Back to Black - XSpender's 6 Year Plan

XSpender

Hello Fellow MSErs:hello:
After reading so many of your motivational and interesting diaries I have decided I too need some help in the motivation department so have decided to start my own in the hope of tapping into that lovely support out there.
A little bit of background....
Me, the OH and 2 little dogs had an IVA agreed in January of this year. We are both in our late thirties and have overspent and ran up credit our entire adult lives, which sounds like we did it without a care in the world which after lots of sleepless nights was not the case I can tell you!
Since we met 5.5 years ago we have tried unsuccessfully to try and sort out our overspending with consolidation loans and, after our LBM last summer, attempts at a self managed DMP and have cut back using many of the tips picked up from the old style forum. I have become quite a voucher vulture and carry my calculator around Tesc0s with pride!
We were just about managing to pay everything when my OH had to take a £500/month pay cut at work which meant that we had more going out then coming in. We began looking at the possibility of an IVA last year and after speaking to the CCCS and others we decided this was the best option for us (we are homeowners and my job means BKO is not an option). I find that many of the comments on the IVA board quite negative. I understand that it has not worked for some people and that they may have been miss sold but the ‘Yer all doomed!’ comments get me down so I am starting my diary on the DFW board as that is what I am, I wanna be debt free!
My previous user name was Free in Three as when I first looked at an IVA I, naively, thought I would be able to have it all completed in three years. Now I know that is not the case. It will be six years as we are in negative equity. I am in it for the long haul! The name change is part of the new start too.
This is our opportunity to re-educate ourselves about money and get to the route of our overspending. It will be tough and a long slog but I am determined to get back to black by the time I am 45.
Although I cannot do anything to reduce the £82,823 unsecured debt and OH £4,318 HP that is in my IVA except ensure I do everything I can to meet the payment every month come what may we have £31,000 owing on a secured loan that I want to settle in full at the same time the IVA ends. This means I need to find ways of increasing my income and shaving my budget to put money aside each month to save up the settlement figure.
Since we started the IVA we have cut back a lot but are still overspending in certain areas and have saved nothing towards the secured loan and I am annoyed with myself for not sticking to the plans I made in January.:mad: This is where I will need your help and a slapped hand; kick up the bot sometimes too.
I hope my first post has not bored you all to tears!
All comments, suggestions and tips much appreciated.
Thanks for reading this far. I will post my SOA soon.
XSpender

XSpender

Oh dear

I am half way through doing my SOA and the post has arrived. TV licence gone up, water gone up and gas and leccy gone up £30 month!!!:eek: I think I need a lie down!

Hmmm, may hang off a bit on the SOA til I rethink the budget. I need to start looking at some comparison sites as well to see if I can get the fuel bill back down.

This weekend's tasks:

1)Find a notebook and start keeping a spending diary - £140 month taken out in cash on average the last 4 months and I need to find out where it is going as nothing to show for it.

2)OH to sell play station at game. Xbox has already gone!

3)Look in to selling 2 cameras on Ebay or to a second hand shop/cash converters. Might not get much but will be more than I get with them in the cupboard and they haven't been used for years.

4)Plan shopping and meals for big shop next week as got £12 voucher from Mr T and £5 from M&S.

5)Write to IVA co with updates on wages, bills etc

6)Save electricity and gas! Need to be ruthless about turning stuff off and not put heating on. Ever!! :rotfl:

We have £10 left until I get paid on Wednesday so I feel a few NSDs coming along. There's food in so may splash out on 4 beers for my OH as we are having to miss a night out with friends due to lack of funds and training for a sporting event and I think his team will be relegated this weekend!

XSpender

jacey98

:T hi xspender

just wanted to say hello and welcome you to the diarys there are so many wonderful people on here to keep you motivated and offer really good advice. we will all get there in the end.

jc x

XSpender

Hi JC

Thanks very much for your encouraging words.

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend. Let's hope the sun shines!

XSpender

AlwaysWorking

I just wanted to say "Hi!" and wish you the best of luck. You sound really positive and I'm learning that that's half the battle!!

prada_man

hi xpender

best of luck with ur DFW journey :beer:

XSpender

Many thanks Always Working and Prada man!

No spend day today, which is a start!

