Too scared to work out what I owe

moozie_2

Hello everyone :wave:

I thought it has been a while since my last update and really felt the need to put my small progress and some thought on this thread that became my complete lifesaver.

Things are immensely better for me than they were just over 2 months ago. I never thought I’d be saying that but there you go: I feel in control. It has been a steep learning curve so far and I can honestly say I am learning something new every time I log on to MSE. The most important being that once I faced my problems, the greatest problem was out of the way.

My total debt came to £16,592 :eek: in February. Scary at first but I took the decision to deal with it by taking the 2 loans out of the total figure for the time being. My reasoning behind that is that
a. they are on DD and I’ve never missed a payment,
b. I can overpay on one of them but if I wanted to do that I’d have to make a formal arrangement with them and lose the flexibility of using that ‘extra’ amount for anything else if need be.

So looking at the rest – 2 credit cards, overdraft, catalogue – the total became £4,252. Here is where I became really focused. Don’t get me wrong, I had seen the ‘light’ before but having that single figure on my mind, helped me immensely. Once this is gone, I will put all my energy in overpaying the first loan and then save to pay early the second one. That’s the plan

I moved all of it to 0% interest and the first 0% credit card runs out this July (£2,346). The way I decided to clear as much of this was by opening a savings account (4.75% AER) and put as much as I can in it between now and the July deadline. I know the interest won't be much but every penny helps! In the meantime, I’m only paying the minimum to the 0% interest deals. The savings account has been open for 4 weeks and I’ve saved £380 so far. Still a long way to go but apart from being frugal with my spending, I’ve got my Amazon sales (£21 so far :T ), my ebay sales (some ending next week) and Quidco earnings (£70 so far :T ) to go into it yet so I am hoping for at least £1,000 by July. I am planning to transfer the remainder of that credit card into another 0% - here’s hoping!

The other area I am tackling slowly is my current account overdraft. It’s silly that all my non-loan debt is 0% yet my overdraft is at 10.49% and I seem to be into it all the time. Having overcome my fear of checking statements and logging to internet banking , I am really on top of my spending now. I don’t withdraw cash more than once a week (seemed to be an every second day occurrence before MSE) and I keep a spending diary of where it all goes. I do forget to update it on some days but then I have at least 2 non spend days a week and I give myself £10 for Mon-Fri so even if I don’t write it down, it’s not a massive amount – but I am working on remembering to write it all down! :A

I checked through my statements recently and here is what my current looked before MSE on paydays:
Nov: -486
Dec: -383
Jan: -399
Feb: -277
Mar: -372

This month it was -108 which is very much an improvement and in May, I estimate it will be -68. In June, I will be in positive credit when I get paid and the plan is to stay in it – wish me luck!

So I do feel I am making progress. Certainly my OH has noticed a great change in me. We had a week off work last week and we did lots of things which were free but also a few things that weren’t. I think it’s true to say it was the cheapest week we’ve ever had off but more importantly, it was the only week we’ve ever had off where we know exactly how much it cost. I think it was the first ever time where we went out for the day and I made packed lunch for us – unheard of pre-MSE!

OH has been really supportive, I am just very lucky about how he has reacted to the new me. I was so concerned about telling him at first but, thinking back now, our relationship is so much better for it. He’s making a lot of positive changes in his own finances and he’s been getting me little treats here and there, like a handbag, a CD, a DVD, to ‘reward’ me and in his words: to make me feel normal, not deprived. What I haven’t told him is that I don’t feel deprived but every little treat helps so I’ll let him carry on The last thing he bought me was a wedding magazine - which is a great incentive to pay everything off so we can get married in (DFW) style!

Apart from the financial side of things though, I am making slow progress with MS Old Style. This week, I batched cook 3 different dishes which are now labeled and frozen for those days that cooking after work is too much of a chore – which is the main reason why our grocery bills is so high. In March, first month I kept a tab, it was over £250! :eek: This month it’ll be under £200 but still too much. I will bring it to under £150 if it kills me :mad:

There have been low points of course, it wouldn’t be normal otherwise, would it? I think the biggest one was when earlier this month we were told at work about the salary increases this year. It turned out I’d be receiving £63 net more every month. I quickly wrote that into my calculations but only a few days ago my boss told me that she doesn’t need me to do some of her work which I have been doing for about a year so my salary will drop £40 a month (for doing that work) plus the £63. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she added ‘knowing you, you’d probably been saving that £40 a month in a nice little savings account so you won’t miss it’. If only….

