The "Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2012" challenge

suzitiger

Ohh i see, Thanks Sharronej. I should have read all the sticky's on the DFW boards really, but I didn't. I am too lazy were you guys talking about the MrT card payment thread by any chance?

dizzybee

Not had a chance to post what with work,and getting last bits for Christmas
got a letter from the council they have been rewiring in my area for the last year and they are coming to do mine on the 5th Jan,asked if they could do a bit later in Jan but no,so i know have to start packing thinks away ,so the tree and decs will be down on the 1st Jan.
and the Debt busting i have manged to pay £150 off with e bay money made minim payments £250 so not bad.so a total of £400.

sharronej

suzitiger wrote: »

Ohh i see, Thanks Sharronej. I should have read all the sticky's on the DFW boards really, but I didn't. I am too lazy were you guys talking about the MrT card payment thread by any chance?

That'd be the one, the poor girl - ok so maybe she should have noticed and it'll never happen again to her but really there's no need to rip into her, as Mf0u said there's such a lot of support on here it'd be such a shame if she gets the impression that's what the board is about!

[Deleted User]

Hi guys I'm back , I was one of the first few to join this thread, full of determination , then I gave up, got depressed about it all again, my total was 40,000 to clear, but am going to start off again after christmas, I have been selling bit and bobs on ebay it has been fantastic, can't do much debt busting until the wages come in again at the end of month, so struggling as always until then, I am gonna buy a big diary/organizer, I think if I keep notes of things this will help me alot, as I said before I was spending about £400 a month on supermarket shopping, for 2 adults , 1 huge teenager, and a small dog, I have done really well this month and done about half that by going through cupboards and freezer, so next year reduced only, approved foods, and cooking/baking from scratch, I feel I can do it this time! I'm gonna beat the debt and not let it beat me, yay!!:j

camuk81

Fairyface, I hope you make it. There is good days and bad days. Some days I want to find a hole and curl up and cry till the end of days. Every time I take one step forward some happens to put me two steps back. I hope it all goes well. Fingers crossed

sharronej

fairyface wrote: »

Hi guys I'm back , I was one of the first few to join this thread, full of determination , then I gave up, got depressed about it all again, my total was 40,000 to clear, but am going to start off again after christmas, I have been selling bit and bobs on ebay it has been fantastic, can't do much debt busting until the wages come in again at the end of month, so struggling as always until then, I am gonna buy a big diary/organizer, I think if I keep notes of things this will help me alot, as I said before I was spending about £400 a month on supermarket shopping, for 2 adults , 1 huge teenager, and a small dog, I have done really well this month and done about half that by going through cupboards and freezer, so next year reduced only, approved foods, and cooking/baking from scratch, I feel I can do it this time! I'm gonna beat the debt and not let it beat me, yay!!:j

This happens to me too, every now and again the figures involved become overwhelming and there's almost the temptation to ignore it and carry on spending "we'll be alright" fortunately though I've never given in completely although it does put me in a really bad mood for a while and makes me hell to live with . Glad to hear you're back on track now and I look forward to debt busting with you in 2012.

For those of you who are watching for snow, we have a blanket of snow this morning.....and I hate it!!! Arrggghhhh not a happy bunny

jakes-mum

Welcome back fairyface :wave: remember if its ever getting on top of you, you can always post on here and we'll give you lots of virtual hugs and support to help you find the light at the end of the tunnel again

We have no snow here but mum in the next village does :rotfl: grrr I want some snow, not that I can go out in it not only are my glands up on the left side, my gums and the wall of my mouth on the left side are also swollen and painful ive totally given up talking as it just hurts so much and am now doing a mixture of typing on my phone and sign language to tell the family what im trying to say. Jake has become very good at guessing what im miming, so far we have had 'give lily her breakfast', 'take this tea to dad', 'go and get dressed', and 'get your teeth brushed' :rotfl: oh if I wasnt in so much pain I would see the funny side of this

mf0u1098

fairyface wrote: »

Hi guys I'm back , I was one of the first few to join this thread, full of determination , then I gave up, got depressed about it all again, my total was 40,000 to clear, but am going to start off again after christmas, I have been selling bit and bobs on ebay it has been fantastic, can't do much debt busting until the wages come in again at the end of month, so struggling as always until then, I am gonna buy a big diary/organizer, I think if I keep notes of things this will help me alot, as I said before I was spending about £400 a month on supermarket shopping, for 2 adults , 1 huge teenager, and a small dog, I have done really well this month and done about half that by going through cupboards and freezer, so next year reduced only, approved foods, and cooking/baking from scratch, I feel I can do it this time! I'm gonna beat the debt and not let it beat me, yay!!:j

Oh fairyface, I am sooooooo glad to hear from you again and that you're coming back! :j:j:j I also love that you've been actively trying to earn extra cash from ebay and cut down your grocery spend which are both incredibly positive things :T. Christmas time is the most expensive and hardest time of the year for us guys in debt. We are constantly bombarded with images of the "perfect" christmas, pressured into making sure that we having everything that society says we need to be happy. The reality is that the most important thing at christmas is family, not how much we spend on each person...

My boss told me he'd thought of a perfect pressie for his dad, he had loads of cds in the loft that he never used cos all the tracks were on his ipod but his dad would love them so he was going to get a whole stack of them together with a big ribbon. He then said he felt really tight cos he hadn't spent any money. I asked him if his dad would like this present and it would make him happy, he said he would love it so I asked him what difference did it make as his dad wouldn't know he hadn't spent the money and he'd be getting a present that he'd truly want.

I remember growing up, I have 3 sisters and our family never had any money. We had to make do and I guess like the bob Cratchett family, we made sure that Xmas was perfect for us. My mum saved up all through the year with saving stamps, bought pressies in the January sales and never made us feel like we were missing out. The point I'm trying to make here is that you've had your LBM and like me, it's been too late to really help with this xmas but we can change next xmas. Tesc0 have a saving club where you can top up throughout the year and then get bonus vouchers depending on how much you save. I am sure there are lots more supermarkets that do similar things. I am also intrigued by the idea of doing a secret santa for the family...

The best way for you to get through this is by getting the whole family involved. Tell them about having your LBM and that it cannot continue but you need their help. Certainly as a child/teenager I realised the importance of "making do" and helping my family in an y way I could. I'd switch off lights behind me, shut doors to keep in the heat, help making the batch cooking etc. It will also teach your son or daughter the value of money which is a valuable life lesson to have certainly if they have any thoughts of going on to uni or at least moving out of home.

Long winded I know but I just want to say that I am proud of you fairyface and if there is anything we can do to help you then please just ask :A

psychopathbabble

£1 to the cc today Had a nice time at MrS's round table do last night although i really don't want to go to work today! Just been looking at flights to Hong Kong for May and found a direct flight for £560! So, probably need to book it for that price although it means my debt-busting will slow down a bit... I'm pretty sure it will be worth it though!

#068 - £239.07 / £6,492.82 (3.68%)

mf0u1098

Last night was sooooooo icy and I've woken to a blanket of snow outside so pretty treacherous driving conditions, luckily I'm not going out though!

Instead, I'm going to tidy my room and put up my 2012 wall planner. I'm soooooo excited about starting using it as I have all the little coloured stickers that I can use as my NSD markers. I'm also going to mark on paydays and dd days to track my debt falling...oh and people's birthdays too so I can budget for them. My sister is struggling at the moment having just moved into a house with her boyfriend so I've told her not to bother with much for me for xmas. A bar of chocolate will be perfectly ok! She didn't like it and wanted to know what I was spending on her but I told her that I could not be happy receiving a present that would most likely have been put on a credit card that she definitely would struggle to pay back.

I feel like I've REALLY had my LBM this christmas, I feel that my eyes are wide open and can see things for what they really are. I was so scared that my LBM in October was a just a faze and that like most things I started, it would fizzle out and I wouldn't change... Wow, how wrong was I?! Since then I have paid off over £2k, created a fantastic challenge with amazing people and my whole attitude to shopping has changed. I now feel happier lobbing money at my debts instead of spending it on tat that I would like for maybe a couple of days then would forget I had it... It is so liberating!

After tidying my room and putting up my sparkly new wall planner then I'm going to make some mince pies/maids of honour and do some batch cooking to help my mum while she tidies the house ready for christmas. I'm off work now until 3rd Jan so I can really help her out while she works at the family business this week...

I will also get loads of thing together again to sell on fleabay and amazonia, and search for loads of money saving coupons like the £2 Glenfiddich one I found to cut down on our shopping...

Then come January, it's also going to be the BATTLE OF THE BULGE time!!! I am determined for 2012 to be the year that I get rid of this debt and this extra 1.5 stone that I've been trying to shift for the last few years. I know we once discussed the idea of doing a weight loss part of this challenge and I felt that it would take the challenge too off topic... well I think I've changed my mind! I guess at the time it was kind of overwhelming thinking of managing more than just the debt which is why I'd like to ask if anyone wants to take up this part of the challenge to manage? I don't want it to take over the debt busting challenge though, as I know there will be people for whom it is not relevant. At the end of the day we are here to bust this debt and that's what people have joined for, I just think it would be a nice side challenge (complimented by our lovely Kerri's weekly mini challenges :A) and certainly a lot of people will be focused on it in January!

Anyway, let me know your thoughts guys as it's OUR challenge so WE need to make a decision either way xxx