I can't beleive how easy it can be

Bonglecat

Weird thing happened this week after my excellent news, instead of think "waa hay debt's nearly gone now I can splurge" I find I have gone the other way and actually got super frugal. I spent £52 on the weekly shop which is half what it is some weeks. I made my list an stuck to it, I looked for the cheapest options for things, bought own brands instead of big brands, I was totally on fire. I even took some advice my Dad email a while back and filled the car with petrol eco style, do it in the morning when it's cold, fill gently to stop vapour expansion.

I went out to dinner with my friends last night and whilst I ordered something I like I was also keeping an eye on the price and ended up with the smallest bill out of all of us. (one of my friends insists all bills are worked out for everyone rather than £100 okay that's £20 each which is probably what I would do.)

And I am starting to use cash rather than card so that I can get the feel of how much I am spending. I'm feeling a bit weird emotionally at the moment to think hat all the stress and worry might be over very shortly. Last night I was kept awake with okay by the time the bank pays out the compensation another payment for the loan will have gone out anyway, I already have £800 savings, if I'm good this month that ill be £1600 by pay day, so I could pay off the loan in one go. Once the loan is paid off I will have £483 extra a month, if I plough that into the cc and perhaps add in the savings instead I could have the cc gone in 2 months. That means £600 extra a month, can I up my savings from £800 (which I normally dip in to) to something like £1000 and fingers crossed leave. That way it won't be many months before have a nest egg/enough to renovate the living room/enough to pay off the car loan (which would be another £250 a month not going out. So you can see my mind is racing, I'm trying to calm down because I always find if I get over excited something usually happens to bring me down.

But first things first I need to sign my acceptance of the offer and post it back to them tomorrow, then we will see what we will see.

Bonglecat

So tomorrow is pay day and yesterday the £5,500 compensation hit my account. I got a redemption figure from the bank and it would include a £150 interest refund. Now the credit card interest last month was £37, if I pay off the loan I can plough £700 a month in to the Credit Card thereby getting it paid off in 3 months, so working on the basis the cc interest will reduce month on month, I would ultimately save a bit of interest.

Okay so the plan is next week the loan finally gets paid off, then it's all hands to the pump to get the credit card done asap.

I am so excited finally being loan free!!!!!!!!

Bonglecat

Evening all, so I was just going to report the standard repayments for the loan and cc but as it happens I was able to pay the loan off completely, I had thought the pending DD would make a difference but it didn't. So that's it I have completely paid off my loan.

I do feel a little bit like I've cheated but to finally have no loan at all is amazing. I seem to have had a loan continually since I started work but now that is all over, never again. If you remember this isn't actually my loan anyway, it was to repay my husbands credit cards. Just need to plough the £483 loan repayments into the cc and I can actually say debt free in 2016.

Well I say debt free I do have a car loan but I haven't been counting that since it is an actual finance for a thing rather than just debts run up on whoknowswhat!!!

Bonglecat

So as it's March I think I had better do my annual update, it's been nearly 6 years since my LBM and wow have we really progressed. No catalogues, store cards and only one cc. The personal loan has gone, in fact I have paid off 2 personal loans in that time my original one and just this week the last of the £25,000 which was for DHs CC.

Light Bulb moment June 2010
Credit Cards £10524.91
Personal Loan £6088.42
Overdraft £1000 1st a/c and £600 2nd a/c
DHs cc £25,000
TOTAL £43,213.33

March 2014
Credit Card £2461.75
Catalogue Closed and gone
Personal Loan £17897.64
Overdraft NIL
TOTAL £20359.39

March 2015
Credit Card £NIL (£3,000 limit)
Catalogue Long gone
Personal Loan £12039
Overdraft NIL
TOTAL £12039

March 2016
Credit Card £2389.64 (£4,000 limit)
Catalogue Long Long gone
Personal Loan NIL
Overdraft NIL(emergency limit reduced from£1,000 to £500)
TOTAL £2389.64

So looking to the future I plan to pay £700 per month on the cc, that is the usual £200 plus the £500 we were paying on the loan so we won't be any better off for 3 or 4 months. Next item on the agenda is the car finance. What!!! You ask there's more, well okay there is actually. I mentioned a couple of years ago we changed the car and they gave us finance but I have never really bothered to put in on here because it is actual finance for an actual thing like the mortgage rather than just lost money on silly piffery which is what all the catalogue and cc money was. £43,000 on nothing But once they are out of the way I can refocus.

