To remind myself how far I've come - my debt diary. - SOA added

donteatthat

I don't know if you already do this, but I order my lenses via quidco and get the cashback as I find the opticians are much more pricey. I pay them £15 a quarter for my lens checks and they give me a prescription so I can order online.
Just a thought if you don't already do this :-)

chocaholic110

ali007 wrote:

Sorry hon, charity begins at home. Cancel this - it's not costing £8 a month, it's costing that PLUS interest as that £8 isn't being paid towards debts. Keep a note of how many months you've missed and catch up only when you are debt free.

I have already reduced this amount. Somehow I got talked into giving Barnadoes £10 a month - that was a weak moment!! Could maybe get rid of one or two but can't (won't , I suppose) cancel payment to FSID as I give to them due to personal reasons.

ali007 wrote:

In general, you need to keep a diary & itemise everything you spend - your weekly sum of £90 has some petrol but you also have a separate amount for this? Would be a really good idea to write everything in diary BEFORE you spend it. Also put some stickers on your cards to shame you....:o

Generally the petrol out of the £90 is for OH, the other is mine, sorry that wasn't very clear!
Thinking about giving the spending diary a go - sort of started doing that on Moozie's thread each day.

chocaholic110

donteatthat wrote:

I don't know if you already do this, but I order my lenses via quidco and get the cashback as I find the opticians are much more pricey. I pay them £15 a quarter for my lens checks and they give me a prescription so I can order online.
Just a thought if you don't already do this :-)

Hmmm, will have to look into this...not something I'd thought about. Will have to look for one that does All day, all night lenses.

moozie_2

Hello chocaholic110

One quick point about your phonebill. Mine used to be high but it has reduced significantly by using the 'UK call checker' on the left of this page. Please do give it a go as it's easy and you just dial a number before you dial the number you want to call. Definitely worth it

Well done and keep it up, you are quite an inspiration! :T

anniestar

Hun you inspire me. You have done SO well with all your debt clearing. Am so sorry about your sad news. My thoughts are with you.

tryhard_2

Sorry to hear about your sad news. well done on the repayment front. you seem to be doing brilliantly at ebaying have you thought of becoming a ebay trading assistant?

chocaholic110

bride2be2006 wrote:

Hi Chocaholic - congrats on your success so far! the main reason for me joining this site is we want a baby too and to buy our own house so I can totally relate to you, what sort of things have you been selling on ebay? I am going to have a clear out tomorrow and see what i can list to make some extra cash for christmas pressies

Sorry for missing this post last night.I do apologise!

So far on ebay I've sold books, Cds, clothes (adult and child), toys and bits and bobs. It's hard to say what goes well as some lovely stuff has gone for peanuts and other stuff I thought people wouldn't want has gone really well.

Basically I've just sold anything that we haven't used and probably wouldn't use.

chocaholic110

tryhard wrote:

Sorry to hear about your sad news. well done on the repayment front. you seem to be doing brilliantly at ebaying have you thought of becoming a ebay trading assistant?

What is an ebay trading assistant?

flowerofscotland

Well done on what you have achieved so far and thanks for posting your inspiring "journey" - highs and lows.

Just a thought about your phone calls to DH - sometimes it is cheaper to phone mobile to mobile. Some mobile phone companies (O2, Orange, Vodaphone and there may be others) are offering free calls to nominated numbers - could be worth checking out. This is the link to the relevant page on the Vodaphone site
http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone/wrp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=Page_BOS_MyVodafone_others&pageID=MV_0202
Or would the Orange offer of £30 mobile contract with free broadband be cheaper for you?

I understand you feelings about continuing to support your favourite charity. There is a cheaper way to do it - via payroll giving. Your employer has to have a scheme in place. If they are a big employer they almost certainly will but any company can join and there are actually incentives for small companies at the moment. You have charity deductions taken direct from your pay before tax so you get the tax benefit. This means a £1 to charity actually costs you 78p though the charity receives the £1 because it is topped up by the taxman automatically. Then when you are in a position to support other charities again you just increase your monthly donation and nominate as many other charities as you wish to share the donation. You or your employer can find out more here: https://www.payrollgivingcentre.org.uk

donteatthat

chocaholic110 wrote:

Hmmm, will have to look into this...not something I'd thought about. Will have to look for one that does All day, all night lenses.

GetLenses via Quidco are the cheapest - and they do all the ones the opticians sell including day-nights xx:j