My Survive the Recession Diary

Sun_Addict · 17 March 2009 at 3:39PM

Hi everyone

I've been reading posts on these forums for over a year now and picked up so many useful tips and ideas but never got around to posting my own thread so as I've got a day off work today I've decided today is the day.

I was hoping to be debt free by the end of this year but the recession has thrown a very large spanner in the works. My OH is in the building trade which has gone very pear shaped at the moment. He is working in fits and starts and currently only has work until next Monday and then who knows. This means we don't know what money we have coming in from month to month and can only rely on my salary - which isn't great - but fortunately enough to cover bills and food but nothing else whatsoever!!:eek:

At the moment we're taking it month by month and seeing what we've got in the pot at the end of each month and taking it from there. The debt is all on a 0% interest card until the end of April 2009 but I was hoping to pay this off by December 2009. I doubt this will happen now but I can keep trying. The amount is quite small compared to a lot of other people's (£2600) but it's still a debt I would like to get rid of as it's been shuffling around on and off different 0% credit cards for some time now - although it started out life as £5000 so is shrinking!! The embarrassing thing is although we've both been working full time for more years than I care to remember we have very little in the way of savings and this could easily become nothing if OH ends up signing on and we have to use some of it. We have already had to buy a new computer as the old one died, we have just had the TV repaired (in better times we would have just gone out and bought a new one) and OH's van exhaust is sounding dodgy - it's one thing after another!! :mad:

I thought that by (finally!) posting it would get my thoughts down into black and white and it might strike a chord with others going through the same thing. The annoying thing is we were doing so well until this recession started. We have had to cut back on so many things we used to take for granted like going out and buying new clothes - every penny has to be accounted for now.

I hope my first post isn't too long and boring I hope to post regularly and look forward to hearing from other people trying to survive this recession. Even though I feel like hibernating until it's over I am determined we will survive it!!

Swinstie73 · 17 March 2009 at 3:54PM

Hi Sun Addict,

I too have been reading loads of threads and it's great to finally get in at the start of one i.e. not lose track of what is going on!

I too am trying to get myself out of debt and have done so on many occasions but life just gets in the way and you end up back at square one. I am also hoping to get most of my debt paid off by the end of this year but it's not looking likely. Yours seems a bit more manageable and hope you get there. My job position is ok, infact I am getting busier but you never know when something can happen to change that.

Good luck, will subscribe to your post and see how you are doing.

P.S. I know what you mean about having to pay out for things, my fridge freezer died on me recently, hope the new one is better!

beanielou · 17 March 2009 at 8:45PM

Hi & welcome Sun addict

Keep posting & well done on getting your debt down.

tiff · 18 March 2009 at 2:54PM

Keep us updated. I'm doing the same as you, our debt isnt unmanageable at the moment but might be if we dont do something about it now.

I just want to urge everyone with overdrafts to clear them asap, because the bank can ask you to repay the full amount at any time. Ours was £2800 earlier this year, which scared me to death. We havent had to repay it but have reduced it and hope to clear it in the next few months.

Sun_Addict · 19 March 2009 at 5:23PM

Thank you all for your interest in my diary. I have decided to add a signature today so I can keep updating as things move along. I also intend to join a few challenges officially instead of just half-heartedly doing them in secret so this will keep me motivated.

I have decided that all money saved from my grocery fund will go towards paying off the debt - no matter how small the amount. I will keep whatever I've got left at the end of the week in a jar and add it up at the end of each month. Whatever is in there will go towards paying off the debt.

At the end of every month I will add up our income and after paying bills and putting grocery money aside whatever is left will be split as follows:

1. Debt/savings - initially all to debt but after that to savings

2. Holiday fund - yes I know holidays should be out until debt is paid off but they keep us sane and give us something to look forward to

3. Personal spending - probably less than in the other "pots" as we are trying to manage on £50 a month each for personal spends

4. Savings for Christmas/Van repairs/household items etc

I once saw a very good article on the American MSN website which gave a good rule of thumb for budgetting - 60% for bills then the remaining 40% dividend into 4 "pots" - retirement savings, long term savings, short term savings for irregular expenses and fun money. Obviously if you are in debt at least one of the pots would have to go to that first before building up other savings. If anyone is interested if you type in MSN 60% solution into a search engine it will come up with it.

