no wiser than the fool i was before-lyns' debt diary! 8 July 2006 at 9:41PM in Debt free diaries 608 replies 23.5K views

lynsayjane

hey folks, decided to make an actual chronicle of my (somewhat pathetic) attempts to become debt free.

since joining up on here i've
-cancelled sky, last payment due shortly then channels lost on 4th aug
-attempted to cut down on my mobile contract, they are saying i can't do it till i've been on it a year...we'll see!
-applied to change my electric to british gas, switchin sight says they are cheapest for me and i did it thru quidco so £20 cashback!
-joined pigsback and got about a fiver of points so far, gonna save up boots vouchers for xmas
-started paying more attention to wasted electric, showering and straightenin hair at gym!
-sent to bos to get statements to claim back charges
-cut monthly food shopping to about £30, aiming for £20

thats all i can think of at the mo, things i want to do are,

-cancel tv license, i don't watch terrestrial tv with or without sky (anyone know what i have to do to tv or that to manage it?)
-cancel cinema pass after i've seen pirates on monday!
-change to talk talk to save on phone and net

i'd like more info on things i hear about on this site eg AQA, mystery shopping and any other websites etc that you guys use. my problem rather than having too much going out is not having enough coming in!

all help advice or shoulders to lean on occasionally will be gratefully accepted and reciprocated if needed!

kisses
x

bikerqueen

If you have a tv capable of recieving a signal, whether or not you watch it, and it's plugged in, you will need a tv licence. are you planning on getting rid of your tv then? braver woman than me!

Mrs_Sparkle

Doesn't sound pathetic to me Lyns. Good luck in your mission x

davesgirl_2

good luck lyns:T

lynsayjane

bikerqueen wrote:

If you have a tv capable of recieving a signal, whether or not you watch it, and it's plugged in, you will need a tv licence. are you planning on getting rid of your tv then? braver woman than me!

i'd rather not, part of my skycard debt is the £750 i paid a month or so ago for my darling samsung lcd tv!!!

however my little sis has offered to baby sit it for me for a bit. perhaps i'll wait and see if i ever watch it or not. i'd have liked to keep it for dvd's and my gamecube.

mocolo

Hi Lynsayjane,

I had a B & W one for ages and then went TV free and I really liked it. I used to have all sorts of projects on the go, read a lot and never missed it. However, I am back with it now because a relative bought me one and it would seem hard to get rid.
I take your point about the DVD-could that be played on your computer or laptop, if you have one? (I have watched a few films on laptops in hotels!)

I am trying to have no TV days as well as no spend at the mo, because I believe I spend too much time like a lemon in front of it
Good luck with it all,
mocolo.

lynsayjane

i'm pleased to say i'm not someone who sits like a lemon in front of the tv. i used to watch 24 till that finished last week, apart from that it's music channels on sky, which i will miss out on the pleasure of shortly

my tv is mostly on (as it is now) with music playing while i'm online or on my sewing machine. i can watch dvds on my pc, which is what i may have to do.

i totally object to paying tv license and always have done since i had sky, it's like paying twice! i wonder what the chances are of them actually popping round to check i don't have a tv? it's not like they'll ever pick up a signal to it???

mocolo

I suggest you expect a call from them- it is so unusual in today's society not to have a TV that they, I think, work from the assumption that everyone has one.
I actually had them call to me and had several letters. I know other people who said that the TV licence people couldn't believe they didn't have TV.

Good luck,
mocolo

newleaf

Don't risk it Lyns, the fine is enormous. Best let your sis look after it for you.

Ebany

bikerqueen wrote:

If you have a tv capable of recieving a signal, whether or not you watch it, and it's plugged in, you will need a tv licence. are you planning on getting rid of your tv then? braver woman than me!

This is actually wrong - if you have a TV that you do not use to receive TV signals (ie it MUST NOT be connected to an arial - and if possible ensure that any arial you have on your house is badly positioned so you can't get a decent signal even if you do plug it in) then you don't have to have a licence.

Last year the house I rented had the arial cable broken and we couldnt be bothered to get the letting agents to fix it. However, we still bought a TV a we have a huge DVD collection and like to watch them. I called the Licencing people and they put a note on for your address saying you don;t receive a signal. Someone did also come round to take a look, but it was quite clear we had no arial connected so it was fine. Later in the year after bought another tv they came round again, but it was still the same situation.

Now I do get TV I happily pay for my licence, but I wasn't going to when I didnt even have an arial!

lynsayjane

so i should be ok if i just disconnect my tv from the arial?? shall do that then. unfortunatly i live in a flat and the arial on the roof is for all the flats so i can't do anything with that.