Hypno's approach to life, the universe and debtbusting.....

kirstenc

You wouldnt believe how much it helps hypno...and some of the things you do automatically as ways to save or make money are like revelations to people starting out...I am religiously following the coloured squares here, although I have made a couple tweaks, and am aiming for an average of £75 a day over each month...last month was my first try and i averaged £50...not quite my target but its about twice as much as my minimum payments and I have cleared £1k off my overdraft because of it!!

anyway, huge post over, I hope you feel a bit better, and that you have a bit of you time this weekend!

kirstenc

haha, my post wasnt as huge as i thought lol

hypno06

wow, kirsten, reducing the overdraft by £1000 is pretty darned good

Talking of squares - my grid is still alive and well, although a little dog eared at the edges because I transport it regularly from room to room and from pile to pile, and even from home to work

InaPickle

Can I ask, please, what is this about coloured squares? I think I've missed this one and it could prove useful. x

hypno06

Basically you make a grid in word or excel or something, and give each square a "value". Then when you have paid off or saved that amount, you can colour in a square.

So, say you have a loan of £1000 you want to pay off, then you might make a 10x10 grid with each square worth £10. Every time you pay off £10, you colour in a square!

So, when I started mine, I still had £50k debt, and I also want to save £50k towards moving house, so I made a grid of 2000 squares, where every square is worth £50.

Every time I pay off or save £50, I colour in a square - when the whole page is coloured in, I can seriously think about moving house!

InaPickle

hypno06 wrote: »

Basically you make a grid in word or excel or something, and give each square a "value". Then when you have paid off or saved that amount, you can colour in a square.

So, say you have a loan of £1000 you want to pay off, then you might make a 10x10 grid with each square worth £10. Every time you pay off £10, you colour in a square!

So, when I started mine, I still had £50k debt, and I also want to save £50k towards moving house, so I made a grid of 2000 squares, where every square is worth £50.

Every time I pay off or save £50, I colour in a square - when the whole page is coloured in, I can seriously think about moving house!

Cool! Thanks, Hypno! I think I might have to set my sights a little lower than you, though: £5 a time, I think! :rotfl:

Karmacat

My grid is still going strong - I got the idea from Hypno too. Mine are £25 a pop, with £10k needing to be filled in. Its from last December, and the total (this is of actual cash, not vouchers or freebies) is £1160, and for quite a few months I haven't really been trying, because of family circumstances. Its great to *know* what can be done tho.

hypno06

InaPickle wrote: »

Cool! Thanks, Hypno! I think I might have to set my sights a little lower than you, though: £5 a time, I think! :rotfl:

That's the great thing about it - you can set it for whatever suits you!

When DD was saving to go to China, she had 200 squares of £5 to fill in - which as quite achievable for her, and she was very motivated to fill in the next square!

My grid has so many squares simply because I have a huge amount of debt to pay (although it is greatly reducing) but I wanted something that covered the big picture all on one page!

Get colouring!!

Hopeful1

Hi Hypno! I decided to look for your thread after hearing DT talk about it in her diary. I read some of the start but haven't had chance to catch up with it all. I've picked up that you've worked hard though and are inspiring lots of MSE-ers so well done you!

Hope you feel healthy again soon, i shall look forward to following your diary from now on

InaPickle

hypno06 wrote: »

That's the great thing about it - you can set it for whatever suits you!

When DD was saving to go to China, she had 200 squares of £5 to fill in - which as quite achievable for her, and she was very motivated to fill in the next square!

My grid has so many squares simply because I have a huge amount of debt to pay (although it is greatly reducing) but I wanted something that covered the big picture all on one page!

Get colouring!!

I've just created one and coloured it in. Alas, there's still a lot to go, but at leat it helps.

I'm only working part-time at the minute (stoopid studying! ) so I can't afford to put too much cash aside, but I'm fairly sure that I can manage to up the value of the squares when I'm working full-tme and earning a bit more.

Also, just out of nosiness, I spent a while living in China. Where did your daughter go to?