The ultimate incentive to get debt free, can I do it by New Years?

Cinny91

Hope everyone's all happy and back at work! *ahem*

Didn't have a very goodnight last night, my cat knocked my glass of water all over me so I had to strip my bed, change my jammies, put the cat out and camp on the floor for the night. I noticed the water had somehow traveled 2 feet from my bedside table to my back without getting water anywhere else, so I decided a ghost did it in my sleepy state so didn't sleep too well after that.

Just waiting for the post now, which I fear will be crippling the postman coming down the path.

Tete_en_l'Air

Haha, that's the kind of thing I'd do Cinny, convince myself the place is haunted when it's blatantly the work of a naughty cat.

Well, back at work 2.5 hours now and *touch wood* all seems to be going well, not at all as hectic as I thought. So I'm trying to be productive and get all my niggly bits done before people start picking up the phone to harrass me!

Hope everyone's well - four sleeps til the weekend!

Dinah93

gailey wrote: »

Dinah glad you doing well .your list amkes me tired just reading.
I thourght about writing stroppy letter to barclays over bank charges but not sure they will react as court case on hold.
I need to pull my finger out and do more this month.
Not sure I got patiance for stp
justs tarted out on quidco does it track ebay purchases as most of what I buy is off ebay?
Signed up for mystery shop but not ehard anything.
Im sure you will clear remaining debt in next 6months as you done so well.

Quidco sometimes tracks on ebay, when it doesn't I just raise an enquiry and it gets sorted, little discount if I need to buy anything. I haven't done the bank charges thing due to the court case, but credit cards are not on hold so if you've had any charges on these you can reclaim these now!

Dinah93

I slept very badly too, went to sleep by 11 but woke again at 12.30 as was coughing so much, then I felt awake and was up until after 4! Work have me quarantined in the corner.

I mainly just sell my own stuff, this is one of the only times I have bought things new. What sells is quality, branded goods. Preferably with tags. A plain shirt or skirt won't sell, even if it's Next or better, for more than a few pennies. However something with a pattern, or in red (seems all women love red, stick 'scarlet' in the title and it will sell every time!) and you should get a few bids. Because of the huge ammount of clothes people tend to search for specific items, eg 'Oasis dress 10'. Coast always sell well, and Karen Millen, and Monsoon. Items need to photograph well, so while lots of women wear black, it tends not to sell well as photographs don't really capture the item. I've found often larger sizes sell well, as well as the bulk 10-12 items which sell but not for so much. Clothes in little 6-8 sizes have sold very poorly, as there isn't so much competition for them I guess!

I'm suprised how well my house clearnace has sold, have some used hair rollers with a few pins missing currently at £9.50! Even things like a friends pencil case and an old personal cassette player has a bid on!

Dinah93

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

Hope everyone's well - four sleeps til the weekend!

They were saying that on Radio Tees this morning too, usually that'd be a comforting thought but sleeping is so difficult at the moment the day is my happy time!

Being good today, since I can't exercise due to the inability to breathe cold thing, I'm starting the no biscuits or pudding part of my get healthy plan early. Have pesto rice and loads and loads of veggies for lunch, a fruit salad, and an activia fat free cherry yogurt. I will get back into my size 10s!

Raychee

ohhhh Size 10s? Don't think I was EVER a size 10. Went from children's clothes straight to a size 14 - how did that happen???

Dinah, you seem to be an ebay expert - how easy is it? How do you make sure you get your parcels off quickly? (I am the chief procrastinator!) And how do you transfer money from paypal to your account once you've sold stuff? And how do you know what to charge for P&P?

So many questions...

Cinny91

I've lost 2 pounds since friday because I've been ill. Not impressed! I don't need to loose weight as much as tone up so I'm going to start taking my pooch on longer walks, using the treadmill while I'm on my laptop (rests perfectly on the 'book' ledge) or watching telly, starting today! Was meant to start on the first but that's when I started getting sick. Me and OH are also planning to go on more trekky walks this year, we want to be able to get up winnats pass without turning blue.

Oh Dinah, I managed to get my OH back into reading! *punches air* Bought him Twilight for christmas and he's already munched his way through that and is close to finishing the second in the series, might mean the TV starts going off in the evening and the books come out.

Dinah93

Raychee wrote: »

ohhhh Size 10s? Don't think I was EVER a size 10. Went from children's clothes straight to a size 14 - how did that happen???

Dinah, you seem to be an ebay expert - how easy is it? How do you make sure you get your parcels off quickly? (I am the chief procrastinator!) And how do you transfer money from paypal to your account once you've sold stuff? And how do you know what to charge for P&P?

So many questions...

I'm a 12 at the moment, tried on one of the Monsoon dresses but it was a 14 and luckily it still looked too big on me!

Ebay is easy enough once you get the hang of it. I use Turbo Lister as it pre-fills some information and I think it's a more user friendly format than the online version. Once something has sold and I've received payment, usually within a day or two, I just sit down after dinner and wrap all parcels. I got to the post office 3 times a week usually, a routine helps me get things done. If I don't send them on time I get negitive feedback, which will impact my earnings potential and it just isn't worth it! But then again I can't stand doing nothing, I'm always looking for something to do or I go mad. Can't sleep knowing I should have done something and haven't!

You just give paypal your bank number and sort code and it sends the money over, arrives in about 5 days, its easy. I don't have a card registered to my paypal, only the savings account (cant withdraw from) so I can't buy things!

I have some kitchen scales I use for weighing items, but generally I just guess. A little top or headscarf etc will only need £1 postage, a dress might need £2, some jeans probably £3.50ish.

One thing to be wary of with Ebay now is sellers are being royally rogered with the new feedback rules, and buyers are really chancing it by not paying, taking weeks to pay, and sending downright abusive emails, or criticising that I charged 22p more in postage and packing than the postage label says (and I packaged it in what, thin air?!). So basically, my main issue with ebay is the buyers, can't live with them can't live without them! 85% are no hassle, there is just always the odd one. Still worth doing though, certainly all adds up.

If you find motivation an issue, set yourself a challenge to list one item a day in January, it'll soon add up.

Dinah93

Yey on getting your OH reading Cinny, it's so much more civil curling up together with a book than staring gormlessly and silently at the tellybox (I'm not a fan, think that's clear by now!).

I need tone, a bit of slimming and a LOT of fitness.

Sold a textbook last night, after postage should clear £5 profit. But the books are getting to me now, so many of them for so little money, the day I become debt free they are all going on ebay (or to Tete if she wants them since she lives nearby and can RiSi them!). Going to check all the textbooks are up, since I'm certain about 10 aren't and these are decent earners compared to the 20p fiction rubbish!

Tete_en_l'Air

If you're having trouble sleeping Dinah have you tried eating a banana an hour before bed? Always really works for me! Come to think of it, that's probably why I'm sleepy now, I had one for breakfast!

Part of the new eating healthy 'plan' - weighed myself a couple of days ago out of curiosity for the first time in years and I'm about a stone heavier than my worst case imaginings!

Ooh, Cinny us too! OH wants us to go up Helvellyn, you know, the one where you periodically hear the news reports that someone's died up there :eek: Went for two longish hardish walks last week and off up into the Cleveland Hills on Saturday. We've said that any time we're at a loose end, rather than schlepping round the shops or something, we'll get out and about