Buddiebabe begins again

MrsPorridge

Hey Buddibabe - how are things going? Are you having any time off work over Easter?

buddiebabe

Hey

Update as at 1st April 2012:

LOANS:

RBS LOAN £1506.24 now £1255.20

CREDIT CARDS:

RBS M/C 1 £9251.39 now £9187.00
RBS M/C 2 £5943.39 now £5878.74
DEBENHAMS £1028.00 now £1010.00
MBNA £3354.89 now £3320.00
TESCO £2310.00 now £2298.00
SANTANDER £345.63 now £340.00

OH:

CAR INSURANCE £90.00 no change

WEDDING FUND £258.17 now £250.00

TOTALS:

LOANS £1506.24 now £1255.20
CREDIT CARDS £22233.30 now £22033.74
OH £100.00 now £90.00
WEDDING PRESSIE FUND £258.17 now £250.00

TOTAL DEBT OUTSTANDING £24212.71 now £23628.94

Total paid off in March £583.77

Total paid off since 01.01.12 £1257.38 (5.05%)


Well i've managed to pay off £583.77 and managed to get my debt under £24k which is an achievement in itself :T

Im happy with the way the debt is coming down and im pleased that i actually managed to pay everything that i needed to last month including all my savings :j

If i could keep this up then it would be good, however with the reduction in my hours it could be a struggle. At the moment I haven't actually worked my reduced hours yet i've been taking any extra shifts am offered so Mrs P it means no I have no time off over easter im actually working everyday at the moment I feel like i can't really turn down the extra shifts. Next week i was supposed to only be working 12 hours but got a phone call today to ask if i'd do an extra 3.5 hours on Monday and 2.5 Tuesday so at the moment im up to 18 hours which is at least manageable money wise.

Im not paying as much attention to my finances and have managed to go over the limit on one of my credit cards and failed to cancel my free trial to equifax and experian which have both charged me :mad: its my own stupid fault for not paying attention to these things.

In fact I must remember to cancel these things before im charged again this month.

Im going to go work out what needs paid this month and exactly how much im short based on my wages.

Buddiebabe x

buddiebabe

Well i've just worked out exactly what I need to pay out this month a grand total of £1796.79 and my income for this period based on my basic hours will be £1682.26 which means im £114.35 short.

The money that im paying out does not include petrol or food. I also get £40 per week from my OH which i will use for petrol and food.

I have worked out what i'll get for the extra hours i've been given this month and i will get an extra £165.75 which covers the shortfall and leaves me £51.22 extra.

My petrol every week is around £30 - £40 per week which will only really leave me £10 per week for food. Now I do have a full freezer of food and cupboards are overflowing so only things i really need to buy are bread and milk and cold meat for sandwiches which is do-able if im careful.

I also have £45 left in my purse which im hoping will last me for a while. Im going to have to start using cash as last month I went over my credit card limit so need to be careful about what i do spend.

Fingers crossed that I keep getting extra hours in my work even though im not getting as much time off as id like but then again i need the money!

Going to get some sleep now

Buddiebabe x

Seaxwyn

Hi buddiebabe. That's a big drop, congratulations! And a debt beginning with 23 is a lot better than 24, or 25 as it was not so long ago.

Good luck with managing your finances this month. I am always impressed by how you manage it.

buddiebabe

Hey Seaxwyn

Im feeling pretty good about the reduction its more than i could have hoped for.

I applied for a job as a merchandiser for a jewellery stand that is located in the shop, in my second job and i got it. Its only an extra hour a week and i don't even know how much it pays but every little helps and im actually really looking forward to it.

Im hoping that things are going to start getting a bit better. I've spent some of the money that's in my purse but apart from that nothing else.

Hows things going with you?

Buddiebabe x

Seaxwyn

Hi Buddiebabe. Glad to hear about the new job - who knows, an hour a week could grow into more. Glad to hear you are feeling good - springtime raises the spirits even if we seem to have plunged back into winter.

I'm fine thanks. I've got some well paid freelance work up until 6 June, so another two months of earning more than enough to cover all my costs and pay some debts. I don't know what happens after that but feel optimistic most of the time.

Hope 2012 is a good year for both of us!

buddiebabe

:EasterBunHappy Easter everyone

Hope we all have enough chocolate treats to keep us going

Im working today and am shattered. I've done an 8 and half hour shift on Friday and 10 hours yesterday and ive got a 7 hour day ahead of me today and another 8 and a half hours 2moro :eek: So much for my basic 12 hours

I can't really complain as i've worked 34 hours last week and have 27 hours next week but i am hoping for 12 hours the following week but i can't really say no to the extra hours as they are only available as people are off sick just now and that's not going to last forever.

I need to try and keep some of these wages as im going to be short every month im on basic wages so will need to try and figure out how to save this so i don't spend it. I think i'll spend tonight doing that.

Buddiebabe x

buddiebabe

Hey

Well that's another day nearly over i've been doing some sums tonight and this month everything will be able to be paid with the possibility of some extra money too... not much but something.

On the basis that I have enough money for my bills this month and petrol and food I have repaid the following today:

£5.00 to OH (gas bill)
£10 to wedding account
£5 to dress cleaning (still owe 120)

I've also put money away for my debenhams and santander bills when they come through as i find it easier to pay them in the bank rather than over the internet.

I've also put £5 away towards next months Tesco minimum payment and if i get more wages than i've accounted for (i've accounted for £150 so anything over that will also go towards something for next month). If i can keep doing that it should mean that i might be able to manage if my hours do eventually go down. If I have enough for my minimum payment for at least one of my cards for next month it should take the pressure off a bit.

I've been thinking about this extra job i have for an hour a week and i want to use this to repay a debt so am going to try and pay off my OH gas bill money owed as its been over a year since i borrowed it and although he doesn't mind i'd rather settle that debt asap as it will make me feel a bit better. My main dilema is that his parents gave me money for my birthday of which i have £100 left I was given instructions not to use it for the house and to buy myself something nice with it. Would it be wrong to use it to repay the debt to my OH??? It would clear one thing and still leave me £15 of the money... or do i use half of it to repay some of the debt and keep some for me or use a third of it like the saying goes past, present and future.

I could spend £33 on something for me put £35 towards what i owe OH and keep £32 for the future (for what i don't know but something!)

Its getting too late for me to start worrying about figures and i have another 8 and a half hour shift in the shop 2m so will try and get some sleep

Buddiebabe x

buddiebabe

Well its nearly time for me to go start my shift but i can't actually be bothered moving! Im determined not to spend any money today I've got my lunch made juice with me and i'll take some chocolate too which should mean i dont need to buy anything.

We need bread for lunch tomorrow but i think my OH was going to go get that.... must text him to find out or lunch 2m will be a problem.

Today is the first day i've stayed in bed till after 9 and i could honestly stay there all day but needs must

Still not decided what to do with money yet so will leave it in bank until i can decide

Buddiebabe x

Hovel_lady

Hi buddiebabe :wave:

I've been reading your diaries over the past couple of weeks.

Re: your birthday money.
I think you should spend it on something nice for yourself

From reading what you're written previously I think that if you do decide to use most if it/it all for debt repayments you'll end up feeling like you've missed out and then spend on the credit cards to make up for it.
So, go spent it on something nice, don't feel guilty about it and enjoy having some "real" money to spend on yourself