Lurking no more - got to sort this out once and for all!

Farenheit_3

Gahhhh... the gas/leccy people have just written to me to say my monthly dd is going up... to £85 a month! :eek:

I knew it would probably rise, but that is nearly triple! Why oh why did i not cap it when i had the chance? I immmediatly turned off the heating, fillled up my hot water bottle and put on pjs!

Good new is that my new CC came through, and i have applied for the balance tranfers.

I'm off to bed to keep warm!
xx

Wol2

Keep the faith Hun..you're doing brilliantly


Doesn't matter the size of the debt...it's all debt...and sooner you tackle it the better...so well done...and we're all here to help and support you....

Hugs
Wol2
xxx

Jesthar

Farenheit wrote: »

Gahhhh... the gas/leccy people have just written to me to say my monthly dd is going up... to £85 a month! :eek:

I knew it would probably rise, but that is nearly triple! Why oh why did i not cap it when i had the chance? I immmediatly turned off the heating, fillled up my hot water bottle and put on pjs!

Good new is that my new CC came through, and i have applied for the balance tranfers.

I'm off to bed to keep warm!
xx

Hey Farenheit, and welcome!

Just to encourage you, I'm in a similar financial situation to you, just minus the debts! Well, except a student loan and my mortgage, anyway... My income is a little higher and my basic mortgage a little lower, but I do have a small amount of rent to pay on my shared ownership (with the council) house, I do have to pay council tax, and I also run a car.

My monthly food bill, though, usually comes in at under £80, closer to £60 on a good month, and that is without buying value brands and still getting some premium items such as Warburtons bread and organic milk. I do things like buying half shoulders of lamb and jonits of brisket to cook in my slow cooker, the meat from which lasts me about 5/6 meals (you can freeze portions). I also cook big batches of stews and similar things in my slow cooker - my spag bol recipe costs under £6 and makes about 8 portions, 7 of which I freeze - instant, healthy ready meals I can be eating within 20 minutes of getting in.

As to your gas and electricity, why not hit the price comparison sites and see if you would be better off switching suppliers? More than doubling your monthly payments is criminal! I've just ditched and switched, and I'll be saving well over £100 a year, even with my low usage levels.

~Jes

lazy_daisy

Wow, sounds like you are doing really well and have got your head round all the MSE things!

The Old Style board is really good for meal planning and recipes, etc. I also find that Boots Natural Collection is very good for cosmetics, the range is a bit basic but they have lip glosses in tubes and all the essential items for £1.99 or less! May be a bit less glamorous than No7 but perhaps some of the items could replace the pricier stuff without any loss of gorgeousness!! You can often get vouchers for extra points on it if you put your Boots card in the points machine.

Also on the make-up subject I have recently found in Superdrug they do NYC cosmetics and they do a mineral foundation, loose powder or compact, for £3.99. I find it very good, mind you I've never tried the pricier ones, but it makes my skin look really good which is an achievement because I have rubbish skin that I'm rather embarrassed about.
Hope all this waffle helps a bit, and good luck!
xx

Farenheit_3

Hey-lo

I've been thinking about the MSE/dfw thing, and what has and hasn't worke din the past. I've come to the conclusion that having ANY debt at the moment is a BAD THING (for me anyway). So... I've set myself the challenge of being without any debt or credit cards by christmas 2009 - that means not only do i need to have paid back the debt, i also need a buffer zone of some savings so i don't get back into debtto in the future. In the past i've always paid back towards the cards, then had some expense come up and put it back on the card. SO, my plan is to set up a direct debit into the credit card for £100 per month. However, i need to put i think £50 per month into my saving account to cover Xmas, holidays and emergencies etc etc. I think my goal is to make that £50 from ebay or other methods every month. I'll let you know how it goes!
xx

Farenheit_3

Hi guys, it's been a while but i have not forgotten you all!

Big big thank you for all the advice and support! I know there are a lot of people asking advice so thank you!

Right, I arranged the balance transfer and my total debt the day before january payday was...

£1,860!!!!!!!

But, I've been ebaying, budgeting, meal planning and generally staying in and the total today is £1,550, which I'm really pleased about. I've got six days until I get paid again, and £25 in my wallet, enough to cover the final direct debits in my account (no overdraft this month!!!!!) £18 in refund coming in at some point next week and I'm off to cash converter to see if they will buy my old phone. I need a bit of shopping but have planned for the week using what i already have in; including an experiment in making my own beansprouts.

Cosmetics wise... I have bought nothing! However, I have run out of my favourite moisteriser (olay first results) which is usually about £16 and have been using Nivea which I hate! However it is currently £8 at Superdrug. My dilemma is: Don't buy any, continue with Nivea and wait for spots to arrive.
Buy one, or buy a few to stock up. Answers on a postcard...

Farenheit_3

Hello all, not posted for a little while, please feel free to tell me off. I have spent the weeks trying really hard not to go out and spend lots of money. I went away for the weekend with my lovely bf a few weeks ago, but stayed at a relative of his's place (they were not there :-) )so not too much spend. I only got to the end of last month however by selling an old phone at computer exchange for £21.

But... debt is now down to £1,290, £570 paid off since January. I haven't realise it was that much until this moment, despite my jet powered spreadsheet!

Have been feeling a bit miserable about the DFW status, really wanted to go out tonight but stayed in tonight and listed 26 things on Amazon marketplace. I can't quite believe how much easier it is than Ebay.

Fire_Fox

Is that the one you mean?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olay-Total-Effects-First-Moisturiser/dp/B000T9CB5O

Farenheit_3

Wow, brilliant! I never knew Amazon did beauty stuff, thanks.