Table for One

Baldybear · 18 July 2016 at 2:13PM

Princesssparkle wrote: »

Hey Baldybear! Wow I can't believe how similar our situations are! Your horse looks like a right cutie It's good to have someone who understands you sound like you've managed to get your situation under control really well. That's exactly what I want to do with my savings pots, how did you go about starting them up and working out how much to top them up by each month?

That's exactly what I was thinking for bhs insurance. Nfu quote came through this week at £700 :eek:

Maybe when I'm in my new house I can start operation man hunt :A

I just feel like I suppressed myself so much before, unrealistically that now I feel like I need to see my friends all the time and have nice things. not a good way to look at it!!!

Hello, re targets for me worked out for insurance what cost last year and then divided by 12 so knew how much needed to save a month, other targets just guessed a figure that seemed reasonable, £500 for holiday for me sounds about right for week in europe. This is the first time I have had proper targets and can now after bought ex out have re-looked at budget and seen what I can do/save.

:eek: to £700 :eek:

Operation man hunt, maybe for me some time, at the moment am just enjoying my own company and doing what I like when I need to, good luck for you

Your last sentence rang true, about wanting to go out and have nice things etc, I feel the same, but for me the DFW is still quite strong although the temptation is there I am looking at what I can afford first, or saving on other things if I really need it.

Princesssparkle · 10 August 2016 at 11:21AM

Hello. I am still alive. Just had a mad couple of weeks and buried my head in the sand. Felt like my finances were spiralling out of control, my house didn't complete on the day it was meant to yet I still needed to pay storage, surveys and solicitors bills etc. I haven't been spending on reckless things though which is good, just not kept on top of things in the way I had intended to and felt a little ashamed to come here and admit that.

House should be going through today and I need to set up a shiny new spreadsheet for my new house which I expect to complete next week. Anyone have any tips? I definitely need to get my pots set up that way too. And I'll finally be able to do a soa.

Nfu took £60 off me on the 7th but my insurance was due to end on the 8th, do you think I should phone them to make sure that it's not a new payment?

Operation man hunt has begun. Signed up to tinder and have swiped through every ex of mine from the last 9 years:eek::eek::eek: ruins the fun a bit. Went out on a date last night and have another tonight. The one tonight I quite like so far and I am really excited to meet him. I'll let you know how it goes

xoxo

louby40 · 12 August 2016 at 7:43AM

Ooo I remember Tinder! Very interesting.

I met my fella at the gym but had seen him on Match.com and did chat to him for a bit but dismissed him as he was the same height as me - or so I thought. Turns out he's 1.5" taller than me. We've been together 2 years next month.

Keep budgeting and posting!

Princesssparkle · 17 June 2017 at 3:30PM

Hi everyone, I'm really sorry to say I'm back =( the reason I'm saying sorry is that I'm sorry to myself.

I don't even quite know how its happened. My car broke, I spent a bit of money trying to fix it and then ended up trading it in and fortunately my mum was able to lend me some money. Things like changing my insurance over and stuff also cost me but on the bright side I have gone for a cheaper car to run. It does double the mpg my last one did and it's £0 road tax.

There's also just been the odd bit like needing a pair of glasses or my utility bill not working out from when I moved in to my new house. It's just all built up!

A lot of other stuff has happened since I was here. So I'm officially in my lovely house, I met a wonderful man, we went on trips away, had a fantastic time together and I moved in to his house. Fast forward a bit and we're here. We split up, I've come back to my lovely home and I need to start getting myself off of cloud 9 back down to reality!

I'm back to face the music and reality

Current debts
£656.16 Barclaycard 0% ends april 2018
£1930.10 virgin 0% ends April 2018
£4431.00 bank of mum 0% ends whenever I've paid it all back.

It all sort of crept up on me and it wasn't until I was paying a chunk of bank charges each month that it hit me! I was in debt.... AGAIN!

I've downloaded an expenses app which I have found to be really useful it tracks all my spending, separates it in to categories and shows Net worth.

I have £4,500 in savings but it's tied up and my theory is that whilst my cards are 0% I'm ok to focus on paying those back from my wages.

The only thing to add to this is two things I want to save for... I'm starting a part time uni course in October and my laptop is almost dead. I also think I need to start saving for a new boiler.

I've got my car insurance due next month, I've already been on comparison websites and I should be able to afford it out of this months and next months wages but it just means I'll only be paying minimum off of my credit cards. Better than paying the extra to pay monthly though.

Sorry for rambling, I've been wanting to post for around a month now but haven't had the guts to x

Princesssparkle · 9 July 2017 at 9:13PM

Hello,

Unfortunately not much further on from my last post but!!!!! That is with good reason because my car insurance is due this month and so I've been saving up so I can pay it off in full, with my own money!

