Tales from a country cottage

ani*fan

It's a beautiful sunny day here this morning and a fresh money-saving start for me.

Wordsmith...I hope we can manage 'til Friday but it's hard to say. Petrol is the main problem. Living out in the middle of nowhere is not a great idea when you have no money and need to get to work. But we'll see.

Decluttering...thanks for the encouragement. How's your decluttering going?

Beanielou...I've never successfully kept a spending diary so I'm truly interested to see what it may uncover about my habits.

Hovel lady...hi there and thanks for the support. :wave:

Chevalier...thanks for the ideas about that extra cash. I'm still wondering what it gets spent on. We don't buy magazines, the pets (2 kitties) are not insured, prescriptions are free in Scotland now, I haven't been to a dentist in months (oops...need to book an appointment), neither of us are big boozers but it probably adds up. The car is a big expense I don't budget for. Will need to work it out.

Thanks everyone for dropping by. I'm feeling encouraged and optimistic already. What a turn around from how I felt yesterday.

You guys are great. :A

ani*fan

Hi ani 26 :wave:...yes, selling body parts is definitely not a road I want to go down! :rotfl:Thanks for dropping by.

ani*fan

I have a question, possibly a stupid one, but wondered if you guys could help me out.

I'm going to apply for 0% transfers on as much of my credit card debt as I can. This would seem to be a good first move.

My wage is a little over 20k which is a requirement for one of the cards. Should I apply to get the whole lot shifted? Or will they turn me down as it's too much, and would I be better to apply for, say, the 2 capital one cards and one of the others? Would I have a better chance of being approved?

I don't want to include OH's DLA or any other income in the application as it's too precarious and changes from month to month.

If anyone has any ideas about how credit card transfers work now, I'd really appreciate your advice. I'm planning to get onto this tonight.

Thanks

AFx

ani*fan

Here's my plan of action for the next 4 days 'til payday.

• I've just checked the cupboards and freezer, and we have just about enough food to see us throught the next 4 days. Excellent.
• The cats have enough food too. Thank goodness. They're not so keen on mashed potato and gravy.
• I'll buy petrol with OH's £25 credit on the second capital one card. This won't be enough for the whole week.
• I'll ask my work colleague if we can car share on Wednesday. I'm sure she won't mind.
• I'll apply for a credit card transfer tonight. Fingers crossed I get accepted.
• I have a job interview next week for an extra days' work and need to do some preparation for it. The work is quite a distance away but even taking into account travel costs, it would provide an extra £280 per month. I NEED that job.
• I'm overdrawn at the bank by £65 and have no cash to put in there. I need to request an overdraft until payday.
• I need to work out what bank charges are due next month and make a plan to get cash in there to get them covered.
• I need to list my bank charges and get them refunded.

Better go and get busy.

Igamogam

ani*fan wrote: »

Just realised I haven't included the extras in my SOA as it looks like we have £250-ish left at the end of the month and we really don't.

We both smoke, usually duty free gifts from family. I'm about to quit again but still the papers and filters cost. Me and OH cut each others' hair so no expense there. Birthday presents are an expense. I haven't included cat food as MIL buys for them mostly. I honest to god do not really know where that £250 goes every month. OH's club, £5 per week. Some weeks my petrol is much more as I travel around a lot but I can usually claim that back.

At the moment, the excess cash is swallowed up by bank charges in a loop that I've been in now for about 3 months and appears to be getting worse.

Lesson 1 Keep a spending diary and find out where that cash goes.

I've known for a while how ridiculous the interest rates are on the Capital one cards but seeing it in black and white is worrying.

Lesson 2 Apply for balance transfer to 0% for as much of the credit card debt as possible

This loop I'm in with bank charges is my immediate worry. Just received another £50 on Friday, which sent me into the red, which means I'll be charged again next month. It's a joke.

Lesson 3 Ask for my bank charges back. They're unfair.

Good idea 0% cc - barcl*ys seem to do a good deal if you havent got one of them - look on MSE for details and lots of good advice. As far as bank charges are concerned - if they cant help you then change banks - plenty out there giving incentives to move. My debt busting on hold at moment - that doesnt mean I am on a spending spree - just have other pressing matters to deal with

ani*fan

Have just been on the phone to Clydesdale and they have given me an overdraft of £100. This means I'll be able to avoid a few charges, but also means I need to add another £100 to the debt total. Still, it was remarkably easy and I didn't have to use any petrol.

Igamogam...I think the 0% is a good idea too. I'm just going to go for it and see what happens. They can only refuse. What happened to your own debt busting? Have you got a diary on here I could have a nosey at? I had a quick look but couldn't see your name.

ani*fan

I've just remembered that I still owe my superviser £300 in unpaid fees, the amount due on the car loan is more than I estimated and in addition to my new £100 overdraft, that brings the debt total to...

£14,229.48

My goodness...bigger than some and smaller than others. It seems like a mountain to climb, but I'm determined to get there.

Just updated my signature so I can keep an eye on the total there on a monthly basis.

Igamogam

ani*fan wrote: »

Have just been on the phone to Clydesdale and they have given me an overdraft of £100. This means I'll be able to avoid a few charges, but also means I need to add another £100 to the debt total. Still, it was remarkably easy and I didn't have to use any petrol.

Igamogam...I think the 0% is a good idea too. I'm just going to go for it and see what happens. They can only refuse. What happened to your own debt busting? Have you got a diary on here I could have a nosey at? I had a quick look but couldn't see your name.

Like I say diary not being updated at mo. Just busy busy busy and no time to myself really - shouldnt be here now......! Will post a link later Shift those captial one cards BTW. Are they in joint names? sometimes you cant shift a card that is in anothers name. Get the longest 0% deal you can but make sure you move it before you get hit up for interest if you havent paid it off

ani*fan

I just got a letter from the oil company saying our monthly payment is going up from £140 to £178.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

I'll need to add that in to the budget.

I really need that extra work now more than ever.

ani*fan

I had a conversation with OH the other day about Christmas. OH thinks that, given the financial situation we're in, we should contact all our relatives and say we're not doing Christmas this year.

:eek: I was horrified at the suggestion.

Is it too early to start making a plan for Christmas now? I'm sure with a bit of effort we could sort out some cheap presents, save for travel to go visit people, and generally have a good time on a budget.

Christmas financially cripples me every year. Maybe it's time I took charge of it.

:xmastree: