Boarding the Bus of Positivity (for 24 months of travels!)

debtfreesomeday

Another £74 coming to us from Quidco this month. :j
But, £24 spent on M&S sale on 2 new baby gifts and a coat for DS.

Am pretty confident we're going to clear the overdraft this month.

debtfreesomeday

I've just re-read some chunks from my (very) old diaries. How different my life was back when we started this journey to debt freedom! I seemed to get so much done in the evenings, I sounded like wonderwoman!:rotfl: Now I'm lucky if I find the time to cook/eat a meal and clean up before falling into bed! BUT we do have DS who is worth all the work and bags under my eyes (and there's a lot of them now, believe me!).

Just wanted to say thank you to all those who have spurred me on along the way so far. Without you guys I would have given up battling with our debts long ago.

We have been getting very down lately about the lack of money and not being able to do anything, but we only have 18 months of this loan left which, in the general scheme of things, is not long at all is it. We started tackling our debts head on in 2008 after getting married, so I am sure we can handle another 18 months of it. :T

The one thing which sticks out upon reading the past DFSD epochs is that the small things really add up to make a big difference. I'd forgotten how many surveys I used to do and how many bits and pieces I listed on Amazon. I have been feeling quite reluctant to do any more surveys lately, but this has shown me I need to keep going with them, for another 18 months at least.

I'm doing well with ebay at the moment, but I need to keep the momentum up. I am aware of a few more items I can list so will try and get those photographed and listed tonight. DH is out for a few hours again tonight, so I will have chance once DS is in bed and I have the house to myself.

I also need to start recording my spends in this diary as I'm aware that I think £50 is loads when I make it on ebay, but it seems a lot less in value to spend via the click of a button online! If I write everything down then I have to 'own up to it' as such. It seems a lot more in black and white (or grey-ish).

I shall also try and transfer that CC balance tonight, I'm not entirely aware of the exact amount we owe, but I know it's around the £2K mark. I need to record the figures in my signature and change that as bits are chipped off of it.

To sum up, I've let my eye off the ball a lot this past year and I need to re-focus. Here goes!

debtfreesomeday

So, spends today:

The previously mentioned...
£24.50 - coat for DS in the M&S sale & 2 more 'gift' coats.
£51.16 - parts for pushchair & 2 Christmas gifts (made the total up to £50+ to receive a free gift and free delivery + 5% off).

A high spend day!

debtfreesomeday

One load of washing is done and now in the dryer. 2nd load now in the washing machine.

Balance transfer now actioned, to the shiny new 0% for 22 months credit card. Really willing myself to be brave and cut the both cards up now but slightly concerned in case something goes wrong as we don't have an emergency fund built up yet. Hmmm, what to do?

Credit card balance is approximately £2250, give or take a few £'s, so the first challenge is to clear the £250. It shouldn't take long, as we've sold some nursery equipment to a pregnant friend so that's £150 there. The first priority this month though is to get the bank balance out of the overdraft. With the eBay funds, quidco and other sales offline, that should be no problem, with money left over to throw at the credit card.

eBay items have gone up by another £7 tonight. :T
I was going to list a couple more items tonight but have decided to wait until after we return from our few days away just in case anyone asks any questions etc (as no Internet access at my parents house).

I've bagged up the toys we're getting rid of, ready to drop off to the buyer tomorrow and pick up our £10.

debtfreesomeday

Oops, forgot balance transfer fee of £65, so credit card balance is more like £2325. So, £325 is the first target.

debtfreesomeday

2nd washing load in dryer and dishwasher now on 'eco' programme.

I've dug out two gifts from the present drawer tonight, one birthday and 1 half of a new baby gift (to go with one of the coats I bought today). Both have been are re-gifted things that our Ds were given duplicates of. I sometimes feel a bit bad about doing that, but at least it's saved us money and hasn't gone to waste. I've wrapped the birthday gift ready to take with us to the recipient at the weekend to save on postage costs in sending it next month.
I have also found my stash of father's day cards I bought for DH and my Dad a while back in a brilliant sale at mothercare of all places! They are perfect for Ds to give to daddy and grandad. I also found a new baby card I forgot about, so that's just one I need to buy now. I shall pick this up tomorrow, along with a couple of other cards I need to buy and a father's day gift for my dad and hubby - no idea what yet though!
I also need to post two more parcels that I didn't get round to posting today.

Chocforever

Wow, you are woman on a mission. I've lost track, how much is your overdraft (if you don't mind saying).

I'm still sorting things out at the new place. You are right, it is exciting (and expensive!) arranging things how I want them and getting new bits and pieces to make the space "work".

I can't believe how many organisations I need to inform of my change of address and I'm tackling a few of those this morning before it is back to cleaning and unpacking. I also need to work out how to use the washing machine - I hope they have left me the handbook.

debtfreesomeday

Hope you managed to get the washing machine to work Chocs!

Overdraft, at its worse a couple of months ago, was £350 although we do have an authorised overdraft limit of £1500 (I really need to speak to the bank about reducing this, don't know why it was ever so high). Thanks to all the ebaying/decluttering/selling/quidco etc. we still have money in the account with 6 days to go until payday! Not a lot, but we're not overdrawn which is the main thing.

Last night, hubby spotted a job close to the area near my family which we are desperate to move to. The job is practically made for him, he is more than qualified/experienced etc. and it comes with a fantastic salary and is permanent. We got so excited (I started looking at houses online in the area!) and hubby started to go through the process of applying online. Reality then kicked in and we thought about how on earth we could afford to move presently - the answer is, basically, we can't.
Our house, although sold for £165K new, will realistically sell for around £140 - £145 in the present climate. House prices for a similar house in our desired region are around £220K. We have around £10K in debts and no savings to make a mortgage more affordable or to cover moving costs. We just can't see a way of being able to take this opportunity at the moment, and that feels like a real kick in the stomach. Jobs like that don't come up often, either.

That's left me feeling really quite fed up, but I'm trying to put a positive spin on things and tackle the debts head on by making a bit more money. I've earmarked 3 more surplus items from the garden shed to sell locally, which will hopefully make around £50; we have some more nursery items to sell for another £50; plus, I've sorted and photographed another 10 or so lots for ebay. My way of thinking is that we need to pay these debts off as soon as we possibly can to start saving, and the house needs to be clutter free, with only the posessions we would wish to move with us when we eventually do relocate.

I've also cut the grass, done two loads of washing, all of which is drying on the line in the sunshine, and picked up some fresh produce from Aldi this morning, spending £23. I need to hoover through later to feel satisfied with the state of the house today!

Urgh, life is sent to try us eh?

debtfreesomeday

I've listed 11 items on eBay this afternoon, one is a re-list after a non-payer :mad: I'm also chasing payment for another item I sold last week too. I seem to have had a few difficult buyers lately.

Washing is dry and put away, didn't manage the hoovering but still feeling pleased with my efforts today!

debtfreesomeday

Last week's buyer has finally paid up tonight (no 'sorry payment was late' message or anything...). I hope I don't have trouble with this sale, some you just get an uneasy feeling about don't you.
Anyway, I've transferred that £17 odd to the bank account, hot on the tails of the £38 I transferred this morning.
I'll post that parcel tomorrow now.

I've forced myself to tackle the pile of ironing tonight (a job I hate), so at least that's all now done and put away. The dishwasher's on; Ds is in bed and DH is out for a few hours so I'm on my own looking for things to do (quiet things which won't wake Ds!).