help a Newbie!! SOA now up !

mystra

t4mof wrote: »

The image of a goldfish on a train made me smile.

It is all about knowing where every penny goes. I'm on my banking website every night and I update my budget sheet with everything that has gone out that day and keep a measure against what I've budgeted for.

I will have a surplus left this month and for the first time I will be able to make an extra payment onto my MBNA card - it'll probably send their systems into overdrive :rotfl: MBNA have never had more than the minimum payment from me in 11 years :eek:

hehe congrats on the surplus, sounds like you're in great control of your finances! Hopefully i can be as well behaved and sensible with my money!

Taking the fish home was a nightmare enough in the car ... i put them in a cool box and had to keep stopping at the services to make sure they were ok... i think it must have taken me 5 hours to get home (normally takes 3 tops!)

t4mof

I like to think I am (just about) in control of the money now. Hasn't always been like that though.

No doubt something will crop up before pay day which will swallow the surplus I'm hoping to have. That's what usually happens. Oh well, 3 weeks to pay day and to stay out of trouble!!

mystra

t4mof wrote: »

I like to think I am (just about) in control of the money now. Hasn't always been like that though.

No doubt something will crop up before pay day which will swallow the surplus I'm hoping to have. That's what usually happens. Oh well, 3 weeks to pay day and to stay out of trouble!!

know the feeling, i'm always counting down to payday... even tho last pay day wasn't even a week ago!!

nic_santorini

just a question - does your work do the cycle to work offer - government run scheme that gets your tax back of the cost of your bike? It is a bit more complicated than that, but I know you can get the tax back somehow, an incentive scheme to get us out of our cars.

mystra

nic_santorini wrote: »

just a question - does your work do the cycle to work offer - government run scheme that gets your tax back of the cost of your bike? It is a bit more complicated than that, but I know you can get the tax back somehow, an incentive scheme to get us out of our cars.

I think they sort of do, but you have to have bought the bike through their own scheme if that makes sense, and i didn't find out about it til afterwards. I've kept the receipt tho just in case...

mystra

just to say

HURRAY!

Paid my credit card off! :T

Now onto that overdraft...


Must say its nice to breathe again financially and not be living on the edge all month but i've defo picked up some better habits for the experience!!

And my other half has finally been offered a job down in London on the same money as me so we can go properly halves on everything!

DayDreamSaver

HURRAY!!!!!!!! :j


Doesn't it feel wonderful? Has your OH had any luck with a job yet?

Keep going, you are doing amazing. :j

shebrett

try CEX just off oxford street for your games, my hubby swears by them for buying/selling second hand.

mystra

DayDreamSaver wrote: »

HURRAY!!!!!!!! :j


Doesn't it feel wonderful? Has your OH had any luck with a job yet?

Keep going, you are doing amazing. :j

yep he starts his new job in three weeks, so relieved!! he will be on the exact same as me too... always makes working out the bills feel a bit fairer! plus i can cook meals for two which is always better value and more fun that cooking something and freezing it etc to have it again and it never tastes as nice!!

Next thing to save up for is a new computer - have a Macbook pro 2008 at the mo but the battery health isn't brill on it, (i had to have a laptop as i had no desk at my parents house and received a random check off uni! long story) now i have a desk i want to get an iMac (yes i will only buy Macs, i hate PCs and i'm a designer and i'm so used to them now) I get a bonus end of the month so that will help towards it... don't think i'll get much for the laptop tho... they're pretty poor value on ebay etc... ho hum!

ms_london

Why don't you put the bonus into paying off your Overdraft? It sounds like you don't really NEED a new Mac you just WANT one? It sounds like you are doing a great job so far.

Also in terms of repaying your OD, have you asked your bank to reduce the limit by a set amount each month? Otherwise it feels as though you're never reducing it and can easily slip into it again and spend what you don't have.

I think you could perhaps reduce your grocery spend (the OldStyle board can help with this), and as others have said, your car is costing you a lot, and you'll probably find that you won't use it very much when you settle into London life. Perhaps for the odd weekend away or trip home, but at £137.50 a month - not including the extra cost for petrol, it makes an expensive journey back home. Just keep an eye on it I guess.

As you can probably guess from my name, I live in London too - and it can be expensive, but there also lots of cheap and free things to do. I was in £19,000 of debt and paid it off whilst living in London, so it can be done!

Best of luck, you've certainly come to the right place xx