Need a kick up the backside!

IWantToBeFree_2

Seem to have lost my way a bit with the whole DFW thing...

Last few months (since June) we have had 'abnormal' wages coming in, with bonus's, overtime etc, and despite this, I don't feel like I have got anywhere with our debts or our savings, its just been an excuse to waste money rather than save it or pay it off the cards!

In the last month, we've bought ourselves new iPods, a hard drive for the computer (which wasn't really needed), A Nintendo Wii & Wii fit, clothes, weekend in London, meals out etc.... And now I'm sat here worried cos we have about £100 to last us til next pay day and still not making massive inroads on the wedding fund or the cards. We could have had at least an extra grand in the savings had we not been wasteful.

Can't even motivate myself to put stuff on Ebay, got a big pile but just finding everything MSE a bit of a chore at the minute (aside from entering competitions at a lousy sucess rate).

What do you do when you are feeling like this, what has helped you get back into money saving ways?

GeorgeUK

When i get like that i think it's because i've got my head down and try to push forward. When something like extra money comes along and distracts you, you've taken your eye off the road you were on.

I think you need to find out where you are so you can start on the road again. Make a new SOA so you can see exactly where you are with payments and everyhting else - then you can possibly plan saving again or possibly make some settlement offers if your debts were defaulted.

Although it's all good and well to try charging ahead and clear the debts, you need time to enjoy yourself and your family. That way these "distractions" shouldn't have such a large effect and you can keep being MSE.

IWantToBeFree_2

All my cards are still in their 0% interest free BT period, and savings currently stand at around £2500.

I think I know what this is leading too.... A lecture on how you shouldn't save when you have debts... I don't need that, just some advice from those who get stuck in a rut and how they got out!

GeorgeUK

No lectures - what you're currently doing is stoozing (using 0% money from the bank and getting interest on it). There's an entire board devoted to that (and the stoozing site is a good read too).

I think you just need to see where you are, work out a new plan of what to do next or when the 0% cards run out, then jump back up on the wagon.

lucielle

How about a spending diary to get you really focused?
L

McKneff

use your savings to get out of as much debt as you can and stop spending what you dont need to spend, You asked for advice, you got it.

IWantToBeFree_2

anniehanlon wrote: »

use your savings to get out of as much debt as you can and stop spending what you dont need to spend, You asked for advice, you got it.

Without wanting to sound ungrateful, I have already addressed the savings point earlier in the thread. I find sometimes on the DFW board that people tend to churn out the same answers without taking into account the circumstances of individuals, not everyone is the same, infact, no two situations are the same so there is no one size fits all solution.

No point in me using my savings to pay of debts that are not interest bearing or that have early redemption penalties (in respect of the loans I have). It would be daft, and would cost me money rather than save me.... Plus, I have a wedding to pay for, if I use my savings for my debts, what do you suggest I pay for the wedding with? My cards again? Running up more debt? Doesn't make sense. In todays climate it is harder to come by credit than it used to be, I'm not gonna start getting rid of my cards with my weddung fund only and then find myself stumped if I cannot get credit to then pay for the wedding.

I also know that once again I need to cut back on spending, especially on stuff that isn't a necessity, my question was not what should I do, but how should I do it?

Since joining this site I have ploughed myself into making inroads on my debt, I have joined challenges, I have made £000's by doing things such as the £10 a day challenge, ebay challenge etc, but because I have had more money than normal over the last few months, Its depleted my motivation, its like I find myself not having to try as hard.

I need to regain that motivation, not reinvent the wheel of why I am in debt and what I need to do.....

I will repost my SOA later on this evening or in the next few days.... my problem is at the minute is that my earnings are flucuating a bit every month due to tax codes changing, pay rises, salary sacrifices changing that I find it hard to put a figure down, and OH is set to change too as he is set to make his final student loan payment....

IWantToBeFree_2

Right, this post is a little late... I had planned to put my new SOA and where I was 'at' up last week but got sidetracked by many other things.... So this is me, as of now!

My Income: £1,081.54
OH Income: £1,323.35

Total Income: £2,404.89 (may fluctuate a bit due to student loans coming to an end, and I get a £6.5k pay rise in Jan!)

