Massive debts

gargrave50

On the plus side, Singapore Airways price for our one way flights to Oz is £1709 compared with Qantas, BA and Emirates varying from £2.4-£3k. Wouldn't that be nice .

Have managed to "secure" a nice little short term rental for our initial accommodation when we arrive in August, in exactly the location we plan to live. Hubby initially was trying to say we should just shack up in a hole somewhere and put up and shut up. I'm not against this - the only fly in the proverbial ointment is that a shack somewhere is not likely to be the catchment area for our son's new school. I don't want to be moving him schools with all the other upheaval going on .

Anyway its not cheap but not much more than our monthly rental will be initially anyway, and furnished rentals are an absolute rarity!!! The only problem is she wants $1k to secure the booking - she has been recommended by many people I know who have used her before. The fact that she might be a total chancer isn't the problem believe it or not , its that I probably couldn't afford to give her $1k before payday. Will email her this evening to see if we could pay $500 now and $500 at the end of the month. She can only say no .

gargrave50

Have set myself a budget of £50 this week to do my food and transport at work the entire week - rather generous I think. Will put £20 of this on the oyster, and raid the cupboards for ingredients.

No doubt I will be rocking some ridiculous lunch combinations at work this week - all in the name of frugality .

gargrave50

Only problem on the budget front is that to make my flight after my shift on Monday night I will need to pay a taxi which is £15. A big old hefty chunk out of my budget . Never mind, will sweet talk my friends and colleagues and see if I can magic up a lift instead. If not, well never mind.

Doing 2 bank nightshifts this week = £400 approx after tax .

gargrave50

Have completed all the surveys in my inbox and qualified for none . Have decided its taking so long to qualify for vouchers etc now that I will continue until reaching the payout limit for each one and then stop, as I'm unlikely to reach the threshold for another before I go.

The nice Aussie lady said yes to my offer of $500 deposit - I now have a base for 10 weeks in Oz from 4th August whilst we organise more permanent accommodation .

gargrave50

Just received an email from my Oz boss confirming everything complete their end - visa should be in my hand in 8 weeks .

never_too_old

Wow its all go.
Your diary was one of the diaries i started to read that inspired me to write my own blog.

Your journey has been amazing and you have achieved so much.
carry on the great work:D

ps do you think you will keep in touch when you are in Oz?:D

rattters

Newbie to MSE :hello:

Browsing around and stumbled upon your thread......that was 12 hours ago.....(fellow madwife having finished nights and couldn't sleep!)

I really can't top what others have said- but it has been like reading a book I just couldn't put down

Utterly, utterly blown away by your journey, you are somewhat of an inspiration to me

May I wish you all the best for you and your family and your life in Oz (one of my colleagues at work is moving to Addelaide in April!)

debtfreewannabe321

I am truly amazed at how you still have things left to sell on ebay :eek::rotfl: AND have over 10 bags of clothes to sell :eek::eek: !!

Seriously though, it all sounds so exciting i hope you decide to come on and update us when you've moved over there....i've loved reading about your story, it has really been positive (for the most part)

dfw

gargrave50

Thanks all for your lovely words. Lord let my words be humble, as some day I may have to eat them .

I do intend to stay in touch "Down Under" (that just sounds so wrong), but probably with a very different head on. I will of course be debt free and frugal to the core .

Think I should start a new thread from Down Under.......suggested names on a postcard please. I'm thinking of such delights as "Julie's Down Under Debt Free Extravaganza".

I intend to continue to amaze, and show the Aussie's how to ebay like a fiend. I might have to start stuffing my mattresses with dollars................

gargrave50

never_too_old wrote: »

Wow its all go.
Your diary was one of the diaries i started to read that inspired me to write my own blog.

Your journey has been amazing and you have achieved so much.
carry on the great work:D

ps do you think you will keep in touch when you are in Oz?:D

NTO,

I never set out to inspire people, I didn't even consider that people might actually read my thread. It was purely a purging exercise, a way to clear my head and try to tackle my horrific debt secret which had engulfed my entire life. I was keeping secrets from my husband, to the point where I had an arrangement to collect the post from the sorting office so it wouldn't be delivered when I wasn't there and he couldn't open it.:o

Along the way, I have learned so much and could never before have admitted that the end might be in sight. Especially with such large debts and in such a short time frame. However, now, today, I can see the light. Its doable. Its not fun, and you have to be realistic. Our social life has been virtually non-existent over the last few years, but look at whats yet to come. There's life in the old dog yet, and a few less zeros on the end of the debt balance.:D

Even if I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd be just as careful with my money as I am with our salaries now. There is no getting away with it - we still spend more than is NECESSARY, but its a massive improvement:T.

I love my life, but moreso I know it will be a happier one now that I've changed my entire mindset. I will forever be in debt (hope he's not expecting £££!) to Martin Lewis and MSE. They might actually just have saved me:D.