Single 20 something mum - time to kick myself up the bum!

timetobefrugal
timetobefrugal Posts: 77 Forumite
edited 11 November 2016 at 4:16PM in Debt free diaries
Having stalked these forums for a while I've decided to start my own diary to get to grips with getting myself out of 15k debt!

So a little about me, I'm a 26 (almost 27) year old single working mum of 1 lovely little 3 year old. I think ever since I got an overdraft/first credit card back when I was 19 I've been bad with money. Over 2 years ago my daughter's father split up with me meaning I had to move into rented accommodation, followed by my father passing away unexpectedly, I started stupidly using money and spending money I didn't really have to cheer myself up.

I currently work 30 hours per week and if I worked an extra day I'd literally just be paying for nursery. Plus I'd prefer the time with my daughter over extra money ANY day! I'm also doing an open university degree in law so that's racking up even more debt :(

Now I've come to the realization that I know I need to cut back majorly, get a grip and start paying things off. Not sure how realistic my goal is but I want to be debt free or have at LEAST 80% of debt paid by my 30th birthday in 2020! I have to get over the self pity of how comfortable I could live without having to pay over £300 a month onto debt (I mean I could save a deposit for a house or have a better car/holidays if I weren't paying all that) and get to grips with being frugal and getting it down so I CAN live give my daughter a comfortable life long term.

I haven't done a SOA as my budget changes monthly (due to getting paid tax credits weekly) so I do a monthly budget on excel every month butttt this is what my typical monthly budget looks like:

Income
Salary £1,275.61
Benefits £521.71
Child benefit £82.50
Maintenance: £120

Total: £1999.82

Outgoings

Rent £575.00
Nursery fees £368.00 - should get 15 free hours in January 2017 so amount will change then as will my tax credits
Petrol £80.00
Council Tax £92.00
Gas £38.70
Electricity £27.97
Water £25.17
Content insurance £16.19
Car insurance £34.92
Car Tax £11.37
Mobile £19.00
SKY £36 - tied in until October 2017
Sofa £35.00 - payments finish August 2017
Bank account fee £30.00 - I transfer this to cover my account fee of £19 and overdraft charges and what is left (small amount) to pay towards clearing overdraft)
TV licence £12.12
Daughter's ISA £25.00
Savings £50.00 (best friend is getting married in Cyprus Sept 2017 so this is to pay for a holiday)
GUIDE DOGS £5.00
Food £120.00
Other £20 - this covers OD fee on my main account and postcode lottery (because hey I might win £25,000 and all my troubles be over - we can dream :rotfl:)

Debt repayments
CC1 £70.00
CC2 £115.00
CC3 £30.00
CC4 £50.00
CC5 £50.00

Total outgoings: £1931.35

Surplus income £67.32 :(


Now for my total debts :o:o:o

Debts
Overdraft 1 - £300
Overdraf 2 - £400
CC 1 - £2,874.99 1.4316% monthly rate
CC 2 - £4723.41 1.5976% monthly rate
CC 3 - £1924.72 0% until March 2017 then 2.0751% monthly rate :mad:
CC 4 - £2,393.75 0% - can't remember when until and can't see info on statement but it's at least until December 2017
CC 5 - £ £2540 0% again can't remember when this is as it's a new balance transfer so will find out when I get the statement
CC 6 - £234.34 - aim to clear this first

Total debt = £15391.21 :(:(:(:(:(

All of my CCs have been cut up bar 1 for EMERGENCIES ONLY

I've done two recent 0% balance transfers and unfortunately as my name has just come off a mortgage my credit rating isn't good enough to get any further 0% deals. So my plan is as follows:

Pay off CC 6 by January 2017
Pay off as much as possible from CC 2 before 0% interest finishes in March 2017
Have at least 25 NSDs every month
Get the 2 x 0% CCs cleared by 0% term then hopefully get another 0% deal for the remaining cards.
De-clutter my house and sell things on ebay to help towards Christmas
Lastly save £700 moving fund so I can cut rental cost down to £500 pcm


Sorry for the long post!
Debt Total October 2017 £20,511.27 :eek::eek:
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Comments

  • So my DFW achievements for today were:

    -NSD - not spent a penny all day despite my car having to be looked at (apparently there is nothing wrong with it and my mechanic is lovely and didn't charge me to check)
    - Have listed old winter clothes on eBay
    - Paid £10 off CC 6
    - Checked bank
    - Packed 2 parcels ready to return which will total a £30 refund

    Have no plans for this weekend bar tidying/cleaning and finishing an essay that is due on Thursday!