Outgoings

Monthly Commitments:

Barclays loan: £274.37
Egg Loan: £102.54
Halifax loan: £192.23
CC's: £100
Mortgage: 521.31
Council Tax: £83
Home Insurance: £29.88
Life insurance: £11.39
Sofas: £54.77
Sky: £19
Internet: £7.50
Mobile phones: £44
Water rates: £23.00
TV licence: £11.31
Gas: £22
Electric: £28
Shopping: £150
BT Phone bill: £16.50
Fuel: £80
Cosmetic treatments: £35
Weekly spends: £80


Total: £1,885.80

Surplus: £520.09

The loan balances are as follows:

Barclays: £8,505.72 (last payment Nov 2011)
Egg: £1,528.20 (last payment Feb 2010)
Halifax: £5,190 (approx – off latest credit report) (last payment Nov 2010)

Card balances are:

Barclaycard: £685 (0% until Jan 09)
Halifax: £1,400 (0% until Dec 08)
Virgin: £2,600 (0% until Feb 09)

Savings: £1,959.94 (Wedding savings – not to be used for debt payments!)

annamc75

Why not focus on what you really want for the wedding - put a price on everything and then you will know that one wii fit = 1 pair of grooms shoes (for example).
Your spending in the past month looks like you have felt deprived while saving and paying off the debt - regain the focus by breaking it down into tiny little bits.
Are you wanting to be debt free as soon as possible? Are you wanting to get as much saved as possible? Do you want to losen the purse strings and live a little and still save and pay back the debt? Are you wanting to keep moving the debt around the 0%? Decide what you want and then plan.
As you rightly say - credit is getting harder to come by, that it why you should be trying to bring down the debt on the 0% cards as the next time you try to move it you might not be so lucky. With the best will in the world no one knows how long or how lasting this recession will be. I certainly would be looking for a combination of debt repayment and saving but that is just me.

Best wishes

Anna x

PS People on the boards give up their time to help those who post - you might not like everything that is posted but it is no reason to be rude or dismissive - chose what advice you want to follow and ignore the rest. Being ungrateful wont encourage people to post.

dancingfairy

Well there's things there you could cut down if you wanted - eg sky,cosmetic treatments etc but i agree you need to decide what your priorities are. You obviously need to have a spare amount in the budget so you don't feel deprived and slip up again.
Why not visualise how great you will feel when you are debt free. I also think the spending diary is a good idea as it will give you food for thought on what you want to spend your money on.

P.S Don't forget you've paid off over 1000 pounds this year already and no doubt contributed a significant amount to your wedding fund so maybe you just need to give yourself a break. Accept it was a slip up refocus and onwards and upwards. Anything you can sell on ebay etc to get you going again?

Good Luck it sounds like you are doing fab. Why not set yourself a challenge or join one as that sounds like that has helped you in the past.

df x

IWantToBeFree_2

I have started back on ebay again... got 17 items ending tomorrow and then about another 20 to put on Also parting with some stuff that has sentimental value, but decided that I'd rather have the money to pay off the debts/save for the wedding!

When I looked at all the balances today, I realised that they are now under £20,000, which pleased me immensly because at the start of the year they were over £25,000. So we are making progress, I just kick myself because I know that we could have done more. Maybe I do need to stop being so hard on myself!

I use an Egg Money card for all my spends for the cashback, and have a spreadsheet which reconciles the balance on my card to the amount in my current account. I have decided that for the next month (14th Oct - 13th Nov) I am going to transfer all but £400 out of my current account (after direct debits) and going to make that last the month, so that includes shopping, fuel, and weekly spends on things like parking and my OH Friday lunch pub trip (around £4 a week!). This should mean that I have a bit of surplus left to then either put into savings or pay off one of the cards.

I had to buy new glasses this week, they set me back £245 which was totally unexpected, I only got new ones 10 months ago but have had real issues with my sight recently and my perscription has significantly increased. I think the test back in Feb wasn't accurate, but the opticians are having none of it and say its just natural deteriation, so I don't think I am gonna be sucessful in getting any of it back from them

With regards to the cosmetic treatments, unfortunately its something of a bit of a necessity for me due to a medical condition... its a bit rubbish but then again so is the NHS, so private treatment is the only way for me at the minute