misselvis was lost but has now seen the light

misselvis

its been a while

good afternoon folks sorry its been a while since I last posted but I have been on the site reading various threads and taking on board the positive energy and words of encouragement to everyone. this is such a valuable and fabulous site have been spreading the word to everyone who will listen. Have had a few days off work but ended up doing loads of agency cover. when the alarm goes off at 6am and I want to cancel I just think to myself each shift will go some way to chipping away at the beast that is my debt and guess what the shifts weren't that bad even got fed so did not have to buy my own lunch and dinner. My dad bless him has just given me a cheque for £500. He handed it over with the words "spend it wisely". am going to use it to chip away at some debts. Old misselvis would have used it to enjoy herself but the light bulb is shining so bright knew exactly what I need to do. contacted my mortgage company re my arrears and it was a really positive conversation. my advisor was really positive about my clearing of my arrears and I have four more payments in order to clear these off. 2009 is going to be somewhat difficult but am taking each day and feel that I am becoming more disciplined and more aware of where my money is going and taking control. just wanted to share this with you all and once again say thanks

misselvis

Hello folks

Once again its been a bit hit and miss for the past few weeks, have spoken to my mortgage company and they are really happy with overpayments I have been making since November and look to have to finish by April so two more months of overpayments and it really has not been too bad. The only bad thing is that as I want to set up a direct debit for 27th of each month but the mortgage company want payment on the 1st so am always a month behind but the main thing is that I am being consistent with my payments. Have also looked at my repayments and using the snowball calculator have worked out that within 18 months I should have cleared my debts and be ready to take on new ones when I become a social work student. Am really loving each step towards becoming debt free and am attempting to spread the debt free mantra to my friends and family have been printing off loads of vouchers and giving them to work colleagues and family. even supported a friend to start her bank reclaim. isn't it wonderful news about the court ruling today.

Good luck to everyone doing what they need to be doing

am proud to be dealing with my debts

misselvis

have joined the 20K challenge and am attempting NSD which is really empowering to go without a day without spending for spending sake. met up with some friends for dinner did not have anything to drink apart from a glassof wine bought for me (lucky me) then went for a cheap as chips turkish meal on green lanes. we got to the subject of budgeting and I discussed my socialising budget which shocked some of my friends by how small it seemed but then they went on to say that I managed to get lots done within my budget so want to spread thanks to the vouchers/ deals on MSE. Am starting to enjoy chipping away at my debt and am enjoying the positive vibes I feel as a DFW. Am not spending my second job money on clothes now but am throwing it at the my debt so long may it continue

misselvis proud to be dealing with my debts:D

poorandindenial

Hi misselvis

A fellow londoner here :wave:

I am really impressed by how well you are doing and how you are geting on and tackling your debt - great feeling isn't it

I also like to astound my friends by getting things uber cheap (I pretty much pay full price for nothing these days :T)

Anyhow, I just wanted to pop on and say hello to a fellow Londoner (from the locations you are posting I am guessing you are North of the river too - actually I used to live around the areas you have posted but have now moved East)

misselvis

Hello poorandindenial

what a truly fabulous name but am sure you are no longer in denial or else you wouldn't be on this site me thinks. thanks for the hello. How are you finding East London went to visit my cousin over the weekend in East London and had a thoroughly good time.

Good luck with the chipping away that that debt.

misselvis proud to be dealing with her debts

misselvis

Hello folks Feburary went by way too quickly but am still not missing the credit cards that my mum is holding onto for me and recieved my credit card statements and by jove they are going down steadily. have increased my standing orders and have informed mum not to listen to me if I ask for any of the cards before January 2010. By that time I hope to have cleared 2 of my cards and made serious dents in the other 2 plus halved my student loan. its a bit boring sometimes not having a holiday or something to look forward to but becoming DF is become my holiday buzz. I did buy some jeans on saturday though, justified it by my other two jeans being worn to death and to a holey mass but am putting on weight so another reason not to buy any clothes until I lose enough to fit into the clothes I already own. bought in pack lunch for dinner and lunch tomorrow. I do shift work and have been known in the past to indulge in takeaways. woohoo second job gave me some additional hours this week will be dog tired but keeping eye on the prize.

take care folks

misselvis proud to be dealing with her debts

misselvis

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1800
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 800 (overtime, second job and rent from my sister)
Total monthly income.................... 2600[/b]
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 750
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125
Electricity............................. 25
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 17
Telephone (land line)................... 13
Mobile phone............................ 35
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 120
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 9
Other insurance......................... 16
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 120
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 25
Total monthly expenses.................. 1608

Assets
Cash.................................... 2000
House value (Gross)..................... 190000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 192000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 180000...(750)......3.25
Total secured & HP debts...... 180000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc cc .......................2000......28........16 (snowballing)
halifax cc.....................1000......20........30 (snowballing)
hsbc loan......................9000......210.......7 (fixed loan would love to pay earlier)
cahoot overdraft...............500.......0.........13 (am planning to reduce the overdraft by £30 each month)
Total unsecured debts..........12500.....258.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,600
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,608
Available for debt repayments........... 992
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 258
Amount left after debt repayments....... 734
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 192,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -180,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,500
Net Assets.............................. -500
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

my dad recently bought me a little banger in order for me to learn to drive finally but am really nervous about how that will impact my debt management plan so am putting some money aside to get my liscence then I think I will get rid of the car, can walk to work, have a season ticket and would only use it really occasionally. really want to banish my credit card debt this year so have set up a snowballing account in order to pay that off this year, build up three months of emergency savings and have finally got some life and income protection insurance. was planning to set up savings to self insure but went through the small print and like the protection if could offer and as I paid off a loan yesterday can afford to set aside £15 for the insurance. please add any suggestions, comments you wise folks need all the help I can get. Really want to get to the place where cash is my queen and I no longer use any plastic whether it be debit or credit. :cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

misselvis

well looking at my SOA and was made painfully aware that I am currently in negative in my net assets so the aim for 2011 is to crawl out of that hole, clear and close my credit cards, get rid of my overdraft, build up some savings maybe not 3 months worth and overpay on my mortgage. I love reading everyone's journey with their own debt free goals

dancingfairy

Hi - from your SOA it looks like you have 700 pounds a month spare to put towards your debts on top of minimum payments. Are you seeing this amount? it might be worth keeping a spending diary to identify if your are overspending anywhere but it looks good.
df

misselvis

thanks dancingfairy have been using a spending diary and the website what's the cost to work out where my money is going and am planning to throw a lot of that at reducing my debt am working on a plan to stop taking out my debit card and using cash only