Round and round the overdraft....soon to be no more

louby40 · 17 June 2016 at 7:57AM

Having lurked and read quite a few diaries I thought I'd start my own. If it's down on paper then I can read back and see my progress (or not)

My debts aren't massive but my bugbear is my overdraft as I do believe if I can get that sorted everything else will fall into place

My debts are:

£400-500 overdraft every month PAID
£970 cc now £90 Dec 17
£5500 left on my car loan (ends in Jan 2019) now £2696 Dec 17
£106,000 mortgage at £600 pm now £94,992 Dec 17
£6500 bank of mum and dad PAID

I have £150 in an emergency fund NOW £650

I'm just in the process of moving my current account to First Direct to take advantage of their £250 free overdraft service and £100 incentive to switch. I need to keep my o/d under the £250 and slowly begin to chip away.

My over spends are having 2 very tall teenage boys who eat a lot and extra trips to the supermarket. I also treat myself to a manicure/gel polish every month.

I'm a single mum and work as a teacher so I buy stuff for my class, extra craft bits, second hand books from Amazon, it soon mounts up.

I also need to be stricter with my boys and refuse the £2.50 they ask for lunch everyday.

I shop in Aldi and cook a lot from scratch - my slow cooker is my saviour!

I need to keep a strict spending diary and stop buying unnecessary things.

louby40 · 17 June 2016 at 7:59AM

Oh I also owe my parents £4000 - I've paid £2k off so far. I'm paying them £300 and as its their retirement fund I want to pay it back asap

Also, how do I put a signature on the bottom of my page?

System · 17 June 2016 at 8:21AM

Welcome and good luck with your plan.

You can get to your signature by clicking on User CP - control panel. Its then a link on left-hand side.

Ramble x

louby40 · 17 June 2016 at 10:21PM

So today I downloaded a Spending Log app on my phone which I'm going to use to track everything I spend.

This is more my type of thing than a notebook and pen - sometimes you've got to just find your thing.

My money from MoneyMagpie has gone in today, it's only £20 but it's another £20 towards paying my overdraft off. CD's and DVD's just sat in a cupboard that I don't watch or listen to.

louby40 · 18 June 2016 at 5:32PM

Did my food plan for the week and went to Aldi with my shopping list

Sun - beef lunch
Mon - home made lasagne, salad
Tue - chicken stir fry
We'd - gym night - boys see their dad so egg on toast
Thursday - beef casserole
Fri - baby shower for a friend, buffet paid for last month

I spoke to my youngest son (eldest has now left school) and told him he would have to take packed lunches from now on. He's not a great fan of sandwiches so we negotiated paninis instead, more expensive than bread but cheaper than the £50 a month in school lunches.

£60 at Aldi which is more than I usually spend but only spent £41 last week so that's evened out.

Poor_Single_lady · 18 June 2016 at 11:40PM

Hello Louby,
Its good that your son understands, and school is almost finished so its not for long. I also owe my parents quite a lot of money. Its the most flexible arrangement but its the one that brings me the most stress, I feel like I've taken all their money. Hope you can blitz everything and manage the loan. I have 16 loan payments left at £153 a month then I 100% promise I am never getting another loan. Its so difficult. But at least it has an end date. Good luck for your journey. Xxxx

tori.k · 19 June 2016 at 9:08AM

Im guessing like most lads he doesn't like to sit to eat, I only have one left at home in college he will happily take a mock subway or a pasty to college but sandwiches always came home in the box. It not easy feeding lads they seem to have hollow legs

Best of luck

louby40 · 19 June 2016 at 10:56AM

Yes - my 2 both have hollow legs! I have to hide food. planned for later in the week so that they (and their mates) dont eat it.

Just been to the tip and got rid of some junk - I always feel good after getting rid of rubbish. Beef is in the oven and veg is prepped.

Today will be a NSD as no need to go out or buy anything. Staying in and finishing off my school reports, TV, read and housework.

Ive signed up to a few more opinion sites which I'm hoping may generate a few extra ££. Ive also got a massive coffee jar of 1p & 2p coins so Ive put £2 of those in a bag for when I use the Morrisons self service till. It seems a bit desperate but I don't care - I'm determined to get my debts down.

Im also going to put some stuff on Ebay - shoes/clothes/bedding. I did put it on Gumtree and my local Facebook site but no interest. I hate the messing about with Ebay though and the postage costs I always seem to get wrong.

louby40 · 19 June 2016 at 11:35AM

Having just looked at my car loan and mortgage amounts I realise Ive got them both wrong.

Acording to Noddle (which is always a bit behind) I owe £6388 on my car loan and £102,422 on my mortgage.

Another things Ive realised I haven't done since last week is spend in our local Co-op. I usually go and draw £10 out (so Ive got some cash) to buy milk and end up buying a bottle of wine and chocolate, leaving me with about £2 spare. This week I bought popcorn from Aldi as a treat 79p and drank Bacardi that I bought at Christmas with coke that was already in.

I'm definitely keeping away from the Co-op!

in_need_of_direction · 19 June 2016 at 11:54AM

When my DS was at home, I used to write the menu plan on a blackboard in the kitchen. At least he couldn't claim that he thought things were just there for a snack. Bad news is he's now 30 and still has hollow legs.

louby40 · 19 June 2016 at 4:19PM

In need of....

Yes I pin mine on the fridge. They tend not to snack so much if they know there's a meal on the cards!

Round and round the overdraft....soon to be no more

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