WelshWoofer's Staying Debt Free Mission

WelshWoofer

I suppose I should start with a little bit of background about me......

I'm 39, separated with no kids but a little white greedy dog. I'm a teacher that loves their job but is not particularly well paid.

I originally had over £20,000 of debt (including a loan for a conservatory) but as of this coming week I'll be debt free:j
This has come about through hard work, getting a grip on my spending and generally growing up I suppose!

The final payment of my loan will be paid on Thursday and then I'll just have £900 on a CC (all spent this month on decoration, carpets etc) that will be paid off in full when I receive my bonus of approx £3500 after tax either tomorrow (payday:T) or next payday.

Other than that I have no other debt except a mortgage (that doesn't count as debt to me).

So, the reason for the new diary is this.... Staying Debt Free!

As tomorrow is payday and will be the first one since I separated from my OH I thought it would be a good time to start documenting my efforts in black and white to help me focus.

I do have some savings (about £3000) that need to be added to to make me feel a bit more secure. I'll have quite a chunk left of the bonus left over so that will be squirrelled away ASAP to help swell the coffers. I'm not sure of exactly how much yet it should be at least £1500 or so.

So enough woffle, here's the plan...

1. Do a budget every month - from Sept my salary will change so the August budget will be a one-off
2. Be honest with myself about what I'm actually spending and on what (no convenient forgetting things!)
3. Do a meal plan and shopping list every week - I hope to spend no more than an average of £30 a week on shopping for me and the dog
4. Try to keep the energy bills down by turning things off - I'm a b*gger for having the heating on blasting and walking around in a vest and leaving stuff plugged in:o
5. Drive sensibly when possible to try to make the petrol last as long as possible (my commute is only about 4 miles a day so shouldn't be too hard)
6. Start saving regularly even if its only a small amount some months
7. Make an effort to look for and use coupons for shopping
8. Open and answer all post quickly - I have forgotten to pay things occasionally and been clobbered with late payment charges
9. Use things up before buying new - no more bits of shampoo in bottles or discarded make up and face creams etc
10. Claim anything back that I'm due - PPI, tax rebate, council tax discount etc

Right that's enough of an introduction - now I'd better start putting things into action!
Any suggestions, encouragement or comments would be very welcome!

Here goes!

WelshWoofer

As a start I've just been around the house and checked the lightbulbs - I need to change one to an energy saving one but the rest are all ok -will do that tomorrow when its light.

I have also turned everything off at the plug except the clock radio, TV that's on now and the phone.

I've changed the water/heating clock timer (heating has been off since about May) so that the water only comes on for 90 mins in the morning and an hour in the evening. I'm aiming to not have the heating on until at least October - lets hope for an Indian summer!

Any other ideas for energy saving? The house is fairly new (10 years old) and is well insulated and has double glazing etc so I'm not sure what else I could do?

May2013

Well done on your very soon to be debt free status!!
You have a really sensible and solid plan that I'm sure will not only see you staying debt free but will undoubtedly give a boost to your savings too.
Good luck on your 'staying debt free mission', I'll be following with interest!!

WelshWoofer

I have visitors from Thursday to Saturday morning this coming week so I've planned out food for the week using things I have in...

Monday
lunch - cheese sandwich and fruit
tea - leftover sweet potato curry and rice or naan bread
Tuesday
lunch - macaroni cheese and fruit
tea - nut cutlets, potato croquettes and veg
Weds
lunch - noodles and fruit
tea - jacket potato, beans and cheese
Thurs
lunch - sandwiches and fruit
tea - probably a take away or food out with visitors
Fri
will be out all day so food will be bought


Saturday will be shopping day again so I'll think about a new meal plan for next week before then.

LianneH

just popped by to say well done on your soon to be debt free status!
Like you i will be debt free soon, and then the real battle commences of staying debt free.
I wil subscribe and read with interest!

good luck x

WelshWoofer

Morning and thanks to May2013 and Lianne for posting - every little bit of encouragement helps!

It's payday:j so I guess its time to sort out a budget for August - Sept pay month now I know what I've been paid (my strike day has been taken out I think, I'm a teacher and it's only just been deducted from our salaries).

So it looks like this....
Paid £1379
DDs (inc mortgage) for August = £794
Council tax (just paid:mad:) = £119
Left over = £465

To come out of the bank- £20 (Tesc*), £30 hair cut (approx not sure how much yet), £40 cash for the week, £10 ish (hair dye etc) - totalling £100
Also to come out - £30 petrol (light came on yesterday), 3x £30 for food until payday - totalling £120

So...
£465 - 100 - 120 = £245 left over.

This approx £250 is what's left after all bills, food, petrol, cash for this week etc have gone out.

From Sept payday I get an approx £200 take home payrise:T so things will look a bit more comfortable then.

WelshWoofer

Just a quick list of things for me to do today....

• Pay council tax by phone - done
• Phone council for a council tax rebate form
• Send free trial Lovefilm DVDs back
• Transfer money from savings to pay for the decorator
• Phone the blind shop to see when its being fitted
• Buy dye and do hair saving about £30 at the hairdressers appt tomorrow (not venturing into cutting it myself!:eek:)
• Mow the back lawn (used to get exOH to do it and before him had a man that I paid to do it - I get really bad hayfever so its not a pleasant job:( but needs must)
• Fill 2 small holes and paint over them (have all the stuff needed)
• Do at least 2 hours school work
• Walk dog lots for free exercise

That'll do for now!

Hovel_lady

Just wanted to say well done on your almost debt free status - it must feel fab
The Hovel dog says "Hello woof" to your little white woofer.
Good luck with your plans, I'll be following with interest x

JayJay14

Hi, Lovely to see you have done so well with the debt busting.

The hot water may need tweeking, I have ours on about the same timing and there are three adults in the house. It might be worth just having a think about how you use your water. If for instance you shower in the mornings then you may only need it on the evening before. Whilst it won't be really hot later in the day you may not need it so much then anyway. It all depends on the level of your tank insulation and usage. My OH has baths in the evening and I shower in the morning, DS bathe/showers during the day before work, we don't run out of hot water very often.

WelshWoofer

Thank you hovel lady and jayjay - I'll look at the water - I shower in the morning (hot water from tank, not electric) and often have a bath to relax in the evening. Perhaps I can try out having the water on for less time, its a good time to trial it whilst I'm off school so it doesn't really matter if I mess it up!

Just walked the dog, posted the DVDs, popped to get hair dye and put petrol in (using Clubcard), phoned the council for a council tax rebate form (on hold for 15 mins- grrr!) and mown the back lawn (the worst job!).
Having a 10 min rest before dying my hair and having a shower - smelly girl!

WelshWoofer

Got the latest Sky bill today and, as per my new resolution, I opened it and have decided to take off Sky Sports to economise a bit (now exOH has gone I don't really need it).
I phoned Sky and have negotiated basic TV package (with no sport or movies), telephone and broadband for £34 a month.
This month's bill was £59 so I'm quite pleased with the saving:j.