A Budgeteers Quest to be Debt Free & Mortgage Free By 40

DedicatedDFW

Hi Everyone, :j

Well, I have decided I need to keep my own diary again to help keep me focused on my target :cool:. I am now committing to posting at least once a week (unless I am away on holidays ). I currently work 2 jobs, pick up MS's where possible, am about to start an OU course and have the usual running of the house to do so cannot commit to daily updates.

A bit about me - I was made redundant a few years ago and though I have always worked my pay in my full time job now is less than half of my previous income so the second job is a necessity to meet the essential bills. I am looking for a new job. I have a mortgage and when I come to shop around for a new deal I want to be in as strong a position as possible, so clearing the debt and making overpayments are a must. I love my home but it needs alot of work - I knew some of the work that was needed when I bought it but some was very well hidden :mad: and yes, I did pay alot of money for a full survey. The redundancy halted the work on the house so there are still things I need to do now which are essential.

Money making news of the day This morning I have just changed energy supplier - am so hopeful that this will track for much needed cashback goodness! Will update as I monitor it over the next 2 weeks.

I baked a loaf of bread this weekend and intend to keep up with things like this which I enjoy and give me pleasure and so tasty too. I have also started knitting again - a good activity for the commute to work if I can get a seat. I am a novice with the knitting but hope to be making my own sweaters and cardi's soon - OH keeps asking me to make him a jumper but we will see

Sessie

Welcome to the board!!

Good luck with everything, will be keeping an eye on you so no slip ups!!



x

DedicatedDFW

Thanks Sessie - sometimes I could do with the encouragement.:D

So a little more about me - I have been poorly this last year which has impacted on a few things such as being unable to do as many money making things like MS's. But I am trying to get back into this as I do need the funds. .

I want to include on this diary what my aspirations (sp?) are and the things I enjoy doing too so that there are positives on here too and not just money - though thats a huge focus obviously. So I have enjoyed reasing my book whilst commuting today and at home I have washed some pots, put some washing in and perhaps need to amke a start on paperwork mountain :whistle:

I started this thread now instead of waiting until the new year so I can keep a track of how I'm doing - my signature as you can see has the first debt which I am aiming to pay off asap but with no room in my budget this really has to come from extra income and I have sold just about all the things I can on e-bay. So if anyone has any ideas I'm happy to hear them I have most things sorted for xmas gifts so just a few bits to go.

Money making/saving update - so today I have had a NSD - I don't count the cost of travelling to work as I have to do this 5-6 days a week. Also, I have enjoyed a free lunch today :j. Even though I have very few items to sell on e-bay I have sold 3 items netting me £15.00 before fees - postage and packing is separate. I have also sold 2 books and cashed in a voucher for £10 from a survey. I completed a small survey today but not enough for a payout but it all helps.

Oh yes, nearly forgot I have got some Tesco vouchers and have cashed these in for a nice treat for me and OH so very MSE.

Hope everyone has had a good Tuesday.

DedicatedDFW

A very quick before work post for me. Well i say before work have just arrived home briefly from part time work before heading out for the joyful 2 hour, 2 train journey commute for a very small wage at f/t work hmm! Methinks I do need to find a new job very soon. In the meantime I am knuckling down to hard work ready for April pay review in case I am still in this job then a bit of extra wonga for doing what I do won't go amiss. I consider I do work hard anyhows its just the pointing out my achievements bit that I need to work on.

Well, not an NSD as I posted parcels at the post office and finally bought a book of stamps - was waiting for ages and then was in a rush to leave so just handed over the money - got home to find I've been overcharged!! :mad: So one phone call later when I should have been forraging in the cupboards for food means a refund shall be sent out for me. So that is something I will need to look out for. Never mind after last months car break down money is tighter than a tight thing and all extra income is just tring to recoup the cost of the eye-watering £390 + vat repair bill. Eek.

DedicatedDFW

And breathe... apologies for the little rant earlier but I guess I had to get it off my chest.

I have a new job to apply for which I will have to do in the morning as it is a 12 page application form and they do not want a CV. The job may actually be a bit of a lower salary than I am on now but it will take me only 15minutes to get there and there is loads of opportunity to progress which would be ideal for me. Fingers crossed

As it was an NSD day due to buying the stamps I took myself off to the local shop in my lunch as I really just needed a change of scenery. So for £3.24 I got:

2 x family size fruit pies
1 x loaf
1 x potato cakes
3 x pasta meals
1 x quiche
12 pack sausages

This was a fab amount of goodies for me to get in the reduced section so am very pleased

I arrived home to the good news that I have sold another book and from the same place had a book I had ordered delivered to me. Yay for goodies and as I got it from the sale of other books from the same site it was kinda free :T Its a craft type book so hopefully some new home-made goodies to be created. Off to peruse the threads

DedicatedDFW

Well I set the alarm for a very early hour and did surface and make coffee before settling down to the comp and the application form - it is on-line, only to discover that the advert had been withdrawn All similar posts are fixed term 6months contracts and in places further afield so not suitable for me as I feel this would just cause more pressure. Oh well...

So, I set off to the supermarket - not where I do my main shop but just to top up on the special offers of the week. I treated myself to a cake mix as I want to do more baking but can't buy all the ingredients just now and it was a snip at 89p for a weighty box of cakey goodness. Then I came home and opened my mortgage statement :eek:

Maybe I should stick this in my bag as its too big to go in my purse and then when I'm out shopping I can reach in my bag for my purse catch sight of this and that will then prompt me to leave the goodies on the shelves. In my defence I did return 4 items totalling £6.95 before making my way to the till.

