On the up (Hopefully)

sugarcube84

Well London was a busy weekend but managed to find time for a relax in the pool and steam room :T

My birthday money went a good way towards our spends and i re gifted some vouchers i received last christmas as a prezzie.

We got offered free lovefilm instants as part of our phone/broadband package so that will save us £5.99 a month so its onwards with the christmas preparations!!! need to keep an eye out for good deals on prezzies and hubby needs to get some bits and bobs listed on ebay. We are however due £140 cashback in Dec from the life insurance policies and its not tracking so fingers crossed that become payable!!

Off to check the grabbit and freebies boards , i've already checked the banks and they look ok, a little tight if im honest but we will have to eat the contents of the cupboards/freezer to try and limit the grocery spend last night we had beefburger curry which was suprisingly nice!! :rotfl:

sugarcube84

Not updated for ages but i have had some good news, i got a promotion and a pay rise!!! :j

My pay at the end of November was my first wage with my pay rise included so it meant i could finish off the Christmas shopping.

Loan wont be paid off before crimbo ( fail ) because we have had some unexpected bills, including a trip to cornwall for a funeral but hopefully now i've had this pay rise it means i can get it sorted out early in the new year. It all depends on how much work hubby gets over Dec/Jan/Feb, so far so good.

sugarcube84

Well we had a lovely christmas hubby spoilt me with a kindle fire hd which he has been saving for :T It also means that we don't need to replace the laptop (motherboard gone) just yet as we can manage using my work laptop for work invoices etc and the kindle for ebay ( i can't get on ebay from work laptop) so all in all a wonderful present!!

We went to the sales and treated ourselves with the money we got for crimbo, i know we could have paid it off the debts but we have been managing for over 6 months for things that we need like underwear, socks and work clothes so it was only putting off the inevitable and going to the sales with money in our pockets and a shopping list was a big treat and a nice day out!:T and i saved £100 of debenhams vouchers £10 m&s and £12 nxt for a rainy day!!

2013 is going to be a good year we are starting off on a good note we have had a lovely christmas, we have all been spoilt so we don't feel like we have gone without, this should make things easier when tightening our belts over the next few months. I want to get the loan clear by the end of March, then overpay on the biggest credit card while putting some money into the garage fund.

I have decided that its time to get the house sorted with careful budgeting we can overpay on the debts and start getting some of the jobs around the house done. I'd also like to go away as a family (£9.50 holiday i'm thinking) as we didn't go away in 2012.

first off is the new garage we need about £300 for roofing materials and i'd like to get it sorted before hubby gets busy gardening.

So in 6 months i want to have the loan paid off and a new garage up.

By the end of the year i want the painting done, the fence outside and the bedroom and pale walls in the front room plus have a credit card paid off and closed.

So there we are aims for 2013
- clear loan
- garage
- clear and cancel credit card
- sort painting
- holiday

It's going to be a busy year!!!:T

sugarcube84

bedroom has been painted! woohoo:j we had to buy a new bed though as ours fell apart but we did have a credit note for IKEA so we used that so it wasn't such a disaster. I've told hubby that we are on a very strict food budget this month in order to cover the expense of the bed, so lots of veg, lentils and using up what we have got. the dinners for the next 5 days are in the freezer, all the carpets in the house have been cleaned and a few jobs have been done around the house, very successful and busy weekend!:D

sugarcube84

Well it's turned out to be an expensive month but we seem to have coped well with it.
- New bed
- new tumble dryer (well £40 off ebay secondhand but new to us) i've got damp patches on the walls from drying stuff on the radiators and i still have a full washing basket there just isn't enough time to dry all the clothes that have been washed!!
- car needed some new spark plugs and brake bit and bobs all in came to £240 plus tax due next month and MOT the month after so an expensive couple of months on the car front

However we have done really well keeping a lid on the finanaces so the damages isn't too bad. Hubby has some big jobs on next month so hopefully i can stash some money to go towards overpaying the loan.

All in all a busy but sucessful start to the year, oh and i booked a holiday :T

sugarcube84

Not updated for ages!

