£70 a day's what the panda will pay!

pandapaws · 11 August 2008 at 12:19AM

Hi all! I think it's about time that I drew a line under my old diary as so much has changed in the past year, and things have been sliding a little too much lately.

For those that don't know me, here's the brief summary...first thing to note is that I'm entirely unable to ever do 'brief'!
I became an official DFW a year ago when I had my mega-watt LBM on the discovery that
(a) I had over 80k of debt plus an enormous mortgage, combined totalling over 300k, and
(b) I was pregnant (baby Gregory is now 5 months old)

We spent most of last year trying to sell our house as we were spending a fortune on travel, and finally did, just in time - we picked the keys up on the way to the hospital and Greg was born 3 hours later! I feel like we've been playing catch-up ever since, and for the past few months I've neglected MSE in favour of buying lots of nice things for the house instead

.

The positives: I'm 31, got a genuinely great husband and 2 gorgeous kids (Adam, 3-and-a-half, and Greg). I live in a lovely house (well, it's on the path to loveliness!) in a beautiful village in South Yorkshire. I've got a secure, well-paid, professional(ish) job that doesn't require too much thought or effort. DH works in the same place as me on opposite shifts so we don't have any childcare issues and we get loads of gash time off. Although we have huge debt, we're not in trouble with it and have never missed a payment. And I love chocolate

!

The negatives: I've still got over 80k of debt despite plodding away for the past year, largely caused by a bit of a mortgage fiasco but not helped with the spending (50/50 essentials/'nice things'). I'm absolutely awful at time-management and never seem to have the time to get anything done, largely caused by baby, but if I'm honest I can be rather lazy, especially with the housework. I really need to lose a bit of weight before I start losing cutlery/shoes/small families of immigrants/zeppelins in the folds of my post-pregnancy under-belly (yes, the one I had long before I was pregnant). And I love chocolate

!

So today hubby and I had a financial wash-up and created the mother of all spreadsheets. I love spreadsheets. We currently owe £84,221.51 (approximately :rolleyes: ), which is just a tad more than it was this time last year. D'oh. We've just swopped our car for one of same value but better, so have 3-4k to knock off that figure when we sell the old one, so it's not quite as bad as it looks, but I'm absolutely determined to get that figure back down below 80k within 2 months. I'll post the new SOA in a bit.

So, welcome to everyone! If you want to see last year's diary it's here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=512597

All posters, lurkers, stalkers, and even Southerners welcome!

Edit: Temporarily named 'Cuthbert' for lack of proper motivation, this diary is now called "£70-a-day" as that's what I need to pay if I'm to be debt free by 35, thanks to a morning on Hypno's thread. See page 2 for the full breakdown (if you dare!).

Floxxie · 11 August 2008 at 12:41AM

Cuthbert eh? Let's hope that doesn't stay in my head for the next baby!

Nice introduction PP but what you have failed to mention is your time management and determination is spot on (despite what you might think). I remember reading your diary and thinking 'where the hell has she managed to find the time to tackle her debt?'. You are very much a do-er. For this reason whilst us mere mortals would have collapsed under the level of debt, I know that you will tackle this and tackle it well. I look forward to reading the highs and lows of the next stage in your life.

P.S. I can't find the time to do housework - am wondering whether it would be better to pay somebody to do it whilst I 'earn' money? What do you think?

Floxxie

Buffythedebtslayer · 11 August 2008 at 12:44AM

freaky! your old diary is my current bedtime reading!

must catch up!!

xx

notanothergreyhair · 11 August 2008 at 1:35AM

Hi pandapaws...not read your previous diary so I'm off to go catch up on that. I am looking forward to seeing this one develop too.

Oh yeah...and I've not seen any beautiful villages in South Yorks! Only joking - I live in Sheffield and I know S Yorks well...there are some lovely places around.

pandapaws · 11 August 2008 at 1:40AM

Here's the scary-scary... do your worst:

Guaranteed monthly income:

My wages...............2300.00
Hubby wages...........2440.00
Child benefit..............125.40

Total ...................4,865.40
(Plus we normally bring in between £200-£1500 extra a month from other sources inc Ebay, Quidco, matched betting and all the challenges on here, especially the £10 a day)

Outgoings:

Loans/Credit:
HSBC 'big loan'............396.09 (£20,200 incl interest owed, 51 payments remaining, 7.9% APR)
Citi Bank Loan.............310.52 (£14,973 owed incl interest, 9.3%APR. 48 payments to make)
Barclayloan 0% loan......83.25 (£4,162 still owed, 0%, 50 payments remaining.)
1st Direct Gold ...........150.00 (£4,360 owed 4.9% for life)
Halifax C/Card.............180.00 (8,426 owed, part 5.9%, part 8.9% for life)
Nat West C/Card...........65.00 (£2,716 owed, 0% till Dec - I think, need to check)
My Virgin C/Card .........300.00 (£10,800 owed, 5.9% till Mar 08, then 8.9%)
DH Virgin C/Card............10.00 (£716 owed, 0% till Dec)
My HSBC C/Card..........250.00 (£8,071 owed, 4.9% for life)
DH HSBC C/Card...........150.00 (£3,950 owed, 0% till Dec)
Mint............................90.00 (£3,824 owed, 0% till Dec)
Egg Card......................80.00 (£2,501 owed, 0% till Sep, then 16.9%)
Sofas 0% credit.............28.30 (£566 owed, 0%, 20 payments remaining)
Barclays overdraft...............0 (£636 owed, no fixed payments but plan to clear soon. All other a/c's at zero or in credit)

