Dastardly Dachshunds-another DFW Diary

cydney65

I know, yet another diary! I apologise in advance for my ramblings but I think I need something to keep me on track on my DFW journey.

First, some background; I live in a village in West Cumbria with my OH (we are both ‘shes’, it helps to get that out of the way first lol!) and the dastardly dachshunds of the title. Both OH and me are medically retired. I have rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, depression blah blah. OH has MS. We both survive on benefits, as we cannot work, but life is okay as we have each other and the doggies ahhh :cheesy:

DD2s wedding was in December and it pretty much drained me of money-and just before crimbo too. I was in debt anyway-£10000 on Halifax and £4000 on M&S before wedding and £13000+ on Halifax after the wedding, along with an overdraft. Just after Christmas I realised I couldn’t go on like this. I hadn’t opened my cc and bank statements for over a year. I hid my money problems from my OH and to cap it all I became depressed and felt like self-harming, something I haven’t done for many years. Since discovering MSE and reading other people’s stories, I realised that there are so many amazing people in this world who have the guts and determination to deal with their debt. I wanted to be a part of the community and be honest with my family and myself for the first time in my life-cue :idea:

So, I set aside a day opened every single statement and read them. Arrrgh it was horrible, but by the end of the day I felt like a weight had lifted. I then went through my income and outgoings and decided to get rid of the overdraft first. That has now gone. I came clean to OH and we now both contribute to paying off my debt, which has been great as we have reduced my DFD by 4 months already yay! (I'm addicted to my snowball. OH moans 'you on that thing again' lol)

I think that’s enough blathering for now. Off to docs to chat about all this blooming pain I’m getting. I hope no-one minds another DFW diary. If it's okay, I'll keep updating with some stories of the dastardly Ds, cos they're not really grandchildren substitutes...honest :rolleyes:

TurnaroundSue

Hi :hello: and welcome to the boards.

Why dont you post your SOA which can be found on the calculator on www.makesenseofcards.com and post on here (make sure you format it for MSE as it makes for easier reading). All the wonderful peeps on this site will then be able to look at it and see if there are any savings to be had. It is amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can do.:idea:

Good to hear you have told OH - I always say that a problem shared...... and she is supportive of helping you clear this debt. Before you know it you will be debt free and the weight will be gone from your shoulders completely.

Good luck and I look forward to reading your diary and the little escapades of the dachshunds

Lemon_Tree

welcome to the board.
I'd love a dastardly D. we've even picked out a name but just can't have one at the moment

Pippilongstocking

HIya
Where's mutley??????
Welcome to diary land xx

cydney65

Hi all and thanks for popping in.

I will post a SOA but to be honest it’s probably really boring, as we’ve taken lots of the advice on these forums onboard. Also we have separate bank accounts and OH is fantastic with money. But I’ll put it up later in case we have missed anything.

Things we have done to become DFW:
Today I have played free scratch card-20p yay none of those three flapping fishes!!!-checked my online bank and used up the yuky muesli instead of starting the nice new one. The things we do. Last week OH won £100 on the free scratchie and then won £17 pound on bingo! She wanted to put this towards my debt but I refused. So she’s saving it up for a treat for us. So it does happen folks. It’s not all three flapping fish!

I also, unofficially, do £1 PAD to the evil :mad: card, which goes out by standing order once a week. I’m thinking of increasing that to £2 a day next month but need to juggle some figures, which translates to I want to play with my snowball! If anyone asked me for advice (rofl) on getting debt down, then PAD would be my top one combined with snowballing. You don’t even notice it coming out and it all helps.

I do some survey sites and eBay (when I can be bothered to list things). I tried daily clicks but they drove me nutty. Big kudos to those who can do them though. I looked at mystery shopping too but I’m worried about the DWP stopping my benefits and to be honest my condition is so up and down I couldn’t guarantee to be able on any given day.

Aww Lemon Tree what name have you picked? Our two dachs are called Lucy and Edie. They are red miniature smooth-haired dachys and as cunning as they come. We also have an old sheltie girl called Onyx and a cat called Cydney, hence the username. They are all rescued. Fortunately the dogs all love the cheap and cheerful cereal dog food, Cyd is a different matter, but isn’t that cats all over! I always wanted a dachshund like the one in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy-LuLu I think her name was. We are looking at their insurance this year for the first time via Topcashback. What a brilliant site. We are using it as a savings account for xmas.

