Russell's 'New Leaf' Spend Less, Make Money, Pay off Debts Diary

rustysmart

Well that was half term! Got that Sunday evening feeling knowing that work to back on tomorrow!

Not had the best moneysaving half term, but an enjoyable one. 2 days until payday and god I need it!! Not overdrawn, but fairly close to it - also had to dip in to my savings a little (£30) but will put that back as soon as I am paid - honest!!

rustysmart

Well it's that time again, another signature update!

Not a bad month on the whole. The following successes:
- didn't go over my limit
- made a fair bit in Amazon sales
- won some money on Free Bingo!!
- have enough in savings for 3 months of loan payments meaning it can be paid 3 months earlier - on target to pay it off a whole year early!

Things to work on:
- whilst not going over my limit it was a close call, didn't enjoy feeling so 'tight'
- got some big things coming up - a stag do and car service/MOT, hopefully won't have to dip in to savings too much

Another month on the moneysaving path!!

rustysmart

Been a bit of a Quidco '!!!!!' as my friend titled it - been looking at the no spend cashbacks. I've checked my credit report (£5 cashback), signed up and been approved for an American Express Card (£10), Nokia Ovi Shop sign up (£1.25), GoCompare and Confused searches (£2.50 in total). Now assuming that I get all of these and with addition the £40 (Sainsburys Pet Insurance) I have already received this month that's a healthy £68.75 for doing very little!!

On the note of the American Express Card - it's a cashback card so I have put on a couple of bits today and will continue to put odd amounts on it here and there (and I WILL pay it off each month too - it's in my budget planner!!) - so a little extra cashback there too. Not bad going really.

rustysmart

Didn't realise how long it had been since my last post update.

Made a very easy £10 today - well I say easy, there was obviously some risk to it but betting on France to win the rugby today wasn't too much of a risk! Made £10 on that one and did it through Quidco which earns me another £25 (£35 in one day can't be bad).

Yesterday I got my Tax refund cheque through which was another £35 so made £70 this weekend. All going to the savings account which will be serving two purposes in April, got a stag do to attend, car tax and MOT to finance - but it WILL NOT be put on the credit card like previous years. Will update more later as my iPhone doesn't appear to like me typing this so quickly!!!

Herewego

Just read through your diary and you are doing so well :T
I saw you worked out saving for your loan you can pay it off at the end of the year, remember you will also get a rebate on the interest so it could be a bit sooner.It may be worth asking for a balance to repay it early it could be a nice surprise

Keep up the good work your amazon sales are fantastic wish mine were as good

rustysmart

Thanks for the message Herewego, yeah I've got rid of loads on Amazon - best thing I can recommend is to regularly check the prices that you are selling your stuff at and compare it to the others - I didn't want to go too low with prices, but found on some I was charging something unrealistic.

I'm going to ring the bank tonight after your piece of advice - I think Nov '10 will probably take into account rebate of interest, but still worth a check.

rustysmart

End of the month which means two things: I've been paid and I have a new updated signature!

Credit Card and Overdraft balances are clearly fairly static at the minute - I'm only paying off the minimum whilst I save to repay my loan early. It is therefore great to see my loan coming down naturally along with my savings increasing quite nicely!

I think the best bit for me this month is seeing how close I am to getting my total debt below £10K along with almost paying off £5K - which I am looking at the positive and saying I am a third of the way along my debt free journey, still a long way to go but I'm feeling good!

Next stop, I want to ring HSBC to see if they can give me an indication on how much I will save by repaying early.

rustysmart

Hi all who read my posts, I'm sure I can count you all on one hand, but hey I feel good writing it so I will continue!

Apologies for not being on here much throughout April. I've been having a difficult money saving month - lots of things going on this month that no matter how hard I try I cannot avoid (car tax, a stag do, Easter holiday spending etc.).

I write today though with some GREAT news! Today a man said he was interested in my car and although the 'deal' isn't compete until next Wednesday, I've managed to sell my pride and joy for a whopping £6100 (pretty much what it is worth). The great news from this is that I will be able to pay off my loan in full (the loan I've been saving for to pay off a year early) and I'll have around £600 left over to settle some overdraft or credit card debt.

The sale of my car today (well, Wednesday really) will half my debt leaving me with only a credit card (currently on 0%) and two overdrafts to pay off. It will also mean that I can use the £1000 I have in savings to buy a little runaround so I won't need a new loan to finance it!! YAY!! I'm SSOOOOOO happy today - I know I still have debt, but it's a debt that I am feeling totally in control of today!

Thanks for reading. I'm off out to enjoy the sun and get my shaggy hair cut now!! :beer:

minniepoos_2

rustysmart wrote: »

I've managed to sell my pride and joy for a whopping £6100 (pretty much what it is worth). The great news from this is that I will be able to pay off my loan in full (the loan I've been saving for to pay off a year early) and I'll have around £600 left over to settle some overdraft or credit card debt.

That's fantastic news - it's such a good feeling when things finally go your way!

I have been quietly following your progress for a while, and am really pleased for you - it should bring your DFD waaaay forward which is excellent!!! (bit jealous though! )

And (if the weather where you are is like it is where I am) you can relax and enjoy the sunshine without so much hanging over you.

Well done! :beer:

rustysmart

Thanks minipoos

Yeah the sun is shining and it's amazing how relaxed it makes you feel!! I'm off out on a stag weekend this weekend (well in an hour actually!) and although I have a little more money to play with now I don't need to find car tax, I will be enjoying a moneysaving drinking bender - or something similar!!

Have a great weekend yourself. No need to feel jealous though, following your diary it sounds like you are also on the right path.