Goal - 3 debts paid by Christmas

Triggles

Three of our debts to be paid off/taken care of by F&F by Christmas. That is our goal. It means lots of NSDs, scrimping and saving, and taking advantage of monetary opportunities (ebay, free bingo, coupons, and so on!) that come our way.

We have been on a self managed DMP since December 2009, and it's been quite an experience. We have been paying regularly to our creditors for 6 months now, although they are greatly reduced payments, which unfortunately don't even cover the interest and charges they keep piling on, we're in the process of increasing the payments this month, and requesting AGAIN (for about the umpteenth time!) that they all stop the interest and charges on the accounts. Fingers crossed they come around on this point soon!

We've started to slack somewhat on the meal planning and grocery shop, so we're tightening things up again. And I'm pushing for NSDs as often as possible. I'm going to try to keep track of all our spending here so I can see where it's all going....so it can remedied. And keep track of things in general so I have some type of record for myself as well. I tried to blog once before, but didn't push myself to keep going, so this time, I'm determined. One entry a day at the very least, so I can record expenditures and NSDs.

First plan of attack for me today is sorting debt files. We have a couple creditors that are skirting rules... we're getting letters/statements from both them AND collection agencies for the same account. This causes so much hassle and confusion, so my first letters typed up will be to them (both DCA and original creditor) asking for clarification on who owns the debt and where payment should be made, as both places are asking for payment. I currently am paying the original creditors until I receive something in writing from them saying to pay the DCA instead.

Then I will be writing to the rest of the creditors to let them know we are increasing our monthly payments as of 1st July 2010 and again asking them to cease charges and interest on the accounts. I will make sure to point out that we have been making regular payments every month by standing order for the last 6 months and will continue to do so. Hopefully they will meet us halfway on this issue or these debts will never decrease.

As for household stuff, need to get some laundry caught up, and tea tonight is chicken curry with rice. Hopefully the kids will settle into bed on time, so we can relax and watch the football tonight.

I've designated change jars for both boys for their savings, as well as a change jar for savings towards F&Fs. Loose change can go evenly into these jars, and here's hoping it will go a long way towards helping out with paying off these debts by Christmas.

I also play free bingo at a particular bingo site and have won a fair amount of money (which I then withdrew!) and used to pay for things needed around the house that we simply couldn't take out of our regular budget (for example, replaced tv stand as it was dangerously wobbly, and as we have two small children, it was rather dangerous!) I won over £700, so we were thrilled! The rest of the money is now sitting in our savings account for emergencies (in case fridge, washer, cooker, or car breaks down!).

Off to sort paperwork and type up those letters now....

Triggles

I'm determined that today will be a NSD. We're out of bananas, which is a huge staple for the kids. But we have apples, and DS2 will have to make do with apples instead of bananas until they are gone, which will be another day or two. We bought a bumbo with tray yesterday for DS3 off ebay for £13. If we'd bought it new (full price), it would have come to roughly £44, so all in all a good purchase. DS3 is a lot like DS2 was at this age - he CAN sit upright, but doesn't want to. He's more interested in crawling, so he tips over quite quickly. In the bumbo, however, he's happy to sit for a bit and play with a few toys, which gives me a few minutes to hoover or clean up while he's entertained. Small price to pay to allow me a bit of time to get some cleaning done.

Today tasks:
- finish letters to creditors. I did two of them, but then (during an annoying bout of insomnia last night) went through the debt files, highlighting letter dates and making sure everything was in order. I realised that Santander is all over the place on one debt - sending us 15 letters over the course of 2 weeks in March/April 2010, 7 of which were default notices for the same account (with slightly varying amounts listed for a total). Over the course of 30 days, we've received letters regarding this account from Santander, Viking (their in house collection group) and 1st credit. I find this rather unreasonable and am going to send them a letter stating that I need to know precisely where this account is being held or who now owns it and where they want correspondence/payment to go. So that letter will need to be redone. I also will be sending letters to every creditor advising them that we are increasing their monthly payments as of July, and again asking them to stop charges and interest (never hurts to ask!).

- put recently revised budget info into spreadsheet We've redone the budget as there have been some changes here and there, allowing now for school expenses/uniform costs over the next year, as DS3 starts reception in September. We were making quite small payments to the creditors, but at least starting in July we will be able to double these payments now. It's not much, but at least we are increasing the amounts we're paying.

