What postive step have you taken today - 14/03?

LookingAhead

I have laid a plan for myself starting with:

I just set up an online payment to clear my Sainsburys VISA in full after March's pay day...but leaving the money in my bank account long enough so that I don't accrue OD interest....for as long as possible!

I have also decided to stop using my cheque account (which was money transferred across for "me") as the overdraft interest rate was lots more than the Bank account. So, I have arranged to pay £200 in at the end of March and again at the end of April and that should clear it to £0!
The £200 standing order to that account has been cancelled for after April.

I will take any cash out that I need for *me* out of the Bank account but I am a woman possessed at the moment for trying to make pennies and not spend them so hopefully I won't make too much of a dent in it.

I am currently working on a plan to reduce Bank account overdraft to £0 (and into the black!!) by Summer and then I can start throwing money at the credit cards.

john_kent

Bagge dup £7 in 1 2 and 5p coins ready for building society. Once I have 100 quid I will pay of debts or maybe treat my girlfriend who I feel I have been neglecting a little. Solucky she is not materialistic. A smal bunch of lowers with a nice letter means a miilion pounds to her.

amosworks

Fantastic thread!!!

Today I hassled the employment tribunal service for the decision on my unpaid wages case, chased up some money owed for work done through my business, and used an OS recipe to make bread & butter pudding as a treat, saving me money and using up a few things lying around the house. (I'm still doing the February "use up month" challenge - never realised I had so much stuff to use up!! :-O lol). I replied to a letter from Royal Mail about a compensation claim for a missing eBay parcel I was due to receive.

Tonight I'm going to watch the latest Star Gate DVD whilst ironing until the wee hours of the morning and prepare a list of things for eBay.

piglet6

John_Kent - your girlfriend sounds lovely and I'm sure she understands and would rather you were debt-free than riddled with extra debt on account of treating her to expensive gifts. I totally agree with her - a letter from you means far more than £100 of expensive, but impersonal, flowers could ever mean...

I firmly believe that its the thought that counts (and much prefer a "cheap" bunch of daffodils or a pot of £1.99 hyacinths, knowing that our money is being put towards clearing our bills). To be honest, the thought of sending £40-50 worth of flowers (which will be dead by this time next week...) makes me feel rather sick...!!

Piglet

Littlemiss-lotsofdebt

Yesterday I applied for my credit file via the 30 day trial at Experian, paid £80 off my Next bill and worked out that it should be paid off by September - :A and then I'm closing the account!!

Also should be getting a tiny pay rise from April of £94.00 per month - what's that after tax? About £60? Anyway, I'm going to stick that in the bank and come August, it'll pay for my MOT, car tax and service.

PaleScene

I didn't do any useful moneysaving things yesterday unless you count a very quick check of the banking to make sure nothing was going red.
But I did check up when the MOT is due and booked it.
Today I intend to subvert a cash spend by making cards instead.

I was told a tip from a time-management expert which is a good one - and which the various 'goal' threads (daily spend, weekly goals, now also this one ) support.

Make lists, cross things off as you get them done. (That's the step that most people know!)
BUT rather than be disheartened at all you haven't achieved, note down another column which is the other things you achieved instead - because we don't appreciate all that we do manage :A

skintchick

Littlemiss-lotsofdebt wrote:

Also should be getting a tiny pay rise from April of £94.00 per month - what's that after tax? About £60? .

I work on the basis of take 25% off, so I'd reckon £70 or thereabouts unless you're a higher rate taxpayer (I'm guessing you're not).

Verbatim

Yesterday I walked to the building society to pay in my water rates refund and closed my old style book which had 19.01 in it once all the interest from past years added in. The interest rate was a measly1.2%. It's now in my esavings a/c earning a much better 4.55%. Am trying to get enough saved to pay my known expenses up to September. As my income will be much lower and my expenses higher, not to mention the debts accumulated last year this is proving challenging!

I must start a thread.................

Verbatim

Oh yes plus I walked back via a cheap Turkish shop for cheese and olives (really cheap), around trip of about 3 miles so good execise too.

scottishspendaholic

PaleScene wrote:

Make lists, cross things off as you get them done. (That's the step that most people know!)
BUT rather than be disheartened at all you haven't achieved, note down another column which is the other things you achieved instead - because we don't appreciate all that we do manage :A

Hi PaleScene,

What a fantastic idea! I am being mentored/life coached (through work) at the moment and was talking to my mentor about this yesterday and how I feel really p*ssed off with myself and feel like a failure when I don't get everything ticked off. At work and in my own life I get really disheatened when I don't manage to achieve EVERY single thing in my countless lists and that can be very counter productive. Sometimes the reason I've not completed everything is that I've done something else useful instead or something has happened to make the original idea unworkable.

Things like not having made my 3rd soup of the day 'cos I've run out of stock cubes, not having got as far in all my craft making (even though I've worked really hard) etc etc make me really annoyed with myself and I forget to count the 2 soups, a quiche and some cookies as a real achievement or all the crafts I HAVE got done.

She also suggested a 'you time' list - write down a big list of things I like doing (on my own) - e.g. go and sit by the beach, write a letter, phone my mum etc and make time for this each week - I am so busy trying to set up my wee business at the moment that I forget to make time for myself.

Thanks - I'm going to give this a go!

scottishspendaholic x