determined to be debtfree!

debtfreewannabe321

Just changed the last DD from Hubby's account & am clearing the last of the money out of tomorrow :T then am cutting his card up before he gets home in April so he can't use it haha!

Onwards & Upwards x

debtfreewannabe321

So last night I started a paper 'diary' in a book with 5 compartments (think they are for kids doing different topics at school) it cost £1.90 which was more money than just a little pad but i thought it may well save me money in the long run :rotfl:

In the first compartment i've put the HSBC (our main account now) and at the beginning of each month am going to put the start balance, and each time a DD or cash withdrawal is made it will go in there ...as before i used to have a tendency to think that there was more money available than there actually ever was!

The second bit is my co-op diary, and everytime money goes in there I am going to allocate it to either 'rainy day fund', 'school fees', 'landlord insurance', 'house insurance' and state how much money has gone in for each of those. At the end of the month i can see the total which may look like a lot but i will know i can't touch it because a certain amount has been allocated to each section! (that's the theory anyway)

The third section is my Daily spend diary. I am keeping all of my receipts (if i get one) and putting them in the front of this section with a paperclip. I especially want to save food receipts so i can see at the end of the month where my money has gone and if there were any buys that i could have done without. I will also list in this section any cashwithdrawals from banks and where the money is being allocated. I have decided to take my budget money for all things like food, petrol, pocket money etc out on pay day and put them in seperate envelopes. This way i never have to use my card and so can't be tempted by impulse buys!?

The last section is dedicated to the debts, I will put in here any contact from creditors and the date, also when debts are paid off ...any letters from creditors i will keep a copy here also.

I have a spreadsheet with my budget on that i update as and when things are paid for etc, and im really really hoping that all this organisation will help me stay on track and help pay off debt quicker....if anyone reading this has any other ideas that i haven't covered please share them! I've only learned all this from reading other posts :T

Anyway Playgroup this morning and after being kept up all night by smallest son i'm exhausted so not even dressed! Guess I had better skedaddle (SP!!??) :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

abba1772

wow that sounds very organised well done i usually do the sums in my head lol good for you x

debtfreewannabe321

Well I'm in for the day now,

been to playgroup, the kids weren't quite worn out enough for my liking so i took them to the park too....now they are both napping...ahh bliss :T

Today is also a NSD :T I got my prescription this morning (am exempt from paying) and very nearly picked up £5 worth of 'bargains' in the chemist that would have gone straight into my cupboard which is already bursting at the seams with shower gel, bubble bath etc lol :rotfl:so i was pleased with myself that i didn't get them! :A

I also received confirmation of my CCCS account set up feel quite nervous knowing it's all about to start. They are writing to creditors now with the proposed sums....I must have sent the wrong thing in though for hubby's capital one statement as they have told me it wasn't sufficient to show the balance?! It was his statement i thought i sent in :huh::huh: oh well will just have to find another one!?!

My first DD to them will be the 1st March so things can really get moving then! And hubby is home april so some of his bonus will be going straight on to the debt! We will be buying a holiday out of it though :cool: & some other small things that have needed replacing around the house for months now!

Bad news on the house front (the one i don't live in but rent out) the tenants have left it in a complete mess :mad: and the entire house needs repainting along with -it seems like- a zillion other small jobs!! Suppose at least i have their money from them now so i can use that to do it.

And Thank you Abba I was very proud of myself for actually tackling my finances head on this time ....I refuse to get into this kind of mess ever again! ANd with a 12 yr old son i feel i should be showing him how to handle finances in a good way rather than relying on credit! x

debtfreewannabe321

Well I spent the afternoon decluttering my bedroom and still not finished properly too much clutter! I threw away (to be recycled) a whole bag of towels that haven't been used in donkeys years as they were so rough and falling apart :rotfl:not quite sure why i kept hold of them for so long now lol

I have a bag of stuff (in fact 4 bags ) for Ebay...and also nearly an entire bookcase full of educational books that i need to sell?! I've no idea where to sell them though :think: i tried ebay shortly after i graduated and sold 1!!! Out of hmmm probably 50+ :eek: so if anyone reading this has any ideas on where to sell books for a decent price ( i don't want to give all away for 99p when some cost over £25 and were used a few times ).


Also have the usual baby clothes/shoes to sell so might start taking pics tomorrow and listing a few a day this is the plan anyways!

My darling children are not sleeping tonight (:mad:) so i am going to crack open a bottle of wine & eat some chocolate and wait for that gypsy wedding programme! love a bit of trashy t.v! have a good evening all!

Deeperblue

Wow, check you out! All organised and kicking debts a$$! :cool:

I've heard about a few people doing the envelope system and now you've mentioned it I may think about trying it too. My problem is that if I need milk or something I have to get £10 out of the cash machine and then the rest of that change has a habit of disappearing! Maybe if I have jars or something for everything I'd just put the change back in there and be less tempted to spend it.

Not sure how I would manage OH's train fare money though.. I worried he'd just end up spending it all and then having no money to get to work. Hmm...

Let me know how it works and I might try it next month

~ D.B. ~

debtfreewannabe321

hi DB :j

I've also seen people mention the envelope system and not sure if i am doing the exact same thing? But this month on pay day i took out money from the main account for everything on my budget that i knew i would need cash for, i.e petrol, groceries, pocket money, mobile phones, etc...the money for our co-op bank (the savings /rainy day fund account) and also money for the post office card ( that i started this month) and put £20 on that to go towards my next tax disc It is working so far! And if i have needed money and ran out of money in one section (this hasn't happened yet actually) i intend to either not buy or if essential like groceries it will have to come out of one of my other envelopes! Like i say though i'm only a week in so if i am doing it wrong something will crop up no doubt and i may realise my errors :rotfl:

the whole point of us doing it though is to leave the cashcard at home! ANd to think exactly about what i 'might' have to spend on during the day...the daily spend diary is helping with this too!! I was a nightmare for just using my overdraft like it was my own money though and not thinking about what i was buying! so this is to help combat my 'impulse buy's addiction' :rotfl:...i hope!

debtfreewannabe321

Well it's a NSD day for me today again.

I needed some corn flour for a curry i am making in the slow cooker & had forgotten to get some in the weekly shop, but a friend is giving me hers as she doesn't use it :T so that has saved me some money . I'm hoping the curry will turn out well as i have put all my chicken in there :eek: so if it doesn't we will be having odd tasting meals for a few days!

No news on the debt front. Although a cheque has been taken out of my bank account for a token payment and i'm not sure if the cheque will be returned as the account was £4 short :mad: so that will be more charges if it is ...am having one of those days where I'm struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel! So glad i can come on here and moan (even if noone listens or answers :rotfl:)

Anyway suppose i best check the 'curry' & get some cleaning done!

abba1772

can you not put the £4 into the bank account before charges are applied as some bank won't charge you if you put the money back in on the same day x x x hope the curry turns out well x x x

Deeperblue

I feel where your coming from. Some days everything just seems to be against you, but thats why we're all on here, to pull each other through the s***y bits :grouphug: (Is it just me or does that smiley look a bit rude?)

I love how you put 'curry' in quotes. Thats how I feel about my food most of the time :rotfl: let me know if your cornflour goes into clumps in your curry like mine did last time I used it. DOH!

take care.

x