- do mealplan for the next week DH did the inventory of the freezers for me, so now we need to organise the meal plan for the week. Mini goal right now of waiting as long as possible before going on the grocery shop, to use what we already have in the house. We can only go so far, of course, as we have 2 little ones who eat fresh fruit - so once that runs out, I will need to pop in to get that and milk. Should be able to go for at least a few more days. I forgot to take something out to thaw (meat) for tea tonight, but we've decided to have something that can be cooked from frozen to clear out the freezer a bit so that's easy. Must remember to take out something for tomorrow night though - once I finish the mealplan!

- play free bingo in background on computer during day Play a daily free game, which sometimes wins money. I can leave the computer running while I'm doing other things, and pop back over to do here and there to get the free tickets. We've won between £5 and £25 a number of times on it this way. You must have £10 to withdraw, so if I win £10 or more, I can withdraw, but if I win under £10, I will sometimes play it and build it up if possible to get over £10. This is how I won the £700 in May, was by building up (separately) from a couple £3 wins and a £5 win on different days. I don't mind playing the smaller amount to try to win more, as it's free money, so I'm not out the money. DH did this last month as well (he also has an account there), and withdrew £100 in free money, which he tucked away in savings. :j

- pay electric and gas bills online Our quarterly electric and gas bills have arrived (by email) and in order to get a prompt payment discount, I want to get them paid immediately. They're not too bad - about £115 each. We ran the heater quite a bit this spring, so knew the gas bill was going to be higher than we would have liked, but both myself and the boys were sick quite frequently and it was fairly cold, so I guess that's life. When they're a bit older, we can all just dress warmer to keep them warm, but it's a bit hard with a toddler and infant who keep taking off their clothing!! :rotfl: (I'm assuming that paying the electric and gas bills does not count for the NSD as it's a household bill, not a random spend!)

Well then, the tasks for the day are outlined. Off to grab a coffee and then get things done!

Triggles

A bit of a disruptive day, but still managed to complete all the tasks for the most part. Still have one letter (out of eight) that I need to reword a few phrases, I think. But feeling quite pleased that I've finished what I wanted to do today.

Remembered to take some chicken thigh filets out to thaw for Monday's tea. (I have to say that's a big one for me - I plan a meal, but forget to take the meat out to thaw - so I'm making an effort to keep on top of it!)

As I have finished my list today, while I'm sitting and relaxing a bit this evening, I'm going to start organising my Christmas list. I need to sort out who is being sent Christmas cards, gifts for children (close relatives), simple family-appropriate gifts (family friends), and gifts for specific adult relatives (MIL, SIL, etc). Then I need to set a general budget for each person's gift, so DH can browse the list. It's always helpful for us to pass the list back and forth, checking it, so nobody gets missed or forgotten! Then I'll start jotting down any gift ideas, so I can keep an eye out for anything that might be suitable between now and Christmas. If I have any extra time, I'll double check the upcoming birthdays/anniversaries/holiday list to see what's coming up that I need to have cards for. I've already sent Father's Day cards to my father, so that's taken care of, but I know we have a large number of family birthdays and a few anniversaries coming up in the next month or so.

I found a nice buy at Asda's the other day - we found cornmeal (maize meal) for about 39p for a bag - which IIRC is quite a bit cheaper than when I bought it from a health food store last year. We like homemade cornbread (especially hot with butter on it!) with spicy foods like chili, so I was quite pleased at finding a good price for that!

I'm going to go put my feet up and start working on my Christmas list. Is it too soon for one of these? ===>:xmassmile:xmastree: I just love the autumn and then the holidays - my favourite time of year!!

Mini-goal - do more baking as I got out of the habit of it when I was heavily pregnant and then ill. In the past couple weeks, I've made brownies, banana bread, raisin scones, and chocolate chip cherry scones. So at least I'm upping my game a little! :rotfl:

slummymummyof3

Have you posted a recent SOA so we can see if there is anywhere you can reasonably cut back anywhere to increase your debt repayments?

Hope you buy your fruit/veg in Aldi or Lidl as it is a lot cheaper there!

Well done on your progress so far.