Still plodding onwards, i'm just doing my yearly review of the insurance policies i think i'm going to leave the life and building/contents where they are as i can't get them much cheaper (worked out £1 better off!!) pet insurance though i'm going to swap the dogs and should be £5 a month better off and the pony well i'm sort of getting him back!!!:Tso happy!! His current loaners, the daughter has moved so can't ride as often but mum still wants to look after a pony and would prefer something she knows, so we have come up with a arrangement. Daughter rides when she can, mum looks after pony and they contribute towards bills. I get my pony back but don't have to drive the 20 mile round trip twice a day to look after him! Soo happy i've missed him!!

Money wise from the savings i can make with the insurance, plus i'm cancelling the phones contracts as they are due for renewal (saving £40!!) and moving over to tesco payg and swapping the home phone/broadband that's the pony bills almost covered! I know that could go towards the debts but the other option is to sell (which hubby won't allow me to do as they are his debts as he says) or find another loaner which takes time, so i'm very happy and who knows in time i might find a part sharer who could contribute but i'm in no rush.

Debts are steadily going down, not by massive amounts but steady is good. Hubby has got a big month of work on and ui'm hoping to use some of it to pay off the loan we have. Catching up on my aims for 2013

- clear loan- should be gone by June
- garage- should be up by the end of June
- clear and cancel credit card- One small one paid off this month and onto the next one aiming for Dec
- sort painting- bedroom done, front room aiming for winter when hubby is quieter
- holiday- booked for sep

Looking good!!!!:T I must admit that i've been a bit down about things recently but we seem to have turned a corner. Just hope it stays this way!!

sugarcube84

Wow a year since i last updated!! So i should have all my aims for 2013 crossed off err maybe not!!

clear loan- should be gone by June -Loan is gone woohoo
- garage- should be up by the end of June- Ha still not up but have bought the materials and knocked the old garage down and leveled the base
- clear and cancel credit card- One small one paid off this month and onto the next one aiming for Dec- It was paid off but we had two big emergencies at once,so will be cleared by XMAS
- sort painting- bedroom done, front room aiming for winter when hubby is quieter-Front room half done just need a second coat on two walls plus skirting we didn't start it until this year.
- holiday- booked for sep- Holiday was cancelled boo!!! so we didn't go away just booked for october half term instead 1 week in cyrus our first holiday abroad as a family!!

I have been busy and got a new job and potentially we could be debt free by March 2016 :T thanks in part to my new wage.

Hubby has taken on a part time job to help the business out over the quiet winter months which is working out well. I feel very positive at the minute the end seems a lot closer all of a sudden. Will try and keep this a bit more up to date in future!!

sugarcube84

Well overdue an update I think!

Things are continuing in the right direction the argos card will be paid off this month along with the 2 small credit cards, which leaves one big c/card. Oh and the overdraft went last month.


Hubby has scrapped the business, partly financial partly health reasons and has taken a new job which has helped considerably. It also makes budgeting much easier as I have a guaranteed amount each month from him.


I have just swapped my car, lower monthly payments/insurance etc. Also swapped the gas and electricity and applied for a new c/card to move the remaining balance to as the 0% is running out next month. Going to try and change my bank account as well first direct is calling me.....

sugarcube84

Credit card sorted and all signed up for online banking. Also swapped the remaining balance on the big credit card to another 0%. So I got both at 0 balance transfer fee and 0% for 14 and 15 months which should see both cards cleared.


Opened a first direct account so just need to make sure I get the £125. Also closed down all the store cards and credit cards that I've got but no longer use, so everything is a bit tidier. By the end of next month I should just have the n&xt account with 0 balance and the 2 credit cards.


I'm also starting to spring clean, a bit late maybe but never mind, I have just been shredding a shed load of old paperwork. My aim is to sort the garden over summer along with declutting the house so that in winter I'm ready to redecorate.


Feeling much more organised and my budget is looking good, starting to feel the end is in sight now.

sugarcube84

Locked myself out of my new credit card already!! Anyway log in details already requested and payment isn't due until 25/05 so plenty of time to sort. Just having a look back through my diary and realised how useful my little weekly to do lists were to keep me focused. So I'm going to start them again.


So list for this week (Until Monday anyway)


- Update my budget with new c/c info and payment dates
- Transfer money to bills account, just enough to cover me until switch date.
- Clear out my wardrobe and charity shop/bin/sell anything I don't need
- Put ds birthday money into his savings account.


Think that's about it for now off to check the banks and my budget!!