My Debt-Free-Wannabe Diary

itswhat

I would say it depends on your resolve.
I remember being told of someone who used her CC ( cashback or points one, not sure which) but actually debited the items from her cheque book (current account)balance. So her balance on her current account took into consideration what was being spent on the CC- with me so far?
It meant she just didn't worry about paying the bill as it was all taken care of, she just wrote the cheque.

As soon as things are looking alittle better for us adn I have a suitable card with 0 balance I was thinking of doing that

IW

Seaxwyn

Hi there

I can't really advise as obviously cashback is a big plus if it works for you.

But I would say that living on cash only is great. I started doing it recently and it has really helped me know exactly what was going out - which I never did before when I mainly used a debit card. It also made it easier to live on a budget as if the money wasn't in my purse, I couldn't spend it.

I have been using the card again this month for xmas presents and stuff and I really don't like the feeling of not knowing how much I've spent or what's in the bank. Come January it will be back to cash.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Seaxwyn

DontDoDebtKids

This is all a bit of a conundrum to me.

1) My problem is that spending on the credit card means that the balance builds up and, the next month, you have to use the credit card because otherwise there isn't the balance in your bank account to pay off last month's bill.

2) The MSE way, however, logically leads to using a cashback card for all possible purchases in order to maximise the benefits.

I suppose one solution is to pay using electronic banking, say at the end of every week, to keep the balance close to zero.

The other is to stop using the credit card. Seems a shame to lost the cashback though...

DontDoDebtKids

Spending Diary

£250.67 hotel
£4.00 bus from airport
£9.99 christmas tree
£1.96 bit of wood from B&Q
£25.72 groceries (to be refunded)
£0.40 lunches at work
£22.80 business expenses (to be refunded)
£153.20 (£102 to be refunded) business lunch
£4.80 g&t
£14.00 taxis
£5.00 wreath
£6.00 birthday presents
£11.24 kitchen baking trays (for xmas dinner)
£10.71 photo developing
£63.60 port, champagne & flowers
£7.60 train tickets
£1.20 charity donation

Total: £442.37

Gosh what a long list...

gallygirl

On the other hand, as you should be spending as little as possible the cashback should be almost neglible.

Unless you can trust yourself to use for necessary purchase only (see all our comments on your spending diary for definitions of 'necessary';) ) I'd get rid of it pronto.

gallygirl

DontDoDebtKids wrote:

Spending Diary

£63.60 port, champagne & flowers


Total: £442.37

Gosh what a long list...

Ahem, I refer to my comment above about necessary spending.......

Imelda

Hi DDDK's,

I have a similar dilemma with the credit card, the first lesson I learnt when I became a DFW was not to use my credit card at all. However now I have settled in and have a manageable budget I use my cash back credit card for practically everything. What I do is transfer the amount I have put onto my card into my savings account, then when the bill come in I have enough tucked away to pay it off, I also earn a few pennies interest each month too.
It took me about 5 months to have the discipline to do this, and now I even round the amounts up to the nearest £1 and have built up almost £30 extra (which comes off my 0% card).

DontDoDebtKids

FINALLY!

This thread was quickly becoming the DDDK's overspending and telling off diary. Time for a change of tune:

:money: :money: The mystical cheque has arrived in the post and I have my grubby little hands on it!:money: :money:

Now I need to go to the bank to pay it in so I will quickly nip there this morning.

I've phoned Egg to sort out how to pay off my loan - WOW what a christmas present!!! :rotfl:

My direct debit goes on the 21st so they reckon (once prodded by myself) that, to avoid arseing about, it's worth settling it on the 21st once they can take account of the £139.75 payment. The settlement amount now is £6411.89 and so I reckon that the settlement amount once the £139.75 is paid is roughly £6272.14.

Soooo....

Debt payment account balance: £2335.22
Cheque from Capital One: £5098.12

Total to apply to debts: £7433.34

Debt Totals

M&S: £6789.45
Egg: £6365.83 (settlement £6411.89???)
Lloyds: £1842.06
Amex: £5594.31

Total: £20,591.65

So, settle Egg for £6411.89 leaving £1021.45 in current account.
Then, pay down Amex by £1021.45 to £4572.86

Projected debt totals:

M&S: £6789.45
Lloyds: £1842.06
Amex: £4572.86
Total: £13,204.37

DDDK :T

DontDoDebtKids

Just back from bank where I deposited two cheques - the Capital One cheque and a £51 cheque I also needed to put in!

DDDK

DontDoDebtKids

Done some YouGov surveys - now up to £4.75...