Debt free the Fly lady way - anyone?

mizmir

Ooooh - find this harder than the "doing" ones!

Neg: Debts higher now than when I joined in December!
Pos: Now I know how much debt we are in, where it is, what the interest rates are and how to get the most out of my credit! They will start to go down.

Neg: Been hit this month with £800 car repairs, £500 vet bills, £1000+ tax bill.
Pos: I have now included amounts for these in my budget - and taken out pet insurance for the remaining dogs - so we won't have such a shock again.

Neg: It is going to take forever to get out of debt.
Pos: It will take less time now as I have got a snowball and some ways of making extra income.

Neg: I won't keep at it for long enough.
Pos: I have made big changes already. I have a budget and are still able to meet my payments. I can get encouragement and help from DFWs whenever I need it.

dinkylou

Right, I think it's time I added to this one.

Neg: I've slowed down fighting the debts due to redundancy
Pos: I've started to throw as much as I can into savings so that I have a cushion should I need it in redundancy situation.

Neg: I've been made redundant and so have to find new job/uncertainty etc etc
Pos: They are making me an offer to stay on until at least July, buying me more time to look for better job.

Neg: As I'm building savings as safety net, started to think and look at buying new kitchen with savings (which will at some point in the not too distant future need doing)
Pos: I've not touched the savings yet and they are earning more interest than my debts and if I leave them where they are, I can have a better kitchen when I finally come out the other side!

Yes, I like this way of thinking, much better than the alternative.

kathfisch

Okey dokey, me too then!

Neg: Despite lots of cutting back and spending less, I still feel like spending when I'm down. Its still my crutch!
Pos: I'm aware of it and so it doesn't have such a hold on me. When I want to shop because I am miserable I try to find something else to do.

Neg: I have done a degree that's useless for getting me a job, I have a temp one in a shop at the mo, and am thinking of doing another degree to get the job I now want - none of this is great for the money situation!
Pos: Its no good regretting past actions, university (the first time round) was a valuable experience and I did learn a lot. I am considering a degree that has a bursary so at least I will have some income and be able to rent a room somewhere (will never get out of parent's house otherwise!).

Neg: I was a dfw, then I cleared my debts and saved up a bit, then I ended up in debt again by havig no job for a few months before I graduated. I feel like a failure.
Pos: But I am now close to paying off my overdraft and then I can start saving again. I have a regular income and I have been spending much less than I earn, the overdraft is reducing gradually and I am proud of that.

Kath x

millionaire_in_training

I might as well join in
Neg:Have had to up my budget as I cant keep to it
Pos: This time last month I had no budget.

Neg: Going to take me years to pay off my debt.
Pos: I have done my snowball, changed my cards about and paid £200 extra this month to my debts.

Neg: I haven't cut up my credit cards yet.
Pos: I haven't used any of them and even managed to pay cash for my tax disc:j

All in all I think the positives are getting more positive and I want to keep going. Good luck all xx

Tondella

millionaire_in_training wrote:

I might as well join in
Neg:Have had to up my budget as I cant keep to it
Pos: This time last month I had no budget.

don't worry about upping the budget in the short-term. I set myself quite a reasonable budget in the first instance and then month by month tackled one thing on the budget to try and get it down. So, for instance, food spending was a big one for me and also something that is relatively under your control (unlike, say, TV licence or council tax). Over on the old style board there is something called the grocery challenge where you post and state your grocery budget for the month and then try to keep to it. I knocked my grocery budget down by £5/week each month, until I got it to a more satisfactory level.

I suggest that you stick with the fly lady 31 days and then when you finish that, maybe think about doing the grocery challenge the next month. It doesn't happen all at once for any of us, so don't beat yourself up about it

EDIT: just seen from your signature that you are already a member of the grocery challenge!

newlywed

Ok then....

Neg: I want to go on holiday, go out for days, have fun. I want to go shopping and spend money on "stuff".

Pos: I don't need any new clothes, or shoes, or bags, don't need an expensive holiday, just need a few days off work and definitely don't need any extra DEBT!!!

Neg: I'm tired of cooking every evening after work, I want to go out to a nice restaurant and have someone else cook and wait on me.

Pos: I spent yesterday evening making a shepherds pie, lasagna and pasta sauce all for the freezer so later in the week I only have to reheat and cook veg.

Neg: Just when you think things are ok something else goes wrong. New windscreen for the car £100, new tyres for the car £90, now the iron's packed up too.

Pos: Rang to complain that my £50 iron only lasted 18 months and they gave me a 30 percent discount on any other model - so bought a cheaper one for £22 including delivery charge!!

Neg: My car is old, rusty, leaks when it rains so we get wet anyway, not likely to pass its MOT in April due to rust.

Pos: My car is old but it's still going!!!

Neg: My debt will take about 4 years to pay off - absolute minimum. Seems like a lifetime.

Pos: For the first time in years the credit cards are finally going DOWN!! Little by little I will get there.

mizmir

Was just about to make a call on my mobile when I checked today's challenge! So will ring on the work line instead.This is one that I really need to think about. Not just for the mobile (more texts, less calls) but also at home broadband and ordinary phone - broadband is free to landlines - yet sometimes I forget and ring on the ordinary line. MUST remember outgoing calls broadband!

mrs_bellamy

My fessing time i guess;

Neg; I still have not cut up my credit cards, as i feel they are a crutch in times of desperation and lonliness.
Pos: I have paid up my store card and cut it up, which was the worst, and I am not spending on the others unless its for essentials like petrol to get to work.

Neg; I feel like I am never gonna get out of this.
Pos; I am actually trying to look at the day without debt, even if i cant see it properly, and i want it.

Neg; I am finding it very difficult to curb spending habbits
Pos; I am trying, and i realise what can happen when i succeed.

Neg; I am feeling overwhelmed by this a bit, if i am honest.
Pos; Noone here will judge me if i am behind others, and I know people will be on hand to help if i can just bring myself to ask.

Sorry to sound so low and negative.

mizmir

mrs_bellamy wrote:

Sorry to sound so low and negative.

You don't. You sound honest. It is hard. Sometimes it feels like you are pedalling hard yet getting nowhere. But it will get better. One of the flylady sayings is something like "You didn't get into this mess in a day. You won't get out of it in a day". I think sometimes we want it all now but it is actually better to go slower and really develop habits - hence this thread.

If it is any consolation I haven't cut up my cards either - and worse I am still using them. But the difference is I am using them consciously and for specific unavoidable expenses - not just to extend my income. It is hurting to do it - but I can't help the bills that have to be paid this time - and the hit is that my CC debt will go up for now. What I can do is change my habits so that in future I won't need to use them when unexpected bills come in.

Hang in there - you are doing great - and we are all in the same boat with you!

mrs_bellamy

Thanks for the kind words Mizmir

It does get to me. Was on such a high when i paid the Store card and cut it up, am really low now. Not sure whether its to do with the loss of a 'constant' for so many years. Great to know I am not alone. (not saying i am glad you still use your cards too)

Thanks for being a pal. Needed that!