Reality Check...

ShiftThisDebt · 31 January 2016 at 12:26AM

reality_check wrote: »

My daughter and her friend are in the process of getting ready to go out....couldn't think of anything worse....I must be getting old!

I have been thinking of how I am going to need to put my home insurance on a credit card in the next few days as it is up for renewal... I don't know if I should be chucking all I have at debt because I am going to be in the same position when road tax and car insurance and MOT are up because I don't budget for them....

I might need to create a savings/emergency fund as part of me always using credit cards for things like that is because I never budget for them! I don't want to keep putting everything on the remaining interest free cards as they aren't going to be interest free forever and I don't plan on balance transfer/having to use them again in the future!

As part of my Christmas my daughter bought me a subscription to Ideal Home magazine, good job as just looked at the price of £3.70 and I can't be buying that out my £25 shopping budget, thats a days food lol

Hope anyone who reads this is having a more exciting Saturday night than I am!

Night diary xxx

Hi reality check, not sure how I've missed your diary the past couple of days but I've found it now!

I too have a diary and am also in the camp of not budgeting properly, my next task is to analyse bank statements to work out where the money goes. Anyway it means I too don't budget for some stuff too but I am going to from now!

Excellent diary so far, I've subscribed!!

Good luck!

note3 · 31 January 2016 at 7:10AM

Your sat night was better than mine...I was swaying an unsettled newborn around our kitchen to lull her to sleep while periodically swapping with hubby so I could take ebay pics and get draft listings up. I do this so that when there is calm I have all the makes and sizes and pics there and I just finish the draft listing. Last time I just took pics and did entries later and I had to msg ppl apologising as messed up sizes and all sorts. ..doh!

You're right about tipping...why do we feel we should tip certain professions? Esp if they're rude too?!? I have booked a normal cut and style but like you I'm going to switch to a dry cut...thanks for tip!

Good idea on the nails at home...I know some of my debt was sticking false nails on the card even though I earnt enough to pay outright as was younger and living at home. God 33 yr old me wants to go and bash 20 odd yr old me round the head for being such a complete div!

reality_check · 31 January 2016 at 10:55PM

Hey Enthusiasticsaver - i think that is what I will have to do, shove it on the credit card this year and then from my Feb pay I will take into account how much I need to budget for so that in 12 months time the money is always sitting there. I will sit down and work this all out soon...Can you tell I don't have clue about budgeting and saving lol

ShiftThisDebt - I will go and have a read at your diary - this is my new favourite hobby, good job it's free! Hopefully thats us turned a new leaf and we can get to grips with budgeting, how hard can it be lol....clearly very for me, but i've jumped on the new year new me bandwagon and I can't afford to fall off!!

Aww Note your Saturday night might just have topped mine lol I had my daughter very young and now all my friends are just starting to have kids but I am loving all the cuddles and then handing them back, my nappy changing days are over lol

I think tipping for bad service is a very British thing as we assume it's expected, I am all for tipping good service even though I actually don't agree with tipping! But you're right why tip someone rude! Plus I don't actually think the girls get the tips, the manager seems to stand at the till and puts the money in, there doesn't seem to be a tip jar, and she's the rudest of the lot!

The dry cut I am def trying this out... It's £12 for a dry cut or £25 to have it washed and blow dried - I personally don't even like that part! Head yanked over a sink, too hot or too hold water, then your head/ears being burnt with the hairdryer and it taking forever....I feel like saying give me the hairdryer let me tip my head upside down and get this done in 5 minutes lol I certainly won't be paying an extra £13 for the pleasure anymore!

I've never sold on ebay, but i assume I'd be exactly how you were and getting it all mixed up! Have you managed to put anything up yet? I officially don't have anything to sell! I've been following a woman called Marie Kondo recently and she's all about having no clutter and extra things in your life, so I actually am very minimalist, which isn't ideal when I want to start selling things to make money lol

I also wish I could have went back and slapped myself round the head for making such poor choices! I don't even need to go back as for as 20, last month would have been helpful too lol but oh well, I'm sure we enjoyed it at the time!

Had a boring yet relaxing weekend, I used up vegetables in my fridge and tin of chickpeas, kidney beans and tin tomatoes I have made 6 portions of chilli! I'm not vegetarian, but I will be for lunches this week...I've never made a vegetarian chilli before but it tastes really good, lets hope I am still saying this on Friday when I'm onto my 5th day of it! Will maybe make some soup to mix it up!

Hope you all had a good weekend! Monday and back to work for me tomorrow, boo! xxx

note3 · 1 February 2016 at 3:14AM

Wow go you making your veg chilli!! That's impressive! I need to experiment with lentils and things as a way to make meat last longer (hubby is complete meat head and would be grumpy if I did a completely no meat meal)

Yep I currently have 34 things listed. Couple more maternity items to list then I'm onto baby clothes. I fell asleep finishing some drafts and woke just now to feed baby and found she was using my phone as a pillow where I'd dropped off holding it...oops!

