The Ultimate Incentive to get debt free… again. Dinah & NIM go head to head!

Dinah93

Urgh go on then, nag me enough Cinny and I'll post an SOA hopefully this evening. Our issue seems to be one off costs a lot of the time - it's just every month has a one off cost!

Dinah93

We also have a friend who is looking to move out again Tete (like you moved home after a breakup) if you want to flatshare I could mention it - he's a great laugh/cook and pretty tidy, but pretty blokey (likes nights out with his mates and football) I don't know what area you're looking at though, plus it's a he and I don't know if that would be an issue? I also think I remember you saying you don't want another housemate, but I just thought I'd mention it.

wendz86

Flower - i can see our heating being expensive too this winter with a baby. My Mum told me to join all the baby groups and use their heating haha.

poddle911

Dinah93 wrote: »

Does anyone have a cunning plan for getting out of their debt rut? I keep saying to NIM 'if we could just'. But we can never 'just', and it's breaking the back of it that's proving impossible. Our loan finishes in November so that'll free up another £240 a month, but at this rate we won't be able to snowball it as we'll just need it to live on.

Nope, no cunning plan here either Boo to all these sad faces!

I know what CMD means about being in limbo, i'd love to have a plan of action in place, but I won't have a guaranteed income after September and OH has just gone self-employed so we *should* still be better off, but who knows what's going to happen?

We're putting aside £250 a month for our wedding - not loads, but enough - but I'm conscious that we should really be paying off debts.

My only advice at the moment is to make sure I top up minimum payments (as the DD amount falls each month I round it up to a fixed amount and also should help credit file if I don't have those dastardly 'minimum payment' markers)

Dinah93

I was expecting some brilliant cunning plans to get us all out the rut. Boo hiss to reality. Better put £2 on the Euromillions instead.

Birdie85

I'm actually quite relieved that we're all in this 'harsh reality of life' stuff together

On the subject of crisps... I love plain Hula Hoops! We always have to have snacks in because OH needs them in his lunch box for work so it's really hard for me not to dip in! Oh and all this time I thought it was me being the naughty one always doing little shops here and there... it's OH frittering away all the money! I get home for my lunch today and he's cooking up frying steaks! Steaks for crying out loud! Fair enough they were little frying steaks but still!! With posh Spanish potatoes! 'It only cost £2.99 for 4 frying steaks'... yeah, but what about the bread and ham that we've already got in the house? Or the pasta and sauce? We could have had that at no extra cost because we've already got them in! I swear, I don't know what to do with that boy!

N.I.M

Handcuffs and hidden wallet?

clearmydebts

I love Tayto and Kings crisps. I can't be trusted with either. I turn into a savage!

N.I.M

Now THOSE are names I've not heard in years. CMD you bring back such memories...I've a craving for TK Red Lemonade now.

Cinny91

Flower08 wrote: »

I think my biggest worry at the minute is gas and electric going up again!

I heard this winter is going to be worse than last too Could you just be selective to what rooms you keep toasty? Like the living room, and bedroom? That's guessing baby will be in your room over Winter anyways. I've been reading the Preparing for Winter thread on Oldstyle which is full of really good ideas.

Dinah, you might as well just chuck that £2 in the bin on the way out of the office tonight and save petrol on going to the shop. Did you know you're more likely to die in a car accident on the way to buy your lottery ticket than win it, how morbid is that?!

Really, if you want my advice I think you and NIM need to set aside one evening and work out a full budget you both fully agree on. I'd also re list every single debt you have, from lowest to highest. You'll be more pumped to completely slay the debt if you have some quick wins over the lower ones. Then I'd start the budget, give every single penny a name. Make sure you're both happy with it and sign it. Stick to it for the whole month, no alterations and no excuses. I read somewhere it takes 3-4 months to settle into a new type of budget. Also I'd over estimate on food costs, I know you and NIM have pretty expensive tastes! Make sure it's realistic, not just a good ideal. If you're worried about unexpected costs, put that in your budget too. Say £100, if you haven't used it by the months end either roll it over, or pay it off your debts. That depends on how much you can afford next to your fixed bills anyways. It was the 'every penny a name' budget we did last month, it works really well.