Sub-total................2093.16 (Total owed £84,221)

Utilities/household bills:
Mortgage.................1,405.54 (Tracker, £237k remaining. Long story behind this mortgage!)
Life Insurance...............25.05
Council Tax ................178.00
Gas/Electric ...............111.00 (Missed the cap as I was in the process of switching already, this'll probably rise)
Water.........................49.00 (Metered. Think this is being reduced to £36 from next mth)
Some other water con ...7.00 (as if we don't pay enough they charge us seperately for drainage. Rip off.)
Broadband...................14.99 (Nearing end of contract, will ditch for free Sky BB)
Sky TV.......................29.00 (Sorry, not getting rid of it, Freeview's carp! In contract anyway till March)
Boiler cover...................9.00
Mobile Phones x2..........52.00 (in contract till Oct, got stung by cashback that went bust but sold phones & covered year's cost)
BT.............................26.00 (need to find call provider, poss Sky. Just need the time to research it...!)
TV Licence..................11.61
HSA...........................16.46 (Considered cancelling but getting value from it at the mo with osteopathy)
The Lottery..................9.00 (DHs plan for the debt repayment. Working's just the contingency)
Mobile broadband.........10.00 (Get loads of use from this as I use it at work, long contract to go anyway)

Sub-total..............1953.65

TOTAL BILLS......... 4046.81
WAGES-BILLS....... 818.59

Food - approx 400/month
Fuel - approx 150/month
Car insurance, home insurance etc are just paid for as and when required, and have cost virtually nowt for the past 2 yrs after the Quidco. We don't have a set budget for holidays, home improvements, entertainment, haircuts (why is everybody so obsessed with getting their hair cut on their SOA?!), gifts, handbags, chocolate - we just pay for these things as and when required and when we can afford them.

I know there are things that could be cut back, but my philosophy has always been that I'd rather have a realistic budget that we're able and willing to stick to than to try and squeeze every last penny out and be miserable. And for the past year it has worked, until lately with the house move. So it might add a couple of months on to our DFD, but we're ok with that - I'd rather live comfortably in the meantime. I'm all for reducing costs of things like utilities but not really planning on cutting out on enjoying life in the meantime.

Many of the monthly debt repayments above are set up as standing orders for more than the minimum, quite a bit more in a few cases. If things were to get really tight, we've got the option of reducing these a bit and releasing about £2-300 extra a month, but shouldn't have to.

God, I'm knackered after that. Give me a day at work or a screaming baby any day over trying to compile a SOA!

pandapaws · 11 August 2008 at 1:50AM

Hi Peeps!

Buffy, please don't blame me for any nightmares!

Notanothergreyhair, it's definitely grim up north, but a hell of a lot grimmer down south I reckon. Sheffield's not a million miles away - I'll look out for you twiddling your winky.

Floxxie, I'd definitely recommend getting help with the housework - I've got a lovely Polish girl who does the ironing and gives a bit of help cleaning and it's well worth the money, otherwise these things just wouldn't get done and I'd be a billion times more stressed than I am already. It's a bit of an extravagance but if you can afford it then go for it. I think there was a debate on Hypno's thread a while back and most people said the same thing. And thanks for the words of encouragement! P.S. What's wrong with Cuthbert?! Let's see you come up with something better

!

chevalier · 11 August 2008 at 2:39AM

I guess the obvious thing that stands out for me is what are you going to do in December when the 4 0% deals you have run out. Is the plan to have those and the one that runs out in September paid off by then? If so that's about 11k, which would be a) quite a challenge but b) a healthy chunk of your debt gone....
chev

hypno06 · 11 August 2008 at 6:39AM

Southerner here.......:rolleyes: Glad to know I will be welcome on your diary :rolleyes:

:rotfl:

mickey_mouse · 11 August 2008 at 7:15AM

hypno06 wrote: »

Southerner here.......:rolleyes: Glad to know I will be welcome on your diary :rolleyes:

:rotfl:

joins Hypno in the Southerner's corner

there is no escaping us:rotfl:

Panda -well done on starting a new diary - I know how goooooooooooood you are at MSEing and you will reduce your debt and get debt free - the mouse has every confidence in my buddy:D

chocaholic110 · 11 August 2008 at 9:02AM

Northerner here. Almost everywhere except Scotland feels southern to me. I even think pandapaws is "down south", lol.

Love the intro to the new diary - better than many books I've read!

pania · 11 August 2008 at 9:12AM

HYPNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO You're not a SOUTHERNER!!! Theres 157 miles south of us don't you know!!!! we be easterners we be!!!! :rotfl:

Hello panda lovely to see you back hon. glad little one is doing well and i agree re the budget. realistic is a good idea. I have gone for years without budgetting for clothes/ niceties etc and it really is getting a tad wearisome now... and i also look like a ragamuffin...

good luck with the debt busting, will be following with interest!!

Hugs,
P
xxx

£70 a day's what the panda will pay!

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free