A Thread for After Debt?

QueenB.

2!!!!!!!! I just can't believe that are you planning a party?

Like you Mort our savings have dwindled to crumbs so like yourself we have gone back to basics. My OH and I have spent the last few days redoing our budget using the SOA as a basis and going through pound by pound and really trimming down as much as possible. To be honest we should have a nice amount left over to save each month but can't quite work out where its going so we are back to a spending diary. Due to getting paid early in December this month is always soooooo long between paydays so i know we will go into OD before the next one and that will affect the budget but we should be able to put most things in place so roll on the end of January :cool: Looking at our budget we have already canceled 2 DDs, one for a magazine and one for a game site saving £15 a month and there are at least 6 other parts we should be able to reduce. We really really need new carpets so that needs to be budgeted for. Back to basics in my home this year!!!!!

JulieGeorgiana

I'm terrible, I only do parties for 1st & 5th birthdays. We try and go out and do something special instead. She's going to her favorite museum on Sunday, followed by McDonalds for lunch, then for dinner her favourite (bratwurst and corn on the cob) followed by the family tradition of a smarty cake (a pink one!)

The on her actual birthday she is going to a soft play with a friend, and then she's going out with a friend a few days later again.

I don't think children need parties yearly, and they cost so much and you end up with gifts you have no space for...

With my DS he gets to go somewhere and take a friend (cinema or legoland etc) and he tells me he doesn't feel deprived

Ref. SOA we review our yearly, we don't nesseserily cut back, but it's nice to review where the money is going

QueenB.

Sounds like she will have lots of fun. I'm like you, they only have birthday parties on certain special ages and normally we arrange a trip out somewhere or cinema/ bowling with friends and either a meal at home or a meal at the place where their dad works as we get discount:)

My DD turned 21 last year, she had planned a holiday to america so we planned a family party at her grandparents and everyone brought food so no real cost and then when she got back we took her out to dinner. I had even managed to get a lot of her pressies in the sale so she had a great 21st and we spent very little. Its DS2's 13th this year and we have brought him tickets for wrestling at the O2 as he loves it. However as they are expensive he already knows he won't really get anything else.

Even though they have had very few parties they have so many great memories of friends and days out.

DS1 has autism so he hates parties and isn't keen on going out so his birthdays can be even cheaper LOL.

I normally keep a close eye on our budget and have become quite good at reworking it with each new obstacle but haven't done an SOA in ages and haven't really been as strict as I could have been

Plus I'm learning to drive at the moment and that is proving to be very expensive, but will be worth it when I pass. OH is trying to pick up an extra shift each week to help cover cost but its not always possible.

Mort

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Seems we're all struggling a little doesn't it

For us it was a triple whammy combination of a big car repair bill, one of the Mortlets returning home after a relationship breakup and the other Mortlet becoming unemployed and having rent and fuel problems. On a positive note we stayed afloat and are not in debt.

In a way a lot of the financial strain has occurred because of the debt we had. While we were spiralling out of control and then repaying the debt via a DMP household goods were not replaced. In the last two years we have lost our oven, a small chest freezer, the tumble dryer and now the car.

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

DD1 is 2 on Monday! How fast does time move?

Happy birthday to her.

QueenB. wrote: »

Due to getting paid early in December this month is always soooooo long between paydays .....

Years ago I took the option of a mid monthly advance in December, it was horrendous. Never again.

QueenB.

Sorry to hear about your mortlets problems lets hope 2014 proves to be a more positive year for you all.

I agree with you that a lot of our issues at the moment are due to our previous debt and the way our home has fallen into a desperate need of repair and replacement. of course if we had our savings to use for this task it wouldn't have been so difficult but then they got used with all the health and work issues last year
So now its about building savings whilst trying to fix and replace things around the home, not an easy task. being Df lifted a huge weight of my shoulders and now I'm out being social again but still too embarrassed to have anyone over because of the state the house in now in:o its not dirty i do clean lol but the carpets are frayed and stained wallpaper is ripped, curtains need replacing, lots of furniture is bashed and stained and close to falling apart and the bathroom is a joke, mainly because we have a horrible damp problem that we are dealing with at the moment. Basically my home is showing the lived in state that comes from 3 kids, 5 cats and a whole lot of debt :eek:

JulieGeorgiana

We're thinking of getting a loan :eek:

Our car won't pass it's MoT in September. It's the catalytic converter!

We have £1500 and need £3500 more to get a reliable car.

A £3500 loan over a year at 13.9% has £260 interest

A £7000 loan over a year at 4.9% has £185 interest

Both save us money on getting the car fixed and through another MoT, which is the issue... The loan saves us money in the long term.

Obviously if we got the higher loan we'd use the £3500 change to pay half the repayments each month. The larger loan would cost us £15 a month less in repayments.

We can afford to do it if it's only a year.

What hoping is you guys could tell me what you think? Is it a good debt, should we pay to get through another MoT and just save?

If we get a loan which one? I'm very strict, so I wouldn't spend the £3,500 extra if we got the bigger one...

Just hoping for some good honest feedback...

I hate debt, but this might be beneficial to the family.

determined_new_ms

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

We're thinking of getting a loan :eek:

Our car won't pass it's MoT in September. It's the catalytic converter!

We have £1500 and need £3500 more to get a reliable car.

A £3500 loan over a year at 13.9% has £260 interest

A £7000 loan over a year at 4.9% has £185 interest

Both save us money on getting the car fixed and through another MoT, which is the issue... The loan saves us money in the long term.

Obviously if we got the higher loan we'd use the £3500 change to pay half the repayments each month. The larger loan would cost us £15 a month less in repayments.

We can afford to do it if it's only a year.

What hoping is you guys could tell me what you think? Is it a good debt, should we pay to get through another MoT and just save?

If we get a loan which one? I'm very strict, so I wouldn't spend the £3,500 extra if we got the bigger one...

Just hoping for some good honest feedback...

I hate debt, but this might be beneficial to the family.

sounds like a very well thought out plan. Clearly you can afford it and it will actually save you money

JulieGeorgiana

determined_new_ms wrote: »

sounds like a very well thought out plan. Clearly you can afford it and it will actually save you money

After being out of debt 3,5 years it's a scary thought to be honest. Im terrified of owing anyone anything

determined_new_ms

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

After being out of debt 3,5 years it's a scary thought to be honest. Im terrified of owing anyone anything

I know what you mean but in reality it's just the same as saving hard for 6 months to buy the car but if your car won't last as long as that it's the next best thing. If your income is secure I wouldn't worry too much. In fact you've now given me the idea to do that!

JulieGeorgiana

DH has a pretty secure job. They've got a 20 year contract and are very low staffed. And the crux is it WILL save us money.

I'm going to need to sit down I think and think about this and see if the worst happens that we'll be able to pay it off.

DH is away on business so I have a week to look into it properly.