Buddiebabe's SOA / Debt Diary

buddiebabe

Hey Seaxwyn

What dates your birthday? Your more than welcome to come and share my party i dont mind in fact the more the merrier!!!!

Im still finding it a struggle to make my minimum payments every month but have just managed to survive selling things through ebay. My other half is giving me £50 a week towards the bills (gas, electricity, sky, council tax and insurances) and £20 a week towards food. He is not paying anything towards the mortgage or the debts as they were all there before i met him and i wouldnt expect him to pay anything towards them. Having that extra money coming in is good in that i have less money to find but its still going to be a struggle each month.

To be entirely honest i don't know how i've managed to do it for so long. Part of me just wants to give up and stop worrying about it but mostly i just want the debt gone and to be able to have some money to spend on me for a change without worrying how im going to pay the next bill and who gets paid first.... i just know that one day it will happen :rolleyes:

I've done some calculations and my minimum payments and loan repayments will reduce my debt by £4900.00 and i want to pay off my MBNA card which less the min payments included in the £4900.00 (£60) means i would still owe £1453.00 on it so im setting myself a target of £6500 to reduce my debt by this year.

2008 target is to reduce debt by £6500.00 over the year
So monthly i will have a target of £541.67
weekly my target will be £125.00

when i break it down to a monthly and weekly figure it seems impossible!!!!

The target of £541.67 is what actually needs to reduce the debt so it will be my minimum payment less the interest.
I've taken the minimum payments made last month and the interest to get an approx figure of what really comes off debt total:

Marbles £5.00
MBNA £5.00
Morgan Stanley £15.00
Royal Bank of Scotland £100.00
Tesco £30.00
RBS Loan £251.04

So the total each month that i have to pay anyway is £406.04 so that works out that i need to pay an extra £135.63 per month to meet my target

So broken down to weekly amounts the amount i need to pay is £93.84 so that works out that the extra i need to pay is £31.16 a week to meet my target.

I think it would be easy enough to do if i had enough to meet the payments as it is but i know i don't have.

So i suppose im asking for a bit of advice do i try and set myself a weekly target... which i would have to meet through ebay or do i just concentrate on meeting my minimum payments and try to make some savings towards my road tax and car insurance for 2009???

Buddiebabe x

Seaxwyn

Hi buddiebabe

That does sound very tight and I too admire you for keeping going - you are very resourceful.

I wondered two things. Firstly, is the amount your OH gives you really fair? So he is effectively getting free rent? And does the £20 cover his half of the food? It seems to me he is getting a really good deal.

Also - I know you need a car, but think how much better off you'd be if you didn't have it. Is there really no way you could get to work without it? And does your OH use it, and if so could he help with the costs?

Will you get a payrise this year? I hope so. Otherwise things will get easier, as every extra £1 you pay off the MBNA card will mean lower min payments, so more of what you can pay will actually pay the bl**dy thing off.

My birthday is 8th Jan, when is yours? I'd love to share your party, but alas I'm too far away! Never mind, I'm not really bothered, my birthdays are always pretty lowkey coming so soon after Christmas and New Year. I'm going to a new year party tonight and really looking forward to it.

buddiebabe

Morning

Cant actually believe im up at this time in the morning and im not even working... couldnt really sleep i've had numbers going around my head all nite and then i've got this horrible cough thats just not letting me get back to sleep :mad:

My OH pays effectively half the bills (not including the mortgage) but everything else is split. Since he's moved in i've managed to reduce the electricity, phone and sky costs. I dont feel that i can ask him to contribute to the mortgage as i re-mortgaged and most of the payment is due to that. He has no claim to the house if we split up as it is all detailed what he actually pays for. The £20 is for his share of the food but if im honest our food bill is not going to be £40 a week so i should be able to get the full shopping on £20 saving me having to find money to spend on food.

The car situation is the main problem but the alternative is having to get a bus that goes through every town on my way to work which would take me about an hour to get there and it would mean i couldn't do my second job cause id never get home in time! The only other option is to get the train which would mean the same as id need to change trains. My OH has a car of his own so wont be using mine.

Unfortunately i don't get a wage rise next year as we went through the job evaluation process this year and our wages were in effect to be reduced but they have protected them for 3 years so no cost of living increase this year :mad: we have appealed against the decision but it will be months before we hear anything!

My birthday's on the 18th and im worried about the party that no one will come and it will all go wrong .... but i am looking forward to tonight.... just staying in watching tv as we're both loaded with the cold but im sure it will be a really nice nite. Cant wait to see the back of this year!!!!

