Welcome to the forum and on your LBM it's hard to face but once you do see it going down it feels great and people on here are the most supportive you will find.
It's very easy to get into more and more debt so it's good you're facing it now before it becomes 10x as much (like I did ) My diary has been a huge support on here, people always drop in with great ideas - batch cooking is my favourite so far! Mystery Shopping - definitely for you!! is another etc etc get to know the site and you'll be onto a winner!
Good Luck, I will subscribe and help where I can
Santander 0% £1,529.94
Sainsbury's 0% £4,371.31 Total 0% £5,901.25 AIM: Pay off debt & simultaneously save for deposit to buy a house by Oct 2020. Mar Challenge: Stay within groceries & eating out budget.
i hope youv'e had a good day.
doesn't it make you feel good to use up things you already have rather than having to waste your hard earned money.
on the subject of nsd's,there is no hard and fast rule.you have to do what suits you best.for me a nsd is when i havn't gone into my purse and taken any money out and i havn't gone to the hole in the wall.so looking at it like that if you make enough money in tips to cover your fares it could count as a nsd.or,you could get into the habit of putting all your tips away in a sealed jar everyday.it's money that you wouldn't normally have so would be great for savings.
Hello everyone
Last night at work was really slow for the first two and a half hours. I clocked in early (at 8.30pm) so that was an extra half hour on my earnings. I picked up my work shoes out of my locker and they were covered in mould - totally gross! Luckily back at home I have a spare pair, and I have pre-booked train tickets to go home this weekend, so that is a slight respite; at least I don't have to buy new shoes. I finished at 3am, and then walked through Cardiff up some scary alleys to Freyja's house where she made me tea and I ate an apple (totally healthy). On my way back I did some calculations to stop me being spooked by the dark, and here is what I figured out :
If I work 20 shifts between now and December (this should be easy enough to achieve) then I will work around 400 hours. 400 hours x £5.96 (my rate of pay) = £2, 384.
£2, 384 - £600 (3 months of £200 budget for everything) = £1784.
£1784 - £200 (my budget for christmas presents for 10 people) =£1584.
This means that by my birthday just based on my work earnings I will only have an overdraft of.... -£16! Then there will just be my credit card to pay off, so its looking like I will very hopefully be debt free by MARCH 2012! :D:D
The amazing projected savings that will come from sticking to my budget until June:
By April 1st, I will have saved £600 from my loan after paying rent & allocating my budget. Also I hope to have worked another 400 hours. I turn 21 in December so I will get a wage increase to the minimum of £6.08 an hour.
400 hours x £6.08 = £2432.
£2432 - £500 (credit card) = £1932.
£1932 + £600 (loan savings) = £2, 532.
From April - June I get another loan of £2032. My rent for this term is £318, and my budget requires another £600. This gives me a saving of £1114. Add that saving to the previous 3 months, plus earnings (although this will be less because I will be in my final term and therefore not able to work as much) of 200 x 6.08 = 1216
£1,216 + £1,114 (april-june savings) + £2,532 (jan-march savings) =
+ £4,862!!
:eek: :j
*pauses for that to sink into my brain*
That was an awesome thing to realise. I've also taken greenanne's advice and I now have a glass by the side of my bed where I will put all my tip money. So far, there is a grand total of £4.56; eventually this tip jar will either be used to pay off more debt, or be used to fund spending money for my Easter holiday to Spain with my boyfriend . Most likely, the latter.
I have decided to count yesterday as NSD, because I earned £6.86 in tip money, which meant I was able to pay off my train fare and also put money aside in my pot/glass. The first three days of a habit are said to be the hardest to manage, and I've passed that barrier now.
I have another lecture this afternoon, and then work again tonight from 9-2. I'm staying at another friends house and I need to earn back £3.65 for today to be a NSD, so fingers crossed please ladies and gents.
Off to make peanut butter toast and have a cup of tea before class - the night shift always leaves me a bit worse for wear.
Enjoy your evening and remember to tip your waitress x
Use it up; wear it out; make it do or do without!
Total debt: [STRIKE]£2600[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]2155.55[/STRIKE] 1477.72 :j
wow those are some great calculations you've been doing there and isn't it a great feeling to know that you are in control of your money and not the other way around.
i would say you must absolutly put your tips away towards your holiday.it sounds like you work hard enough already and we all need something to look forward to.
i hope you get loads of tips tonight but please be careful walking home in the dark.have you got a personal alarm,if not you must get one.
have a good day.:)
I love making those calculations - I have a spreadsheet full of em!
