Drop Debt Diva – ‘Plus-Sized Debts to Plus-Sized Savings’

Swinstie73

Evening all,

Well have ended the day in a worse state than I started, can't stop coughing and my chest is really starting to hurt, like I can't breathe very well. Went to mum's after work to pay lottery money and ended up having dinner there so it saves me cooking anything now. Eaten quite badly today, had not one but two mince pies which I didn't even enjoy as I could hardly taste them. I did have porridge and cream of brocolli soup as well. Have left yoghurt in work which will end up being binned if I don't make it in tomorrow, the way I'm feeling right now, I doubt I will. Got docs in the morning for an unrelated problem so will get a longish lie and see how I am after the docs.

Supposed to be going to OH's on Saturday (and got the gym in the morn), again if I'm fit, which I'm hoping I am as not seen OH since last Saturday, boo.

Well have a nice night, going to have a nice cuppa and snuggle into my jams with some tv, early to bed for me tonight.

ETA: £1.45 spent today on milk for porridge and soup - soup has gone up 7p, what a scandal!

beanielou

Hope you feel better soon.
Take care.

EssexHebridean

Swinstie73 wrote: »

I feel your pain with the dishwasher Romy, I had to buy a new fridge freezer last year which contributed to my CC debt. And I know that my washing machine and cooker are both as old as my fridge was.

Going to think about the transfer a bit more, I have until 14th Feb to decide, BUT my reckoning now against doing it is that if I pay off my own debt by the end of March then make 3 payments of around £275 to clear the wedding debt, the card will be clear after June's salary.

If I make the transfer on 14th Feb, I'm thinking my first payment would come off mid March (maybe March wage) and if I pay this for six months then the card will be clear after Aug's wage. This is only really two months more than originally planned IYSWIM. Is it worth it, will I get £25 in interest in the meantime, I probably will if I use my BC CC I guess. My next big purchase (hopefully) will be my road tax in March and I have this money saved up already, I only put it on the CC cos I do it online. Ok, need to think about this sensibly....

Our last year "unwanted" spend was the washing machine - bearings had been going on our old one for ages and it finally got to the point where we didn't feel we could stand the racket it was making any more! The age of the old one, combined with the fact that it hadn't cost us anything in the first place (The landlord of our last rented flat gave it to us when we moved out along with a cooker and a bed, as he was selling the flat!), meant that we decided to buy brand new rather than repairing.

Your comment about the road tax just jumped out at me - you get charged a £2.50 fee now for using a CC for it, did you realise? If you say you already have the money saved anyhow you'd be better to use your debit card.

The other comment I noted was that you said about paying the balance transfer fee yourself not from the budget, but if you'd be saving more than that in interest by doing the transfer, it would seem to me to be more than reasonable to take that fee from the wedding savings in due course.

Hope you're feeing better by tomorrow - frankly even if you *are* feeling up to it I would skip the gym at the weekend as your body will still be needing its energy to recover. There are a lot of nasty lurgies around at the moment I think. xx

Sun_Addict

Hi Swinstie

Hope you are feeling better soon. I started with the flu bug over 2 weeks ago - I was laid up all over New Year, the cough I had with it was awful. Feeling a lot better now but still have a bit of a cough lingering. You really shouldn't be exercising with a bad chest you could end up making yourself a lot worse. Take care and have a good weekend, put your feet up!

Swinstie73

Hi everybody, your well wishes must have worked, cos feeling tonnes better! Still sniffling and coughing but not feeling like I'm about to pass out! Going to give the gym as miss tomorrow as I've a feeling the weight bar might end up on my head as I'll have no energy to lift it.

Well it's a week til payday and I have £4.07 in my budget, but £14.95 in my purse and £189.28 in the bank. Not sure yet whether OH is coming to mines or me going to his tomorrow. Either way, hoping to not spend much as not up for going out. Got plenty of food to last a few days, infact if I eat random dinners then it should last til pay-day. I will need some fresh milk and bread for lunches, trying to not buy anything from the canteen and I did manage to take lunch 3 days this week. Had soup and quavers for lunch today at a cost of £1.35, the soup was yummy so was worth it.

