MrsTUS is going to be debt free. FACT.

MrsTUS

Hi guys, thought I'd start a debt-free diary although to be fair, I'm not entirely sure how much time I'll be able to realistically put in to updating it.

I will try to be truthful. I will try to be entertaining. I will moan about my husband copiously and how much he p*sses me off with his tight-!!! way and I will occasionally [possibly] motivate you while I myself get this sudden burst of energy and drive to make a bit of money and pay off some of my debt - and then I will promptly revert back to whinging about things that I can't have. At the end, I will tell you how we are, as a family, debt free and able to embark on buying our first home and various other things we currently can't do...

To be honest, I dread to think what sort of mess I would be in without my husband; he's an absolute star. When we first met (at work) we absolutely hated each other - for about 2 years. Then we were made to sit next to each other after a new seating arrangement was drawn up and the rest as they say is history - a drunken staff night out + a horrendously drunk MrsTus who is unable to control herself x a dumped MrsTus's then boyfriend (who was a horror anyway) = a very happy Mr & MrsTUS with 2 extra baby T's on top of the one I already had...

Anyway, I had a few debts from my teenage mother years that I literally just hid from - all of which are now paid off thanks to TUS, with one CCJ about to fall off my credit file next month and one default which fell off December last year - we now have a few loans between us, 5 credit credit cards and 2 Next accounts - it's all manageable though...

Unfortunately a lot of the debt was unavoidable - well, that's wrong, I guess it's always avoidable by just saying no - but at the time we felt like we had no other options available to us... That's the reason for the loans, the credit cards however, has literally been a case of spending other peoples money - though I hasten to add we have nothing really to show for it? Which makes it all even more worthless and makes me more angry with ourselves for being so weak and thoughtless..

TUS had his LBM last year and I'm going with the flow of it really; I have to. We're very lucky really as it happened literally when we were on the cusp of probably not being able to rectify this ourselves and I am so grateful to him for it, I can only repay him by ditching my frivolous ways and ditching my 15-a-day habit... which has saved us so much money. I;d find myself withdrawing a tenner to by 10 fags and then the change from my tenner would seem to evaporate. Where did it go? Nobody knows...

AAAAAaaaaaaanyway. Where we are currently is that we're on track to start snowballing next month. I've reduced all my credit cards to there minimum payments and from Next month I will be paying 4 times my minimum payment to next and clearing it within 2 months. We also have made a few hundred pounds on eBay and TUS will be clearing his Next account and paying a chunk off my CC and then we'll start paying 6 times the minimum payment off that credit card (balance of £350/£470 after paying off said chunk) and clearing that within a few months and then chipping away at our remaining credit cards with all the spare money freed up... We then have a loan and our gym membership finishing in Feb next year which frees up a MASSIVE amount to start snowballing with and we'll see some real progress.. I can't wait.

I find myself getting quite antsy and impatient. I want to start paying stuff off NOW but I'm struggling to find ways to make extra money but I think once we get the 2 Next accounts and the small CC paid off, I'll be reinvigorated and motivated. The small CC doesn't have the 3rd highest APR but I think it will be better to pay this for emotional reasons rather than making fiscal sense, it's one less creditor gone sooner and realistically, only adds on an extra month to our calculated DFD..

I think I'll stop here. I feel like I've wrote an essay and the BabyT's require some of my attention!!

MrsTUS

Clearly I must have the lurgy.... only diary with 0 replies (excluding replying to my own post) for the next 8 pages that I checked, before I got bored... Meh...

No no... don't bother replying now.. it's too late.. I would hate forced replies.. You missed the boat.. :P

jellybean39

lol u havent got the lurgy!!! your at the right place dealing with them i am the ame as u have just decided to do a diary and the asme as u it was all affordable. income has now changed and the reality is that it is all starting to p**s me off as i cant even afford to go on holiday this year. so today is the day that it gets better so keep your chin up hun u have a good man and hsi upport it will improvexx keep smiling x

Wordsmith

Hello, lurgy lady! Welcome to diaryland and good luck with the coming months of debt busting. I could do with a bit of motivation so I will hold you to your promise of motivating your readers - you now have a heavy responsibility.

I too paid off my smallest credit card first - it was hugely satisfying to have one name crossed off the list. And it was worth doing because it is still the only name crossed off the list.

Keep posting.

MrsTUS

Well today, I plan to have yet another NSD - infact, my past 5 days have been NSDs.. It's pretty safe to say actually that 95% of my days are NSDs now that I don't smoke... I occasionally pay 35p for an energy drink (Euro Shopper drink from corner shop - gorgeous, way nicer than Red Bull!!)...

