retrocircles' DFW diary

retrocircles

*waves*

hi everyone. i thought i'd make a diary and have all my money saving thoughts and debt digits in one place. hopefully it will help me keep focused on my goals which sometimes currently slip into the back of my mind!

i'm a 24 year old female, married with a mortgage & very much in debt. i also have 15k student loan but i don't earn enough to start paying that back yet.

i currently work, but don't have a high salary. i'm hoping to get a promotion some time this month/next month. DH & i also have a small business, an online gift store (we used to have a physical store, but that failed) which i can sometimes take a wage from, but i like to pump the money back into the business at the moment as it's survival is on the waterline, just like me at the moment!

so, that's me.

retrocircles

End of year summary, ready for a new start in the New Year! Below are my debts, which I hope to clear by December 31st 2012. 4 years & counting.

DH HSBC Loan £12555.92 (previously £14k)
DH HSBC CC £3499 / £3500
My HSBC CC £1463.89 / £1500
Dorothy Perkins store card £800 / £1000
Halifax overdraft £2152.65
DH HSBC overdraft £1000
My HSBC overdraft £1500
Barclays overdraft £370
IOU to Mummy £4400 (interest free)
Car £5502 / £8000 (interest free)
Student Loan (around £15k, need to dig out paperwork)

Totalling £48,243.46. Wow... didn't expect it to total that much! :eek:

DH & I have had a number of 'family meetings' over the last week outlining what we can do to minimise the debt asap! Working out our finances, after direct debits bills have gone out (not inc food, petrol etc) we have around £600 a month spare. We're going to try to put as much of this towards debt as possible, and make as much other money on the side too.

I also need to get a job that pays better than just above minimum wage! That would help!


Income:
My salary: £840 (after tax)
DH salary: £1230 (after tax)
Lodger: £240
= £2310

Outgoings:
Mortgage £565
Life Insurance £9
Water £29
HSBC Loan £242
Gas £65
TV Licence £36
HSBC Card (DH) £100
Virgin Media (phone, tv, broadband) £70 (max payment it's ever been, normally more like £55)
Electricity £32
Council Tax £86
Dorothy Perkins £35
Capital One £40
Overdraft Interest £5
House Insurance £30
Car Insurance £29
Halifax Loan £40
Car £131
HSBC Card £36
Halifax overdraft £60
Topups £30
Overdraft Interest (DH) £12
= £1,682

Leaving £628 for food, petrol, emergencies, cat food etc & PAYING OFF DEBT!

Obviously the above doesn't include payments to overdrafts to reduce them, and all CC payments etc are 'minimum payments'.

retrocircles

just signed up for the january 'make £10 a day' thread, as i have LOTS to sell lying around at home, and also a silver level summer sizzler challenge which is £2009.

i'll update as i go along! i've also added the 'coin jar' to my signature. mum got me a coin jar that counts how much is in the jar which is super! so far i have £2.02 & it looks empty! i'm going to fill that to the top before opening.

Lewby

Hi. Well done for getting organised. Your post is so like one I just put up ... my DFD is 2012 too so I see it as an Olympic Challenge! I am aiming to be debt free before the torch is lit!!

I've spoken to my OH today about 'our' debt and have started to get him into the mindset of budgeting and paying off debt instead of increasing it. Our debt is just over £60k so we have a long way to go but I am determind ... and like you will be trying to put as much towards the debt each month as we can. Every pound I think of spending I'll be visualising as a pound off the debt!

Good luck.

Lewby xx

Fire_Fox

Hi!

Can you reduce your Virgin package? It's an awful lot, especially considering the mobile phone top ups are extra. Your energy bills are also pretty big; we spend £26.50 a month on our electric and do not have gas (two people). Have you used a price comparison site to change supplier, or tried to monitor your usage? With your bills as high as they are, divide by three and you won't be making much money from your lodger.

Lula-Hula

Hello,

Great to read such a positive start to your journey & joining challenges is great for keeping you motivated .

I fully recommend the No Spend Day challenge, the £2 coin savers challenge & I've recently signed up to the sealed pot challenge too.

