Muffin's never ending story....

loumac

Do you know muffin, it's fitting in baby stuff that worries me more than baby! I don't know where it would all go. 2 adults, a greyhound and a baby! Maybe not. Ha! Plus we're first floor and I don't fancy dragging a pram up the stairs!

Well done on some sales at least. I'm definitely waiting for carboot season to have a good clear out as you can normally get rid more more stuff that way.

Hope you're feeling more positive. xxx

Muffin86

I wrote a massive message yesterday and MSE wouldnt let me submit it - again! grrrr!! lucky for me i saved it to my memory stick so i could try again today as it included figures etc so im gonna post it again in a mo! But as for today, not a bad one to be honest, i fought the temptation to open my sealed tin, it was mainly cos i didnt wanna drive to the cash machine, hubby was gonna do it on the bottom then cover it with duck tape so you couldnt tell (unless you picked the tin up obviously lol) but i told him it was too easy, if i do it once i'll be doing it all the time! So a little yay for me there please!

Hubby is really struggling as his back seems to have given way this weekend, and he hasnt slept properly and can barely move, hes due to start work tonight so i told him to go go but does he listen? No!

Anyway im gonna post my other message and also update my signature etc

Speak soon xxxxx

Muffin86

My post from yesterday...

So i just spent ages doing my statement of affairs and it won’t calculate for me - grrrr keeps telling me I have input a debt figure wrong but I have looked and looked and looked and can’t see what it means! So I give in! I have however done my spread sheet which I plan on using from March and I have done my own budget in order to get rid of the debts! I also have a saving spread sheet too, I know people have mixed views on saving while in debt but I feel it’s something I need to do this year as last year I was plodding along and never had any money for special occasions, or unexpected costs!

So i have been putting £1 a day in my sealed tin - towards the Christmas holiday.
£10 a week away in Christmas Savings, although I have done most of my Christmas shopping so may find this can go to something else as this was also gonna be for spending money for the hol but instead I have the sealed tin so we will see?
and finally £10 a week away for car costs.

and I plan on battling the debts as followed...

Currently owe a family member £650 (I pay £50 a month) I am going to pay the £50 this month as planned however I am then going to up the direct debit to £100 meaning it will be paid off this August rather than this time next year

I owe 868.62 to the catalogue - this is various items on dif BNPL deals (stupid muffin) so although they are 0% I do wanna get rid asap to make sure I dont get caught out with the 44.9% increase! So I am going to pay £68.62 this month and then £100 a month until October

Hubbys loan ends in August and is currently 203.81 so by my calculation he owes 1229.76 however he is going to phone and check this as I would like to pay it off in April (full amount)

I also have a laptop which I bought on BNPL when I started uni and well never paid later so I am currently paying £20.11 a month - however I hope to pay this off in either April / May - not sure exactly how much it is though :-S so need to find out the paper work... again stupid muffin

And then finally I have some arrears, my hubby was poorly last year and we fell in arrears on the mortgage, although we set up a payment plan to pay the monthly payment plus some arrears I have just realised it will take ages to do and all the time my credit is getting hammered SO i’m thinking we need to just smash it basically! the arrears are £1448.70 so i wanna pay £300 (on top of usual mortgage payment) which will mean they will be gone by June :(:(

so it’s gonna be tough but i think we are in the best financial position we can possibly be in at the mo... hubby earns and I am at uni so although some of my funding is student debt some of it is also non repayable i.e. nhs bursary, and bursary from uni etc.. also non of this is recognised as an income so I am also claiming my maternity allowance aswell now which means we have a joint income of around £3500 a month!

Once I have paid the above off it will leave us with just three debts

Halifax - which is currently £6703.79
CC - currently £2389.99
and overdraft - approx £3500 although needs veryfying as had trouble with lloyds!

I will continue to make the minimum payments on all of these until I am in a position to re evaluate... altho the CC I will pay a little more of, usually I try to double the minimum payment which this month is £39 but I might round it up to £50 instead?

and then as I have said before I am trying to sell sell sell so anything extra I earn will be chucked at the debts in one way or another!

