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Year zero, month one. It works!

FireWyrm
Posts: 6,557 Forumite


Well, last month, I decided I was going to get a grip, once and for all. I headed over to the Old Style Thread, I read everything I could. I went shopping at the cheapest national store I could and stocked up on everything in bulk which still only came to just shy of £100. This is the first month of real austerity where i killed every DD that I didn't need and refused to spend a single penny more than absolutely necessary. I have a brand new set of meal plans and a tank full of petrol which will last me 2 weeks with my revised but oh-so frustrating driving style.
Friday was payday. It was the last day of my official month and the last day of month 1/year zero. I've just finished my reconciliation with the bank against my spending app and I've come in at £256.78 in credit!!!!
That's about the first time I've been in credit at payday for around 10 years.
I'm sorry to crow, but I just wanted to tell someone, anyone. My OH looked at me as though he was considering whether to have me committed when I told him. I don't think he realises just what it took to get through this month.
So, chin up people. It's a slog, but it works. I feel almost as though I won a lottery scratch card.
Good luck to everyone on here.
Friday was payday. It was the last day of my official month and the last day of month 1/year zero. I've just finished my reconciliation with the bank against my spending app and I've come in at £256.78 in credit!!!!
That's about the first time I've been in credit at payday for around 10 years.
I'm sorry to crow, but I just wanted to tell someone, anyone. My OH looked at me as though he was considering whether to have me committed when I told him. I don't think he realises just what it took to get through this month.
So, chin up people. It's a slog, but it works. I feel almost as though I won a lottery scratch card.
Good luck to everyone on here.
Debt Free! Long road, but we did it
Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
My other best friend is a filofax.
Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.
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Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
My other best friend is a filofax.
Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.
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Comments
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Congrats and well done :T0
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Well done its better than winning a scratch card, because you can repeat itDebt Free Dec 2009non-smoker 19th Nov 2010Trying to lose weight 40lb/42lb
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And what debt willyou pay off? Well done, and do even better next month ;-)0
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Way to go!!! I've had a similar month for the first time in I don't know how many years, too0
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And what debt willyou pay off? Well done, and do even better next month ;-)
I know I should be hitting the credit card first but I'm so sick of busting the overdraft that I'm tackling that first. My projections suggest that provided I can keep this up, I should be in true credit with the bank and not just my wages in three or four months. I should probably point out that I'm already getting rid of a personal overdraft at £50 a month out of this and a family loan pays off in another two months. The main HSBC loan can wait as it's already on a payment plan. The credit card is killing me and at £66 a month isn't making a single bloody dent in the principle. I'm not sure what to do with that and until we are moved I don't know what I will have left out of the deposit I can throw at it.
However, we are moving house soon which means a £100 reduction in rent/mortgage cost, I can get rid of the Big Yellow also at £114 per month. I've got hubby looking for bring and buy/car boot sales locally. All the bills will fall in line with regard to water, council tax etc freeing up another £300 approximately just by moving from Oxford to Northants. I know I can improve things even more when we are moved because we will have a decent kitchen for instance. I have two new lockable money boxes as a budget I know works. Its too late to start saving much for Christmas but the kids are going to need new shoes for Autumn and my car brakes are sounding like they are on the way out.Debt Free! Long road, but we did it
Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
My other best friend is a filofax.
Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.
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Pay off your most expensvie debt first. Leave family til last. only pay OD first if it is most expensive.
Not what you want to hear, but what you should do.
Good luck for saving even more for debts next month!!!0 -
Pay off your most expensvie debt first. Leave family til last. only pay OD first if it is most expensive.
Not what you want to hear, but what you should do.
Good luck for saving even more for debts next month!!!
Ack, I know, I know:)
The problem is, that every time I bust the overdraft, it costs me £30 a day to a mx of £90 per month in fines, plus a default notice to my credit report and considerably less to spend next month. We were in the situation that the overdraft was swallowing almost my entire salary on the day I was paid whole leaving us down by £700 on the next month as the OD goes out first on payday. Net result was bouncing DD's by the end of the month with accompanying charges, fines, defaults and the cycle would start again. I just couldn't get a straight hold until I was out of that trap.Debt Free! Long road, but we did it
Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
My other best friend is a filofax.
Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.
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You did make me smile, don't forget to treat yourself occasionally, even if it only is a bar of choccy or you won't keep it up!
Well done!! Keep up the good work!
GxMortgage at 08/10/10: 110k:eek:
Current Mortgage:... £109,200 :eek:
OPs 2011: 100.50/4000
Current MFD: 02/10/45 :shocked: (will be 63!!!)
Make a payment a week challenge TW 100/123.790 -
Well done FireWyrm and good luck with your house move :T
We got rid of our overdraft first too, it may not make us much sense to do it when comparing interest rates, but even though it was our smallest debt it was the one I hated the most as you are budgeting with a negative balance for part of the month.0 -
Sometimes you need the mental lift of paying off one particular debt (be it the smallest or most annoying) to keep you going with debtbusting. Whatever keeps you motivated!
Sounds like you're doing fantastic so far, well done.0
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