Once I've sold everything I think I can I'd like to check out that Marie kondo as my mother is quite the hoarder so I battle against that mentality and although I'm not a hoarder we do have a lot of stuff we likely don't need. Then I may find even more to sell whilst decluttering! I'd love to be minimalist like you

note3 · 1 February 2016 at 3:19AM

Oh I love the drying bit...feels like a teeny bit of pampering! In fact now when people ask what I'd like for birthday and Christmas I will ask for money or voucher towards that as and proper treat instead of taking it for granted! The only thing you need to think of is depending on what hairstyle you have, the hairdresser may do a better cut with it wetted. If your hairs long it makes it easier of course as if you go there with it straightened they can see a similar effect to when it's wet and stretched out straight but you may want to factor in a once or twice yearly cut and blow dry kinda like a main and interval service difference for your car...lol!

When_the_going_gets_tough · 1 February 2016 at 9:39AM

Op you are clearly getting to grips with your situation. However can I suggest that you do a full statement of affairs I am sure someone soon will be along with the link. You need to make a monthly budget for absolutely everything including payments you only make annually. You need a budget for all car expenses, birthdays, Christmas , insurances tv licence etc. I am sure you get the drift. Plus your vet costs. Then you add that up as a monthly figure to see what is left for debt repayments. You then need to put aside a monthly figure to cover all those irregular expenses. That way you won't be caught out. Good luck

chevalier · 1 February 2016 at 10:28AM

Hello, welcome to the boards
here is the link mentioned above. It is a great way of really thinking about what you are spending/ going to spend
regards
chev
http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

reality_check · 2 February 2016 at 4:46PM

I will keep in my my annual hair service, at least I will feel I have something to show for it as oppose to a car service!

Good luck with your ebay sales....I have two lovely Laura Ashley lamps, 6 rolls of beautiful wallpaper also from there and a king size grey throw - basically a new room for someone lol I am going to list it on a few fb pages I am on or maybe Gumtree. I am hopeless at how to price things, will have a look and see what others are selling/how much.

My renewal came in for boiler insurance from British Gas today....I've had no call outs and it has went up 31%!!! I have decided I am going to cancel this. It is breakdown only, not a service and I don't have any issues with it (famous last words!) so that is going!

I also called Specsavers to cancel as my £15 contacts I can get for £8 online but I am due a check up which may alter my prescription so I am going on Friday and will see when I should cancel. I get contacts every 3 months and pay monthly, so not sure when to cancel to make sure I get the next 3 months (if this makes sense, does to be but hard to explain!)

I also plan to call Virgin, and reduce my costs. I had issues at the start and started an official complaint to regulators but didnt continue you with it as I didn't agree with £100 compensation Virgin offered, might try and tell them I am going ahead with it and see what they say....

With regards to SOA and forward planning.... I think for now I am going to pay essential direct debits for me which are: mortgage, council tax, virgin, netflix, gas and electricity which comes in at £515.42 plus £300 on my 2 dogs and stick to £100 petrol budget and £100 food budget, coming in at £1015.42 and I am going to throw the rest at debt! I know this isn't planning for the unexpected, but when I have annual costs like car insurance I won't put it onto more debt I may just have to only meet minimum payments that month and eat toast and beans! Controversial maybe, but will see how I go....does this method work for anyone?!

reality_check · 2 February 2016 at 8:57PM

Been having a look at current account and it has £369.19 available (even thought it is my overdraft!) and Barclays currently has £1271.01 that needs paid ASAP....my plan is to get this cleared before the end of Feb!

I get paid on the 15th so another 13 days to go... in that time I am hoping to get by with £30 petrol and £30 food shopping....I spent £2.44 in Lidl yesterday out of my £25 budget, but I have meal planned until Saturday so will need to shop on Sunday and I am hoping for a £5 spend! And then £25 for the next 7 days before day....

Anyway, that leaves me with £300 from current account to put towards the card, £300 commission coming in February, £200 back from my sister, £30 cheque, £95 council tax payment since I don't pay in Feb so that is £925.... leaving £346.01 which I am hoping to somehow find!!

I have dog medication until the end of Feb, so I may only order 2 weeks worth to get my until March and then that will even out my budget and that will be £150 to chuck at the card...

I recently switched energy tariffs and i checked online just there and I am in credit £85 with my gas so will need to chase that up!

I also have an ongoing Amazon complaint going, basically for 5 years they took £4.06 a month from my bank for Lovefilm - but I cancelled this and should have have been coming out my bank! I called them about 12 times over the last year but get nowhere as they can't locate details of a refund....they can see I am due a refund but noone can process this! They are infuriating to deal with and I keep giving up! Anyone out there had this issue?! I might create a Twitter account and troll them lol

xxx

note3 · 3 February 2016 at 5:55AM

Sorry just quick reply as checking in whilst feeding baby but are amazon governed by a regulator as you could write giving them a deadline by which would refund else you're writing to the appropriate regulator

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