Slowly But Surely

crapwithcash82

TheTortoise wrote: »

This NSD thing is DIFFICULT! I spent £4.80, however only the pizza was unecessary - I bought fruit and yoghurts for my packed lunch (which will stop me from buying lunch for the rest of this week). Pizza for tea. The chocolate raisins I consider an absolute necessity to get me through the mountain of work I have to do tonight. Also spent £40 on fuel which was planned.

I TOTALLY agree that the NSDs are difficult!! I am the same, I feel 'naked' without some pennies in my purse but they always just seem to get squandered away on nothing in particular. The envelope might be a good idea. I have a cash box that (is always empty!) I was going to use for the same as your envelope idea, but as yet, I've not done it.

I would agree about chocolate raisins being neccesary, I love them and they are the only sweets I allow myself when I'm being "good" when it comes to food.

Hope you're managing to have a NSD today, I know I won't as I have to go and get chicken and parmesan for our tea, but maybe OH will give me his wallet to go..... would that count, as its not my money I'd be spending?!.......

TheTortoise

Hmmmmmmmm

Ok not going too badly - paid another chunk off my Santander card which means that actually as soon as I get Octobers pay I can clear it! I thought this would be with Novembers pay, so that brings my final debt free date forward a month! Yippee!

However....

This depends on me reigning myself back in - have got back into the silly habit of 'popping to tresco' for 1 thing and coming out with 10. Now my £5.90 that I spent today was mostly yellow label bargains, and they won't go to waste, however I DIDN'T NEED THEM!!! Why do I spend money I don't have on things I don't need?

Car boot wasn't so great made a bit of profit but not as much as last time. Still ebery little bit helps!

Am disappointed I had to put £30 back on Barclaycard for fuel, however I will be paying this back as soon as I get paid so no interest. Hopefully won't need to put anything on it next month, and that will mean 2 CCs paid off!

I'm still very motivated on the whole, and all the big payments are budgeted for, but it is diffiuclt to keep up the check on the frivolous spending which is what is actually going to bring the debt free date even closer.

TT

Lemon_Tree

glad you're keeping up with the motivation. It's that and the little things which will keep you going whlst you're on your road to debt freedowm.
i'm a bit of a bu99er for yellow stickered items, our freezer is now so full that we just can't buy any more and really need to start using them up! sometimes i feel we could live for a month with only buying a bit of fruit and veg without having to get owt else. We've certainly got enough meat in the freezer to feed an army

TheTortoise

I know its funny isn't it and yet we still buy more!!!

TheTortoise

Hello! I am posting this update more for my own benefit!

I have paid off my Barclaycard and Santander card to date! Next on the list from my November paypacket onwards is the overdraft, which should take around 5 or 6 months to pay off...roll on April 2012! This will free up the £7 charge and approx £18 interest for my overdraft each month to go towards my MBNA.

I have been looking at estimated fuel costs for all the trips I have to make this month and...HOLY MOLEY I didn't realise just how much you could save by driving like a granny!!! One trip came out initially at £45 and just adding 20mpg (easy for me to track and make sure I do this on the motorway as I have one of those nifty trackers on my dashboard) I can take it down to £28!!! I knew I would save a little bit but didn't realise it would be this much! From now on I will be crawling down the motorway..........

Ok the only thing left is to postpone a music lesson until after the 14th (when I will get some more money in) freeing up around £25 and I should be able to cover everything this month..need to keep on the mse road though and start using up my cupboard etc...had a few unecessary trips to the supermarket this week (It's my downfall for definite!!!) I think if I cook a few things this weekend and freeze it should keep me going for the next week at least.

Happy mse-ing! I'm off to do my washing now.

HURRAH for me paying off the Santander!!!! I am very very happy my debts are finally going down!

TT

savingholmes

well done on the payments and other porgress... Little steps really do make a difference

TheTortoise

Thanks! Isn't it strange how addictive paying things off can be???

I have a conundrum...

With Xmas coming, and most of the real bargains out now I was thinking about making a bit of a dent in the shopping this weekend BUT I would have to use my Barclaycard. Now, I know for DEFINITE I would be able to pay it off with the next pay packet, thus accruing no interest. And it is shopping that will be done at any rate sometime before Xmas, HOWEVER it just feels a bit putting more debt on a card when I've only just paid it off!

PROS

It isn't actually adding to debt, it is simply an 'advance' of Novembers pay packet. Decembers pay packet will, in effect, not be any good for Xmas as it will be too late, so can use this to pffset what I will have spent in November paying off the CC.
It will be paid off in full, so no interest.
I will be super organised and will have made a real dent in the shopping
All the bargainous presents are out now - if I leave it until after my November pay packet will I end up paying more?
Shopping early allows for better planning
I feel like I am getting the urge to SPEND and this would get rid of the shopping bug without going mad and buying things I don't need

CONS
IT IS PUTTING DEBT BACK ON A CREDIT CARD. I said I would NOT do this.

Thoughts please....

Lemon_Tree

mmmmmm a proper moral dilema. I think i would probably go shopping now for bargain things, BUT with a list which i do not deviate from, or a budget (that is a MSE budget not a per LBM budget!) I would then set up a SO to another savings account from Decembers pay onwards so that by next Oct/Nov you'll have 11/12 mths money saved ready for next years shopping. I would also try and use Decembers salary to go shopping in the Jan sales ready for next year to reduce what is needed next year.

but.... this is just my opinion and i haven't always done everything the proper MSE way, i've done it the way it works for me

crapwithcash82

A Massive WELL DONE for paying off the credit cards already, thats fantastic! I bet it feels great, and it really is addictive paying things off.

With regards to your Christmas shopping dillema, I would say the same as Lemon Tree, get the bargain things, but make sure you definately stick to your list and only but what you absolutely have to just now. If you manage to do it, and pay it off with your next pay without accruing interest, you're also proving to yourself that you can "manage" a credit card without it spiralling out of control.

Good luck with busting the overdraft and I hope you manage to do that earlier than anticipated too! :T

TheTortoise

Thanks guys - I did put £30 on the Barclaycard and got another 4 presents ticked off the list, but didn't splurge horribly like I thought I might!