Drove home and went past my dream house and its on the market - considering its more than twice the price of where I am now it is just a dream for now but still a little reminder of where I want to be

DedicatedDFW

Yawn! A very late start from a very tired Budgeteer this morning - wasn't actually late getting anywhere but will now have to do all the morning jobs I would have got done this morning when I get in from work this evening. Double yawn!

Money is looking somewhat worrying today - the frantic dance for the DD's is coming to a close. Tomorrow I must needs sit down and draft a plan. To cover all necessary outgoings I had to borrow some funds and now owe OH £80, Bank of Mum, £105, and transferred some of overdraft across too so that will need to be paid back before I can throw any more money at the sizeable debt and thats before I start thinking of the wall that needs to be done in the garden. Eek.

Actually, I will see what my wage is and check that this covers all DD's and interest fees for the dratted O/D. Then I will leave that card at home. Thus once the funds are in there all the bills are covered and I simply have the small matter of working out the food and travel costs from 2nd income - an income which varies wildly. I predict a week (or several) of store cupboard challenges.

Then any extra funds *fingers crossed for the tracking of cashback and a veritable flood of sales on e-bay and book place* I will use to repay the borrowing I have done.

Money News I have 3 MS's to complete this weekend. I have done the £5 voucher thing from the newsletter and have £5 amazon voucher which I am going to save for a larger item and another £5 offer completed and just awaiting being delivered.

Happy Friday all and Roll on Home Time!

DedicatedDFW

Well the best laid plans and all that... No the wage I receive does not nearly cover all DD's let alone O/D interest. So the thing is now to look at the shortfall and find out where that money comes from... maybe a job for tomorrow when its just me at home with a pad, pen and calculator...:o In positive news This has been the situation for 12months - the 12months prior to that were more difficult when I did not have my full time job and thats how the debt built up.

Reminds me why I'm trying so hard to pay off the debts, once they're gone that frees up a little more money to tackle mortgage and house jobs etc.

Hope its a good weekend for everyone

DedicatedDFW

Hi Everyone,

Well not managed to enjoy a lie-in for 2weeks now. Feeling tired and a bit meh! Where is my oomph? It is understandable that in this untidy place it could go missing So have been making myself do things whilst perusing threads for a bit of inspiration / motivation.

So far today I have:

Done, dried and sorted washing - now needs moving
Done 1 lot of washing up, will haul myself up to do the next lot in a mo.
Dusted living room and got OH to vacuum
Removed some clutter from living room
Moved shoes back into wardrobe
Put a loaf in BM
Put clothes back in wardrobe
Moved jewellery
Checked and responded to e-bay queries - fingers crossed for bids
Got screened out of more surveys than I care to think about :mad: Am close to payout though
Completed 1 survey
Ordered some deals things with my vouchers - very MSE.

It is not just the tiredness I think its the feeling down over money and lack thereof! and looking round and seeing the million and 1 jobs that need to be done here and that will all cost money too. Right! Time to put a positive, cheery head on!. Next stop is pot washing and then I can put another loaf in when this is done so no food goes to waste - using up some ingredients before Best before date.

Money news of the day

Guess the tesco deals counts as money saving news,
Also using up ingredients so no wastage there
Have a bid on one of my items that finishes today - watchers on other items so fingers crossed.

DedicatedDFW

Well, I was delighted this weekend to have a little breakthrough really. I had some amazon vouchers which was for treats. Now, I would normally use this to find something for the house but as we really need a new bathroom suite and other things that are not on the site then I needed to find something else before they expire. Usually, I would buy gifts for others or treat myself to something and although I did find a lovely pair of shoes I really want I managed to prioratise my needs above my wants. Thus, 2 items I have been in need of for some time and have no money to buy are on their merry way to me courtesy of my vouchers. Very pleased with myself. It's the small things.

Money News of the day

Or days I suppose? Yesterday was an NSD :j
I sold another book :j
Found 1p

Sold 3 items on e-bay
Completed 2 MS's so far and have picked up 5 new ones


I should copy and paste my list of personal challenges that are part of the 50 day challenge on MG's thread soon so I can keep track of them

DedicatedDFW

Ok my challenges are:

1, De-clutter living room & keep it that way - a bit each day

2, De-clutter spare room

3, De-clutter under stairs and e-bay any items possible from these areas though its all probably paperwork and stuff that needs re-housing

4, Write business plan

5, Start typing up book 1hour on Saturday or Sunday each week

6, Research comparison webite for utilities

7, Take the time to spend quality time with OH each week - enjoy a meal at the table (candle-lit maybe?), going for a walk together etc.

8, Once I have running shoes, put these to use, I have no pennies for gyms and am aiming for slender

9, Measure table for tablecloth and shop around for this e-bay etc oilcloth tablecloth

10, Knit daily mon - fri until used up existing wool and then find a pattern for a cardigan or jumper - please let me know if anyone has any ideas suggestions where I can find these?

11, Cancel membership which I did not re-new and am being chased for?

12, Apply for an interest free card

13, Cancel annual DD for sub

14, Deep clean each room as it is de-cluttered.


The above is my list as posted on MGs thread. So far today, decluttered 5 pieces of paperwork from the paperwork mountain of doom. So I will commit to cencelling the membership today. A smaller niggly task that has been irritating me for ages but as I spend so much time working it is hard to have time to make the calls and then when I have time I want a rest.