So here's the plan:

1. Pay off credit card by June
2. At the same time save £800 per month and DO NOT pinch any (we have no holidays or trips on the cards until September now)
3. Continue paying £200 on car finance
4. In September the amount saved should be exceeding the amount owed on the car finance
5. Contact car finance company and arrange early repayment, any refund of interest is gravy.

Need to be really good and concentrate on every last penny to pull this off because normally we end up dipping in to savings for this an that. But come June I won't be making the £700 cc payments so that will help enormously.

All this would mean having nearly £1,000 less going out each month than we did have at the start of the year and no debts except the mortgage. Hmmmm you can guess where my eye will fall next.

MissShoes

What wonderful news! Have really enjoyed reading your happy news.....roll on DF in 2016!

Shoes

xx

Bonglecat

I've just finished reading an interesting book that a friend recommended it is called "The Millionaire Next-door", it is American based and somewhat out of date now, it was written before the global financial crisis but it's core message still hold true.

It breaks people down in to Under accumulators of wealth (UAW) and prodigious accumulators of wealth (PAW) of course these are broad generalisations but basically the UAWs may be in high income jobs (accountants, lawyers, doctors) but because they spend so much of their money on the trappings of wealth, big houses, cars, watches, clothes etc so that whilst they look wealthy they don't have much money accumulated behind them in savings and investments or pension funds, so they are in effect living pay day to pay day.

Then there are the PAW who were more likely to own their own business in a trade (constructions, distribution, even farming) but they will not be focused on proving their wealth so they don't spend much on cars or clothes, live in more modest houses and will have accumulated in savings and investments several million dollars.

This reminded me of a customer when I worked on the bank counter, I could see his balances so I knew he had a lot of money but I never forget the day he said to me "I could buy a brand new Rolls Royce or Bentley cash but I don't, I drive a 12 year old cavalier and the reason I could afford a fancy car is because I drive a 12 year old cavalier"

We all (and by that I mean me) need to stop thinking that we need to get status symbols to be valued. If I can get us debt free by the end of the year it will take a lot of mental pressure off us and even allow my DH to retire early (he's not been well) surely that is a lot more important than a Tag Heuer watch or a Mercedes on the drive?

erin_transport

Morning Bongle
I've been reading your inspiring diary entries and seeing the fantastic progresss made.
If you get a chance read the 'millionaire women next door'. Some fascinating quotes, examples and points of view!
Keep up the good work.

Bonglecat

In my continuing effort to economise I got a free kindle book called Pinch Like you Mean It, from Dr Penny Pincher. It was rather American based and had tips for specific shops but on the whole the message was "Don't buy rubbish" and look around for a bargain, I am so on board with that.

I joined a facebook group called Feed Yourself for £1 a day, I'm not taking it too literally just picking up tips. So far I picked up some low fat pate in the yellow sticker section in Mr M (across from my office), it was a double pack for 56p, so I split it in half frozen one section and then used the other with toast for dinner on Tuesday and lunch on Friday. Fortunately I told me workmate about my plans so on Friday afternoon when we were both tired and talking about the weekend she reminded me that having a Chinese takeaway that night would be counter-productive. She was right and I ended up with home-made Thai curry and sticky rice, so just as nice really.

Today I was up early and off to try the new Aldi down the road, I had made a list but ended up getting some more stuff, nothing too bad mostly things I needed but had forgotten about like cling film and rinse aid. The 2 indulgences were a tube of hand cream £1.49 and Cat treats 5 packs at 69p but in my defence the usual treats I get from Mr A are £1 and you get less.

