My 'I can do this, and this time I mean it' Diary

frasersmum123

andilouise wrote: »

Maybe stick a picture of the Disney Fairy Castle on the fridge to keep you motivated !!! :T

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is keeping me motivated - and DS1, who is only 9 but has fully embraced the money-saving, as long as it means he gets to go to Florida

frasersmum123

I am not going to be using any credit for Florida though - its going to be cash rather than credit card!

frasersmum123

Evening all,

NSD today as we havent been able to get out of the house because of the snow, have been mulling over my Very debt and how Very, Very expensive it is - have paid another £9.00 off it today which is a tiny drop in the Ocean but it made me feel temporarily better - as did putting the first few coins in my sealed tin.

Off to wrap up some Christmas pressies - DS1 has been pestering to put up thr decoraions already but I have put him off until after we have seen Santa!

frasersmum123

Morning all,

Really back in the MoneySaving mode now - was browsing the H&M online sale and normally I would have bought lots of 'bargains' but have stopped myself and not purchased anything - quite proud of myself actually

Have spent the morning decluttering the house - paying particular attention to the childrens toyboxes. Filled up a bag for the BHF full of stuff and another two bags for the Christmas sale at DS2's preschool (had to make some space for all the stuff they will get at Christmas as I have alot of relatives). Have also found a few old DVDs and CDs which I am going to have a look how much they are worth on Music Magpie later - whatever they are worth it will be more than they are worth sitting on my shelves not being played!

I have joined the December Make £10 a Day challenge (although I am aiming for £5 a day as its my first time) to help keep me motivated. Have done some surveys, daily clicks and my scratchcard this morning.

Have a picture of Harry Potter stuck to my kitchen cupboard to help keep me motivated.

DS has decided he wants to have school dinners now, and although they cost £10 a week I think in the long run I will save a bit - I like him to have nice things in his lunch box and I am sure I spend more than £10 a week on it.

Off to Speech Therapy with DS2 tomorrow afternoon and I might have to get a Taxi as we are due more heavy snow tomorrow, which means no buses will be running, and its too hard to walk pushing my big double buggy into town up the hills.

Jox

Hi, do you know what the interest rates are for each of your debts and what you pay each month?

Have you used the snowball website to work out which order to pay them off in?

Do you have any low interest cards you can do a balance transfer on to?

frasersmum123

I have snowballed my accounts using whatsthecost - its scary viewing but it has given me a DFD of October 2012 - I am hoping it will be before that.

Jox

I'm sure it will be before that, it spurs you on to make whatever payment you can to reduce the time it takes. You can do it!

frasersmum123

Jox wrote: »

I'm sure it will be before that, it spurs you on to make whatever payment you can to reduce the time it takes. You can do it!

I hope so

frasersmum123

Well I have done my Music Magpie -ing and my old CD's and DVDs are worth £27.27 - am very happy to be seeing the back of some of the childrens DVD's . All my 'extra' money like this is going to the Florida fund. I know the golden rule is to not save when you have debt, but I feel like these extra's should be used for something fun, and my wages is for boring debts.

Went into the loft today to get down the winter duvets and put the summer ones away - should have done it earlier but it slipped my mind, am hoping this will save on heating bills in the evenings.

Have been planning my December spending

• Not buying any more Christmas presents, except my Aunty - she collects owls so I am buying her a little handmade keyring I have seen for £5 on Folksy.
• Doing daily clicks/scratchcard and surveys (My Surveys and Onepoll) every day, and Pinecone when they come up.
• Not buying my weekly scratchcard on a friday.
• Trying to pay £200 off my Very account (£110 minimum payment and atleast £90 overpayment) at the least - hopefully more to combat the horrid interest that is being added every month.
• Paying any Christmas money I get off my debts rather than splurging on junk in the sales. To help me do this the children and I are off to stay with my Mum for a week after boxing day - she lives in the sticks so no shops to go into, and I am leaving my debit card at home so no internet shopping either.
• My Dad owes me some money for the Christmas presents I have got for the children from him (I do this every year as he thinks he is a 'bad shopper') so that will also go to my Very account.

I have also set up a 'emergencies' account - not saving as such but just there if anything breaks - I know my washing machine is on its last legs and I couldnt live without it because of DS2's habit of pulling off his nappy at night to play with .

fizzypops

frasersmum123 wrote: »

.

I know my washing machine is on its last legs and I couldnt live without it because of DS2's habit of pulling off his nappy at night to play with .

:rotfl:i dont miss this at all, my ds2 decided to take his off and eat it one morning

kids are lovely arent they!!!!