Help: Decent income being lost to debt

Happytogetdebtfree

S and I, a tetchy post earlier try not to take posters opinions to heart.. when we start the debt free journey it can be assumed we are saying life is on hold because we want to pay debts off.. but i can see from the amounts coming in and a little savings life should not be affected massively, however you can see cut backs that can be made if needed... last year i had to focus on my wedding so no debt was really cleared but i did not add to it and thats the main thing here if you can get through 3 weddings and not add to your debt thats one big achievement .... it doesnt seem to be on the brink yet but a few changes here and there will make the world of difference ...

S_AND_I

Happytogetdebtfree wrote: »

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

The biggie - Chicago - is in October. At the moment we have decided to use £1k that will go on the tickets (saved from my bonus) to help jiggle the bulk of the debt to 0% (a post above details that) or pay off anything with a high APR. Will then probably get a 0% spending card or see what offers we have on current cards to put it back on. Won't be nice returning to CC but hope to have paid a lot off them by then. Figure this is better than saving as gain little interst in an ISA but can pay off high-interest debt for a number of months. Thoughts welcome.

S_AND_I

Happytogetdebtfree wrote: »

S and I, a tetchy post earlier try not to take posters opinions to heart.. when we start the debt free journey it can be assumed we are saying life is on hold because we want to pay debts off.. but i can see from the amounts coming in and a little savings life should not be affected massively, however you can see cut backs that can be made if needed... last year i had to focus on my wedding so no debt was really cleared but i did not add to it and thats the main thing here if you can get through 3 weddings and not add to your debt thats one big achievement .... it doesnt seem to be on the brink yet but a few changes here and there will make the world of difference ...

he he, I know. But an earlier poster had put the same point in a much nicer way. We intend to go to three weddings and cut our debt heavily. Excess spending is on hold, we've made some amazing annual savings by switching/giving up Sky, mobiles, utilities, contact lenses, telephone etc. Our attitude has been revoltutionised, but I don;t think that poster read the whole thread. We've got a long way to go, but please everyone don't urinate on our money saving campfire (made from twigs collected in the forest and two sticks rubbed together) so soon!

WASHER

Have you sorted SKY/mobiles/utilties etc already, if so well done for taking action on them.

Have you started a spending diary yet? It could really help, just do it for a month, you may be surprised how much is spent in the supermarket or at Starbucks etc. The big shock for me was the cash withdrawals, it was only a tenner here and there, but by the end of the month, the total was huge, my OH was also taking a tenner here and there.

WASHER.x.

Happytogetdebtfree

Haha at the twig fire. At least it's saving on the bills lol.

S_AND_I

WASHER wrote: »

Have you sorted SKY/mobiles/utilties etc already, if so well done for taking action on them.

Have you started a spending diary yet? It could really help, just do it for a month, you may be surprised how much is spent in the supermarket or at Starbucks etc. The big shock for me was the cash withdrawals, it was only a tenner here and there, but by the end of the month, the total was huge, my OH was also taking a tenner here and there.

WASHER.x.

Killed Sky channels weren't using for a saving of 10 quid. Can't lose Sky Sports 1 as that (and the cheap broadband) is the reason I've got it. Looking at options for phone bundle too, but wary of all eggs in one basket.
Mobiles - my work has started paying for mine and my missus totted up and found that pay as you go she was nigh on 30 quid a month so got an iphone on contract. Not a saving, i know die-hards, but one happy missus and better value than the cruddy thing she was using. (banned form paid for apps though!)
Utilities were switched back end of last year. Was not fully fledged MSE member then so missed out on cashback but better rate (just want it to stop being cold now so we can turn it off rather than down/reduce the timings).

My diary so far:
Feb 1: £10 to mate running half-marathon in emu costume for cancer charity (with gift aid added - can I count that as a saving? perhaps I should have only pledged £9.42).
Feb 2: £0.55 mars bar
Feb 3: £0.89 orangina
Feb 4: £0.60 crisps

I'm actually quite disappointed as this is more than I usually have - too many snacks so far this week.
Anyone who wants my missus to post her first few days, chant :T'we want list, we want list'.:T

Happytogetdebtfree

Lol too many sugary snacks I think. I've got terrible munchies today it's all the course work ah my god il be glad when it's done arghhhh. I've just totted up my 20k challenge seem to be doing ok hehe x

S_AND_I

it's what you get when you eat your sarnies at 10am.

http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/xmas_cnt.htm tick tock tick tock! good luck, you're going great.

my diary won't look so good when I pay the cleaners tomorrow - lol

Happytogetdebtfree

Yes I pay my mum and dad to clean they won't accept money so I let them clean and then I can help them out xx thanx for the count down calender made me chuckle. Ahh I do enjoy Reading these forums keep me going x

DigitalJedi

S_AND_I wrote: »

I think we will. But baby steps - jumping from Sainsbury's top notch brand to Lidl basics might derail things.

Try Aldi instead of Lidl. I've shopped there for years and its where I get the bulk of our food shopping.

Really don't knock it until you try it, go in with an open mind. The quality of the food often is on a par, sometimes even better than your "top notch" Sainsbury's stuff.

In fact, i saw this today:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1248340/Ill-discount-Aldi-One-M-S-loyalist-swallows-pride-tries-shopping-Britains-budget-supermarkets.html

Using Aldi for main stuff, then topping up at Tesco's, I feed a family of five for about £100 less than what you spend per month for three. Included in that is about £10 worth a week of luxuries such as cakes, sweets etc which I could cut out if we really needed to. You really are just flushing money away by shopping at Sainsbury's.

Lastly, remember some things are the same regardless of brand. For example, bleach, salt, milk. Its all the same. You just end up paying more for a fancy box and the name.