If you havent already been, then a trip to the 'old style' board will give you loads of ideas on how to save even more money.

Wishing you lots of luck on your journey & I'm looking forward to reading about your progress

Lula

retrocircles

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Hi!

Can you reduce your Virgin package? It's an awful lot, especially considering the mobile phone top ups are extra. Your energy bills are also pretty big; we spend £26.50 a month on our electric and do not have gas (two people). Have you used a price comparison site to change supplier, or tried to monitor your usage? With your bills as high as they are, divide by three and you won't be making much money from your lodger.

Thanks for the tips! I need more of these!

The virgin package is £25 for broadband, and £11.50 for phone. Everything on top is calls. The bill is usually around £55, but the most it's ever been is £70, so I'm over-estimating rather than under. The TV channels come free as we have a big broadband package. I can't reduce as I'm under contract, but we do use the 'net 24/7 so wouldn't want any less than 10mb broadband.

We haven't really thought about our energy. We do have horrible wooden windows, and LOTS of draughts in the doors AND windows, so we do know we pay much more in Winter to keep the house warm. We also have an OLD back boiler, and have only just had a shower installed. We are in credit with our supplier by around £110. How do you monitor usage?

Lula-Hula

Hi retrocircles,

definitely check out the virign website for different 'bundles'. I currently get all 3 for £30 with free calls at the week end but for an extra £8 a month you can get free calls anytime - worth a look.

Changing energy suppliers is easy these days - use a price comparison site for the best deals available in your area. If you havent already come across www.quidco then you're in for a treat use this site to get cashback on your online purchases & switching all kinds of services ; I just got £45 cashback for changing my contents insurance & £20 odd for switching from the AA to RAC.

With all the information, advice & support on this site you really will start to see good changes very soon.

Fire_Fox

retrocircles wrote: »

Thanks for the tips! I need more of these!

The virgin package is £25 for broadband, and £11.50 for phone. Everything on top is calls. The bill is usually around £55, but the most it's ever been is £70, so I'm over-estimating rather than under. The TV channels come free as we have a big broadband package. I can't reduce as I'm under contract, but we do use the 'net 24/7 so wouldn't want any less than 10mb broadband.

We haven't really thought about our energy. We do have horrible wooden windows, and LOTS of draughts in the doors AND windows, so we do know we pay much more in Winter to keep the house warm. We also have an OLD back boiler, and have only just had a shower installed. We are in credit with our supplier by around £110. How do you monitor usage?

You are spending a lot on phone calls, between the landline and mobile. Do you ring abroad frequently or can you e-mail instead? It may be cheaper to get one package, either landline or mobile, that offers you the level of service that you require. Mobile companies will usually let you know your usage patterns (minutes/ texts) when you are on a contract, and maybe on pay as you go too: well worth an ask. Then analyse your Virgin bills to see who is making all the phone calls, and when. Or you could get Skype phones and make phone calls via your net connection.
:money:
As regards broadband - you will need that much if you are using a lot of intensive services such as watching BBC iPlayer or downloading music. I have just checked my usage and I have been logged on for 350 hours over the last month but used less than 3GB. We only have mobile broadband (not recommended as it's slow, but I have no landline) so am on a limited package. Therefore I am careful about what I do - only uTube or music occasionally. Again Virgin may be able to inform you what you are actually using - you can usually reduce your package whilst in contract, but not leave the service altogether.
:money:
Well at least you have a very good idea why your energy bills are so high! Definitely use a price comparison site via a cashback site ASAP and switch supplier if you can get a better deal. If you are genuinely massively in credit (you have read the meter) then ask your supplier to pay a lower DD each month. By this far into the winter you should not be that far ahead in payments.
:money:
I like wooden windows if they are the old sash style, but they can be very draughty. Long term you should get these draughtproofed or new ones if they are rotten. I would focus on the energy aspect of your outgoings as this really is money for nothing if you are heating the street!! Do you have decent loft insulation? Has the back boiler/ central heating system been serviced? Maybe the back boiler needs insulating?
:money:
Short term you could plug the window/ door gaps with folded strips of newspaper, or purchase some cling-film like stuff that 'double glazes' (not that expensive and reduced the need for a gas fire in my old flat from three bars to one, i.e. cut energy to a third!) or put up thick curtains which are drawn at every opportunity. You can also put tin foil like stuff behind your radiators to reflect the heat into the rooms.
:money:
There are threads on MSE about monitoring and reducing your energy usage; I think on the Green and Ethical board. You can get devices, sometimes free from your energy supplier, which digitally tell you what you electricity you are using at any given moment. So when the kettle or central heating goes on, you can see the effect.