I’ve just been jiggling numbers and realised that we’ve paid £1000 off my debts since LBM. I might need to celebrate. I'll break out the chocolate :j We’re probably gonna have to look at our mortgage too at some point. It’s fixed ‘til 2011 but my arthritis is getting worse and we have realised we need to move to somewhere more suitable, sooner rather than later. OH is going to ask doc tomorrow about an occupational therapy assessment in case there is some way we can stay here. It never stops eh.


Now going to edit sig and stare at my DFD, cos it may go down just by me doing that :rotfl:

Tixy

Hi Cydney:hello:

Drawn to read by the title of your diary. My dog is my substitute child (and a much preferable option in my opinion) -and my parents substitute grandkids!

Well done on paying off so much so quickly. And well done to OH on that £100 scratch - I know exactly what you mean about those fishes!!

Looking forward to reading your diary.

Tixy

cydney65

Today I have spoken to evil :mad: halifax and m&s about lowering interest rates and any BT deals. They pretty much laughed at me. I then had an email from MBNA declining my LOB application. Oh well, I shall have the last laugh-insert evil laugh here-as I'm reclaiming PPI on evil :mad: card and even if they reject me, I will have been that irritating little itch they had trouble scratching!

Know what you mean Tixy. Last year my 86yr old dad came up here to stay for a couple of weeks. Talk about role reversal, it was really good fun. Plus all the elderly ladies in our close took a shine to him as he's quite the eligible batchelor. He had his own harem! Oh and dogs don't get married and expect you to buy a £1500 wedding dress which is never going to be worn again

Three flapping fishes :rotfl:

cydney65

Well today I have baked banana tea bread to use up all the yucky bananas and also bunged some doggie biscuits in t'oven for the little ones. I made a double batch and froze the surplus so it will be easier next time. I put a little honey in this time. I rotate between carrots, honey and cheese. They're sooo spoilt.

Dearest doggies went to the beach today and while I was clearing up after Lucy, Edie was on her back, legs in the air rolling on some dead fish! Charming. I don't feel very MSE when I spend a fortune on shampoo for the dogs.

This evening DD2 has invited us to look round a house she and SIL want to buy. Hopefully this one will pass a survey :rolleyes:

Hope everyone is well out there in DFW land.

XCydneyX

Lemon_Tree

hi, the names we have picked are either Delilah or Ruffalo (cool street name where we went on our honeymoon), depends if a boy or a girlie. I'd love a minature smooth furred one. we had a standard black and tan smooth furred Dachy and she had the patience of a saint and was wonderful.
Sorry to hear about MBNA, but i'm not surprised. I had a discussion with them once, they really tried it on - we can never refund charges and kept saying i was accusing them of lying. ummmm they were! they just hated the fact i wasn't shouting or swearing, they were in the wrong and i just wouldn't stop until i got what i wanted

TurnaroundSue

cydney65 wrote: »

:j We’re probably gonna have to look at our mortgage too at some point. It’s fixed ‘til 2011 but my arthritis is getting worse and we have realised we need to move to somewhere more suitable, sooner rather than later.

Normally on a fixed rate there are massive penalties if you repay/leave early. Make sure you know what these are BEFORE doing any rash. Maybe your doc can give you a letter which might help your cause on why you need to leave your fixed rate early?

Good luck - you are doing brilliantly - debt free date must have come down quite a bit by now already?

cydney65

Loving those names, Delilah and Ruffalo...fabulous! When we go for a walk along the coast, we often meet up with a lady who has 2 standard dachshunds and a retriever. One of the dachs is a wire-haired lad called Wolfgang and I literally swoon everytime I see him. He is sooo gorgeous and funny.

I wish our two were sweet. Onyx is, but she's old and a bit loopy. They are funny though; Lucy was born with a blanket. All she wants in life is a lap and a cover, but she's cunning with it. If Edie has something and she wants it, Lucy will run to the back door barking, knowing that Edie can't resist, and nick the treat when Edie is otherwise engaged Well done with your debt busting BTW Lemon Tree, 35% paid off is fantastic. :T

Thanks Turnaroundsue, that might be a possibility. OH went to the doc today and he's refering us to social services. It would be nice to be able to stay here as there is always an upstairs room for DD1 (who has aspergers) to stay if, and when, need be. If we do have to move we have our eye on a bungalow 5 doors down. Its due to go on the market within the next 12 months, when the tenants move on, but if we can't do it because of the penalties then thats fine. I'm a great believer in what will be, will be, regarding houses.

Oh and love your signature, it always makes me smile when I see it. I've got the DFD down by four months so far...not that I'm obsessed or anything :rolleyes:

Take care all
XCydneyX