Enjoy ur party tonight and have a happy new year :T

Buddiebabe x

Seaxwyn

How infuriating about the job evaluation! Let's hope 2008 is the year you get a new job.

buddiebabe

Yeah that would probably be the best idea to actually start looking but i honestly cant be bothered but i will look into it... maybe even set a target of applying for one new job a month :rotfl:

buddiebabe

Hi
Well its nearly the end of January :j so i thought id update what stage that im at now.... i've paid all my minimum payments for this month so nothing else should be going in or out of these accounts now.

OVERDRAFTS:

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND £703.34 OD now £500.00 OD

TOTAL £703.34 OD now £500.00 OD

LOANS:

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND £ 14058.24 (56 payments of £251.04 to go) now £13807.20 (55 payments to go)

TOTAL £14058.24 now £13807.20

CREDIT CARDS:

MARBLES £3560.00 (MAY 2011) now £3550.00
MBNA £1513.00 (NOV 2009) now £1508.00
MORGAN STANLEY £1840.00 (JAN 2013) now £1828.00
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND £9110.00 (MAY 2013) now £8950.00
TESCO £2030.00 (MAR 2013) now £1999.00

TOTAL £18053.00 now £17835.00

TOTAL OUTSTANDING £32814.58 now £32142.22

TOTAL PAID OFF SINCE 01.01.08 £672.36 :j

DEBT FREE DATE ACCORDING TO SNOWBALL CALCUALTOR MAY 2013 now APRIL 2013

Well i managed to pay off quite a bit this month and i've also managed to not increase my debts either woo hoo!!!

I also had my car insurance due this month so decided instead of paying it in full (using my credit card) which would have cost me more in interest than paying it in installments. I now have an extra £24 per month to pay out but at least at the end of the year i will have paid it in full... whereas i would have still been paying interest probably for the next few years!

The other good thing is that i've also managed to pay for my failed MOT and car repairs this month... they were paid for by my credit card but i have the money there to pay that off in full so haven't included that on my list above. I put it on my Skycard which id paid off so it should give me £5 off sky next month too!

I got loads of lovely things for my birthday too all of them far to much. I was given a radley bag and two radley purses! now i would never ever spend that kind of money on myself and if im entirely honest my first thought was oooh i'll get some money for them on ebay but they are the one thing that i would have loved to been able to afford myself so i've thought long and hard about it and im going to keep them.... they were a present for my 30th so they are something that i can keep... needless to say they are still wrapped in their lovely protective bags im just too scared to use them :rolleyes: but i will.

I have also started saving up for things like road tax, home insurance, MOT and servicing costs for the car and tv licence so that seems to be going well. I don't know if i'll be able to keep it up but am going to try really hard.

I received my insurance excess £250 back from the other parties insurance company for my accident in September so have put that into the bank and am going to leave it there and not pay off my debt or spend it just incase i have another accident as it was a struggle to find it... this way i would already have it in the worse case scenario.

The council tax is paid off in full for the year so there is no payment due February or March so should be £120 better off those months... well it just means i don't have to find it! I have also managed to get some overtime in my main job so should have an extra £70 in February's wage and an extra £50 in March's too... overtime is just happening as a one off so have had to re-arrange my shifts at my 2nd job to be able to do it. They have been understanding so far but will just need to see what happens next time i ask!

I've not done much on ebay apart from re-listing existing stuff over and over again... the strange thing is its managed to pay for itself and give me a wee bit extra just need to get the 20 odd boxes of stuff listed and out of the hall, under the bed, in the kitchen and in the bedroom so i can actually have some space and maybe generate a small fortune in the process!!!

Well im off to try and rescue the dinner... as i can smell something burning... am hoping that February will be a good month for paying money towards the debts .... i know there is nothing major due that month so if things go according to plan... which they never do i should be able to pay a wee bit more towards the debt.

Buddiebabe x

Seaxwyn

Hi buddiebabe

Good to read such an upbeat post and to see those totals coming down. Well done! I hope you had a good birthday too, as well as getting the lovely presents.

Good luck with shifting some ebay stuff and making an even bigger dent in February.

buddiebabe

Hi

Well its only 5days to go to the end of February and i cant wait. I really thought that this month i'd be able to clear a big chunck off my debt but things never seem to work out the way i plan!!!!

I have spent the last week in my bed loaded with an ear nose and throat infection, a chest infection and a sickness bug so i've not been at my second job and am not going to get any wages this Friday! Fortunately i have paid all the bills that i need to pay and have put away the money for the rest of them.

