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Diary of an Ex-Spendaholic - Sorting it out in 2010

Ex-Spendaholic
Posts: 1,766 Forumite
I've been around the boards for a couple of years and although my situation is 100 times better than what it was when I first joined, there is still room for vast improvement.
Therefore I thought I'd start a diary. In doing this I will set myself targets and record them here meaning that I will have to work towards them. It will also be good to look back on when I'm rich. :rotfl:
About Me
Married with 3 kids - 10, 6, 2. Working part-time with a newly self employed OH.
The Situation
I have a DMP with which has a DFD of 2027. Obviously I would like to bring this forward but I plan to deal with debts in OH's name first as follows:
Visa 1 - £7500 (approx) Paying £100 per month £6674 (confirmed 06.01.10)
Visa 2 - £4800 (approx) Paying £100 per month £4522 (confirmed 06.01.10) Now £4007 03.03.10
[STRIKE]Visa 3 - £161 (approx) Paying £50 per month[/STRIKE] Paid 15.01.10
[STRIKE]Lowell - £270 (approx) Paying £15 per month £185[/STRIKE] (confirmed 06.01.10) Paid 15.01.10
All of the above are with DCAs and interest is not being charged.
[STRIKE]We also have a tax credit overpayment to pay back of approx £3K. [/STRIKE]Currently paying £50 per month. Paid 28.01.10
The Plan for January
Visa number 3 will be paid off in full from salary at end of December. :j We will be receiving a windfall of approximately £11-£12K. The plan is to offer full and final settlement offers on Visa 1, 2 and Lowell and to clear the tax credit overpayment. Ideally it would be great if the !!!!!! payments where such that the £11-£12K would cover everything. Time will tell.
If all goes to plan and the Visas and Tax credits are paid off this will free up £315 per month. :j Whilst we really should increase the DMP payment straightaway I plan to put this money into an ISA initially as a buffer should the self employment not go to plan and we end up with problems. I hope people don't criticise me on this. It is my hope to get rid of all the debt as soon as I can but I don't want to end up with nothing. As time progresses (providing the SE is going well) I will then use the money to offer !!!!!! on the smaller of the debts with view to removing the number of creditors and thus leaving more of the payment for the remaining creditors. Also I will increase the monthly DMP payment.
Charges Claiming
I will look at claiming charges on OH's credit cards. I've already asked for a list of charges and also a CCA on each of them.
Challenges
Sealed Pot - I will put in a £1 coin each day between 1 January and 30 November 2010. On occasion I will put in more than £1 coin. This will give a total of at least £334 at the end of November to put towards Christmas presents.
Spare Change Jar - I will put all coppers into this at the end of each day and add it to the Sealed pot total at the end of November. I'm a great one for lifting money off the street - every little helps. :rotfl:
No Spend Days - Initially I am going to try to have 8 of these per month with view to increasing it. To do this I need to get organised.
Lunch Challenge - I will stop buying sandwiches, KFCs etc for lunch. I am lucky in that lunch is provided several times per month in work. The rest of the time I will bring in baked potatoes or something. I reckon this will save me at least £50 per month. :eek:
No Card Challenge - I will withdraw cash on a Monday to last the week and try not to use the debit card. I no longer have credit cards and that is a good thing.
Getting Organised
I spend my life running into supermarkets "for a few bits" and every night without fail am in a corner shop for "milk" which ends up costing about £10 on other rubbish. This is wasteful and is going to stop. I also run out of electric/gas frequently due to sheer disorganisation. My new plan is to do the following every Monday morning (I don't work on Monday)
I plan to withdraw £250 cash on a Monday. I intend to use this as follows:
School Dinners 20
Kids Club/Church Activities 6
Kids Pocket Money 6
Kids Lessons 12
Groceries 80
Petrol 40
Gas 30
Electric 20
Papers (yes I know but its my one vice) 4
Sealed Pot Challenge 7
Other 25
The "Other" category is a bit of an unknown at this stage. I've factored it in to see how things go. I imagine it will be used for adhoc things such as the dogs booster injections, school requests for money, the odd treat etc. In an ideal world some/all of it will be left over and I'll squirrel that into an account to with view to paying off the DMP.
Thats enough for now but I will update as time progresses. I'm really hoping January is going to be a major turning point for the better.
Therefore I thought I'd start a diary. In doing this I will set myself targets and record them here meaning that I will have to work towards them. It will also be good to look back on when I'm rich. :rotfl:
About Me
Married with 3 kids - 10, 6, 2. Working part-time with a newly self employed OH.