In the end my shop cost £32.45 and that we last DH and I for a week, including our 5 fur babies. The one thing I couldn't get though was lentils and I use them a lot in my "spot the meat" cottage pie and chilli so I popped down the corner shop for those 89p, I also stopped by our local greengrocers as I realised I was out of onions, carrots and my potatoes had all gone to seed. On the advice of the lovely Mr Silcock I got 3lb of Wilja potatoes as he said those were the best for mashing they cost 71p and a bag of 2 carrots and 4 onions cost 86p, might have got everything cheaper at Aldi if they were on the special buys but it is also nice to support local businesses.

Anyway off now to make a big pot of chilli and a few cottage pies to freeze.

Bonglecat

So my feed yourself for a pound a day philosophy is paying off, :Dlast weeks food bill was £32.45 which included £5 for cat treats. I bulk made Cottage Pies and Chilli to freeze and worked out these cost 40p per portion. I used a mix of cheaper and more expensive mince and bulked it up with lentils, which makes it cheaper overall and healthier.

So this week I decided to max out my savings by going to the local shops which are literally at the end of the road. I got 2 chicken breast £1 each, same as Mr A (4 pack for £4) but they are twice the size and treated DH to 3 tomato sausages for £1.40 from the butchers. I then went to the Greengrocers and picked up a stack of veggies for £6.70. Quick stop at Mr A (although I forgot to take my 14p coupon) to get general groceries such as rice and cheese that was £8.56 only YS item I found was a pack of mini bharjis reduced to 71p, that'll do for DHs lunch. Sadly Mr A did not have small bags of flour (I only ever use a bit for making sauces and I have had weevils in the past so don't like getting big bags) or own brand ibuprofen, so I stopped at Mr T on the way passed and got those plus some eggs for £1.59. Weekly shop which with meal planning will definitely cover me for 7 days cost.......£20.25.

It's farmers market day today where I live, but I have decided not to go. This is not the sort of market where you can get cheap stuff this is the luxury rare bread sausages and organic kale type market. :cool: I do love the stuff but for the moment I will keep away. Especially if I go in to the village I will probably end up getting treats in M&S and blowing the budget anyway.

So this is great we have £210 in our C/A and £322 in the savings account, pay day is 11 days away. £100 of that will go on DHs ciggies but if I keep a tight rein on things we could end the month with no dip in to the overdraft at all. Fingers crossed!!! :A

I did have to point out to DH the other day that he had spent £100 on books from ebay in 2 days, so I had to ask him to stop until after payday. Also I had the dentist this week and that was £80 for check up and polish, if it wasn't for that we would be in a stonking position but as it is I am quietly content.

I was reading a debt advice article the other day and one of the things it mentioned was don't save while you have debts. Which makes sense when you consider the interest rates at the moment. So I have decided that this month I will take the £500 not paid to the loan plus the usual £200 for the cc but also use the £800, savings to pay a big wadge off the cc. That should mean the following month it will be cleared and I will have £500 savings as well. I can then up the savings to £1,000 a month and focus on gathering together enough to repay the car finance early.:j

I sometimes think my diary title puts people off reading because it's not easy and I know that. But what I meant was once you realise where you are being stupid with your money it becomes easier and easier to focus on the right things. In the 5 years I've being doing this I have had a few trips and slips but I have paid of over £40k :eek: and am teetering on the edge of a Debt Free life. :T

Bonglecat

So T-5 until payday bank account £29.12 but I have just done quick cupboard and freezer inventory and my shopping list is going to be very small.

Dinners for the week:

Saturday - Beans on Toast
Sunday - NutRoast, Mash and veggies (I'll tell DH it's meatloaf)
Monday - Chilli & Rice
Tuesday - Pasta with Tomato sauce and Quorn Mince
Wednesday - Pizza (bought for DH and home made for me)
Thursday - Cottage Pie and Veg
Friday - Payday Chinese Takeaway

We always have a Chinese Takeaway the Friday after payday, it's DH's monthly treat.

So this means my Shopping List is:

Potatoes
Broccoli
Carrots
Cabbage for the rabbits
Crisps
1/2 loaf
Cheese
1 pizza
Tin of Mackeral in tomato sauce (used to make my pizza)
and a box of cat food.

I'd like to keep this lot under £10, if possible.