Triggles

slummymummyof3 - I posted one quite some time ago, yes. I haven't posted one since I started the DMP although we have managed to trim it back a bit more recently. We've trimmed about all we reasonably can at the moment, except for our grocery budget, which is due to go down soon, as DS3 will be off of formula in about a month or so, and DS2 is almost potty trained, so one less in nappies. We'll most likely put that extra £ in savings so we have a healthy amount in our savings in case of an emergency (and for possible F&Fs at the end of the year). We set fairly reasonable amounts for everything, and if we have a little left over at the end of the month, it goes in savings. At this point, since the DMP is fairly new (just 6 months), we're not comfortable pushing the payments up too high and then having to lower them again if we find out that we can't keep up the payments.

I don't go to Lidl too frequently as in order to get there locally I would need to pay for parking, which offsets the savings. I check the fruit/veg in Aldi to see if the ones that are on sale are any we will be buying that week. I do tend to watch the sales in Sainsburys the most, as DH works there, so we get a discount. Although I'm not adverse to watching for good sales at Tescos, Morrisons, Aldis, and Lidls (if we're already going into town for something else anyway).

Well, I got a fairly good start on my Christmas card list, gift list, and jotting down upcoming birthday gift ideas (although we've already purchased a few of them and tucked them aside). I'm hoping this year to get back to making my Christmas cards, although I may still have a pack of them that I purchased last year and didn't use. If so, I'll use those cards this year, as I don't want to waste the money.

Goodness, I really need to do something about this insomnia I've been having lately..... LOL

Triggles

Having a little bit of a "head in the sand" day today, I think. Or at least feeling like I want to. DH is so stressed and depressed over the finances that he is seeing the GP today. I think men take financial issues as a personal failure and take it much more personally than women do. Or maybe it's just DH. I feel a bit like a failure over it sometimes, I suppose, but generally push past that and get on with things. There's not any other option - deal with it or sink.

Letters need to be addressed and posted today, so that's to be done. I need to finish the one letter I was waffling over in the early hours.

We've always had one bank account in joint names, but since this DMP we've had to have two, as all the debts (except one) are in DH's name. So there are now 2 accounts. Mine to try and keep some positive credit history going and savings, and DH's which we will need to function out of without any overdraft protection. Which is fine, except as soon as we had separate accounts, things got a bit wobbly. DH's pride is a bit out of whack at all this, and we have to struggle to keep it defined as OUR bank accounts, not yours and mine. I will be moving the income over to DH's account, and setting up the standing orders on that as well. It can be such a hassle, but I guess that's life. Once it's all set up, I imagine it will be easier to move along.

Today starts our new budget (might as well get used to it now, even though the increased payments don't start until July), so it's now cash only for petrol and groceries. It forces us to be more careful. Along with a spending diary.

Ooops - need to run DS2 to preschool!

Triggles

Another NSD yesterday. That's 2 so far. I have to enjoy the small things. Today I'm posting all the letters after a meeting at the school. DS2 starts reception this year, so I imagine after September I'll be on here grousing about how the schools ask for money for this and that constantly.

Well, due to the pressure (mainly) of the finances, DH is on meds now for stress/depression. He's also going to go to some type of counselling I think. It's just as well, as I think it will help him get it into perspective. There are days when you can tell he's worrying it about in his head all day long. That's just not healthy, IMO. Yes, being in debt is worrying and stressful, but you have to allow yourself (and your family/kids) to have a life as well. I think it's a fine balance, as you can swing between guilty if you spend anything at all (thinking "oh I should be using this to pay off my debt!") to going the other way and being frustrated (like "why should they be able to rule my life" and such). I will admit that I find myself going back and forth on it here and there. I think at this point the difference is that I can mentally pull myself out of it, but DH is so stressed about it that it tends to consume him. Hopefully, this will help him adapt a bit better and feel more himself. I never really appreciated before how much debt can suck out of your enjoyment of life - not just the "not being able to buy things" part but just the ongoing mental grind of it all.

A slight wish this morning that the weather would clear up a bit - still overcast and looking like rain, which means no chance of hanging out laundry today. I'll still wash clothes, just hang them up inside. I'd just prefer they hang outside rather than in my dining room!

Alright then. Off to get things done....

Triggles

Letters posted to all the creditors with details of the increase in payments we'll be making, plus another request to cancel interest and charges. I think I'll simply request that each and every letter. Maybe I'll wear 'em down by asking each time. :rotfl:

DH and I discussed it and are tempted to start putting £1 cheques in envelopes when we send a letter to a creditor. We'll know they've been received when the cheque has been cashed. I see no point in paying extra money to Royal Mail for extra postage to registered mail when I can simply produce our bank account and say "this cheque was in this letter, so obviously it was received as the cheque was cashed." That £10 we were spending to send it can then at least go on our debt. It's a miniscule amount, true, but better than £10 that simply goes on postage costs.

