Our first month

mrs_mug_2 · 31 August 2006 at 7:12AM

Well, thats the end of our first month of money saving. We feel on top of the world this morning. It has only been 1 month but already our lives and our out look on life has begun to change. I'm sorry for going on, but I've never felt so in control of our finances and never felt so good about paying bills :rotfl: . I wish I could give everyone who has offered me advice and support (especially those who helped me with my SOA at the start when I wasn't really at that light bulb moment yet) a great big hug :rotfl:

So, thanks to the inspiration of the longer term dfw-ers, this month we have achieved:
Joined quidco and have £200+ tracked
Have reduced our monthly outgoings by £133
We have sold items on ebay that total £56 so far, with another £83 or so finishing today
We have sold books on amazon that have totalled £50 so far
We've emptied our penny pig and banked about £30 from that. Pig is now on a £2 diet. Though at this rate I fear he'll starve.
I've started cooking from scratch (thanks to the os board) and I'm really enjoying cooking for the first time ever
I've just paid a large lump sum (£1447) off our credit card which is largely thanks to us selling everything but also a small bonus that would have normally been frittered away
We've paid off 2 small overdrafts
We've switched our other overdraft to 0% for 12 months
Switched our CC to another 0% for 9 months
Found the wonders of snowballing
I've also got myself a part time job

which will bring in another £300 a month.

So all in all, a blinking good month. anyone else care to share their achievements?

Johnhowell · 31 August 2006 at 7:36AM

Mrs Mug,

This is so fantastic. You must be so proud.

Keep it up.

Regards,
John

littlestar1981 · 31 August 2006 at 7:45AM

Wow!! Well done!!

This is the start of my first proper month as a DFW so I'll report on how it goes. As you can see I've a long way to go but I'm confident I'll get there.

I was paid an hour ago and already I've paid all my debts due this month!! And for the first time I didn't just make minimum payments, I paid the exact amounts the snowball calculator told me to.

It's left me with £221 for 'me' (this includes petrol, food shouldn't cost anything as I live with parents and I pay them £30 a week to live and eat there) so let's see how it goes.

I will admit to also already having spent £3 on eBay on a VHS... maybe I should join an eBay challenge and sell some stuff!!

lynzpower · 31 August 2006 at 9:00AM

Blimey Mrs Mug- thats AMAZING!!
Well done you!!

Thefunkygibbons · 31 August 2006 at 9:03AM

Cracking start

The lightbulb moment truly is looking at the elephant in the room and just firing up the bbq, ready to tackle it one kebab at a time

K9cuddles · 31 August 2006 at 9:04AM

Well done! Keep up the good work!

Simon83 · 31 August 2006 at 9:14AM

Well done!

My debt as of 1st August was £6,395 it is now £5,600.

I managed to be backpaid £1 per hour ive been paid wrong, that was about £300, managed to sell k800i on ebay for £250, managed to only spend on my self £40 a week. cleared one over draft (£400) and paid my mum £400 from my debt to her (£6000).

so good month.

Might try this quidco, not sure how it all works though, but will search for info

beverleyhills · 31 August 2006 at 9:18AM

:j Great progress mrs mug. Keep it up

mrs_mug_2 · 31 August 2006 at 9:23AM

well done simon- its a good feeling, isn't it?

Thank you everyone else, your support means a lot to me

msmicawber · 31 August 2006 at 9:29AM

I'm very impressed - a total life change and straight into the snowballing! Well done. It's a lovely feeling one you're controlling it, rather than the other way round.