Worried Sick

Spongebob_Nopants

Hi guys - thanks for your encouragement and also your suggestions...

First thing's first - NatWest card now down to £3,689.92 - so that's another £110 (and 2p) off the total. New job is going well, so all in all things are looking good.

Satchmo - thanks for the prod about cleaning - I've now cut that back, and am going to look at again...

Lemon Tree - thanks for the ideas about credit card and direct debits. Natwest is my highest interest rate card so I'm going after that one first. Capital One is next on my list (next highest rate). The idea about putting back the timing on direct debits is excellent - I pay quite a lot on the 1st of each month and if I could move that back a couple of weeks that would make a big difference I think - is there a particular strategy for that, I would've assumed that companies would say "no" if you ask to put the date back......

Good luck and happy easter to all!

ps - eggs are very cheap this year - yippeee! :-)

Lemon_Tree

with regards to moving your Dd payment it won't hurt to ask, as long as you still make your payment within the month then i can't see how it matters too much but then somethings are on a contract or some such which may change things. It's worth a go and even if it's only a week it will still help on the old interest calculation.

Spongebob_Nopants

MSE is an amazing thing..... :cool:

Just being on here (pretty infrequently I have to confess) is a bit like having good foundations to the house - I don't have to dig up the garden every day to look at them, but just knowing they're there really helps....

... aw that's an amazingly dull analogy isn't it?! Maybe MSE is like a favourite pair of underpants, you don't have to look at them every day to.... nope that's not working either is it?!

Anyway, you know what I mean. Thanks all for just being here. It's a long haul all right but when I look back at my "task001" and "task002" I can see how far I've come. Debts reducing, new job, kids well and happy, stress under control (for now) - it takes a LOT of work and a lot of structure and sacrifice to keep it that way, but for now it's going OK....

... what could possibly go wrong.....?! (No doubt my next post will be all about what HAS gone wrong....)

Spongebob_Nopants

oh yeah, just remembered - divorce will be pretty expensive - probably a 2011 expense, maybe later - but better get it out of the way soon while I'm still worth nothing!!

Lemon_Tree

glad to see you back here. well done for living within your means, that's not mean feat (no pun intended!) I remember the first month i lived within my means it was such an achievement i actually posted it on the DFW boards!

Spongebob_Nopants

Great news - in fact, one which requires me to edit my "signature" (but I'll do that some other time!) because the dreaded "Nat West" credit card is now fully paid off, just cleared the last bit with an online payment! Hurrah!

MBNA is next - a bigger balance on this one so it's going to be a toughie.... the monthly interest on this one is staggering :-(

Which reminds me, two interesting things happened recently regarding credit card interest rates...

1. Lloyd's TSB wrote to me and said "we are putting up your interest rates - if you do not want them to go up, you can cancel the card"... so I phoned them and said "OK, cancel the card please". Seems like they have ignored that request, but have kept the interest rate the same - they followed up with a letter that said "following review of your credit information we have decided not to raise the rates". Interesting that - I don't reckon that's acceptable practice, they just seem to have forgotten that I said to cancel the card....

2. I have written to MBNA and pointed out that they put their interest rate up a few times (when I was not working) - now that I am working again presumably I am less risk and therefore the interest rate should come down....? Worth a try

EssexHebridean

Well done! Something that might be handy to do at this point is re-do your SOA & budget spreadsheet as you can then see exactly where you stand, and also make sure you haven't taken your eye off the ball in some areas. It's easy done, but just as easy to sort out.

Spongebob_Nopants

Yep, absolutely right, a good idea. I'm being quite disciplined in some areas but probably need a fresh look through. (I've already revamped my credit card repayments so that rather than "pocketing" the monthly saving from no more Nat West payments, I'm paying that money off MBNA instead). Thanks for the support! :-)

foxy219

hi SBN, firstly congratulations on tackling your debt, and well done on clearing no 1 credit card!
I wondered if when you look at things like your home insurance etc if you used cash back sites suchas Quidco or Topcashback that would pay you money back? If you already do it brilliant, if you don't its worth a try
Onwards and upwards, I look forward to reading about your progress

PS I wish I could live within my means too - we are currently paying off our overdrafts, slowly slowly - OH has cut his down by £500 in the last 2 months, which including Christmas was a fantastic achievement. Hopefully 2 more months and we will start on mine!

Spongebob_Nopants

Thanks Foxy, I'll check those out. I'm ripe for a proper look at utility providers again, then I think home insurance will be worthwhile. Car insurance is already v.cheap.

I remember from some Paul Mckenna thing somewhere that he used the phrase "success breeds success"...it's funny how a small bit of positive progress makes you feel more motivated to do the next bit... I hope that's how you and OH feel, getting through Xmas with REDUCED overdraft is superb, well done!