Time to get organised and get on with it!

jwil

Hi everyone, :wave: time for a new diary.

December seems to be a good time to start reviewing how the year has gone, and start planning for the new year, all fresh, keen and excited

About me, I’m in my thirties and live with my DH and pets. We bought our house a couple of years ago and it needs a lot of work doing to it inside and out. It is approximately 50 years old, still with most of the original fixtures and fittings. :eek: Since we have moved in, we have put in new boiler and central heating, and replaced the patio doors and one window. We have painted throughout, but still have the original ‘loud’ carpets, kitchen and bathroom. We can’t really get on with the house until I get my finances sorted. I find it quite difficult sometimes, because it’s not retro in a good way, it just feels dirty and dingy to me. I know there is loads of potential though, so that keeps me going, and every time we do something small, it makes a lovely difference.

My lovely DH does not have any debt, but last year had a very hefty pay cut so is also feeling the pinch. He has been suffering from pretty severe depression, which has been very hard, but seems to be getting better though he still has down periods.

We have a *lot* of clutter in our house. We had to clear a house which then all got abandoned into ours. We also have a lot of stuff ourselves so the house is absolutely jam packed. This also prevents us from doing anything to it. I’ve spent the last few years car booting, ebay-ing and amazon-ing like mad, but there is still loads to do. This does mean however, that there is still plenty in the house to raise some extra funds from.

I have some debt, and whilst I have been tackling it, have not really got to grips with it, and have not yet got to a stage where I can completely give up the cards. I’ve had a lot of unexpected expenses over the last few months, which really has brought it home to me about how I need to get on with things.

So I have decided that I’m going to start a new plan for 2012, to try and really get it down.

In no particular order

1. Snowball – I’ve used the snowball calculator loads, and completely understand the concept but have never actually managed to do it properly. I’ve found it really hard to just pay the minimums on cards and focus the extra in one place. Every month I’ve tended to overpay some on all cards and not really get anywhere. In 2012 I am going to snowball properly.

2. PAD (Payment A Day) – I find that I keep my motivation up a lot more if I make regular payments. However, I tend to pay large amounts at payday, then find myself stretched and sometimes using the card. I am going to try and PAD smaller amounts regularly and not overstretch myself.

3. Cut Spending – I have recently got into the habit of buying lunch again during the week. I need to curb this again as it adds up a lot over the month. I am also going to try and be more organised with meal planning and cooking from scratch more (this however, is partly due to the poor design of our kitchen, it’s very hard to work in there, but I shall try and make more of an effort).

4. Save – I have no savings. I don’t really have the spare funds to save huge amounts. However, I am going to change this in 2012. I am going to put away a small amount each month – even if it is just £1 to try and get me into the saving habit. This will then increase as my finances improve. My first aim will be to have a £500 emergency fund.

5. Declutter and sell – I shall be trying to kill two birds with one stone. Selling anything not nailed down which will have the dual effect of decluttering. I want nothing in my house which I do not love, or is not useful. I hope my DH will catch on with this too.

6. Surveys etc. – In 2011 I managed to get over £200 in amazon vouchers from survey and bingo sites. I’d like to do this again this year as it has given me some guilt free spending and is also helpful when there are birthdays and Christmas.



Wish me luck

LAM2011

Good Luck Jwil

It sounds like its going to be a very busy year for you. Will subscribe and see how you are getting along. I too have no savings and want to change that (I have gone for the sealed pot challenge) and I am going to try and reduce my loan (which will be my last remaining debt - although large) by making overpayments. I had a couple of curve balls this second half of the year and so hopefully we can both have a smooth debt busting 2012.

jwil

Thanks LAM, good luck to you too, here's hoping we can smash those debts in 2012

jwil

My DH has some discount scheme offered by his employers, but he doesn't think he can be bothered :rolleyes: So I have claimed the cards . I need to figure out how it works, but if it works how I think, it means 5% off shopping and fuel which is not to be sniffed at :j

jwil

I've paid £26 towards my pay off as much as you can in 2011 challenge, which takes me to £10,500 paid off. I'm really pleased with that, even though I haven't hit my target. That's me now for the 2011 challenge, so any other payments now will count towards the 2012 challenge.

ebayqueen_2

Hi Jwil

Love the new diary and wish you all the best for your new year ahead. You will succeed. We are all behind you. :):)

You should be very proud of yourself for paying of £10,500. That is an incredible achievement.

God bless
E

DedicatedDFW

Hi jwil :wave:

*settles in to comfy sofa and offers biscuits around *

Lovely new diary :T i have duly subscribed and am sat here with pen and paper awaiting tips

Huge well done to you lovey - £10,500 is an amazing amount to pay and i know the setbacks you faced with car trouble, van trouble etc. :T:T:T Very proud of you :j:j:j

i too have been looking ahead to the new year and all i want to achieve and what i need to do to accomplish that :cool: i think it would be good if we share the survey sites we use and how we rate them if you like? As in some survey sites i only do the survey if the time v money is ok - 40 minutes for 10p and i'm not going to bother :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I think a few of our goals are similar:~

Debt freedom - check
Savings - check
Surveys - check
Pad - check
Spending - do i need it / want it - check
Snowball - check

Ooh i feel like santa! :xmassmile Making my list and checking it twice :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: As you know - i've done all my decluttering so thats one thing that after many years is not on my to do list - but i do have to look at means of increasing income as i have nothing left to sell :eek:

Looking forward to the 2012 journey x

White_Iris

Hi Jwil,
I've been lurking on your old diary and have also subscribed to this one. Your 2012 plan sounds great, really workable - good luck with it! I shall be following your progress with interest :-)
Iris .x.

LAM2011

DDFW - I am the same as you - not really much left to sell but have the same goals as you and Jwil. (will have a biccie though seeing as you are offering )

I am finding time for the surveys a problem at the moment - winter is always more hectic for me as I go at 6 in the morning to see to horses before work and then again after work and at this time of year work is busy. My best one has been My Survey - had trial products and good results. I joined global test market but got bombed out of so many I dont even open the links anymore and really should un-subscribe. I like Valued Opinions for the Tezzies vouchers but again dont seem to get accepted for many these days. I have one last £110 pound to pay off my last credit card and then will use that money to throw at my loan.

peaceandfreedom

Hey, Jwil, shiny new diary! :j

I'm deeply impressed by your efforts this year - you put the likes of me to shame. But I hope to follow your example better in 2012 and do a lot of decluttering. Sell, give away (freecycle/charity shop) or dump.

Our house also needs a lot of doing-up - it's about the same age as yours actually and like yours it has a kitchen NOT to die for - it's ghastly, old and grotty.

You have done amazingly-well on the debt-busting, hope you meet all your targets in 2012. :beer:

jwil

ebayqueen wrote: »

Hi Jwil

Love the new diary and wish you all the best for your new year ahead. You will succeed. We are all behind you. :):)

You should be very proud of yourself for paying of £10,500. That is an incredible achievement.

God bless
E

Thanks ebayqueen, it's lovely having you all pop in and support me! I am very pleased with the £10,500 but :eek: what I could have done with all that money