:money:

retrocircles

Fire_Fox wrote: »

You are spending a lot on phone calls, between the landline and mobile. Do you ring abroad frequently or can you e-mail instead? It may be cheaper to get one package, either landline or mobile, that offers you the level of service that you require. Mobile companies will usually let you know your usage patterns (minutes/ texts) when you are on a contract, and maybe on pay as you go too: well worth an ask. Then analyse your Virgin bills to see who is making all the phone calls, and when. Or you could get Skype phones and make phone calls via your net connection.
:money:
As regards broadband - you will need that much if you are using a lot of intensive services such as watching BBC iPlayer or downloading music. I have just checked my usage and I have been logged on for 350 hours over the last month but used less than 3GB. We only have mobile broadband (not recommended as it's slow, but I have no landline) so am on a limited package. Therefore I am careful about what I do - only uTube or music occasionally. Again Virgin may be able to inform you what you are actually using - you can usually reduce your package whilst in contract, but not leave the service altogether.
:money:
Well at least you have a very good idea why your energy bills are so high! Definitely use a price comparison site via a cashback site ASAP and switch supplier if you can get a better deal. If you are genuinely massively in credit (you have read the meter) then ask your supplier to pay a lower DD each month. By this far into the winter you should not be that far ahead in payments.
:money:
I like wooden windows if they are the old sash style, but they can be very draughty. Long term you should get these draughtproofed or new ones if they are rotten. I would focus on the energy aspect of your outgoings as this really is money for nothing if you are heating the street!! Do you have decent loft insulation? Has the back boiler/ central heating system been serviced? Maybe the back boiler needs insulating?
:money:
Short term you could plug the window/ door gaps with folded strips of newspaper, or purchase some cling-film like stuff that 'double glazes' (not that expensive and reduced the need for a gas fire in my old flat from three bars to one, i.e. cut energy to a third!) or put up thick curtains which are drawn at every opportunity. You can also put tin foil like stuff behind your radiators to reflect the heat into the rooms.
:money:
There are threads on MSE about monitoring and reducing your energy usage; I think on the Green and Ethical board. You can get devices, sometimes free from your energy supplier, which digitally tell you what you electricity you are using at any given moment. So when the kettle or central heating goes on, you can see the effect.

:money:

thanks for those amazing tips fire fox!

i think we spend a lot of our landline phone usage on calling companies! DH & i have the O2 sim where if you top up £15 a month you get free calls O2 to O2, & most of our family are on O2 so it's not the mobile calling.

i'm definitely going to look into these energy bills. i never realised how high they were, my mum lives next door in the same house layout, with brand new windows & boiler and pays £150 electricity alone!

one of our goals for 2009 is to have the windows replaced, and to have a new boiler put in. the windows haven't been a problem in the 3 years we've been here, but this year we're finding it hard to keep the house warm. we've put floor to ceiling curtains up in the conservatory, infront of the front door, blinds up in the bedrooms & we have that clear plastic that your hairdryer on in our bedroom. i live in a hoodie around the house. i hate having time off work as we tend to have the heating on all day long! :rolleyes:

glitterkitty

hey!

It's Louisa (from Livejournal!)

i'm a DFW too... sounds like you are having a great start to it all, since you know where everything is going moneywise...

wish i had more i could spend on getting DF.

good luck with the £10 a day, i'm in that for £5 a day.