Newlyweds: J_pink's debt free diary

J_pink

Hello!

I am one half of newlyweds. Last month was mine and Hubby's light bulb moment!

We started our lives together £13,000 in debt - and that was before the wedding day! An accumulation of nothingness; debt mainly holidays in the sun and student debt.

We owe:

• £8,400 on a Halifax Loan at 9% APR
• £3,000 on Virgin credit card 0% until next May - NOW £1,250
• £9,900 on a Tesco Finance loan for our car (worth £9,000) at 7.9% APR
• Our outgoings are £1,120 a month - I've got this down from previous £1600!
• We earn £2,400 a month as hubby got a second job.
• We aim to be debt free by the end of next year.

We are clearing the cards and Halifax Loan first. We have just sold our brand new expensive car as it was eating up fuel and costing us a fortune in finance payments. We have swapped for a newish Landrover with low mileage and 50% cheaper insurance!!

It has been really hard to clear debt recently as we got married and had our USA Honeymoon, and also i am re-training (in a total career change) as a Teacher! I:rotfl:



Please contact me for advice on getting married on a budget!




Newlyweds new monthly spending:

• Rent - SAVED £50 down to £525
• Gas and Electric - Same at £50-60
• Water - Same at £15-£20
• Sky - SAVED £30 by combining TV/Phone/Broadband down TO £35
• TV Licence - £12
• Council Tax - £120
• Car Finance - SAVED £50 swapped to a lower APR loan down to £199
• Car Insurance - SAVED by downsizing engine size/car and using comparison site £50
• Food Shopping - SAVED £40 a week! Shopping at Lidl now £160
• Eating out - WE DON'T EAT OUT ANYMORE AND I'M THINNER!!
• Mobiles - SAVED £50 negotiating at end of contract! now £25 each.. so £50
• House Insurance - need to save when renewing in February £120 (incudes jewellery) :T

Newlyweds saving tips!!

• Save and entertain at home, BBQ's, Dinner Parties, Tupperware...whatever!
• Stop eating out, take advantage of Tesco and M+S dine in meal deals for £9
• Freeze your perishables...stop throwing away good food becuase of use by dates!
• Buy supermarket discount brands....my quilted lidl loo roll is £1.50 (£3.00 at asda and tesco) for the same product!
• Think thrifty when meal planning.....pasta with meat and veggies goes a long long way....a roast chicken and veggies....lasagna......omlettes....all cheap!
• Enjoy cheap day's out with your family, go for a walk, visit a museum, get out into the country, go camping!

It's also worth remembering that the thrifty way of life is also the healthiest; cooking from natural ingredients, plenty of free excercise and cutting down on expensive booze and cigarettes.

Start Living, start saving! :j

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Love your post and good luck! You sound v positive!

MagicalStar

Good luck!! *runs off to subscribe*

some good tips on here - you've inspired me to try the Aldi near me, seeing how much you saved on your food! Will be popping off to the local next time I do a weekly shop

Thanks :beer:

Primula

Hello and welcome
Sounds like you have done loads already and are already seeing the benefits. Well done.
P

secretsmiler

Hi again J_Pink :hello:
Found your diary, I agree, what a great positive post and helpful too. You've made me think perhaps I should give our local Aldi/Lidl a try. Trouble is with me I tend to do my shopping after work and A/L are shut. Maybe a change in shopping time routine is needed.

Congratulations on your wedding and well done on the budgeting. We had a money saving wedding too

I'm also off to subscribe.....

secretsmiler x

J_pink

Yes secret smiler definitely give it a try. My Lidl is open until 7pm. Also watch out for todays Voucher in the Star newspaper to save £5 off every £30. Fab!

Not been a very good saver this weekend - blew £30 at the pub and taxi's.
Will get back on form next week with packed lunches i think...only got £100 for 2 weeks groceries/living. God bless Lidl x

J_pink

Righty, this is the year to pay off our credit card. All £3K of it. :j
Also must start paying off a chunk of the crap loan. Then it's all hands on deck to start saving for a house deposit. New salary in September will help massively.

Here are my New Year's resolutions:

1. Keep my shopping bills down to £50 a week at Morrisons (sorry got sick of Lidl food!)
2. Prevent husband from changing car again and incurring costs.
3. Do without summer holiday and instead pay off credit card by summer (£3,000)
4. Begin paying the loan off in chunks by September when I start a full time teaching job (Yay....5K Pay rise!)

Been very naughty this Christmas, lots of luxurious new clothes and nice things. It can't last...must get back to being thrifty. Thinking of doing a March Car boot sale. Also been using my local library alot - instead of buying books.

Will update you in March!

ehallett

Hi

Just popping in to subscribe and say hi.

Well done on your moneysaving and all the best for 2010.

Emily x

J_pink

Hi everyone - It's January and I'm feeling positive!
Just counted up our debts and realised we owe a whole grand less than i though on our Halifax Loan. It looks like we could clear it by December!
So I've changed my signature to celebrate.


Also rang Nationwide to discuss mortgages and hubby and I need £15,000 as a deposit. So basically ALL of 2010 and 2011 we will be saving this up.
Hubby has a second job truck driving and I get my first teaching job in September. Thank god because i've been on my trainee wage for 2 years.


Heres where I plan to make changes this year:
SUMMER HOLIDAY - decided to go camping in Norfolk or Cornwall, already got a 2 man tent and will source Ebay for a few essential camping stuff.
CAR - Hubby is addicted to cars. He's hanging on until September to change to a 4x4 which is his present for driving the truck every saturday at 3am. It won't cost more - just the usual fuel guzzler. Believe me i've tried...
SHOPPING - trying to keep those weekly food bills down to £50 a week

I'm growing my hair so it's been free for the past 6 months - but I'm starting to resemble one of the Beatles...

J_pink

Oooh just got £10 off my Tesco shop using my clubcard voucher and this voucher code from the voucher forums: 4Y4JJT4W8P63 gets you £5 off a £50 shop expires at somepoint in January
£43 for my weekly shop yipeee!

Compingirl

Hi there J Pink, found you! sounds like you've got the year off to a cracking start

I might have to try Lidl myself - nothing ventured as they say! cg:)