A Thread for After Debt?

SOT2011

Hi Tiff :wave: any newcomers are more than welcome here

JG - DS birthday plans sound brilliant, even more so when you consider how frugal they are, I bet there are many mums out there who would do something similar but without the frugal-ness and end up spending what, 5 times as much? doing it without even realising it could be done so economically.

Rising - ex-OH has been doing that, though he is doing the far less frugal version as 4 months later :eek: he still hasn't got round to swapping the number over so is still paying both. Not really my problem any more but I will mention it again when he pops over to walk the doglet later as I really don't like to see unnecessary waste of money, even when it is not mine .

I don't think it is very hard to swap the number over, your original company give you a PAC code to quote to the new one, but I'm not sure on the timings of it, I think it might only take a day or two, but I'm not sure why I have that idea as I have never done it myself

Oh well, best crack on with my OU work again....I've got part of next week off to do the End of Module Assignment so must get up to date today so I can make best use of that time off.

SOT x

rising_from_the_ashes

Thanks SOT .... I have got the PAC code so will need to do that next week.

The only thing that's bothering me is that I've loads of pics of the dog on the phone - I'm not sure if I can still access these once there is no SIM in it (does anyone know) or if I'll need to get one of the free SIMs I've seen floating around and stick maybe £5 on it.

I've been trying to work out how to get the pics off (the memory card unfortunately jammed in the phone when it was new so it's well & truely stuck in there) - I did try to text one to myself last night but it was resized to something miniscule.....

SOT2011

Pretend you've not seen me, I'm doing my OU work really!

I think you should be ok to still access them without a SIM if they are on the memory card, but maybe give it a try, taking the SIM out?

My older phone had bluetooth that I could transfer them over by, which didn't seem to "shrink" them as much as texting, though that wasn't a quick process.

If not, as a very last resort, when the number and everything else you need is swapped over, could you maybe try taking the old phone apart a bit to see if the memory card will come out then?

SOT x

samtoby

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

I am looking forward to a 2 for 1 meal with my best friend and later a drink with her new piece of stuff. She has had a bad run with guys which has left her very defalted. I hope this one is good for her!

I am popping into the local tip to the household items they sell to see if there is anything small I can buy and sell on ebay. Usually worth a trip last time I spent £1 and sold it all for over £11. Great come back lol. :j

For my best friends birthday I am making her a memory quilt for her room so I have £20 to spend on extra fabrics in red. She loves red browns and cream so really exited about making it. As I am saving for this deposit, I need to look at MSE ways to give great presents. I think the memory quilt is an excellent idea.

I have made crochet blankets for my friends who are having babies this year. Was going to have a go at making some gift cards as they are always so expensive and I always think....£3 for a card! WHAT!:eek:

rising_from_the_ashes

SOT2011 wrote: »

Pretend you've not seen me, I'm doing my OU work really!

I think you should be ok to still access them without a SIM if they are on the memory card, but maybe give it a try, taking the SIM out?

My older phone had bluetooth that I could transfer them over by, which didn't seem to "shrink" them as much as texting, though that wasn't a quick process.

If not, as a very last resort, when the number and everything else you need is swapped over, could you maybe try taking the old phone apart a bit to see if the memory card will come out then?

SOT x

Thanks SOT (of course we never saw you!;)) - I'll take the SIM out and see if I can still get them (don't know why I didn't think of that:o).

One of my pals suggested the Bluetooth thing but no idea how to do that! I'll take my phone over to her during the week and see if it can be done.

samtoby wrote: »

For my best friends birthday I am making her a memory quilt for her room so I have £20 to spend on extra fabrics in red. She loves red browns and cream so really exited about making it. As I am saving for this deposit, I need to look at MSE ways to give great presents. I think the memory quilt is an excellent idea.

I have made crochet blankets for my friends who are having babies this year. Was going to have a go at making some gift cards as they are always so expensive and I always think....£3 for a card! WHAT!:eek:

Ohhh Sam, have a lovely meal out ... the memory quilt sounds lovely

I can't crochet:o I've tried several times as I think things always look lovely but I just can't get the hang of it - I'm left handed and everyone's always been right handed who's shown me and I just can't manage to do it "my" way ... might give it another bash soon!

SOT2011

Enough OU work done for today :j

I've also totted up my spends from last month and the final totals are: food = £175 = £25 over budget, but Petrol = £99 = £61 under budget, assisted by a few more days than normal working from home, and careful consideration of any random trips in the car.

Soooooo overall I am in the green, not the red, but seriously, £175 for me and a small dog to eat well :eek: that is still way too much! Especially when you consider there was no alcohol in there at all.

