i dont know if i can do this

affordmylife

but i dont have a choice really do i.

i got paid today. just paid out credit card £513. and sons maintenance (he lives with his dad) £70. i have £137 left for the whole of october and i still have two credit cards to pay in the middle of the month. both minimum payments of £30.

im sick of the whole thing.

all i do is work and pay debt. there has to be more to life than this.

SuzySu

There definitely is....so why are you paying a whopping £513 on your CC?

Have you posted an soa on here for us to take a looky at where you might make some savings? If not publicly...at least have a go at it yourself and see what the totals look like.

It seems as though you've £77 for the month - again if it's just you in the house, could you do a store cupboard inventory and then go onto the Old Style board for some advice about meal plans.

Good luck....

affordmylife

thank you so much for replying suzysu.

there is me and hubby and dd who is 11. and a dog.

i pay credit card in full every month to avoid interest so that is a months spending for all of our food and some bills which i pay. and presents and general stuff like that.

hubby pays mortgage and all bills really and petrol. he pays for holidays and any trips out we have.

im keeping a list of expenditure and writing absolutely everything down. we have plenty in the cupboards and can manage but what i do every month is put everything on the credit card and then pay it in full. this leaves me virtually nothing of my wages for my actual debts which are two credit cards. they total about £4500. and are on zero per cent until middle of next year so no immediate worry. i just cant see a way to pay any more off them x

linz

Do you have anything you could sell on ebay? That might make you a few quid during the month?

affordmylife

i have sold on ebay before. i dont have anything big as we moved house six months ago and got rid of everything then as we downsized. so not really anything about that would make any money at the moment. but thank you for the suggestion. x

linz

hmmm, do you have any friends/colleagues you could babysit for during the month? Trying to think of how you could get instant cash but might be clutching at straws..

affordmylife

i have thought about a second job but my husband works nights and i have dd at home. also i dont have car then cos he has gone off in it. i really need something i can do from home. the other problem is my day job is very physical so im constantly knackered. but im still willing to have a go. i was wondering about avon.

NorthernLas

Could you have a go at reducing the amount you spend on shopping by dropping a brand, batch cooking and using tips from the OS board?

If OH pays the other bills, then reducing what you spend might be the easiest way to have more left at the end of the month.

Norfolk_Jim

I've found that the only way I can stop fighting debt grinding me into the ground is to turn it into a project and a hobby. I now devote a couple of hours every evening to doing something towards my debt or thinking of / looking for ideas. I've broken my debts down into 1000 pound chunks and then I get some a4 lined paper and number the lines from 1 to 100. Every time I see, think of, discover a new idea that I think I could get 10 pounds from I write it on a line as a motivator. I have the first sheet on view when I'm at my desk. It does not matter if you can only think of a few things to start off with - as you get an idea, add it on. Its much easier to think of a way to get 10 pounds than a thousand pounds. think of 100 ways and you've got your first thousand pounds.
So for instance, my first line says do Butlinsbingo free scratch card - and ever day I remember to do my free scratch card. Most days I get 10p but today it was 50p. Eventually my balance will reach 10.00 and I'll withdraw it and pay it off my debt. Then I cross it off my list with a orange highlighter pen. Because I can do it again till they throw me off the site for not gambling real money with them, I add it on again to the bottom of the list. On my list I have things like - Do daily clicks at Cashback site - Sell junk on E Bay - cook a low cost meal for 2 days and pocket the difference. And so on. This site alone has hundreds of ideas you might care to include - and as each time you are only trying for 10 pounds it always seems possible and you dont get demoralised.
I've found that way it becomes a game and is even fun - so rather than feeling like I'm battling away and getting nowhere and missing out on life, I look at it as a hobby and a challenge, and every time I can strike out a line in Orange I'm nearer my target, and every time I find a new idea to get 10 Pounds, I'm nearer my 100 ideas (Currently I have 36 different ideas to get 10 pounds on my list, many of which can be repeated over again or will yield far more than 10 pounds - like some cashback offers and some matched betting) - It can become fun if you let it - go to the library, get a book on foraging, see if you can watch a couple of episodes of cook on the wild side and go out into the country and have a forage dinner - then put the grocery money you would have spent into your pot. If you see it as deprivation, you'll hate eating nettles and dandelions, but if you see it as a novel and educational one off experience of how our ancestors lived it can become a fun activity (once!) - Some people will even pay for the privilidge (Be careful what you eat though! No Mushrooms), or you could do a one off baby sit, dog sit or whatever, just keep getting those tenners. And as they're all mostly one offs you wont end up with tax issues or get bored with it.
Hope the idea helps others who find this all just a big slog - I suffer from awful depression so I know how tough it can be.

crystaltipps

Norfolk Jims post is ace! I haven't big debts but i LOVE the idea of little £10 earners and will talk to my 14 year old about it later - she is always moaning about lack of money and wanting a job!

annibee

Norfolk_Jim wrote: »

I've found that the only way I can stop fighting debt grinding me into the ground is to turn it into a project and a hobby. I now devote a couple of hours every evening to doing something towards my debt or thinking of / looking for ideas. I've broken my debts down into 1000 pound chunks and then I get some a4 lined paper and number the lines from 1 to 100. Every time I see, think of, discover a new idea that I think I could get 10 pounds from I write it on a line as a motivator. I have the first sheet on view when I'm at my desk. It does not matter if you can only think of a few things to start off with - as you get an idea, add it on. Its much easier to think of a way to get 10 pounds than a thousand pounds. think of 100 ways and you've got your first thousand pounds.
So for instance, my first line says do Butlinsbingo free scratch card - and ever day I remember to do my free scratch card. Most days I get 10p but today it was 50p. Eventually my balance will reach 10.00 and I'll withdraw it and pay it off my debt. Then I cross it off my list with a orange highlighter pen. Because I can do it again till they throw me off the site for not gambling real money with them, I add it on again to the bottom of the list. On my list I have things like - Do daily clicks at Cashback site - Sell junk on E Bay - cook a low cost meal for 2 days and pocket the difference. And so on. This site alone has hundreds of ideas you might care to include - and as each time you are only trying for 10 pounds it always seems possible and you dont get demoralised.
I've found that way it becomes a game and is even fun - so rather than feeling like I'm battling away and getting nowhere and missing out on life, I look at it as a hobby and a challenge, and every time I can strike out a line in Orange I'm nearer my target, and every time I find a new idea to get 10 Pounds, I'm nearer my 100 ideas (Currently I have 36 different ideas to get 10 pounds on my list, many of which can be repeated over again or will yield far more than 10 pounds - like some cashback offers and some matched betting) - It can become fun if you let it - go to the library, get a book on foraging, see if you can watch a couple of episodes of cook on the wild side and go out into the country and have a forage dinner - then put the grocery money you would have spent into your pot. If you see it as deprivation, you'll hate eating nettles and dandelions, but if you see it as a novel and educational one off experience of how our ancestors lived it can become a fun activity (once!) - Some people will even pay for the privilidge (Be careful what you eat though! No Mushrooms), or you could do a one off baby sit, dog sit or whatever, just keep getting those tenners. And as they're all mostly one offs you wont end up with tax issues or get bored with it.
Hope the idea helps others who find this all just a big slog - I suffer from awful depression so I know how tough it can be.

Wonderful just wonderful :T:T:T:T:T:T

Im going to pinch your idea about the paper and pens my friend!! :rotfl:

I agree though the only way i get through it is marking down every penny going towards it and joining this forum has helped my stress dramatically given me new hope and faith in myself!

Wonderful Post very inspiring and cheery just what we all need!