Tales from a country cottage

amber03

well done ani*fan, every little helps.:D xx

wot-a-mess

Hi Ani, Well done on using the 0% card wisely.

I also like the ambition of aiming to clear your debt this year - best of luck with that.

ani*fan

In a happy buzz of optimism after today's car loan success I have applied for another 0% interest credit card. I did the same as last time and went for 0% on spending to try and avoid the balance transfer fees. I need to wait up to 5 days to find out if I get it or not. Hard, for someone with little patience.

After starting my debt-busting with 8 different amounts owing, I have now reduced this to 5. One got paid off and 3 others were merged onto a 0% card. After the overdraft is gone (£300 so shouldn't take long) I will have 4 remaining debts. This seems a bit easier to manage and think about than 8.

The balances are from 2.5k to 3-and-a-bit k. 2 are 0% and 2 are 17%. One is owed to MiL and I therefore feel a moral responsibility to pay this back quickest (although the snowballer says no).

All the debt is at a much lower interest rate than it was when I started and I have also paid off over 1k of debt :T.

The stage is set for much faster debt reduction in 2012. Bring it on! I'm ready and up for a challenge!

Lemon_Tree

great move Ani on moving your car loan to the 0% card? any room for the 17% debt to squidge on the card as well?
i wish i was able to make such a good move financially within the first few days of the new year.
I'm not on the clear your debt by 2012 thread but that's my challenge to myself. Though as mine is 0% and not on my credit file i shouldn't worry so much about it.

wot-a-mess

All looks very positive Ani...keep it up

ani*fan

Well, OH and I have finally come to the decision to have our electricity key meter removed. I have wanted this to happen for years but OH was determined it was easier to budget when we topped up the key and prepaid. The problem was that no-one would remember to get the key topped up so a special trip was made to the nearest shop (£2 in petrol) and it felt like a huge hassle. Then we bought the wee gadget so we could top up our key at home online...and 9 times out of 10 it didn't work. So now we have the meter removed and a brand new monthly direct debit of £100 ('it's to cover the winter costs'). I'll need to redo the budget. I'm not so sure, now it's been done, that it's a good idea but we'll see.

Still no word about the other 0% card. I'm on edge waiting!

Hope everyone is well. Have a wonderful day.

Igamogam

Hi Ani

After our chimney fire things went down hill a bit I will update on my own diary at the weekend rather than hijack yours I am very impressed that you have embraced the whole 0% thing - use it wisely. Also mighty impressed with DF by Christmas 2012 challenge - looks like you will do it at this rate. Keep it up

ani*fan

Thanks Igamogam. I think you have more faith than me though...lol!

So the new 0% card did not materialise. They sent me a letter saying 'congratulations on your new card...it's not the one you applied for!' They offered me 21.9% interest on £1200. :eek: That's worse than my other ones! So I gave them a quick call to say thanks but no thanks and the documents made some good kindling that evening...

I have messed up our budget for January. First of all I missed the train home from uni this week and paid £60 (honestly) for a new ticket to replace my £9 one. I thought about sneaking on and hiding in the toilets but honestly, my nerves just could not have coped. I also seem to be forking out a fortune for unanticipated petrol costs and although I can claim this cash back from work, until that arrives the debt will definitely go up before it goes further down this month. :mad: I'm not overly worried, just a little annoyed that I hadn't factored those costs in.

On a brighter note, I got cash totalling £200 from various generous family members for Christmas. This is the first year I don't have to pay bills with present money and I'm enjoying spending it in a guilt-free way. Planned spending, or something? I'm still determined to make every penny go as far as it possibly can though so bought as much on sale as I could. I have bought a half-share (with OH) of the Harry Potter full set, some lovely warm fleecy slipper socks, a pair of combat trousers, a watch, some fluffy slippers, a scarf and a beautiful chunky woollen hoody/jacket from one of my 'favourite but usually too expensive' shops fat face. These are all things I need but I've just bought nicer versions than if they were being paid for from the monthly budget. I have £72 left and am on the lookout for a wallet and some new trainers.

Suddenly I enjoy shopping which is bizarre given my life long hatred of it. I wonder if shopping used to bring out the money-management anxiety in me? Such as, 'I really need this thing but can't afford it 'cos I spend too much on rubbish and have no idea what a budget is never mind how to stick to it.' I used to get anxious in Mr T's after about 5 mins. Maybe anxious is the wrong word, a slow boiling murderous rage sums it up more acurately. But now I can manage about 20mins...almost as long as it takes to do the shopping. (I give it half an hour max.) So my relationship with money is changing. Miraculously. I just need to make sure that once the gift money is gone I stop buying myself gifts.

I've started looking for OH's valentine's pressie and have decided on a matt black zippo lighter. These used to cost £30 but are now available for £13-£14 so that seems like a bargain to me.

Anyway, this post is turning into a novel so I'll wish everyone a wonderful and relaxing saturday afternoon. Happy debt busting.

ani*fan

I don't think I like my new font, so I'm back to this one.

I had to buy a new book for uni. The cheapest I could find was £9 which is not too bad I guess, since I'll keep it for a lifetime. I was also so paranoid that I'd miss my train this week that I arrived at the station 25 mins early only to discover it was running 15 mins late. :mad: How could it not have been late last week? :mad::mad: Anyway, all is well in the land of studying.

I'm also enjoying being back at work and things aren't too hectic for a change. In fact, it's all pretty much up to date. I'm considering asking my employers for some study time. I doubt they will agree to it, but even a couple of hours a week would make things more manageable. It's worth a try.

OH has bought a new drill bit and is churning out more pretty wooden things at a rate of noughts. I'm well pleased and hoping for an extra £100 or so in the pot this month.

Petrol continues to eat up a huge amount of our income. I wonder if there's any sign of the cost going down? I'm so scared to watch the news lately. I don't know if it's affecting anyone else in this way, but there is a real feeling that people and businesses are continuing to go under daily. I don't know how we're managing to keep our heads above the water. I really don't. It's a scary time but I'm trying not to get too freaked out.

So onwards to another debt busting day. Good luck everyone.

Igamogam

A very upbeat post Ani despite all the uncertainty! Glad you sound to be on top of things- work,study,debts,trains! What does your OH make? I know just what you mean about the petrol thing - no wonder people one here call it liquid gold! I am off work again with a really bad flu bug which has floored me - the boss is very unsympathetic and is ringing me everyday - unplugged phone today and am going to doctors to get advice. The boss BTW takes days off because her dog has to have dentalwork/got a skin rash/needs it toes nails clipping - hacks everybody off!!!