Edinburgher's balancing act

edinburgher

Not a triumph for me as such, but super proud to announce that my GF is debt free as of earlier this morning.

Being an ambitious lass, she's now going to save £300/mth and we're getting her set up with a Barclays regular saver and an ING account with 12 months fixed rate for the £50/mth that won't fit in the regular saver.

Good to see that some of my good habits are rubbing off on her

doodledo_2

Yay well done Ed's better half

InaPickle

edinburgher wrote: »

Much as Hypno is a source of good ideas, the pots appear to be lower in the morning (£5 prizes, £10 prizes etc.) Doubt I'd have had a chance of winning £££ before the pots got bumped up in the evening?

I think that was the idea: trading less frequent larger wins against the potential for smaller, more frequent wins as there are also fewer players. It's all down to luck, though, really.

edinburgher

Despite my promises of relentless positivity in 2010, it's hard not to get a little down in January when you're a savvy DFW

Regardless of what works best for the average DFW (if such a beast exists), the mathematically most sound way to pay down debt is to budget religiously and to pay every single penny towards your debts on the day you are paid.

So sorry all you PADers, but most of you are paying more interest than you need to I can certainly appreciate the appeal of the 'micro payment' method and my use of sealed pots to pay towards my debts is quite similar - it feels good to make small differences on a day to day basis as it lets you feel more in control.

What I have noticed - however - is that it's definitely the big blows to the head of the malignant debt beastie that make the most significant psychological differences for me. This month was the first month in over a year where I wasn't trying to pay for any unexpected expenses and set up all the regular payments into my various savings accounts. It felt great to watch the ISA/holiday budget/engagement ring fund/NSC fund tick up and I felt better about debt than I have done in ages. I just don't get the same sense of satisfaction watching a steady trickle of smaller payments....

I guess from now on I should try to stay on my current path, remain patient and admit that I am now officially a budgeting addict

Need to get some work in on the old resolutions - while I've stuck to some of them (like the useful reading, exercise and reduced caffeine) I'm still woefully bad at turning my computer off when I should.

beanielou

I think its just as case of what works for each individual TBH.
We are all different & we all have to find the way that works for us IYSWIM.

jo1972

Hi Ed :wave:

Just read your diary and now need to know.....did BB pay out? Well done if they did :j I'd love to jump on the bingo bandwagon but can't trust myself

xx

edinburgher

We are all different & we all have to find the way that works for us IYSWIM.

I agree with you completely beanielou. The weirdest thing is that for years I thought that PAD type activities/sealed jars were the way to go (I even get mocked about it by loved ones). In retrospect though, it isn't working for me.

Hey Jo - good to see you

did BB pay out?

Not yet - they appear to be jumping through every hoop possible to put off the payout.

doodledo_2

Evening Ed. January is such a bad month for feeling down about money. Even though I am debt free my account this month isn't great and I am back to watching the pennies. Not necessarily a bad thing but it isn't nice when I am not contributing to my savings account either. Two more weeks till I get paid so need to shake off that feeling otherwise it's going to be a long month lol.

edinburgher

Two more weeks till I get paid so need to shake off that feeling

Three and a half weeks for me

Swinstie73

Hi edinburgher, was sure I seen another recent diary of yours and thought I was subscribed, I think I am losing it! *subscribes*