my debt free diary :)

needstochange_2

Ok so this is my debt free diary, having had my LBM last month i am finally doing something about this horrible debt!
I dont think anyone will be interested in what i have to say, but im going to write on here everyday to keep myself motivated.
the big bad debts are as follows:

virgin credit card £35 22% apr (i have just done a bt onto the barclaycard which cleared approx 2.5k off of this card)
Barclaycard £4798

total debt £4833 :mad:

i have got a 0% until august deal on my barclaycard, so my aim is to get that to under £3000 by then. fingers crossed!

the plan of action is:
keep a spending diary to track where all my extra cash goes
pay off that silly amount on virgin cc and CANCEL IT (this is v important as i have not done this in past and have racked up even more debt!)
set up a direct debit of £100 a month to the barclaycard
make a payment of some kind every friday
ebay/ surveys to make extra money to pay off the stinking debt monster!
do a snowball thingy to see when my debt free date will be and then.... beat that date!!

wish me luck

needstochange_2

my Debt free date is Dec 2013!argh.
depressing.

needstochange_2

ok so not too bad a weekend spending wise,
only spent £4 on saturday and nothing all day sunday
but will not be having a nsd today, got to fill the car up with petrol, and get bread and milk etc to keep us going for the week. my plan is to draw out £50 later on to last me until payday (next friday), this is for food and everything (not including the petrol today) and i think it is do-able!
also sold an old mobile on envirophone for £3 ( every little helps!)
i havent told my partner or any family how much debt im in yet

doodledo_2

Hi needstochange just thought I would pop on to wish you luck on your journey.

Have you completed a SOA to see where your money is going and where you can make some savings?

Have you thought about telling your partner about the debt? Maybe they would be in a position to help?

Good luck.

needstochange_2

Hi doodledo,
thanks for the reply, beginning to think i was just waffling on to myself!
not done an soa, good idea thanks.
i have kept a spending diary for the last few weeks, then im going to total up the spends for the month and cut back as much as i can on each thing. any suggestions for cutbacks?!
i do feel that i should tell my partner, im just embaresed i suppose! also he is not in a position to help, all of his wages go on our bills, rent or children!

doodledo_2

An SOA is always worth a go I remember when I first did mine I was shocked how much I spent on things that I really didn't need to and how much I could cut back on too.

I have sat down this morning and sorted out my finances and have shocked myself with how much spare cash I should have. I am debt free now but want to start saving so I am looking to do the same as you just building up savings rather than getting rid of debts.

I have decided to start a spending diary from today as I am obviously frittering far too much money away on nothing

beanielou

Happy shiney new diary
Keep posting!

needstochange_2

had a good day at work today, filled the car up with petrol (at sainsburys to get the points!)
and not spent anything else all day
dont think tmr will be as good, the fridge and cupboards are bare and im down to the last few nappies for my boys!
am meant to be going to the cinema at the weekend but im really begrudging spending the money as i dont really want to go anyway- i got roped into it! never mind. no sweeties for me and it will be a cost of $8.50 for the ticket.
on the plus side, have exchanged my tesco clubcard vouchers and doubled up to spend on toys for xmas presents, just waiting for my code now

needstochange_2

still go 7 days until payday and im feeling the pinch only got £20 left until im in my overdraft. can i make it stretch the whole week?!
feeling a bit disheartened today, still at least this time next week i can pay off some more debt, the minimum payment on my card is £108 and im planning to see if i can pay off £200 ( depending on how much i need to put aside 4 xmas)
think im going to do one of those snowball things to see when my debt free date will be if i pay that off next week- i need motivation!

EssexHebridean

Hi NTC - and welcome to diaryland!

I agree with the earlier post that suggested getting your SOA done and also talking with your OH about it - he's going to feel so hurt if he later finds out that you've been going through this situation and didn't feel you could talk to him about it. You know what they say too, a problem shared is a problem halved, so do give some real thought to talking it through with him. The SOA, not only will it help you track where your money is going, but also you'll get no end of helpful input from people on here with savings that you'd either not thoght of or didn't even realise would be possible!

As to your current cashflow issue - do a complete inventory of what is in your fridge, freezer and cupboards food wise, then work out a meal plan for the week around what you have. Write a shopping list just for the stuff you need to buy to get you through the week - and really think about that word "need" too. Example: You have no potatoes in, but do have pasta, rice and couscous - it would be easy to think "I need to get potatoes because I have none" but instead think about meals where the carb element can be one of the items you do have instead. So, instead of shepherds pie, maybe make your meat mixture a little bit spicy, add a tin of kidney beans if you have them (or baked beans) and a tin of tomatoes, and serve with rice as chilli con carne instead. You mentioned running low on nappies earlier - check the threads on the Groceries / shopping board for the ones on Lidl / Netto / Aldi as someone will have posted on their nappies as to whether they are any good, also the threads on the supermarkets Basics/Value etc ranges.

Re the cinema, are you able to be bluntly honest with the person you're meant to be going with and explain that you just don't have the money right now?