I also want to second the personal alarm for when walking home at that time in the morning, you can't be too careful these days!
Santander 0% £1,529.94
Sainsbury's 0% £4,371.31 Total 0% £5,901.25 AIM: Pay off debt & simultaneously save for deposit to buy a house by Oct 2020. Mar Challenge: Stay within groceries & eating out budget.
Yesterday was what is known as a bad day. I stayed at El's as planned, but then I also went to starbucks for breakfast (not planned). I then spent £44.78 in the city, only £17.74 of it was accountable for from my travel/grocery budget The remaining was spent on: clothes, jewelry and a new belly bar because mine was in danger of becoming infected. I forgave myself for the dress, because it was on sale, with £25 off and I'd almost bought it when it was full price, but the rest is now one of those, *sigh* moments that I'm having.
Life is really complicated for me at the moment, and I don't much want to be living here because I really don't get on with my housemates and they are becoming steadily more and more passive aggressive and antisocial. They have been friends for years and I feel like the cuckoo in the nest, completely out of place among those that belong here. My friend Tim has said I may be able to move in with him up the road from mid-November sort of time, so I'm hoping that comes together because not only would it work out cheaper, but it would also make me happier.
Today is my last day here for 3 days because I am going home this weekend, and I can't wait. It means I can see my boyfriend and my Mum and my puppy and be away from a stressful environment and just maybe I can relax a bit because the tension at the moment is making me feel ill.
I don't feel much like thinking about money, or my problems with it; I just want to curl up under the covers and imagine I'm somewhere warm and sunny. I'll try and write a more positive post tomorrow, sorry.
Use it up; wear it out; make it do or do without!
Total debt: [STRIKE]£2600[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]2155.55[/STRIKE] 1477.72 :j
Ah don't worry you just had a blip that's all and to be expected when you're having troubles. I understand your flatmate worries completely, I've been there and there's nothing worse than dreading going home.
Can you return any of the items you know you shouldn't have bought?
Hope you have a lovely weekend at home, relax and start again next week with re-newed enthusiasm
Santander 0% £1,529.94
Sainsbury's 0% £4,371.31 Total 0% £5,901.25 AIM: Pay off debt & simultaneously save for deposit to buy a house by Oct 2020. Mar Challenge: Stay within groceries & eating out budget.
well looking on the bright side well done for coming back to your diary after having such a bad day.
make sure you enjoy the things you bought[if you keep them] and have a lovely few days.
who knows maybe you'll get some nsd's in.
Congratulations on taking the biggest step in trying to retrain your brain. I'm a shopaholic too, but I buy things for other people rather than myself so I know what it's like. Your calculations are cool :-) one thing I'd ask though, do you need to spend £150+ on other people at Christmas? I've always spent way more than I can afford thinking people will like me better. But this year I've realised they already love me so I don't need to sound lavish amounts when I can't afford it. I've cut my Christmas budget from £150 to £50 each. Is this maybe something you could do? That would be an extra £1000 in your pocket and you could then treat yourself to some new clothes in the January sales (best time of year to clothes shop I find).
Every house I've lived in over the last 6 years I've had your situation. I tend to keep myself to myself, which probably doesnt help. I'd try not to isolate yourself, and sometimes just trying to find common ground helps, or asking if someone wants a cup of tea. I'm going to subscribe to your diary :-)
I'm sorry that I vanished. I didn't mean to. I went home for the weekend and had some bad spending moments, and then when I came back things with my housemates became totally unbearable so I'm now sofa surfing at my friend Tim's house.
At the moment my finances look like this:
Debit Card:
Balance: -£1,549.05
Available: £50.95
Credit Card:
Balance: -£389.83
Available: £110.17
However, since I left the house, I have not spent a penny. Three NSD's in a row. Today I have to spend a little to get to work, which is not so good, and perhaps also some money for train tickets home for next weekend when I'm going to London with my Mum
We're going to see Bon Iver who are one of my favourite bands.
I've been working hard at uni taking pages and pages of notes, which makes me feel really good about myself. I'm writing a book for young adults, which I'm turning into a project for my dissertation in Writing, Culture and Society. For my other creative writing project I have no idea what I'm doing! But I'm trying not to panic.