Worked out next weeks shopping list on mysupermarket to make the most of my £12 voucher. If I have a list and take the calculator I won't go crackers. Make sure I am well fed too or lots of treats will 'accidently' fall into the trolley.

Went to the library to borrow some more books. I seem to read more when I borrow books than when I buy them. I wonder why that is? Having a selection of books in stops me buying magazines which I have stopped doing to save money.

BIL has taken OH out for a night out tonight and is paying for him though I will have to pick him up later. BIL has split up with his partner so is at a bit of a lose end. We think it's for the best but I know he is finding it a bit tough being on his own.

I am off to water the veggies in the garden.

Enjoy your evening everyone x

prada_man

xspender...... uve triggered something with me... ive also spent £0 today.... which is a very unusual occurance...:D... ive not missed anything in life either ... went to see my uncle who ive hardly seen in last 20 years... it cost me nothing but meant a lot to me & him...best things in life r defo free

im also gonna spend £0 tomorrow...hopefully why spend when u dont need anything :huh:

every penny is a prisoner

:j

XSpender

:hello:

Didn't get far with my task list at the weekend but had a low spend day on Sunday, £14 on beer and groceries and another NSD on Monday. It's amazing how little you actually need when you don't have the means to buy it. If I had some money this weekend it would have got spent! I had to say no to another invitation on Sunday, to meet up with my friend and her family as we would have had to buy a pub lunch and drinks and we just didn't have any money.:( There is £3.08 in the account until payday tomorrow.

At the moment because we are training for a sporting event I can use that as a reason not to go out when we don't have any money but that event takes place on Sunday so I will have to think of another excuse!!:p

OH and I are both away with work this week which is another expense as we have to pay for meals upfront. I can claim some of my costs back on expenses or use my corporate CC but OH will have to pay for the meal.

Once Sunday's race is out of the way I can concentrate on selling what bits we have to start off the secured savings. Have decided to ebay the play station as should get more for it but this will have to wait until next week. Have a full set of hardly used scuba gear to sell and a couple of bits of furniture. We don't have enough other stuff to sell to make a car boot worth the cost of the pitch and I don't seem to have much luck selling stuff on Ebay.

Not expecting to have any NSD after day as a very busy week and need meals out wed, thurs, sat and sunday and grocery shopping friday.:eek:

I won't be able to update my diary until Friday so I have set myself the task of keeping a spending diary properly this week. I am always a bit slap dash with this. Start off well and then start missing stuff.

Prada Man - glad to hear you had a nice no spend day with your uncle. I hope your week is filled with lots of no spend days!!:D

XSpender

XSpender

Phew! Pay day has finally arrived!!:j

I have been away for a couple of days with work and have ended up spending £20 on drinks, lunches and snacks which is annoying but necessary. Airport food is neither healthy nor cheap!

Away this weekend so will need to pay for a meal on Saturday night and drinks/snacks on the train on the way home. I am competing in a sporting event and won't be able to pack drinks and snacks either and will need to eat and drink quite a bit before I get home.

OH got paid a little less this month as his money is made up of bonuses and what not so it is never the same two months in a row. We need to be careful this month and not spend everything in the first two weeks and then have nothing left at the end of the month. As well as going away this weekend, OH has 2 nights out planned, we are off to a concert together one weekend and have a family birthday to pay for. If we pace ourselves and don't spend on anything extra we have enough money to cover eveything - just!

I have rejoined the grocery challenge. I recently looked at what we spent on groceries and it was about half of what it used to be before we had our LBM, about £220/mnth for us two and the two dogs. I know we can cut back a bit further as I haven't been monitoring it and meal planning since I started training for this weekend's event. I find if I watch my grocery spending I watch my other spending too.

I started my spending diary on Wed when I got paid and have stuck at it so far. I a hoping to keep this up as I really want(and need) to see where the cash I take out goes.

XSpender

jacey98

hi

good work so far, i really need to look at my food shopping always seems to be too high think it is all the stupid bits i dont need that manage to fall into the trolley!!!!!

i have found though after a couple of months of reading and posting my diary that i am def thinking about my spending way more then i ever did.

you def need to do things like the concert and stuff or it all gets a bit too much much but like you say if you pace yourself it will be fine.

jc x