Thanks for reminding me about the £2.50 for paying road tax by CC Essex. I paid this last year but forgot about it, the sad thing was I had the money saved up but as my sister had it and gave me it in cash, I put the RT on my visa then spent the money, not this time though.

Although * drum roll *.............

I have a plan to be debt free a month earlier than planned. After pay-day next week I will have £550 in my savings account, and £250 in my car fund account = £800.

By February payday I will have £700 and £300, so, after paying this months payments, my debt should be at £1200 or £2100 including wedding debt, if I transfer £900 to the Halifax card and take £700 out of my savings (£500 from savings and £200 from car fund) and pay this to my CC along with my normal payment of £500 then that's me, debt free!!!!

I've worked and re-worked it and it seems sensible (I think), I can then pay the £900 over six months and claim this back in September to boost my savings again. This will be £150 per month and I currently save £200 per month for savings/car and will be able to save the CC payments too. At the end of Feb, I will have £100 towards road tax with another £50 due to be put away off March wage (road tax due at end of March) and I will also have £200 with another £150 due in March in my normal savings.

I know this all sounds gobbledegook but I'm getting excited at the prospect of being debt free by the end of Feb. I will be paying my 0% card off a month early but it's the satisfaction of knowing it's gone.

I think I've turned a corner recently, have simply not been going to the shops, trying to eat what's in the house, haven't internet shopped, had no lattes, hardly drank - well last major hangover was enough for me and really tried to watch what I'm spending.

I always said I'd love to buy an expensive handbag when debt free but I've got sooooooooo much bags it's not even funny, if I like them when I try them on, I'm going to save up and buy a pair of black leather ugg boots. A woman in work has a pair and everytime I see them I drool over them. Think they are called Brooke or something like that, so that is my plan and goal for when debt free. Or, I might just save the money, who knows.......

beanielou

Sounds like a plan

Swinstie73

Thanks Beanie, just hoping it works out now I've decided on this course of action.

Well, just watched Slumdog Millionaire for the first time, it was fabulous. The bit where he jumped into the sh*t was hilarious, so glad it was a happy ending. Brilliant.

Cough still giving me bother so gonna take some paracetamol (sp?) and head to bed. Can't watch anymore tv, that film was flipping long.
Night all, see you on Sunday and boo to the forums being down tomorrow (glad actually as it means I might do something else other than be on here).

Swinstie73

Afternoon all,

Well I've been well and truly felled by the lurgy, last two nights have been spent coughing to the point of feeling very ILL! Thought was getting better which is why I went to work on Thursday/Friday, if still the same, I will not be going in tomorrow. Stuff that for a carry on.

Just waiting on my friend who is picking me up some essentials, mobile top up (have 25p left), hankies, lemonade, more paracetomal and some bread and milk. Was going to walk to the shop but feeling a bit light-headed and slightly sorry for myself. I hate the evil lurgy.

On the bright side I'm not out shopping and the above essentials don't really count as they are very much needed. Get paid on Friday and I think that I will have gone over my budget by about £20 which isn't great but not bad either. Have added my ticker from the last diary and it's heading to be over 90% paid, hopefully more, go me.

Well have a nice rest of the weekend everyone, hope you are all happy and healthy and lurgy-free.....

Shoe_Gal

I have a lurking lurgy Had a sore throat all week, and now have a blocked nose and headache

Hope you feel better soon, take care :A

EssexHebridean

Sorry to hear you're still suffering Swinstie - to anyone else who feels they have the dreaded lurgy lurking oin the wings, try taking high dose vitamin C and Echinacea solidly for a fortnight, then continue the Vitamin C alone until the pot runs out! Seriously, I had it lurking about for a few weeks (that awful feeling of a slight "lumpiness" in the throat when you swallow if you know what I mean?) but that routine sorted it out nicely.

That savings/paying off debt plan sounds spot on Swinstie - no wonder you're feeing excited about it, you should be!