Clawing back - the second half

Claw_back_money

You might not be near £0 LT, but your balance is falling incredibly fast, I don't think it will be long.
May I ask, were your loans to fund a 'thing' (thinks - sportscar, conservatory, incredibly lovely crafting provisions....)? I just wondered, fine to tell me to not be so nosey..

Cambelt and extra bit cost £430+ :mad: Told OH that he can't even think about getting the scrape on the bumper fixed this month. I will either have to move some money out of the joint savings, or use some of the income from job #2 or the election to stop the bank account going overdrawn.

Cbm

milann

Ouch to 430+

If there is a strange red glow reported around here today - it's a rare combination of events that may not happen again together for a while - I washed my car yesterday (1st time since last summer) and the sun shone on it today LOL - not for long but it did!!

Lemon_Tree

lol to the red glow.

CBM my loans were consolidation loans for: cars (nothing showy but new), kitting out a house, a new kitchen, training in my career, most of the time it was just for living (on a single salary) whilst i was training and earning really bad wages. Unfortunately for my debt i had a holiday to Oz only months after my first LBM but i did enjoy it and it was the turning point in my life. My crafting habit has held me back a little during my journey but it only really started once i was on this road. Until very recently i'd say i was working at 95% efficiency clearing debt, now it's probably at 90% but i need to get back on track as the end is in sight and should the ttc bit come off then the more that's gone the better. The only trouble is OH likes to help with the shopping and wants silly things like holidays
i think my biggest folly was taking consolidation loans and not getting rid of the cards and then building them back up as i couldn't really afford to live on my own whilst paying off debts and studying.

sorry for the ramble, sometimes it's strange looking back and seeing how i got myself into this mess.

milann

Not a ramble LT - it's that spiral again - I did similar consilidation loans then 'needed' the cards and then more loans - in hindsight not good to do - but at the time an answer to everything and it was always going to be the 'last time' until life threw something to scuppa the plan!!!!!!!!!! Corr - that sounds very cynical but it's what happened in my case.

Milann

Lemon_Tree

millann, i know where you're coming from, luckly nothing was thrown at me that caused me to default, be late paying or even to affect my credit rating, i just needed to do something to get myself out of the mess and i think i was ready to make the changes. Lucky i guess because i have a feeling that not long after that i would have really come unstuck and landed in some pretty deep water, if you don't think £48k is deep enough

Claw_back_money

Scary really, to think that we can think of ourselves as lucky ones - having found this site before running out of credit, getting appalling credit ratings, becoming bankrupt, losing homes etc. At the point of LBM I didn't feel at all 'lucky' - although two years later I do, very. I once heard someone say 'we are all 5 bad decisions away from the gutter' - the gutter being alone and homeless, and I can believe that actually.

Money wise no change here, I'm keeping a very careful eye on the joint account now the money has come out for the car, I will definitely need to transfer money in, so will try and keep expenses (ie groceries) to the minimum. Car tax is due at the end of the month too! At least payday is the 28th, a little early - that's my birthday too .

Cbm

Sun_Addict

Hi Cbm - having a catch up with your diary. Glad everything is going ok. Have a great debt free weekend! How brilliant it is that you'll soon be celebrating your birthday debt free!

Claw_back_money

Hi SA - nice to hear from you - how are things? Yes it will be nice to have a DF birthday, it was rubbish getting given money and gift vouchers last year and for it to go on quite sensible stuff, this time I feel I can be a bit more decadent - what I'd really like is some sort of massage (how extravagent!) and if I get given money that's what I'd like to put it towards.

Yesterday I went to get my haircut and the hairdresser asked if I'd lost weight - no way - and she said I looked very different. I didn't think she'd understand - "well we've just finished paying off over 15K of debt and this is a totally guilt free haircut" :rotfl: so didn't mention it. Its funny to think I look different though!

I also got paid for the election and banked that money. So after the haircut I went shopping - for clothes - and got a pair of smartish per una jeans, a really pretty top and a cardigan for work from Wallis at the BHS sale - so much of my stuff has got holes in and is going in the recycling bin. Also a pair of slippers (we don't wear shoes inside and the sole has split in mine - v uncomfortable, and, a pair of jeans that were reduced to £3 in M&S; they are too long but I thought I'd cut and hem them to cropped jeans. I spent about £75 which is my May £40 clothing budget and part of the election money, so I'm happy with what I spent unless M&S have a sale on in the next couple of weeks. I seriously need to lose my flabby belly - why do changing rooms have so many mirrors :eek:

OH has gone shopping for bamboo canes. Today I am going to plant out some of the seedlings that have gone bonkers and try to pot on some of the others that can't go out yet, and have a sort through my wardrobe and throw away some of the clothes that aren't fit to be seen.

Have a great weekend
Cbm

milann

I'd have love to have seen the hairdressers face if you had have told her why you look different - funnily enough I went to get my hair cut today. I won a raffle prize to a more up-market salon than I ever went to about 18 months ago and it was so nice I have gone back since every 8 weeks or so. I was listening to the general conversation around as I have mine done - holidays to every corner of the earth - nights out at fancy clubs etc. I keep stum and people watch - not sure how - caravan holiday to Cornwall with as many vouchers for trips and meals as I can muster plus a few bbq's on site for cheap eats - would have gone down - ah well how the other life live!! I do like people watching

The shopping trip sounds great - know what you mean about those mirrors though.

I like the idea of the massage too - a definite birthday treat

Enjoy the shopping trips and being debt free - what a better incentive to lose a few more pounds all those lovely clothes out there and a bit of cash to splash on them!!

Milann

Claw_back_money

Milann people watching in an upmarket salon sounds lovely, hope they do a nice haircut too :rotfl: I started going somewhere a bit more expensive too - I had two 50% off vouchers and by the end of the second cut I was hooked. I think it was the head massage and lovely cup of tea that did it, although the staff are lovely and the woman who cuts my hair really listens and doesn't seem to mind that I am not going to straighten / curl / fuss or even blowdry it between times!

LT - are you around? Its a funny time to be working for a LA isn't it... reading some of the stuff on here I feel like the scum of the earth At our place jobs are being threatened plus they are looking at reducing redundancy payments - folk that have worked for the LA for 30 years in low-paid admin jobs (who work way above their contracted hours) are really anxious, and there are already senior managers mega stressed about how they can meet statutory responsibilities to keep CYP safe..... :eek: with the problems recruiting and vacancy rate so high. Staff from top to bottom are so-o-o anxious and unhappy. I'm glad in a way I can work my funny hours from home and keep out the way of it all, although then it gives me space to worry!

Cbm