The Situation
I have a DMP with which has a DFD of 2027. Obviously I would like to bring this forward but I plan to deal with debts in OH's name first as follows:
Visa 1 - £7500 (approx) Paying £100 per month £6674 (confirmed 06.01.10)
Visa 2 - £4800 (approx) Paying £100 per month £4522 (confirmed 06.01.10) Now £4007 03.03.10
[STRIKE]Visa 3 - £161 (approx) Paying £50 per month[/STRIKE] Paid 15.01.10
[STRIKE]Lowell - £270 (approx) Paying £15 per month £185[/STRIKE] (confirmed 06.01.10) Paid 15.01.10
All of the above are with DCAs and interest is not being charged.
[STRIKE]We also have a tax credit overpayment to pay back of approx £3K. [/STRIKE]Currently paying £50 per month. Paid 28.01.10
The Plan for January
Visa number 3 will be paid off in full from salary at end of December. :j We will be receiving a windfall of approximately £11-£12K. The plan is to offer full and final settlement offers on Visa 1, 2 and Lowell and to clear the tax credit overpayment. Ideally it would be great if the !!!!!! payments where such that the £11-£12K would cover everything. Time will tell.
If all goes to plan and the Visas and Tax credits are paid off this will free up £315 per month. :j Whilst we really should increase the DMP payment straightaway I plan to put this money into an ISA initially as a buffer should the self employment not go to plan and we end up with problems. I hope people don't criticise me on this. It is my hope to get rid of all the debt as soon as I can but I don't want to end up with nothing. As time progresses (providing the SE is going well) I will then use the money to offer !!!!!! on the smaller of the debts with view to removing the number of creditors and thus leaving more of the payment for the remaining creditors. Also I will increase the monthly DMP payment.
Charges Claiming
I will look at claiming charges on OH's credit cards. I've already asked for a list of charges and also a CCA on each of them.
Challenges
Sealed Pot - I will put in a £1 coin each day between 1 January and 30 November 2010. On occasion I will put in more than £1 coin. This will give a total of at least £334 at the end of November to put towards Christmas presents.
Spare Change Jar - I will put all coppers into this at the end of each day and add it to the Sealed pot total at the end of November. I'm a great one for lifting money off the street - every little helps. :rotfl:
No Spend Days - Initially I am going to try to have 8 of these per month with view to increasing it. To do this I need to get organised.
Lunch Challenge - I will stop buying sandwiches, KFCs etc for lunch. I am lucky in that lunch is provided several times per month in work. The rest of the time I will bring in baked potatoes or something. I reckon this will save me at least £50 per month. :eek:
No Card Challenge - I will withdraw cash on a Monday to last the week and try not to use the debit card. I no longer have credit cards and that is a good thing.
Getting Organised
I spend my life running into supermarkets "for a few bits" and every night without fail am in a corner shop for "milk" which ends up costing about £10 on other rubbish. This is wasteful and is going to stop. I also run out of electric/gas frequently due to sheer disorganisation. My new plan is to do the following every Monday morning (I don't work on Monday)
- Withdraw cash for the week - this will be a set amount
- Meal plan
- Buy the food which we need for the week - I will ignore 3 for 2s etc that I don't need
- Put Petrol in the car
- Top up the Electricity and Gas
- Set aside the money the kids need for school activities etc.
- Buy expensive shampoos and conditioners - the don't make any difference anyway
- Buy books - I will use the library
- Spend £5 on sweets, drinks and other tat when I'm buying petrol
- Spend more money than necessary on presents for other people
- Buy cards, gift wrap in places like Clintons
- Waste money on M&S food
- Use the debit card for every teeny transaction
- If family/friends owe me money, I will take it off them instead of refusing :mad:
- Buy clothes etc just for the hell of it
- Buy every cleaning product on the market
- Throw away food
I plan to withdraw £250 cash on a Monday. I intend to use this as follows:
School Dinners 20
Kids Club/Church Activities 6
Kids Pocket Money 6
Kids Lessons 12
Groceries 80
Petrol 40
Gas 30
Electric 20
Papers (yes I know but its my one vice) 4
Sealed Pot Challenge 7
Other 25
The "Other" category is a bit of an unknown at this stage. I've factored it in to see how things go. I imagine it will be used for adhoc things such as the dogs booster injections, school requests for money, the odd treat etc. In an ideal world some/all of it will be left over and I'll squirrel that into an account to with view to paying off the DMP.
Thats enough for now but I will update as time progresses. I'm really hoping January is going to be a major turning point for the better.
0
Comments
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Went into town today and didn't buy anything. Was tempted by some bits and pieces but worked on the basis that I didn't need them. :j
Found a money tin in the wardrobe - the type you open with a tin opener - the tin that is not the wardrobe. This is my new sealed pot for the challenge.