Also in 3 weeks I will be living here properly in a bedroom, for £200 a month, excluding bills. The food costs work out like this: I give Tim £10 week and he cooks for me. The bills are split between us, and I'm not sure how that will work, but I was going to move into private halls, which would be horrendously expensive, £5.5k a year rather than living with Tim which will work out at £1.8k without bills. Much better.
Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow evening, because I have work tonight and I won't be anywhere near alive in the morning. I'm sorry for vanishing for so long. x
[/FONT]
Use it up; wear it out; make it do or do without!
Total debt: [STRIKE]£2600[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]2155.55[/STRIKE] 1477.72 :j
Replies
Welcome to the forum and on your LBM it's hard to face but once you do see it going down it feels great and people on here are the most supportive you will find.
It's very easy to get into more and more debt so it's good you're facing it now before it becomes 10x as much (like I did
Good Luck, I will subscribe and help where I can
Sainsbury's 0% £4,371.31
Total 0% £5,901.25
AIM: Pay off debt & simultaneously save for deposit to buy a house by Oct 2020.
Mar Challenge: Stay within groceries & eating out budget.
i hope youv'e had a good day.
doesn't it make you feel good to use up things you already have rather than having to waste your hard earned money.
on the subject of nsd's,there is no hard and fast rule.you have to do what suits you best.for me a nsd is when i havn't gone into my purse and taken any money out and i havn't gone to the hole in the wall.so looking at it like that if you make enough money in tips to cover your fares it could count as a nsd.or,you could get into the habit of putting all your tips away in a sealed jar everyday.it's money that you wouldn't normally have so would be great for savings.
df by dec 2014#150
Barclaycard[ 1641]512. loan[4100]2673. nationwide[1898]1548.natwest 2980.total [8584]7713.:eek::eek:
Last night at work was really slow for the first two and a half hours. I clocked in early (at 8.30pm) so that was an extra half hour on my earnings. I picked up my work shoes out of my locker and they were covered in mould - totally gross! Luckily back at home I have a spare pair, and I have pre-booked train tickets to go home this weekend, so that is a slight respite; at least I don't have to buy new shoes. I finished at 3am, and then walked through Cardiff up some scary alleys to Freyja's house where she made me tea and I ate an apple (totally healthy). On my way back I did some calculations to stop me being spooked by the dark, and here is what I figured out :
If I work 20 shifts between now and December (this should be easy enough to achieve) then I will work around 400 hours. 400 hours x £5.96 (my rate of pay) = £2, 384.
£2, 384 - £600 (3 months of £200 budget for everything) = £1784.
£1784 - £200 (my budget for christmas presents for 10 people) =£1584.
This means that by my birthday just based on my work earnings I will only have an overdraft of.... -£16! Then there will just be my credit card to pay off, so its looking like I will very hopefully be debt free by MARCH 2012!
The amazing projected savings that will come from sticking to my budget until June:
By April 1st, I will have saved £600 from my loan after paying rent & allocating my budget. Also I hope to have worked another 400 hours. I turn 21 in December so I will get a wage increase to the minimum of £6.08 an hour.
400 hours x £6.08 = £2432.
£2432 - £500 (credit card) = £1932.
£1932 + £600 (loan savings) = £2, 532.
From April - June I get another loan of £2032. My rent for this term is £318, and my budget requires another £600. This gives me a saving of £1114. Add that saving to the previous 3 months, plus earnings (although this will be less because I will be in my final term and therefore not able to work as much) of 200 x 6.08 = 1216
£1,216 + £1,114 (april-june savings) + £2,532 (jan-march savings) =
+ £4,862!!
:eek: :j
*pauses for that to sink into my brain*
That was an awesome thing to realise. I've also taken greenanne's advice and I now have a glass by the side of my bed where I will put all my tip money. So far, there is a grand total of £4.56; eventually this tip jar will either be used to pay off more debt, or be used to fund spending money for my Easter holiday to Spain with my boyfriend
I have decided to count yesterday as NSD, because I earned £6.86 in tip money, which meant I was able to pay off my train fare and also put money aside in my pot/glass. The first three days of a habit are said to be the hardest to manage, and I've passed that barrier now.
I have another lecture this afternoon, and then work again tonight from 9-2. I'm staying at another friends house and I need to earn back £3.65 for today to be a NSD, so fingers crossed please ladies and gents.
Off to make peanut butter toast and have a cup of tea before class - the night shift always leaves me a bit worse for wear.
Enjoy your evening and remember to tip your waitress
Total debt: [STRIKE]£2600[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]2155.55[/STRIKE] 1477.72 :j
i would say you must absolutly put your tips away towards your holiday.it sounds like you work hard enough already and we all need something to look forward to.
i hope you get loads of tips tonight but please be careful walking home in the dark.have you got a personal alarm,if not you must get one.
have a good day.:)
df by dec 2014#150
Barclaycard[ 1641]512. loan[4100]2673. nationwide[1898]1548.natwest 2980.total [8584]7713.:eek::eek:
I love making those calculations - I have a spreadsheet full of em!
I also want to second the personal alarm for when walking home at that time in the morning, you can't be too careful these days!
Sainsbury's 0% £4,371.31
Total 0% £5,901.25
AIM: Pay off debt & simultaneously save for deposit to buy a house by Oct 2020.
Mar Challenge: Stay within groceries & eating out budget.
Life is really complicated for me at the moment, and I don't much want to be living here because I really don't get on with my housemates and they are becoming steadily more and more passive aggressive and antisocial. They have been friends for years and I feel like the cuckoo in the nest, completely out of place among those that belong here. My friend Tim has said I may be able to move in with him up the road from mid-November sort of time, so I'm hoping that comes together because not only would it work out cheaper, but it would also make me happier.
Today is my last day here for 3 days because I am going home this weekend, and I can't wait. It means I can see my boyfriend and my Mum and my puppy and be away from a stressful environment and just maybe I can relax a bit because the tension at the moment is making me feel ill.
I don't feel much like thinking about money, or my problems with it; I just want to curl up under the covers and imagine I'm somewhere warm and sunny. I'll try and write a more positive post tomorrow, sorry.
Total debt: [STRIKE]£2600[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]2155.55[/STRIKE] 1477.72 :j
Ah don't worry you just had a blip that's all and to be expected when you're having troubles. I understand your flatmate worries completely, I've been there and there's nothing worse than dreading going home.
Can you return any of the items you know you shouldn't have bought?
Hope you have a lovely weekend at home, relax and start again next week with re-newed enthusiasm
Sainsbury's 0% £4,371.31
Total 0% £5,901.25
AIM: Pay off debt & simultaneously save for deposit to buy a house by Oct 2020.
Mar Challenge: Stay within groceries & eating out budget.
make sure you enjoy the things you bought[if you keep them] and have a lovely few days.
who knows maybe you'll get some nsd's in.
df by dec 2014#150
Barclaycard[ 1641]512. loan[4100]2673. nationwide[1898]1548.natwest 2980.total [8584]7713.:eek::eek:
Every house I've lived in over the last 6 years I've had your situation. I tend to keep myself to myself, which probably doesnt help. I'd try not to isolate yourself, and sometimes just trying to find common ground helps, or asking if someone wants a cup of tea. I'm going to subscribe to your diary :-)
£2 challenge = £22
DEBT =[STRIKE]£5030[/STRIKE] £4488.50 (10%)
At the moment my finances look like this:
Debit Card:
Balance: -£1,549.05
Available: £50.95
Credit Card:
Balance: -£389.83
Available: £110.17
However, since I left the house, I have not spent a penny. Three NSD's in a row. Today I have to spend a little to get to work, which is not so good, and perhaps also some money for train tickets home for next weekend when I'm going to London with my Mum
We're going to see Bon Iver who are one of my favourite bands.
I've been working hard at uni taking pages and pages of notes, which makes me feel really good about myself. I'm writing a book for young adults, which I'm turning into a project for my dissertation in Writing, Culture and Society. For my other creative writing project I have no idea what I'm doing! But I'm trying not to panic.
Also in 3 weeks I will be living here properly in a bedroom, for £200 a month, excluding bills. The food costs work out like this: I give Tim £10 week and he cooks for me. The bills are split between us, and I'm not sure how that will work, but I was going to move into private halls, which would be horrendously expensive, £5.5k a year rather than living with Tim which will work out at £1.8k without bills. Much better.
Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow evening, because I have work tonight and I won't be anywhere near alive in the morning. I'm sorry for vanishing for so long. x
[/FONT]
Total debt: [STRIKE]£2600[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]2155.55[/STRIKE] 1477.72 :j