I must get it under control, I do menu plan and shop to a list, but I am eating too much meat, and I am not being as careful as I should be to make frugal choices when menu planning.

I need to go back to having at least a couple of veggie meals a week to help reduce the costs, but I've already done this weeks shop so I shall have to keep that in mind next Friday when I am meal planning - maybe I'll start looking for recipes now though.....

SOT x

rising_from_the_ashes

SOT - have you tried the Grocery Challenge?

Loads of fantastic tips and wonderful recipes ...... I've still a long way to go too (allow £140/month for food, toiletries & cleaning stuff) but I'm quite restricted in what I can do as I have several food intolerances & Crohn's Disease...... milk alone accounts for around £30 / month:eek: as I have Lactofree which is £1.31 / litre:eek:.

I am getting better though and the support on the thread is fab:)

SOT2011

I fell off the Grocery Challenge as I kept going over and got a bit fed up of missing the challenge but it is different now so I shall look at going back.

I used to go over budget when with ex-oh due to things like extras, expensive lunch options, snacks for home and alcohol, now it is picking non-frugal meals to make. I think I shall lurk this month and try and improve before I commit to the challenge again.

SOT x

LianneH

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

I would say right now yours is a want... save the money you could afford on finance now... when you NEED a car you have a larger deposit and would save a bunch on interest.

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[FONT=&quot]However, I've personally always counted debt as debt whatever it's been for..... and I think it would take a lot for me to want to buy one I couldn't afford to purchase outright as I'd be in debt again

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[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I would say if you have just paid off your debt and you don't NEED it wait, you have just got debt free. Enjoy before another financial commitment

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wrote:

Welcome Lianne, am sure you will enjoy this wonderful thread.

thanks everyone for all your comments! These are so helpful!

Ok so I have decided that yes it is a WANT at this point. I think I alway knew that - just needed someone to tell me too! lol!

I am going to stare at my spreadsheets for a whlie to "find" some money for my "car pot" and even if one of the cars goes ((bang)) I will have saved up something to put towards a low interest loan.

I am loving this thread!

I have been ebaying like mad the past couple of weeks. I used to use this money to sometimes help with unexpected bills. But everything (I think) is now accounted for so Ive decided that this money will be "treat" money, and I'm going to enjoy it and being debt free, whoop whoop!!

Li x
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JulieGeorgiana

SOT we are on £200 a month (I have an extra £20 for Nappies seperate) for the 3 of us (Eliza doesn't eat yet), and we eat meat in every meal... I found going vegetarian makes me hungry! This week I am making Nutty chicken curry (8 portions - 1/4 of the meat from a 2kg chicken costing £6.50) and Lasagne (8 Portions using 450g Minced Beef - Half a pack... I buy 2 packs for £6) and a Cheese and Onion Pizza Friday (3 portions). This will feed 3 of us the whole week (DS is away this weekend mind you)!

You need to make more simple meals and eat them until you are sick of them... OR spend a week cooking a meal each night, but freezing the leftovers... after a week you have 7 different meals which will feed you 6-8 weeks without cooking! There you have veriety and frugality!

Li I am so glad we helped you! Having a saving goal is also a great way to stay debt free and frugal!!

So today I visited 14 shops in 3 villiages over 5 hours, and I spent £12.90 on DS and got him 4 Shirts, 2 T-Shirts, Jeans, Fleece Jacket, Trousers and a hooded Jumper (from his clothes budget, many of which will now be Birthday gifts!).

I spent £18.30 on Eliza and got 15 Tops, 6 PJs, 2 Jackets, 1 Swimming Suit, 4 Dresses, 1 Outfit, 1 Coat, 3 hats, 1 Skirt and a Blouse!

My best Buy... a Monsoon Dress for £1.49

It's amazing how prices differ... a T-Shirt will cost 49p in one shop and £1.50 in another... So I didn't buy any tops over 50p and still ended up with 15... and I left plain ones behind!

I did myself a little table so I know what I have (from charity shops, family and friends) and the only thing she NEEDS for 3-6 months are trousers... She has 8 PJ's, 2 Coats and 2 Hats so I won't be buying anymore of those for that age... everything else it just depends what comes up now

I will go again in 2 weeks to the 2 best shops and try and get what's missing.... otherwise I will have to go on eBay... after that the option is buying them new!!

I would say I have 75% of what she needs for 3 - 18months and have spent a total of £28 on Eliza in the charity shops... so another £10-£20 and that's us done until 18 months old.

I do insist on buying vests new though... so have to find the best offer i think...