I’m quite excited as for the first time since LBM in 2009 when the debts were well over 20,000 grand I can kind of see an end to it... I remember doing a snow ball calculator when I first joined and it telling me my DFD was something like 2028 I nearly cried!! I’m hoping it will be more like 2014 (as thats then the halifax loan ends anyway although would love to pay it off early) but we will see! maybe I will have more of an idea in october!!

Thanks to everyone who reads this and comments, don’t think you know how much it really helps sometimes! xxxx

loumac

Muffin86 wrote: »

ISo a little yay for me there please!

Little yay? BIG YAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!! :j

For not breaking into the tin but also for all your plans as outlined. It all sounds very organised and I think you're working so hard, especially being a student and expecting minimuffin!

It's always nice to outline a plan, well done for having such focus. Keep it up. xx

Muffin86

Aw thanks so much hun, i am feeling really positive at the mo and to be honest the baby is my main motivator I really want to be able to provide for him / her comfortably! I just cant wait till i can put some of this talk into action How you been feeling? Can you believe how quickly pregnancy takes over your body, that was my biggest shock when in the early weeks, like literally a week or so in i felt so drained! its all good though lol xxx

loumac

Oh my goodness, I am shattered! :eek: I can't do anything except sleep! Scary and exciting and slowly becoming more and more real...!

Muffin86

Aw Loumac... I remember it well!

Not much to add today... I have put £2 in my sealed tin to cover yesterday and today and thats it. I get some money paid into my bank tommorow for a uni bursary but thats gonna go straight towards the mortgage! also waiting for my paypal money to be credited to my account! I heard back from the laptop recycling company and unfortunatley the old laptop is too old so they arent prepared to give me any cash for it! Oh well never mind! xxxx

mum2one

Muffin that sounds a brilliant plan, and your taking each debt ans tackling it alongside the others, there soon be disappearing.
The thing is with the house you need some savings to fall back on even if its a small amount every bit helps.
I wish I had your get up and go with the money planning, just seems Jan + Feb money went out like a flowing river, yet dribbled in like a stream, should get back to normal by April (she says), I did try to snowball, it started off ok, then half way down the sheet, it decided to add 50k to the snowball, I think it estimated 75 years!! So like you try and round up the lower payments, get there eventually.
xx

Muffin86

Hiya... well the postivity didn't last long

Feeling really really deflated right now and my hubby isnt helping - he has an O/D with Lloyds which has been a nightmare to deal with, he has an arrangment in place which we pay every month however in the past Lloyds have cancelled this plan or just denied all knowledge of it and banged on the charges etc

Anyway today we had a voicemail from SCM solicitors asking for hubby to phone back asap... I googled them and it would seem they are actually Lloyds TSB and I have come across other posts from people stating that they have arrangements in place but 'SCM' are contacting them and some have described there as scare tactics!

I rang hubby and hes so blarzay about it and in his opinion he is sticking to the plan so thats that... but i feel like he should respond? he's not back til the end of the week anyway and I am unable to do anything as the account has nothing to do with me? im worried if we dont respond we will get into hot water but im also worried that if we do respond it may open up a can of worms as i have read some posts by people who have had arrangements in place yet when they have spoken to SCM have been told to X amount of money if X amount of days or face court :-S

Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated xxxx

Muffin86

Hi everyone - sorry not posted for a few days just been so busy! anyway I can tell March is going to be a right month - eeeekk (but aren't they all these days?) Anyways I have made my monthly payment of £50 to the family member, and I have been online this morning and updated the standing order so from next month onwards it will be £100 a month meaning this debt will end in August instead of this time next year - yay!!!

Also think i !!!!!!ed the credit card up I pay it on 25th of each month, although its never due to the end of the month but it allows time for the payment to go through etc.. anyway i paid it on friday but of course theres only 28 days feb and its been the weekend so i think im gonna be getting a £12 late charge - grrrrrrr!!

Im gonna revise the rest of the plan now to make sure that i am on track

Hope your all OK xxxx