Let's see how it goes.

helnag · 19 March 2009 at 5:34PM

Hi and welcome,

Well done for posting, You might find the payment a day challenge is useful for you, you''ll find it on the dfw boards, you literally just make a payment a day either to debts or savings or whatever. It can be as little as a penny or a pound but I find it really helps me to see my debts go down on a daily basis.

Anyhoo, nice to meet you

Helen. xx

The_Golden_Goose · 19 March 2009 at 9:57PM

Welcome !

I too was doing ok, til the recession hit, oh and then I lost my job.

All in all 2009 started off as a bright and breezy year, but has suddenly turned into a very gloomy one.

The sunny weather this week has made me very happy!! Plus it didn't cost a penny!

savingholmes · 19 March 2009 at 10:25PM

Hello all - especially sun addict... I have started my own diary today too as I lose my job at the end of the month... Scary times aren't they. It will be really interesting to see what happens to us all - eg at the end of the year and to see whether things pick up sooner that we currently imagine! I hope so for all our sakes... I am looking forward to a few days off but I hope it won't be for too long!

Sun_Addict · 20 March 2009 at 2:18PM

Thank you helnag - I've looked at the payment a day thread before and thought it was a great idea. I will be doing this on a weekly basis as I have a weekly grocery budget for top up spends. I've found that by going to a mixture of Aldi, Sainsburys, Iceland and Wilko in my lunch break I can mix and match the bargains and get a bit of exercise into the bargain (mainly my poor aching arms from those heavy bags!!)

I'm sorry to hear about you losing your jobs Golden Goose and savingholmes - it's not the best time to be looking for a new one. I hope you both find another one soon. I was made redundant in 2000 but luckily found another job straight away but there was no recession then. My current job should be quite safe as it's in the public sector but I won't hold my breath.

We all have to keep thinking that one day things will be back to normal again. There is one good thing to come out of it and that is I will never go back to my old spending ways again. I cringe when I think of all the money I've wasted over the years. I used to spend a fortune on clothes and make up every month but at least I've got a good stock to see me through the coming year. We also used to book expensive villa holidays three times a year for just the two of us.

We have got a holiday booked in July in Menorca in a privately owned apartment overlooking the beach. No pool but our own private balcony with sunbeds and we can cook our own meals to save on eating out and only £300 per week. Still can't do without our holidays in the sun unless things get really dire - which is why I'm Sun Addict (I was hoping no one would think it was because of the Sun newspaper!!) But from now on our holidays will be saved for first not booked first and then struggle to pay for it and end up putting it on a credit card. We will get cheap flights and book our accommodation from Owners Direct or Holiday Rentals and get much better value for money.

Thanks to this website I am a reformed character.:D

At least it's Friday and the sun's shining and I can sit and put my feet up tonight with a very large glass of red and two episodes of Coronation Street.:j

tiff · 20 March 2009 at 2:27PM

I vowed to do the same re holidays, save first etc. For us that means as a family we cant go abroad this year, but maybe next year. This year its a caravan in Newquay (sun holiday) and a week in Ireland staying with family and using clubcard vouchers for the ferry. It feels so good to have paid for it already and will have the spending money this month.

Now the sun is shining I've turned off the heating in the evening, the front of our house gets full sun all day so we've not needed it although in the past we would have let it stay on. Should mean a much cheaper gas bill next month.

I'll be having a glass of red tonight, cheers!

savingholmes · 20 March 2009 at 6:08PM

Hi Sun and Tiff - we are having a holiday in Cornwall end of August - it is really nice to have somethng to look forward to. We have to pay for it now but can get it refunded after due to something we won....

My Survive the Recession Diary

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