Help: Decent income being lost to debt

pebblespop

defo cut up that cards or at least keep one for emergency with a relative.

i did this and to be honest i never need it. i used to put food, hair cuts clothes etc on it and now if i don't have the money i don't get something. amazingly i have the money if i really want something and don't buy things for the sake of it now.

S_AND_I

pebblespop wrote: »

defo cut up that cards or at least keep one for emergency with a relative.

i did this and to be honest i never need it. i used to put food, hair cuts clothes etc on it and now if i don't have the money i don't get something. amazingly i have the money if i really want something and don't buy things for the sake of it now.

i dread to think how much some of the crud I bought years ago has cost me when all the interest is included!

S_AND_I

zarazara wrote: »

Great thread. Try paying off the loans asap, then you'll see things improve. cut up those cards!

We're going for it with as many payments as early as possible.

zarazara wrote: »

10st 10lb 10:7 10:610:510.3 9.13

And you're not meant to be losing pounds!

slummymummyof3

OP, Aldi and Lidl sell a lot of really good quality products - many of which are far better than Tesco finest or Sainsbury taste the difference. We are also similar to you - large income household but without the debt - just funding a major expansion to our house without borrowing.

I was an avid Sainsbury/Waitrose/Tesco finest shopper until 17 months or so ago when I was suddenly aware of how much the prices were rising. Try Aldi, I don't think you will be disappointed in their fruit/veg, olive oil, basmati rice, chilled meats, toiletries etc and you will notice a HUGE difference in your shopping bill. It takes a while to build your confidence but as you try more and more products, your confidence will increase in the lesser known supermarket.

tallyhoh

Quite frankly I think that Aldi & Lidl food (especially Aldi) is far better quality than Sainsburys etc "finest", which I have tried & been disappointed in.

Happytogetdebtfree

Any food is good food if it saves you some pennies even if it's a case of buying storecupboard from aldi, I was funny about meats but aldi meats I can't knock. However I do have the luxury of a discount shop for emergency workers and I get all my meats and Heinz beans from there at a much lower price. Well if the governent won't splash out more then I want some perks . Well done on posting, how soon are the weddings? The ISA advice is good save half your surplus in the ISA each month or savings account you will soon have the funds available. All the best x

bunny999

S_AND_I wrote: »

I see what you're saying but I am also aware that I got to 11 o'clock last night and was guestimating and so left a fair amount of the odd expenditure unfilled. Feb 1 the missus and I have started our expenditure diary. I'm also aware we've got three foreign weddings (including Chicago) that we cannot miss.
Today, the ODs went 0%, we paid another £550 that I'd squirelled away from my bonus and a birthday gift from Grandma, and I went to Barclays and changed two quid from coppers! The big and the small.
I've not looked at this snowball yet. But now the ODs are 0% I pay £11625 @ 0%; £1265 @ 5.9% and £5555.63 @ 18.9% (buried) and £558.83 also at 18.9% (the next target). My interest each month is now £98.26 a month. I'm going to find out about this snowballing.

No wonder you're in debt. If you really want to get out of debt you need a complete change of attitude, otherwise your debts are going to get worse.

tallyhoh

Is your wife happy/needs to be at work? Just thinking if you add up all the related expenses, child care, cleaners etc, she may be working for very little.

Just a thought.

S_AND_I

bunny999 wrote: »

No wonder you're in debt. If you really want to get out of debt you need a complete change of attitude, otherwise your debts are going to get worse.

hmmm, a preacher ay. Did we need a change of attitude when we didn't take a holiday for nearly two years? Do we need a change of attitude because we love our widely spread families that we typically only see over Skype and thought it would be nice to see them when they're getting married? We'll get out of debt but it won't be in record time and it won't be at the expense of things that money can't buy. Sorry if this reply sounds snotty, I've got an attitude problem.

S_AND_I

tallyhoh wrote: »

Is your wife happy/needs to be at work? Just thinking if you add up all the related expenses, child care, cleaners etc, she may be working for very little.

Just a thought.

Definitely can see what you're saying. But she's really enjoying having an identity other than a mother and talking to adults, while we think a one-year old benefits socially from a little time in nursery/away from parents. What we are looking into though is if she can work one half-day less regularly for a few months because she has gained an insane amount of annual leave while being off (full time) on maternity leave. That would save around a hundred quid on nursery. Oh, and the final factor, is that she has to work of pay back all the maternity money. If we had a second, for example, her working might make less sense.