Because this has been a stretch I've sat down and had some stern words with myself and really figured out where my money goes and why I ended up in a pickle with my car insurance despite knowing all along what date it's due. To help me out in the app I told you about I've made myself some pockets of money - so a bit like having an envelope- and set it up for the regular annual bills like car insurance, water, tv license etc but also allocated savings for car repairs.

I know this is really basic MSE stuff but I think my problem is I go hard and fast at the debt trying to make it all disappear then when £500 car insurance comes up I have to pay on my cc because I can't bare (bear/bare?!) the thought of paying extra to pay monthly and this cycle goes on and on.

I feel better now I've set these pockets up in my app and I've set certain amounts to transfer to each one every month so that it's like I'm paying a monthly direct debit and then I won't think of that money as "mine".

When looking back on my categories of spending it feels like I spend a ton on food. I don't understand how this works out because I'm careful with where I shop, I don't eat out, I meal plan so I don't waste food, I'm not a big dinner eater so sometimes it's just crumpets. How much do you spend on food a month?

Situation hasn't changed much from last time but thought I'd post it just to stay up to date:
Bcard -£650 (0% ends April 18)
Virgin -£1930 (0% ends April 18)
Mum -£4290 (0% ends when it's paid off)
Savings: £4507 (locked in)

Makes me feel sick. My friends tell me I'm too hard on myself but at the end of the day there's only me who's got themselves into this mess &#55357;&#56852; Feeling like a bit of a failure.

Found a lovely sewing pattern site this weekend and I'm desperate to order some but they're £10 each. I know you have the patterns for life and can make the perfect items which will last a ton longer than store bought stuff and will be more ethical, economical and environmentally friendly but at the end of the day I'm in debt and shouldn't be buying anything! I'm doing what theminimalists suggest of waiting 30 days and then seeing if I still want it.

Spends coming up are just the usual bills, got my car insurance on the 22nd which I'm proud to say is already accounted for and then august is the month I moved in to my house so I'm expecting lots of things like home insurance, tv license etc to come through. Will also get the chance to cancel my virgin in august though which should save me some money as they gradually increased my bills each month &#55357;&#56865; Does anyone know of any good internet providers they would recommend?

This whole being single and independent thing whilst also having luxuries such as my four legged friends is proving to be tough but I wouldn't change it for the world (apart from breaking even of course)

Hiddenidenity · 9 July 2017 at 10:23PM

First off you're definitely not a failure!

Secondly can you find the patterns for free?

Fb groups there's usually people willing to share the pattern if they have them etc.

As for grocery shopping I think it really is different for everyone. We are a family of 5 with a dog and 1 in nappies and allergies. I aim to spend £40 a week max! I sort of meal plan, but not strict days more like 7 meals, lunch things, breakfast. I bake snacks while doing sunday dinner and then one night in the week, from cakes/biscuits/cereal bars etc.

UncannyScot · 9 July 2017 at 10:33PM

Hi

I have always found Virgin to be really good.
Bills increasing each month doesn't sound right though, unless you were using phone more or using red button / pay per view items etc. My bills with Virgin are approx. £35 pm for TV, Broadband and Home phone and £12 pm for mobile. Yes, there are cheaper providers out there but IMHO not one of them can touch Virgin for actual service provision... I would contact them and say you're thinking of leaving and watch what happens

Princesssparkle · 10 July 2017 at 6:57AM

Thank you both for popping by. Hope you're ok.

Hiddenidentity I can't find them anywhere apart from on their website. They are a French brand. Sooo beautiful though and I very much despise fast fashion but can't afford anything different - apart from making my own clothes.

Hmm I'm spending around £120 on food per month for 1. I'm going to have to reassess.

UncannyScott - mine was meant to be about that but with gradual price increases I was paying about £45 and then they've had big issues in my area. I've phoned them ranting for months and all they did was give me £8 and told me what date it was being fixed. its mainly the price increase and poor customer service that's annoyed me. Like you suggested I'll tell them that and see what they can do.

Thanks both x

Hiddenidenity · 10 July 2017 at 7:31AM

When you call Virgin tell them you're leaving

Explain how dissapointed you are and that you've been offered a better deal elsewhere and how bad the customer service help you've received has been.

Always worth a try

Have a lovely day x

Princesssparkle · 14 August 2017 at 11:10AM

Managed to get my virgin bill significantly reduced which should make things better. Having a tough month this month as it's been car insurance and house insurance and I've had to pay excess for a new windscreen on my car too and just generally feeling skint.

I know I'm doing well though and I just need to stay focused on saving my pots of money and paying debts off.

List of things that need doing in my house is growing but can't afford to do anything until my debts are paid off and I'm not getting myself in to more debt to fix things. Just got to make do keep calm and continue being frugal.

I know lots of people are in the same boat but it's so hard living alone rather than splitting bills.

Starting on surveys so I can save up vouchers for Christmas and I'm also going to see if I can take advantage of a Christmas temp job too as like a little bonus towards the debt.

Sorry for being whiney just feel like I'm flagging a bit x

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