Our next correspondence with the creditors is planned to be "please update your details" letter to them. We want updated and current information on:
- current balance of debt
- who owns the debt (original creditor or DCA) at this time
- what address is the best to use for correspondence regarding account (as some of them have numerous addresses!)
- what department (or ideally WHO) can we correspond with in order to make our dealings simpler and more efficient for both them and us
- who specifically do was currently need to pay our monthly payments to? (original creditor or DCA)
These creditors are always demanding so much info from us, but it seems that we are always kept in the dark or off balance by them by being shunted around from department to department and getting correspondence from 2-3 different departments in their business. I'm tired of all the confusion and am going to make it clear that I'm happy to work with them, but I expect them to play ball as well. *grumpy and tired of being jerked around emoticon*

Did this week's shop. £29!! Hooray! (and that was with a couple extra items that we picked up that were on sale that we hadn't planned on buying!) I'm quite pleased with that. We will need to stock up on nappies again soon, so I'm trying to keep the shopping expenses low in order to stock up when nappies are on sale, either at Sainsburys or Boots. Nectar points are officially "off-limits" as they are being saved to pay for our Christmas shop.

The school meeting was interesting. My goodness, I had no idea how expensive school lunches had become!! £2.10!! I know for some people that seems cheap, but I have a 3 (almost 4) year old that is an incredibly picky eater and he simply would not eat half the lunch they have, no matter how delicious it might sound to us. Much more economical for us to pack lunches for him, and we can easily pack a lunch for less than £2.10 each. Uniforms seem fairly straight forward. The school does not insist on the uniforms with the school emblem on them and do not mind if it is from any store, as long as it is the uniform colours. So we'll probably just pick up a few items with the school emblem (so he has some like the other children) and then the rest of his uniform clothing will be without the emblem. Apparently Matalan and Tesco carry the school clothing we will need, so that's a huge relief. I was a bit worried about uniform costs. We're budgeting to buy it all as soon as possible, so it's done and dusted. I don't want to worry that an expense crops up and we then can't afford his school uniforms!

twinmum07

I quite like the idea with the cheques. If you are writing regularly you can use different amount to track each letter, I love the idea of saying 'I know you received my letter as my cheque for 47p was cashed'!
You don't seem to have your heads in the sand at all - quite the opposite - you seem very methodical and organised. We are working at getting our heads out of the sand and now just have our faces in the sand!!!

SAHMto2boys

Hi, just having a read through as you posted over on mine - have subscribed!

Sorry to hear your DH is not managing too well with everything, glad he's seeked help and is being helped in a good way. Good to hear that the GP isn't happy too just to give him some meds but refer him for counselling too, its that that will help in the long run.

My oldest DS is in nursery at the local school and everything has to have the school badge on so thats great your school isn't strict on it as its so expensive (and it all washes rubbish!). £2.10 for a school lunch!! Yikes, I can remember buying a weeks worth of 'tokens' for £3.50 when I was a lass LOL.

I'm another one who loves autumn and the Christmas run up - DH thinks I'm mad as I wish the summer away. I have got most of DS's presents for both birthdays and christmas and a few other family members gifts too. I love picking up bargains through the year, I don't think you notice the spending either so it makes it easier money-wise when Christmas it here.

Look forward to keeping up with your posts xx

Triggles

I have to say I'm pleased with the GP's response for DH's depression/stress. She's lined him up to go to a stress/anger management type thing in the autumn (not available locally sooner), and as that's quite a long time away, she has set him up for a therapist to contact him weekly, as well as giving him a number of other resources designed to help him learn about stress and depression and what it does to you, how to recognise triggers, and how to explore better ways of coping. Some reading, some workbook/discussion type things. Along with medication and checking back in with the GP in 3 wks for further discussion. I think its all going to be a big help to him.

Interestingly enough, when I went on the Iceland website recently, I noticed that they have a "bingo" site attached - where you win Iceland vouchers. I will have to check that out and see what it's all about. I don't mind getting free vouchers to use! I need to explore that a bit more fully to see what it entails.

Oh, I just hate insomnia... am soo tired, but can't seem to sleep....