chips with chilli sauce and salad on a Friday. I love a cheeky takeaway and I know this about myself, so instead of ordering on my credit card all the time, I've set aside a weekly pot for me to have up to 2 takeaways a week.

I also order in groceries and other things if I'm having an endo flare-up and in too much pain to go outside or stand up and cook.

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Buying in Bulk

Cat supplies cost me around £120 a month (not including their monthly care plans) so I buy all of their cat litter, food and whatever else at the start of the month in one go. Because if you have pets, you know that they like to run out of things when you've run out of money. I make sure the entire month (and then some) is covered straight away so I don't have to worry about it.

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Charity Shop Shopping

Whenever I want something for the house, be it a piece of furniture or some other item, I always check out the charity shops first. Thankfully I've got quite a few within walking distance, one of which sells great pieces of furniture - see what I bought from the charity shops here - and it's saved me a FORTUNE. If I check the shops and don't find what I'm looking for, then (and only then) do I start looking elsewhere.

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I'm still finding my way with things, but so far, so smooth. I can understand the methods I've got in place might not be applicable to everyone, but thought to share what I'm doing anyway just in case it helps!

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