I have considered getting a Saturday job to supplement my debt repayments but it’s written in my contract that I can’t get additional paid employment. So I am now actively looking for a job that will pay more.

There is still a lot to be done:
I have a hell of a lot of stuff to least on ebay, including a few pieces of clothing with the tags still on.
I must start putting aside money for presents/emergencies
I have a lot of work to do on MS Old Style. Grocery bill in particular.
And lots more!

I put my new figures in www.whatsthecost.comthis morning and if I carry on the way I have, I should be debt free in December 2007. This is an incredible improvement from the original date of February 2009 which is the month the final loan expires. It really did give me the most wonderful boost seeing that :j

To anyone doubting they can do it, take it one day at a time and find a pace of change that suits you. No one else lives your life but you. Some days will always be harder than others but the bottom line is that someone will always be worse off than you and there will always someone to offer support here.

Finding MSE was the best thing that happened to me in years. I just coundn’t thank Martin and all of you enough :T :T :T :T

southernscouser

moozie wrote:

Certainly my OH has noticed a great change in me. We had a week off work last week and we did lots of things which were free

*wink wink, nudge nudge*

:rotfl:

You are doing superbly moozie! Well done hun! :j :T :beer:

LookingAhead

Trust you SS!! :rotfl:

Yes well done Moozie....brilliant to see your progress in writing like that - you continue to inspire.

Really glad you joined DFW...if you hadn't of and posted your original thread then maybe I wouldn't have joined when I did as well (I had to post to say well done if you remember!?) and I would have continued hurtling into financial oblivion as we speak (errr...type..!).

Well done again and long may your great progress continue.
xxx Hugz! xxx

kathfisch

Well done Moozie, you're making great progress!! :T

I still remember when you started the thread, doesn't feel like so long ago actually. You've become a proper DFW and have achieved so much in such a short time, well done you :T

gallygirl

Lewby wrote:

I pour over my spread sheets almost every night .. almost wishing the debt to reduce in front of my eyes but it does keep me in control to be reminded of the task ahead. DD&D - My OH has started to be trained as well! He has stopped saying 'I want' and has got used to having his own 'mini-budget'. He went out for a drink the other night and came back with more money than he went out with ... don't know how it happened and too afraid to ask!! (Think he bought a round for someone else and kept the change ... nothing more sinister!)

Ahem...... he wasn't the handsome man I saw on the street corner showing off his legs was he..... afraid I couldn't resist.....

Moozie, re your post tonight..... crikey!!!! What happened to the frightened little !!!!!cat who joined the site a few months ago.... you've turned into a raging lion!!!! Well done, you're an inspiration to us all:T :T :T :T

moozie_2

southernscouser wrote:

*wink wink, nudge nudge*

:rotfl:

You are doing superbly moozie! Well done hun! :j :T :beer:

SS, thank you and only you would come up with that :shocked: :rolleyes: :rotfl:

LookingAhead, I remember your first post to me clearly. You suggested I checked over my wardrobe using Trinny and Suzannah's books. Finally did that this weekend and I have found 1 or 15 hardly/not worn items to auction off. Thank you again :T

Thank you Kathfisch. It seems like months and months to me for some reason - maybe because so much has happened. Proper DFW eh....I can live with that 'title'

Ali007 thank you :T I am so pleased the frightened cat left me for pastures new - I much prefer the raging lion and it was about time the change over happened. All thanks to you guys :T

Chell

:T :T Well done, you are doing great. :T :T

scottishspendaholic

Hey moozie,

You go girl! You are doing so well - I'm really proud of you. I feel a lot of empathy with a lot of things you have said.

Please give yourself a HUGE pat on the back and have some wine or choc or a nice bath - you DESERVE it!

Keep posting - I look forward to your posts.

scottishspendaholic x

moozie_2

Thanks Chelltune, I really appreciate it

scottishspendaholic, I feel the same about your posts. Definitely a lot of empathy and a lot of cheering you on! Thank you


I've just worked out it's 13 days to payday - i.e the day where more of the debts can be paid off :j Never in a million years did I think I'd look forward to payday for that reason! MSE for you

**purpleprincess**

Sing along now everybody in the tune of we're all family "We're all debt free wannabes, we've got all our pals here to help!!" (doesn't really rhyme though!!) Could try "I'm a debt free wannabe, I've got all my wannabe pals here with me!!!"

I think I might post a SOA somewhere and see if I can get some more ideas on how to free up some extra cash.

Go moozie!