I've gone a step further today, I've managed to recoup £90 that I had sitting in credit with my dentist for some cosmetic work - not essential work, cosmetic work. About 3 years ago Mr TUS paid £440 for me to have my teeth whitened, straightened and to have the only filling in my mouth - which is metal - removed and replaced with a tooth coloured filling..

Well, due to 2 back to back pregnancies and then only just finishing breastfeeding my 14 month old daughter last month, I haven't even been able to whiten my teeth, nevermind go in for the filling change as I was waiting for my teeth to achieve optimum whiteness! Now, after a check up, the dentist has recommended I don't continue with tooth whitening as my teeth are badly eroded due to acid and I need to strengthen first with 2 magic toothpastes he gave me, and to be honest, the filling I have in is doing it's job and it's a back tooth and you can't even see it - unless I throw my head back and cackle like a witch with my mouth gaping open, which only happens when I'm drunk. Seeing as we're skint, getting drunk happens few and far between. In fact, I have only been drunk twice in 4 years... I'm a sad excuse for a 20-something year old, but then again, I did party quite hard from 16-24 and in all honesty, I can't take the two day hangovers and the empty purse; I LOVE utilising my weekends fully instead of lying in bed with tea and 'eggs in a basket' with cheese on top watching the Star Wars trilogy (or LoTR), dying..

Anyway, I digress. Basically, getting it refunded. Just have to go in with my card and I'm £90 richer... I'm actually going to spend it on myself though rather than pay it off a debt as I desperately need some new clothes. A lot of the time, I still wear my maternity clothes because my pre-pre clothes from 2008 don't fit me any more.. Most of the tops I own as well, were for easy-access to my norks so I could feed my little girl, so it will be nice to get some non-maternity, properly fitting tops where I don't have to worry about getting the twins out in public, but a top that still allows me to remain discreet. It might sound wrong and I probably should pay it off my debt, but I really DO need new clothes - I haven't purchased a solitary item since 2008 and we're due to go on a little family trip down to Somerset to visit the in-laws on Friday and my sis-in-law always looks AMAZING (though, I would look amazing if I was living with Mummy and Daddy getting my children looked after, completely rent free and could afford to blow my money on £40-£60 each tops and £150 jeans.. ).

Me, bitter? Nooooo...

Anyway, I think that's about all from me today.. :]

**Edit** I just wanted to update todays post that I've made £44.81 so far today on eBay after eBay fees and postage has been deducted.. Every little helps eh? Still have loads of bits and pieces to go as well.. I think I'm going to set myself a target to make £250 in my paypal account - I already have £9.80 due in from surveys too...

jwil

Well done on the ebay sales and the refund! I think if you haven't bought any new clothes since 2008 you can be excused

MrsTUS

jwil wrote: »

Well done on the ebay sales and the refund! I think if you haven't bought any new clothes since 2008 you can be excused

Thanks! You know, I probably won't end up spending it on clothes - it's a 5th of my credit card or half of my Next account... !!

MrsTUS

Just made another £9.20 on eBay.. whey hey!!

Hovel_lady

Just caught up with your diary and dropping in to say hello.
I, too, think you're allowed to buy clothes if you want. Go on!
Doing well with ebay, that's great

Wordsmith

Why don't you do half and half? Half paying off debt, half on clothes. Do you shop in charity shops? You could get a whole new wardrobe for £45.

MrsTUS

Wordsmith wrote: »

Why don't you do half and half? Half paying off debt, half on clothes. Do you shop in charity shops? You could get a whole new wardrobe for £45.

I do shop in charity shops - especially the charity shops in the more affluent areas as they get better stuff in! ;] However, I hadn't planned on it, but now I definitely will, thanks for that

I have a confession, I HAD booked myself in for a gel manicure at the local posh salon - to the tune of £43.50 which I was going to spend my eBay earnings on.. I was feeling slightly guilty, but then thinking I deserved it.. Plus I've never ever had a manicure in a salon before - just my own that I do at home.. MrTUS was NOT amused... I didn't care...

Sod's Law however, that I snapped a nail on each hand last night and have subsequently had to trim ALL of my nails down and cancel my manicure as it would have looked ridiculous.. I@m not amused and I really wanted the manicure, but it was obviously for the best and I was never meant to have it..

I'll just have to look like a scruff bag with manky nails wearing my second-hand charity shop clothes while my sis-in-law is looking glamourous and my nephew is dressed in designer gear head to toe..

It's a good job MrTUS isn't superficial in any way, shape or form (sometimes to his own aesthetic detriment, but that's a whole post in it's own right )

I'm, not superficial or materialistic either really (see above )... but just once in a while it would be nice to wear brand new clothes, have my kids in brand new clothes (they get labels, just second hand) and to have my nails done and my hair done etc...

Ho hum.. feeling a bit sorry for myself...