To start me off I put 3 £1 coins in. I also put money in the glass jar for coppers and odds and ends. Found this lying around the house and in the washing machine (OH never empties his pockets so I do well out of the washing machine) :rotfl: In total I put £2.87 in the jar. :j0 -
Nothing strange or startling to report.
£1 into my sealed pot today and 74p into the spare change jar. Ok they are not big savings but its a start.
Have just sorted out a couple of phones to send to Fonebank. Should get £74 and £3 via Quidco. Will get them sent tomorrow. :j
Listed a game (won from a competition) on ebay. If it sells I'll have £35 profit.0 -
Hello!
Just want to say good luck with your goals. I'm exactly the same with regards to frittering money away when just popping into the local shop- scary how quickly the money goes! I look forward to seeing how you get on
Starry Skies x0 -
:j:j My ebay item has sold and the buyer has paid by paypal. Normally I leave the money in paypal and its used for buying other stuff. However this time I have withdrawn it to my bank account. So £35 will appear in a few days. :j
I am going to use this £35 to pay off the smallest creditor on my DMP. It is Studio Cards which is currently with Robinson Way. I owe them £26.52. I'll phone them on Monday and make the payment by debit card. This will free up £5 a month of my DMP payment to be shared between the rest of the creditors who are much bigger than this one. :eek: The remainder of the profit - £8.48 will be put into my sealed pot. :j
Also today £3 put in the sealed pot and £1.78 which was change found when vacuuming the sofas - thank you Christmas visitors. :rotfl:
Then a breakthrough which will help change my shopping habits forever. I discovered that 2 litres of milk is 85p in Iceland. Therefore I'll buy a few of these on a Monday which will keep me away from the corner shop for at least a few days of the0 -
Well done on getting started, good luck :beer:TOTAL 44 weeks lose. 6st 9.5lb :T0
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Well done on the new diary. My DH is the one who fritters money every time he enters a shop but getting him to change will not be easy. I have in the past gone on holiday to stay with family with only £11 in my purse and come home a week later with £9 still.:D Mind you that was pre children.
Looking forward to your updates.
SMThe person who moves a mountain begins by carrying small stones.
Diet loss starting Sept 2019 0/80lbs:eek::o
Proud to be No. 47 of the DMP mutual support club
DFW Nerd #380. Proud to be dealing with my debt0 -
Great lists also sounds like you ahve made a good start.
All the best and happy new yearAchieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £171.8K Equity 36.37%
2) £2.6K Net savings after CCs 10/10/25
3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £27.9K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.25K) = 34/£127.5K target 26.6% 10/10/25
(If took bigger lump sum = 60.35K or 47.6%)
4) FI Age 60 income target £17.1/30K 57% (if mortgage and debts repaid - need more otherwise) (If bigger lump sum £15.8/30K 52.67%)
5) SIPP £5K updated 10/10/250 -
Nothing weird or wonderful to report unfortunately. I'm continuing to put money in the sealed pot and the spare change jar. This is the closest I've ever been to saving money. :rolleyes: The excitement of finding a £1 coin on the floor of M&S today was just amazing. :rotfl:
Immediate Targets
I finally posted the phones to Fonebank today so will get £74 by the end of next week hopefully.
I'm also awaiting a £20 refund from Play.com
On Monday I have an item to return to Next which will give me £16.00
back.
So in total I expect £110 back next week. I am due to make the contracted payment of £50 to Visa 3 on Monday. However it was my plan to pay this off entirely out of December's salary which I haven't as yet done. As I have £110 due back I think I'll add this to the £50 contractual payment and then a further £1 which will clear the balance and only use £51 from salary. :j
Also on Monday I'll phone Robinson Way and clear the Studio debt. :j The paypal withdrawal money from the ebay item is paying this but I'll use bank account funds in the meantime.
Other Targets for Week Commencing 4 January
Clean fish tank and list on Gumtree
Sort out a little tub to keep in the car with the week's pound coins in it. The object of this is that when the kids are dropped off to their various activities I'll have the necessary money to give them for collection etc. In the past I've found myself going to the shop and buying stuff in order to get change from a £20 note. How wasteful can you get?
Enter 50 competitions per day with view to selling any unwanted prizes for cash to pay off debt0 -
Ooh congratulations on the £1 find - I would have been exctatic (sp?) too.:j
Where do you find 50 comps a day to enter and where do you find the time?
SMThe person who moves a mountain begins by carrying small stones.
Diet loss starting Sept 2019 0/80lbs:eek::o
Proud to be No. 47 of the DMP mutual support club
DFW Nerd #380. Proud to be dealing with my debt0 -
Hi Scottishmummy
The comps are on www.loquax.co.uk. Its a great site and free to join. If you download a programme called roboform (its free) you can use it to autofill your details. I do the comps in the evenings when the kids are in bed.0
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