Moving south for winter

FlacosFloozie

The last bit of this debt just seems to be taking forever to clear... I hope to be making the last payment next month.
We looked at our budget this week and the cost of everything just seems to have crept slowly up the last few months. We haven't been extravagant but trips to BP and tescos just slide us into the overdraft each month.
We need to keep our eye on the ball a bit more but we also need to slow down the repayments. From next month I'll be cutting down to £500 per month plus whatever extra I can raise/save from the budget as overpayments. I'd like it to be gone quicker but we need to be realistic Of course if the economy picks up enough for Mr F to get a job things would be very different....

FlacosFloozie

So a little more paid off as I got my mileage for work paid today. I've kept £50 back to cover for any unexpected expenses this month.
I got my car tax reminder... £200 which is about what I expected but I'll pay it online on the 31st so that will come out of next month's budget.
The exciting news is that Mr F got offered some paid work at one of the sites he volunteers at. It won't start for a month or two and won't be too well paid but its a start and its so good for him to feel appreciated again

FlacosFloozie

I've gotten really slack about posting lately, mainly because not a lot was happening but since the diary's anniversary is coming up I thought I should make the effort .
So where are we now? Well I cleared the original debt in a little under two years, which wasn't far off my original estimate- all those bits a pieces didn't really bring the date forward but they did give me a buffer to keep things on track when the unexpected happened. I have learned that I loathe ebay with a passion, and that the rewards there are only sometimes worth the effort. I discovered that every little does help- the extra payment a week challenge is fantastic for me. I'm proud of sticking to the crazy clothes challenge- I have spent less in the past year than I used to spend in a single day's shopping . I still need to work on being organised but I am slowly getting better.
So current debt is £6500, about to go up slightly as I'm adding some course fees and doing a balance transfer. This is managable but I want it gone.
Now the really big news......... Mr F has a job :j:j:j:j:j
Its temporary this month but he got the full time position starting in January. I've worked out our income is about to go up by nearly £1300 a month! Needless to say there will be some work expenses but we will still be massively better off and its a relief not to be the sole breadwinner now .
I'm trying not to get carried away looking at savings products. The debt will be on 0% til Dec 2014 so part of me thinks I could be earning interest but I know if I slack off repaying it'll be easy to gradually spend that little bit extra here and there, which is what got us into this mess in the first place. With that in mind I'm going to aim to pay £750 per month, start saving the surplus in an emergency fund and ISa and whenever we come under budget or get extra cash that will go as an overpayment to the CC. It sounds like a plan... :rotfl:

HappyNow

Wow FF, I only just saw this when I popped by to wish you Happy New Year. Congrats to Mr FF on his new job, it will make such a difference to you. I'm sat here now teasing myself about how I would allocate an additional £1300 each month!

Your debts ARE manageable and I know what you mean about them being interest-free so you could be earning interest. But just think what a lovely feeling it will be to get rid of that last £6500 and finally be debt-free!! I would want that feeling ASAP! Whatever you decide, 2014 is definitely going to be your year! x

FlacosFloozie

Thank you Happy, it is going to make a big difference to us. I'm still a little shell shocked but in a good way He gets paid in the middle of the month which is going to be a little odd as everything is set up with me being paid at the end but I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Well the debt is now sub 6K at £5996.75. Looking back at my speadsheet I haven been in the five thousands since 2006- how awful is that :eek:.

I have paid off more than it looks as I added the £500 for my next course module to the CC and paid that off. I then had the balance transfer so the £174 fee for that has been pai two. Neither are recorded in my total as they were additional expenses and this is all about bringing the debt down.

I have started a small savings fund too. We want to save for a deposit but I'm aware that part of the reason for the debt is a tendancy to slap unexpected expenses on the card. Last year I managed to keep enough back for car tax etc and it was a nice feeling to be able to pay those straight away with cash. I want that kind of cushion for everything else too. Impatient, me? :rotfl:

FlacosFloozie

I really am bad at updating lately but I think its just because I'm just into the DFW routine now.
We're on target for the debt being gone by the end of the year. Its just over £5300 at the moment. I do know this has been a danger zone for me in the past. I think once I get below 6k something seems to click in my head that says this is an okay level of debt and we can spend again. Not this time! The only debt I want in future is a mortgage and I'll aim to pay that off faster too... my how this site has changed me :rotfl:
On that subject the savings are behind target. Partly because I've been focusing overpayments to the CC but also cos Mr FF and I really need to sit down and work out how he's going to contribute to the budget. He's had a few splurges with his hard earned cash which I don't begrudge but he needs to realise that its not all extra spending treat money. Its extra saving for the future money . In theory he's happy with this, in practice various excuses have delayed our chat... but I will pin him down on this one.

FlacosFloozie

So Mr F gave me £1000 this weekend which I split between savings and the CC. Next month his car needs a new timing belt and his insurance is due but once we know how much that's costing he'll transfer another lump sum and set up a standing order to our joint account.
I've just had a really nice relaxing week off work but today is my last day and we're both working next weekend. I've got the house clean, laundry up to date and have done the shopping and meal planned like a good 'un. I used up some clubcard vouchers that were going out of date so total cost £35.
Today- roast chicken with mash and veg
Tuesday- chicken fried rice
Wednesday- venison steak, chips and veg
Thursday- chicken fajitas
Friday- slow cooked ham with mash and veg
Saturday- remains of ham with chips and veg
Sunday- beef and ale stew from freezer with part baked bread
Monday- pork, cider and apple stew from freezer with dumplings
Tuesday- chicken pie and chips
Also got plenty of bits for lunches and some biscuits and cake... nom :rotfl:

FlacosFloozie

Update time again....

Have had a lovely weekend off, very quiet but just what I needed. Housework done, been for a run, decimated the laundry mountain, food in the fridge again... all ready for the start of next week At least its a short one as I have weekend and bothe bak holidays off !!

My F has been away on a boys weekend so I've had the place to myself- watched cheesy TV, ate pasta and painted my toenails... it's a rock and roll lifestyle at Floozie towers.

Debt wise I've made a couple of small overpayments and its now sub 4.6K. I've decided I want to keep the focus on shifting the debts as I now have enough saved for a good emergency fund. I'm aiming to be debt free and hadve 2k saved by August, in time for my 36th birthday. If I can make it then I'm going to treat myself to a pair of shoes from shoes of prey- you can design your own so you get exactly what you want. It'll be a major splurge so I can only justify it if all my debts are gone... positive motivation

FlacosFloozie

Update time again....

Regular payments have been made so debt is now sub 4K :j
I was late getting my expenses in this month but will get them next month instead. Due to an admin mix up at work it also looks like I'm going to be getting some extra back pay which could be a nice little bonus too.

I'm hoping to make another payment later in the month. Mr F has now set up a standing order to our joint account but he gets paid mid month. Once that goes in I'll use any surplus to pay the cc and reduce my s/o for the following month. What could possibly go wrong?

FlacosFloozie

So I checked my online banking and got a bit of a shock... my expenses have been paid . I've paid an extra £60.03 of the CC as that takes me down to 3899.99 owed. I've moved another £100 to the savings and left the rest in my current account as we're on holiday next week. We're visiting family but will need a bit of extra cash for the trip. I also really need to book my eyetest and will need new glasses so need to put a bit by for that.

Have done the weekly shop in Sainsbugs and used their double up nectar points to get some new sheets for the spare room. It looks like we're having lots of visotors this summer and most of ours are staring to show their age... bit like their owner really