Laura's 3rd-time-lucky diary

laura2481

Right- I've just added up all my CC debt and it's come to £5487.85. That's only £1326.15 less than at my LBM in Nov2008. I was -£2k, so in the last 8 months I've added about £800 to my debt. Basically overspent by £100 a month! (some of this is fees though from the balance transferring I've been doing to try to get it all onto 0%- which I have mostly succeeded in doing, but still not good.)

Mission1- pay off HSBC card asap. This is the only card accruing interest at the moment.

option 1- pay off over next 2 months. £65 this month, £69(ish) next month

option 2- take £120 out of xmas savings, and pay it all off this month. Replace £120 into saving between now and xmas. Pay no interest to myself!

Going to go with option 1 as even though I'll be paying interest for a couple of months there is a danger that I won't repay my xmas savings. Better leave them where they are!

I do have a £12 refund heading back onto my HSBC card so that will creep it down a little. I really need to stop money frittering.

Time to check my online banking methinks and see how much money I've amnaged to waste since payday- which was only last Thursday!

laura2481

I've just checked online banking and although I've managed to fritter away £100 in a week (!) there is a possibility I might make it through the month but I will need to withdraw cash and only use cash so i can keep track of what I'm spending. I've got money allocated for my train fair down to derby towards the end of the month, and I will get £20 refunded to my card by the wedding dress shop in Derby which took a deposit to make sure I turn up. For £20 I will turn up! I've got money allocated for my SW fees, next month I may buy a countdown and save the cost of one week but this month I just haven't got the cash spare to pay for 5 weeks. Or do I? Back to the spreadsheet....

Yep, I do. I can pay for 6 week countdown tomorrow (6 weeks for price of 5) and because I will be having a holiday in August it will end up that I only need to pay for 1 class in August. I'm gonna do it.

Tommorrow- take out £60 cash. £30 spending money for the week (to last until monday so should have some left on monday) £25 for slimming world. £5 remainder... pay back in?

laura2481

5 days since my last post and I've managed to stick to my plan. I actually only got out £50, so the £5 stayed in there. Probably a good job as I went to tesco to get some lunch and the self-service desk thing I used wouldn't accept the £10 note I had because it ripped so I had to use my card.

Considering going out now to the shops to get a few things for lunches for work. Thinking of making a big batch of tomato soup.. but it's raining and I'm feeling very lazy

Swinstie73

Hey Laura,

How's the wedding plans coming along! Love the purple wellies!

laura2481

Why am I so rubbish? I was doing so well and I've started gradually gradually slipping back to my old ways. I was even afraid to check my bank balance this month as I was afraid that I had gone over my overdaft. Well, that's it- tonight I am checking where I am at with my CC's. I know they've creeped up again. I'm going to cancel my HSBC card then I can't keep adding to it. If I can't pay for it with my current account then I can't afford it. Simples.

laura2481

Trying to gear myself up for September. Need to start going forwards again and not backwards. I think the total amount I've paid off is, so far, still over £1000 but that is disappointing as I da paid of £2k this time last year... I have on more item I want to add to my CC (sunglasses from work for honeymoon. V expensive. £160 at cost price- you don't wanna know what the RRP was ) and then I the only person I owe to is CC's (not great, but better than owing it to family/work) I'll sort that tomorrow. Then, I will call HSBC and cancel account so I can pay it off without any danger of adding to it, or interest rate going up.

I have also bought wedding gift for my H2be (planning in advance ) He is intending to wear, on the day, a pocket watch he was given for his 21st birsthday. I have bought him an antique solid silver chain and fob, both dated 1911 so they will be 100 years old next year when we get married, and the fob is blank (a lot of antique ones are engraved already so it was good to find one which hadn't been engraved) so I may get our wedding date engraved on it, or something. It was quite expensive.. £121 altogether, but I did haggle money off of both items. Saved £3.99 postage off of the the chain, and £4, off of the fob. It's not much but a penny saved... etc. Next month I intend to do the £5 a day challenge so that would have been £8 towards my goal!

mooomin

£160 for sunglasses?

*faints*

laura2481

flying_fresian wrote: »

£160 for sunglasses?

*faints*

When you've picked yerself off the floor - in my defense the RRP is much much more, and they are lovely, and for my honeymoon... and in penance I bought a sarong from a charity shop for £4, and got some 'Just married' flip flops for free with a special offer in a magazine (just paid P&P, saved £9.99) so althought the sunspecs were not very MSE (at all) then I am trying to get other stuff more MSE

mooomin

laura2481 wrote: »

When you've picked yerself off the floor - in my defense the RRP is much much more, and they are lovely, and for my honeymoon... and in penance I bought a sarong from a charity shop for £4, and got some 'Just married' flip flops for free with a special offer in a magazine (just paid P&P, saved £9.99) so althought the sunspecs were not very MSE (at all) then I am trying to get other stuff more MSE

As long as your justification works for you!

I nearly bought an iPod touch this week because there were enough Tesco points to get £93 of deals so I told myself it was only £60 really. Luckily I stopped myself before I realised I still had to hand over the £150 first

laura2481

August Review:
This month did I?

1. Keep a track of all my incomings and outgoings Nope
2. Make at least one overpayment to a debt per month Not yet- will do tonight
3. Always think 'do I NEED this, or WANT this?' before I buy anything. Sometimes- I have talked myself out of some stupid impulse purchases
4. Always look for a cheaper option. Sometime

Must do better in September.

September goal:

1. Do £5 a day in September challenge (to make me think a bit more about what I'm spending and possibly bring in a bit more income from somewhere!)
2. Find out exactly what owed on HSBC card now, seeing as I've been adding to it
3. Work out a plan of action for getting rid of it asap!