    Have milk + eggs, fruit and plenty types of bread in the freezer so no need to do any shopping.

    Have a great weekend!
    Debt Total October 2017 £20,511.27 :eek::eek:
  • Hi Timetobefrugal!

    Just wanted to stop by and say hello and wish you lots of luck on your debt busting journey!

    You're a total rock star doing your open university course as well as being a Mummy and working!
    £1000/£1000 Emergency Fund
    Credit Card 1: £5,671 / £9,500 [STRIKE]Credit Card 2: [/STRIKE][STRIKE]0/£9,000 [/STRIKE]
    [STRIKE]Credit Card 3: £0 / £2,500 [/STRIKE] [STRIKE]OD: £0/ £3,000[/STRIKE]
    £18,360 gone! :j
  • Thank you PENNIESINMYJAR I guess I have to keep out of trouble somehow :)

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Debt Total October 2017 £20,511.27 :eek::eek:
  • Just clicked on this thread randomly but found myself reading the whole OP (you write very well and I liked the honesty).


    Wishing you the best of luck, keep up this attitude and you will have the debt dealt with in no time.
  • judy2357
    judy2357 Posts: 3,743 Forumite
    Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    edited 11 November 2016 at 10:37PM
    Try entering some competitions when the kiddie is in bed, you wont win enough to give up work but all the little things help, even if its only a voucher for a carton of orange juice, every penny counts. Perfume, makeup, means you dont have to buy it yourself. Good luck http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72
    I enter loads a day and sometimes dont win much but its my hobby and I enjoy it. My wins are in my signature.
    2008£3002009£13002010£15002011£41952012£21942013£1494
    2014£24402015£10222016JAN£20FEB£210MAR£80APR£26tMAYWillowPouchBag£65BathPillowCrCardcover,Curry
    JUN£10m'shakeJULpennywellAUGCameraFootproducts£27SEPMiniBBQOCTB'let£45Jarm£4Jacket£80GoodyBag£40NOVmealfor2Ace,ScarfTotes£100DECChocs,AsterixDVD,DVD&bk

  • Thankyou both :)

    Judy - thankyou for the competition idea! Will set myself a goal to enter at least 1 a day.

    Another NSD for me today although tomorrow won't be as I need wrapping paper as it's my daughter's birthday next week. Will also be taking her out on her birthday but plan to spend no more than £30 - will update if that is achieved!

    Put more bits on eBay and posted returns so all in all a productive day today.
    13 more days until pay day, car has plenty of petrol so hoping it lasts until then, plenty of food in the freezer and cupboards so plan to only buy fresh bits and spend no more than £20 on food until then.

    Worrying abit about how I'm going to afford everything in December so hoping I can sell enough on eBay to cover everything.
    Debt Total October 2017 £20,511.27 :eek::eek:
  • Have you tried online market research surveys too boost your income

    just an idea too help with Santy
    debts 16550
    Mortgage 69500
  • Thanks huskeyrunner my daughter is with her dad a few hours tomorrow so will spend some time signing up and doing some competitions. Any extra pennies will help massively.

    Thanks again for the suggestions
    Debt Total October 2017 £20,511.27 :eek::eek:
  • butterfly234
    butterfly234 Posts: 25 Forumite
    edited 12 November 2016 at 9:13PM
    Hey,

    You sound amazingly organised already, I am massively impressed! And I have no idea how single mothers do it, particularly while you're studying too.have you looked at the make £10 a day in the challenges? I've found that has some amazing ideas for making money that don't take too long.


    And survey wise prolific academics is a really good one and pays really well,

    Good luck, will be following with interest

    ETA: Swagbucks is also really good for amazon vouchers or PayPal, it has some mobile apps that if you play the videos on them and not much else you can make an easy £5 a fortnight or so. If you're interested there's a referral board so you can use someone's code, or if you want PM me and you can use mine, think it gives you a £5 sign up
  • Bobarella
    Bobarella Posts: 10,824 Forumite
    Savvy Shopper! I've been Money Tipped!
    Good luck with your journey TTBF the 15 hours will help at least.
    " Your vibe attracts your tribe":D

    Debt neutral :) 27/03/17 from £40k:eek: in the hole 2012.
    Roadkill 17 £56.58 2016-£62.28 2015- £84.20)
    RYSAW17 £1900 2016 £2,535.16 2015 £1027.20
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