Spagbol: 2012 is the year to eat the debt!

kerri_dfw

Hi Spagbol,

You sound like you're doing great, and I wouldn't worry about putting £30 a month into savings. If it's a planned expense then it's better to be prepared than to put yourself further into debt when you have to pay a massive lump sum for something I've only just started to do this and already feel relief that everything will be covered.

Are you enjoying the new job?

Kerri x

downnotout

Just want to chip in here, my other half hates it when I go shopping. I spend 60 pounds a week and meal plan to the last pasta twist, she would fill the trolley with coke, beer expensive ready meals etc. I have found a passion in cooking now and make fresh food and nice food on the cheap. I am forever fishing things out of the bin and re packing them into the freezer no best before end labels that way. Once a month I spend 40 pounds at the meat werehouse on mince, chicken, steak and fresh eggs. This year I intend to grow some of my own veg (just for fun with the kids ) I have found that you need very little in the way of meat in dishes when pasta or lentils are used. I have even got some couscous now but don't know what to do with it.

SpagBol

kerri_dfw wrote: »

Hi Spagbol,

You sound like you're doing great, and I wouldn't worry about putting £30 a month into savings. If it's a planned expense then it's better to be prepared than to put yourself further into debt when you have to pay a massive lump sum for something I've only just started to do this and already feel relief that everything will be covered.

Are you enjoying the new job?

Kerri x

Hi Kerri, I am enjoying the new job, my youngest isn't enjoying being back at nursery after being at home with me for a while but he is always happy when I pick him up and he isn't really there that often now that I work part time. The problem is I'm also working part time elsewhere nights, weekends, split shifts, it's very tiring but great when I think how much I can overpay, thank goodness it is only temporary! DH has got a new weekend job too, things are going to get very stressful and tiring this year but we've got to think of the long term benefit and hopefully we can get back to normal next year. It is the reason why I am going to insist we get away camping, it will only cost about £200 with pitch and petrol and we can still eat MSE there but we will really need the break as a family!

Have you started your new job yet?

kerri_dfw

I start on the 13th Feb and the current job is dragging
Extra shifts and weekend working sounds hard, you'll definitely need the camping. I know some people don't like it, but it was soo nice when I went with the OH to Snowden last Easter.

SpagBol

downnotout wrote: »

Just want to chip in here, my other half hates it when I go shopping. I spend 60 pounds a week and meal plan to the last pasta twist, she would fill the trolley with coke, beer expensive ready meals etc. I have found a passion in cooking now and make fresh food and nice food on the cheap. I am forever fishing things out of the bin and re packing them into the freezer no best before end labels that way. Once a month I spend 40 pounds at the meat werehouse on mince, chicken, steak and fresh eggs. This year I intend to grow some of my own veg (just for fun with the kids ) I have found that you need very little in the way of meat in dishes when pasta or lentils are used. I have even got some couscous now but don't know what to do with it.

I can't believe we never thought of it before! We have a new farm shop opened near us too so I will investigate the produce there (they are advertising VERY cheap potatoes if I read the sign correctly!!) so will do fruit and veg there, meat at the market and top ups at Lidl

SpagBol

kerri_dfw wrote: »

I start on the 13th Feb and the current job is dragging
Extra shifts and weekend working sounds hard, you'll definitely need the camping. I know some people don't like it, but it was soo nice when I went with the OH to Snowden last Easter.

We love it, such a great thing to do with two small boys, they have such a great time. I'm not sure I could ever spend more than £250 on a holiday ever again either! To be fair, we have been 3 or 4 times and always been fairly lucky with weather I may say never again if we had a really bad week but even then I think we'd have fun :beer::beer:

Good luck for the 13th, hope the next couple of weeks goes quickly

SpagBol

Woo hoo! DH got a large tax rebate so we were able to pay off £1500 to clear his MBNA card, the only non 0% (actually one is 6.7% for the life of the balance but that is ok) card we have. Some 0% deals are up in the next few months so we are against the clock but this feels so good!! :j:j:j:beer::beer::beer: Also had a small takeaway and bottle of wine which was a real treat - haven't had one for about 2 months. Most unlike us!! We had said we would get a takeaway every time we cleared a debt so it was our first reward of frugal 2012 :beer::beer:

Lots going on today so can't talk now- back tomorrow!

SpagBol

So in January we paid off £2615 of unsecured debt, including our usual monthly payments. This is quite good since we also have the mortgage of £1420 and other essential bills to contend with, all paid with no spending on cc this month. I have made a few savings from our last SOA and will post it again when I know the exact payments. I am really pleased but a bit down because £1500 of that was a tax rebate. We need to get up to that kind of overpayment from better saving and increasing income but I know it's a fantastic achievement. I should be due a tax rebate too so fingers crossed that'll be in Feb!

I have also got £60 in the kids birthdays/holiday savings account, I want to get £400 in there by June so nothing goes on the credit card. We are borrowing a friends accomodation so cheap holiday this year :money:

Today I am FROZEN and have put the heating on, we are all teetering on the edge of a cold and I have ringing ears and a banging headache:( I tried cuddling with my DS under a fleece blanket but I'm still shivering so I'm going to pay for some heat!!! We are going to a friend's house after lunch for coffee so we can use their heating then :rotfl::money:

SpagBol

Woo hoo! NAtwest sent me a letter this week saying I can have 0% for 15 months (£5k balance) either as a BT or money transfer. So I have taken advantage of the offer, half MT to clear my OD (I will get the bank to reduce it to 0% as soon as the money clears!!) and half to pay off DH's card where £400 was due to click over to about 18% from 0% at the end of Jan so will only pay a few pence interest. The other 2k ish will pay off the next cc to lose it's 0% at the end of feb, only another £2k for that one now which should be cleared by the end of feb now by my tax rebate (fingers crossed!!) and overtime payments.

I really feel like we are getting somewhere! :j:j:j So far we are on track to overpay by £2k every month this year, now we have much less interest to pay it is going to be so much easier and much less depressing

SpagBol

I think we have paid off £3175 now, 5.5% of our total. Each of our 4 accounts has about £300 in to tide us over until payday (25th is the next one) and we have £100 in savings for the first time in years This is for DS's birthday present in June and I will add to it by £30-50 per month.

I have 10 things selling on eb@y and some bits on Gumtree as they are larger and bulkier. I hope they sell!

I really want to stay on track, we have been very good this month so far and it doesn't feel like a hardship (yet!) we have loads of food in too, I am currently umming and ahhing about whether to make a lentil and veg hotpot or courgette and mushroom pasta for dinner tonight. I think I'll go lentils tonight and pasta tomorrow. If anyone has any other good ideas for cooking (preferably freezable lol) potatoes please let me know, I have about 20kg left :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: