The MSE Forum will be undergoing some maintenance this evening. As a result, some users may experience temporary performance issues. Please use the Site Feedback board to report anything major. Thank you for your patience.

2011 is about time Mrs jj and I grew up....

Hi everyone. I'm a long term lurker who needs to get a grip with money - as in being able to earn it and then not give it to various credit cards/banks for ever and ever.

Mrs jj and I have had the LBM and it wasn't a pleasant experience but it was a GOOD thing to have. We both earn decent money. Far more than alot of our friends - yet we seem to be much poorer. Thats horrible and would shame us if any of them knew! Basically we were rubbish with money.

The LBM happened in October 2010. We gritted our teeth and girded our loins and then carried on spending until our ACTION date of New Years Eve. Then the fun started!

A deep look at our bank statements etc was followed by a massive cutback on everything that we previously ignored (using the SOA model). We both bought into this which I reckon is absolutely required.

Total Debt at 31Dec was circa £54,000 (16K credit cards, 13K bank loan, 25K DMP with Baines & Ernst (yes I know - stupid but it got us out of a hole at the time)).

That's a crazy figure and when we arrived at this, I had to have a quiet moment alone.

We used a spreadsheet to add everything up and will be paying the 4 credit cards off in order of highest APR first, then the bank loan, then trying for full & final settlements with the creditors on the B&E plan.

The first credit card to be paid off is Tesco. Direct debit has been cancelled and on both 31Dec and 30Jan £1077 was paid off. This month (28Feb) will see a further £1300 being paid.

Anyway long first post..... sorry. Next post will see a signature block thingy with a detailed split of the debts.

Hopefully I can give something back for all the good tips and experiences/knowledge I've read here. You are all inspirational. One day I hope to be able to give something back.
jj

Main Objective - Zero all credit cards in 2011. £3400 / £16000 achieved at 28Feb11
Secondary Objective - Start financial profile fix/rebuild
Third Objective - Learn, share, help & support!
«1

Comments

  • Well - all the statements are in and the spreadsheet has been updated with what we plan to spend.

    The good news is that our target payment for Tesco of £1300 can be done. So the 'phone call to the Tesco Credit Card place will be made on Monday and the money paid. Balance left on the card will be then circa £1800 which is lot better than £5254!!! Not bad for 3 months?

    Had a thought about the other credit card balances which (at the moment) have the minimum payments being made - if we ring them and pay the minimum payment on pay day, we won't be accruing interest on the value of the minimum payments? Need to check with the companies, but it will shave some time of our credit card debt freedom date if it works!

    Part of the cutbacks has been my beer - and in all honesty it was never much - and I'm happy to say that its so nice to wake up on a Saturday without a hangover :D
    jj

    Main Objective - Zero all credit cards in 2011. £3400 / £16000 achieved at 28Feb11
    Secondary Objective - Start financial profile fix/rebuild
    Third Objective - Learn, share, help & support!
  • Welcome officially to the site JJ and good luck on your DF journey. The LBM may have been horrible but at least you now know exactly where you stand and are willing to do something about it.

    Let us know how you get on
    Keep calm and carry on
  • And don't forget cutting back on the beer sheds pounds like nobody's business! Well done on getting things in order, I will be reading with interest :)
    DEBT: £3585.91/£76843
    Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2018 #033 £635.78/£2435.78
    EMERGENCY FUND: £1000/£1000
    Our greatest weakness lies in giving up; always try just one more time
  • And don't forget cutting back on the beer sheds pounds like nobody's business!

    True but on the plus side, I'm gaining pounds (sterling) ;)
    jj

    Main Objective - Zero all credit cards in 2011. £3400 / £16000 achieved at 28Feb11
    Secondary Objective - Start financial profile fix/rebuild
    Third Objective - Learn, share, help & support!
  • Well this month's overpayment to Mr Tesco is now done.

    I was abit worried that Mrs jj or I would see something shiney over the weekend and dip into the Tesco money but unbelieveably we both stayed on track

    Next month (31Mar) will be the last 'big' payment for Tesco meaning 30Apr it will be cleared and we can start on the next Credit Card.

    More good news....

    Got some Sainsbury vouchers (£10 off a £50 shop). Our weekly shopping budget is £50 so this will allow us to stock up on washing powder or whatever is on special with a longer term saving as a benefit.

    Also, we have found someone on Amazon who sells the dog food our dogs eat for £4/bag cheaper that Sainsburys/Waitrose/Tesco with free delivery. as our shopping budget includes dog food, we have an extra £12/month (3 bags/month) to ourselves.......

    ...... or more accurately to Mrs jj as a treat fund for being a good girl and putting up with living up with all of this!
    jj

    Main Objective - Zero all credit cards in 2011. £3400 / £16000 achieved at 28Feb11
    Secondary Objective - Start financial profile fix/rebuild
    Third Objective - Learn, share, help & support!
  • chevalier
    chevalier Posts: 7,937
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

    I have put this link to the SOA calculator in case you want to post your income and expenditure up on here. there might be areas where we can point out savings to help with the budget?

    ref baynes and ernst. I take it you are paying a fee for this. Check your terms and conditions. If you have taken out more debt after you set up a DMP with them, then you may have a problem, as usually you are not meant to take out more credit. But also if you have a look at the CCCS or payplan website you may find you can do a DMP that will cost nothing, so the debts get paid back quicker.

    good luck with your debt free journey, and well done on having your LBM moment
    chev
    I want a job that is less than an hour driving away from my house! Are you listening universe?
  • Mrs jj and I have built up the rather stupid amount of debt by being foolish with our cash.

    So a big part of our journey includes growing up abit and learning a lesson or 2 because once we are debt free, we want to stay that way.

    As ever with Mrs jj, anything I suggest needs a certain amount of persuasion, negotiation and a minor amount of give 'n take.

    So at the moment, our outgoings could be less but to keep she who must be obeyed onboard with all of this, its a case of slowly at first and when we can see a tangible result (e.g. Tesco credit card fully paid), I can then suggest other things.

    At the moment, I am resolved to making the money we have work harder/more efficiently for us. I've mentioned above about the sainsburys vouchers (which previously we never made much effort to use), making payments to credit cards on pay day (providing the payment cancels the direct debit) and we are now really sticking to meal plans and shopping lists. The last can be proved by on-budget shopping, full bellys with an empty fridge and food cupboard at end of week ie - no waste and no needless purchases :-)

    Much to consider methinks - not least the keeping of Mrs jj & I on track, on board and smiling!
    jj

    Main Objective - Zero all credit cards in 2011. £3400 / £16000 achieved at 28Feb11
    Secondary Objective - Start financial profile fix/rebuild
    Third Objective - Learn, share, help & support!
  • Well done on your achievements to date so far this year!
  • Well - the weekly shopping was done very early this morning at a time I am normally still in bed. In fact, mrs jj decided to stay there whilst I rubbed shoulders with half asleep sainsburys people.

    Budget was £50 - the bill came in at £53

    slightly cross with myself BUT I've bought a few things to go in the freezer for the final week of the month when the shopping budget will be £34

    The very good news is that mrs jj and I went into our local big town and spent very little. mrs jj got some trousers in a sale and I spent only my time browsing. We also used the bus (which is free for us) so avoided the nasty parking costs (overhead a chap exclaiming about a £14.40 bill for 4 hrs 30mins parking :eek:)

    And 4 NSD this week too!! And it was sunny here!

    Feeling quite chipper today :D
    jj

    Main Objective - Zero all credit cards in 2011. £3400 / £16000 achieved at 28Feb11
    Secondary Objective - Start financial profile fix/rebuild
    Third Objective - Learn, share, help & support!
  • MessyMare
    MessyMare Posts: 979
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    well done you! I don't think you should be cross with yourself for being £3 over budget at all, especially as there's some forward planning evident there. My last shop was £9 under budget and I'm crazing myself wondering what I've forgotten, knowing it will amount to more than £9!
    DEBT: £3585.91/£76843
    Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2018 #033 £635.78/£2435.78
    EMERGENCY FUND: £1000/£1000
    Our greatest weakness lies in giving up; always try just one more time
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards