wot-a-mess debt crisis

wot-a-mess

Iam now a bit obsessed with this debt-busting.

Just did an up-dated SOA which shows that after everything is paid there is a monthly surplus of £112. This was £88 on the original SOA so £24 improvement. The £112 will be used for incidentals & the odd treat. It would be ideal if some of this could be used for a credit card overpayment. Only got £20 left this month til payday for incidentals but I'm confident this shall be enough.

wot-a-mess

Did a few surveys today. They really do bore me to tears, but needs must I guess. Awaiting 1st survey payment from paypal to hit bank a/c later in the week. Getting frustrated by the lack of progress on the earning extra £s front

Still not using cc's & only buying essential items like bread & milk, etc.

Only have £17 for rest of month for daily essentials but still confident it will be enough.

wot-a-mess

£6 survey money in bank a/c . did more surveys today but not gonna count any £s as extra £s earned until it hits the bank or vouchers received.

Money is very tight but we need to live within our means now & get the debt down.

£10 left til payday at end of month but it should be enough (hopefully)

wot-a-mess

Feel really down tonight. Just keep looking at the debt figure & keep thinking "how am I gonna get out of this horrible mess ? "

Had hoped to make a bit of progress on the extra £s front but thus far only surveys which really are very hard work for little reward. Looked at ebay & don't think it's my cup of tea to be honest.

Hopefully feel better tomorrow

ani*fan

Hi wot-a-mess

Sorry to hear you're feeling low; think there must be something in the air cos I've been a bit down today too. But then I keep reminding myself of the few hundreds I've already paid off, and you have too, and it's just amazing cos if we weren't on this debt free journey then maybe the debt would have gone up instead of down. You're doing great! :T

I'm hopeful that once I've settled into this new, more frugal way of living it will become second nature and not so painful on a daily basis. When I read some of the long-termers' diaries I just know I can do it too. And so can you! We're already doing it!

Chin up and I hope tomorrow is a better day.

p.s. Have you tried mystery shopping? It's great fun.

Horace

Sorry you are feeling down.

Re Christmas - look at the Special Occasions board as they have a Christmas section with things that you can make for very little. Foodwise look in places like Lidl as they have great Christmas food at reasonable cost. If you start planning now then you won't need to dip into your credit card.

Ebay can be fun but it takes time to take photographs and list things. I did a free listing at the beginning of the month and made £87 (£77 after postage had been taken off - people paid for postage), I sold 3 things, one I couldnt photograph at all because it was a prize that I won at an event and if I had photographed it then people would have seen the booking code. I waited for free listing and have listed a load of wedding stuff, some clarins stuff that is surplus to requirements, some shot glasses bought for a song in a charity shop, an leather laptop bag and other stuff. When the next free listing comes along, then I shall list more stuff and if stuff doesnt sell in the meantime then I will relist them for free. I managed to reduce my business overdraft and bring it back into the required limit. This time the money will be used in my personal bank account as I have a huge virgin bill (all those flipping 0845 numbers for jobcentre and hmrc) and it needs paying as it more than double my normal bill.

Mystery shopping can be fun but it can be expensive. I usually mystery shop but I have been so skint that I havent been able to afford the bus fare to even go and do the mystery shops in the first place.

Meal planning can be fun and if you have a slow cooker then you can set it to go before you go to work and you come back to a lovely dinner. The other day I made soup from old veg that I found lurking in the bottom of my fridge - it was delicious and has been portioned out and frozen. Bread can be frozen too - my freezer is full of white baps admittedly Sainsbugs basics but they were reduced to 24p for 12.

wot-a-mess

Ani

Thanks for taking the time to post in in my diary. U've defo cheered me up & thanks for that. I think we must have the SAD syndrome cos the weather up here has been dreadful.

Hopefully get a good nite's sleep & come out fighting tomorrow...... but it looks like a very long battle ahead for me trying to clear the debt burden.

wot-a-mess

Horace

Thanks to you as well for posting. This week I did actually make 2 batches of fruit scones & 2 large pots of lentil soup ... both for next to nothing & both very delicious. I'm also fortunate enough to live near a Lidl's & if you buy the right stuff it really is a great shop. We now shop at Lidls, Aldi, Tesco & Asda. We also used to do Farmfoods but that's now a right rip-off unless you just buy toilet rolls :rotfl:.

I think my big problen is that I see this large debt & just want it to go away but it wont go just disappear

Igamogam

There are ups and downs WAM - it happens to all of us! take a look at your debts - they have come down!!!! Remember your debts didnt suddently appear over night - you took a while to get there so they wont disappear over night either.........sorry not wishing to sound patronising. Thing is it was very easy ( TOO EASY thanks you Mr Bank and Mr CC) to spend money................but blimmin almost impossible to pay it back at the same rate. Keep going.Keep posting. Your debt busting is all in the right direction

PS If Christmas is beginning to worry you BE RUTHLESS - we made that decsion a few years ago when it just got silly - the expectation from friends ( and family) about presents. We buy only for our children and nothing for each other. We each have a secret Santa at work and I have secret Santa with my group of very close friends ( ladies) which has to be a home made gift. We send about 15 Christmas cards and hand deliver about 10. We are very open about it so if a present arrives we say thank you very much but please dont expect anything in return because our finances wont stretch that far. I buy small gifts at sales such as N*xt for DD2 to give to school friends - make up bags,socks, umbrellas etc . Have to say you soon find out who your true friends and supportive family members are

chevalier

It is worth persisting with ebay especially if you have unusual items. there is a things you never thought you could sell on ebay thread on here. You would be amazed what people have made money on!!

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