Help!

belfastgirl23

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Cleaner - apply the one thing a day principle to your flat. I am a terrible hoarder and hopelessly untidy: my flat was pretty good when I had a system of doing twenty minutes every day. Put a load of laundry on, do the washing up, do some filing, clean the dirtiest thing in the flat (e.g. oven/ windows/ loo). Bitesize chunks!! :T

You could join the flylady thread over on the oldstyle board, they would probably love having a man there

personally i find it scary as anything though

dancingfairy

Glad to hear you are feeling more positive.
If you sort the mobile, the council tax and the buildings insurance that's at least 75 a month extra saved (possibly more? 25 discount on council tax, 40 on the mobile (or more?) and at least 10 on the buildings).
With the gym to go for the chop soon that's over 135 a month extra!
With regards to the life insurance - I would check what you are covered for at work- I would be surprised if you do not have some death in service cover or something. I know you have cancelled it but it is worth having if you have dependents.
Also with the savings you may not need to give up your car - yes you'll be debt free quicker but you might be able to trade it in for a cheaper model (get it checked by a mechanic first if buying second hand) or use it less and use public transport more or car share or take it off the road for a few months and see how you get on (remember to declare it as off the road though if you are taking it off the road for a bit) - don't take it off the road too long but keep it as it will rust up after a while but after a few months you should be in a position to judge whether you need it or not.
You are not in such a drastic position that you have to cancel everything and not have a life - you just need to make enlightened choices about where to spend your money (or not) and make sure you are getting value for money.
I do think looking at one aspect a day would be quite good and seeing how much you are saving should spur you on a lot.
You'll be laughing all the way to the bank in no time.
Yes having a cleaner sounds fab - is it worth the 55 a month to you? can you make sacrifices somewhere else to be able to keep the cleaner? it's a luxury but as I said above it depends very much on how determined you are to get debt free - unfortunately with your level of debt it may take a while so don't burn out on the way - alllow yourself a few treats - just maybe just not quite so many.
df

Fire_Fox

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

You could join the flylady thread over on the oldstyle board, they would probably love having a man there

personally i find it scary as anything though

Flylady makes me feel inadequate.

spendaholicinseattle

You lot are brilliant!

I have just phoned the council who are going to send me a form for single person discount which I can have back dated about a year to when my lodger moved out!

spendaholicinseattle

sashanut wrote: »

Wish I had seen your thread earlier - could have done with some real French insults to throw at the Catalans......but they would have to be RL ones :rotfl:I guess they are mostly Aussies & insults are unversal though:D ps do you support Salford Reds ....or some other RL team?

Good luck with your debt-free journey.....sounds like you are taking control in time to prevent real problems later. FWIW I fecently felt I was more or less getting nowhere, then re-read my first hesitant posts from 3 yrs ago. I might not yet be debt-free, but wow I felt better after reading how bad I felt in the beginning.:D

Do keep us posted on your progress! Ah, can I suggest the Payment a Day thread - really keeps you focused on the job in hand:T

I once shouted something very rude in French at France's Christophe Lamaison as he was about to take a conversion - he turned round and laughed!

spendaholicinseattle

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Is your flat freehold or leasehold? If it's leasehold why are you paying buildings insurance? You normally pay this as a block to the freeholder or managing agent. Bills generally: we are two in a two bedroom flat. My DD for electricity is £34 a month (no gas), mobile phone £15, mobile internet £15 (no landline), food/ cleaning stuff £85 a month each.

See if you can reduce the package you are on at the gym. If not start going regularly - it's a great alternative to a social life, you might meet some fit women (or fit men if you are so inclined), will massively reduce your feelings of stress and even depression over your money situation. You'd also get a 'free' shower which would reduce your water and electricity bills at home!

Cleaner - apply the one thing a day principle to your flat. I am a terrible hoarder and hopelessly untidy: my flat was pretty good when I had a system of doing twenty minutes every day. Put a load of laundry on, do the washing up, do some filing, clean the dirtiest thing in the flat (e.g. oven/ windows/ loo). Bitesize chunks!! :T

I also agree that you should look into taking in a lodger - you move into the smaller room and let the larger one. You will get more money and they are more likely to stay out of your hair if they have a decent sized room.

Entertainment .... you have your own flat and you have satellite TV. Beer, Pizza (NOT takeaway) and sports night at your flat? Wine and a candlelit dinner for the woman you are trying to get into bed? Wii/ X-Box/ PS3 and curry (homemade) night at your flat? :beer:

Some brilliant ideas there FF! I have had a lodger for ages until last year - I had had a few problems with them though and I really need the space. Made a lot of difference to my budget though. Cleaner wise, I really do need to get off my !!!! more...

My flat is a leasehold, but I've just checked and it appears I am responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings.

spendaholicinseattle

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

Well done! What's the plan for tomorrow?

how's the spending diary coming? I was horrified by mine when I first started. In fact probably if I did it again right now I'd be horrified all over again...

I have started my spending diary today - scary! I haven't spent much though, 30p to park my car, £4 for coffee for me and a mate, £5 on lunch... hang on... there goes a tenner

Done Life Insurance
Done SKY today - it took me 15 minutes of "going through the options" with the SKY numpty, grr! But that's £36.50 a month gone!
Tomorrow's plan is to sort out my buildings insurance

belfastgirl23

spendaholicinseattle wrote: »

I have started my spending diary today - scary! I haven't spent much though, 30p to park my car, £4 for coffee for me and a mate, £5 on lunch... hang on... there goes a tenner

Done Life Insurance
Done SKY today - it took me 15 minutes of "going through the options" with the SKY numpty, grr! But that's £36.50 a month gone!
Tomorrow's plan is to sort out my buildings insurance

Yay you, you MSE

Verbatim

Great reading your thread and seeing how much you've done in such a short time.

Echo the views on here about Flylady.

Should we think about a flylady lite thread??

spendaholicinseattle

What/who is flylady?