OVERDRAFTS:

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND £703.34 OD now £500.00 OD now £550.00 OD

TOTAL £703.34 OD now £500.00 OD now £550.00 OD (an increase of £50.00 :mad: )

LOANS:

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND £ 14058.24 (56 payments of £251.04 to go) now £13807.20 (55 payments to go) now £135516.16 (54 payments to go)

TOTAL £14058.24 now £13807.20 now £13606.16

CREDIT CARDS:

MARBLES £3560.00 (MAY 2011) now £3550.00 now £842.60 (transferred £2800 to MBNA at 0% until Dec 08)
MBNA £1513.00 (NOV 2009) now £1508.00 now £4384.00 (transferred £2800 from Marbles at 0% until Dec 08)
MORGAN STANLEY £1840.00 (JAN 2013) now £1828.00 now £1819.00
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND £9110.00 (MAY 2013) now £8950.00 now £8790.00
TESCO £2030.00 (MAR 2013) now £1999.00 now £1968.00

TOTAL £18053.00 now £17835.00 now £17803.60

TOTAL OUTSTANDING £32814.58 now £32142.22 now £31909.76

TOTAL PAID OFF SINCE 01.01.08 £904.82 :T

I was hoping that i would have managed to pay off at least about £500 this month especially with no council tax due and having the overtime in my wages. I started the month off really well by keeping a spending diary, writing down everything i needed to pay out but again i've still managed to spend more that i should have and with the last week i've not really kept an eye on anything... i've not been fit enough to get to the computer!

The only good thing is that i do have the following savings:

Road Tax £75.04
Car Insurance £40.90
MOT & Servicing £69.56
House Repairs £6.98
House Insurance £57.00
Gas bill £102.00
Car Insurance Excess £250.00
House Insurance Excess £60.00 (have just had to claim on this and realised that there is no excess so this £60 can be used for something else... not sure what yet tho!)

Total in cash savings £661.48

TV Licence £45.00

Christmas Savings

ASDA card £25.00
SUPERDRUG card £25.00
MORRISONS stamps £12.00
Works Savings Account £50.00

Total in xmas savings £112.00

Again this month i haven't really bothered with ebay which is not good. Having all the stuff cluttering up my house is really starting to get me down now. Im supposed to be working all this week in my 2nd job without a day off but don't honestly know if im going to manage it as im still not feeling 100% so again this week i know im not going to be able to put things on ebay as i know i need to rest. I think that im just trying to do far to much now and i would really love to give up my 2nd job i just know i cant really afford to but health matters may take care of that and i will just need to wait and see.

Think thats enough of an update for the moment. Don't think i'll be updating very frequently i just dont have the time but i will try.

Buddiebabe x

Seaxwyn

buddiebabe! good to hear from you - but sorry you have been so ill.

I really sympathise about the ebay stuff cluttering up the place. Our house is like that too, and I'm hoping to do a carboot sale soon to reduce the boxes. Could you carboot some of your stuff? Ok you might not get as much as on ebay, but it's a lot less bother and might be a boost to get rid of some of it.

Obviously you need to be back to health to do that. I can see that the 2nd job saps your energy, are you sure you couldnt manage without it? It would give you more time to do other things (ebay for example) and maybe with that pressure off you'd feel more up to looking for another main job.

sorry if those aren't helpful comments - but I'm so full of admiration for you doing all that you do.

How are things with the boyfriend?

buddiebabe

Seaxwyn wrote: »

I really sympathise about the ebay stuff cluttering up the place. Our house is like that too, and I'm hoping to do a carboot sale soon to reduce the boxes. Could you carboot some of your stuff? Ok you might not get as much as on ebay, but it's a lot less bother and might be a boost to get rid of some of it.

A car boot sale is an option but at the moment id be lucky to get the same sunday off as my mum who always comes with me when i do them and with the weather not being great id rather wait until the better weather comes in :rotfl:

Obviously you need to be back to health to do that. I can see that the 2nd job saps your energy, are you sure you couldnt manage without it? It would give you more time to do other things (ebay for example) and maybe with that pressure off you'd feel more up to looking for another main job.

If i gave up my 2nd job id be worse off financially not by much to begin with but it would mean only being able to pay the minimum payments towards the debts. Im going to have another serious think about it and talk to the boyfriend and see what he suggests.

sorry if those aren't helpful comments - but I'm so full of admiration for you doing all that you do.

How are things with the boyfriend?

Things with the boyfriend are going great. He's been so kind and caring this week looking after me when i've not been well.

I've been reading your diary on a daily basis i always get the emails letting me know of the updates so have been reading with interest just not really had the energy to post. I hope ur husbands feeling better and that you've managed to get the work done you had to.

Buddiebabe x