DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Grand_Benders wrote: »

My CCCS statement was ready today. First one, so happy to bring down the total a wee bit at last! Maybe worth logging in and checking it?

Great new to see it setting off. Please monitor balances direct from the preditor's statements and dont rely on the CCCS statement as that's just an estimate.

Mine in reality went up by 2.5% in the first month but I have never looked back since.

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Yep mine is there too but I don't update my signature until I can actually see the CCCS payment in our online accounts plus have updated any added interest etc on the CCCS website.

Sad? Yep that is me

CCCS statement is often a month behind too. I get paid 2 days after the statement you see. As soon as I am paid I have in the expected balance for each preditor and then I update the spreadsheet when the preditor statement lands on the doormat (am only ever pence out). That way if I die tomorrow anyone can see what I is the true position owed on that particular day.

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Tigsmom wrote: »

I'm hoping one of you 'geeks' can help me. What do you use to do your spreadsheets? I've got excel but is there a template or software I can get to make it easier? At the moment I'm copying the budget list I did for CCCS and am changing the amounts to whatever I spend that month. It's not really working though because I'm completing it after we've spent it instead of being able to see what's left to spend. I'm hopeless at this!

Mine is very basic excel sheet but I love it.

I have an overall position one as follows

I dont use formulae just the autosum at the bottom of the column.

First column list preditors, months across the top. I put my projections in so I can see in march next year where will I be. Squares where I am are coloured in yellow. A years time has a yellow too to draw the eye easily. As I have just been paid I have a yellow in the total DMP paid box for September and the balance for October that this payment will correspond to.

I colour highlight milestones in green across the whole chart, so 1 year, 18 months, X amont paid into DMP, X amount left on DMP, a balance dropping by a thousand etc. That way it reinforces positive messages about going in the right direction. My plan is hopefully just over 4 years in duration. Most months there is something green to celebrate.

I also have a mortgage, pension and a current spend log one.

Hope that helps.

HHx

bertman

Our first statement has arrived, quite a good feeling to see that the creditors have at last been paid, for 2 months we have just sent over £1 token payments. The phones have been very quiet which was the main thing i was dreading, I am looking forward to seeing the latest statements now from the companies so I can update my sheets etc.

Have a good weekend everyone.

A very happy Bertman!!

Tigsmom

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Mine is very basic excel sheet but I love it.

I have an overall position one as follows

I dont use formulae just the autosum at the bottom of the column.

First column list preditors, months across the top. I put my projections in so I can see in march next year where will I be. Squares where I am are coloured in yellow. A years time has a yellow too to draw the eye easily. As I have just been paid I have a yellow in the total DMP paid box for September and the balance for October that this payment will correspond to.

I colour highlight milestones in green across the whole chart, so 1 year, 18 months, X amont paid into DMP, X amount left on DMP, a balance dropping by a thousand etc. That way it reinforces positive messages about going in the right direction. My plan is hopefully just over 4 years in duration. Most months there is something green to celebrate.

I also have a mortgage, pension and a current spend log one.

Hope that helps.

HHx

Thanks HH. I'm not too concerned with creditors at the moment (I'm sure I will once my dmp is in full swing). I just want to make sure we are not going to run out of money. I think the main problem is we have 3 incomings all on different dates, 16 regular outgoings (all on different dates) weekly food shop, and then lots of little occasional outgoings such as petrol, kids subs, bread and milk etc that come out as and when we need them. I'm struggling to keep track of it all. When I check the bank it says I have x amount of money available but the available balance is y and I have to wait a few days to find out what is causing the difference. I think it would be better if all the dds came out at the begining of the month (which is 21st in our case) but not all of them gave me that option. That's why I'm starting to think envelopes are the best option so that I can see whats left. Maybe a piece of paper in each so that I can write down whats been spent and when. I downloaded a 'household budget' spreadsheet from excel. It has estimated and actual columns. I didn't have those, just the amounts I'd put on the cccs budget and then if it came to less I changed it and wrote the excess in another column. If I wanted to know how much was left to spend I looked at the bank balance then took away the items on my list I havent already highlighted in green (for paid). It should work but it doesn't because of the delay in x and y on the bank.

On a plus side I already have a 'variance' column :rotfl:

Time_to_face_the_music

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

I was a rebel and updated 6 hours early.

Victory of sorts with BC, my complaint was investigated, 2 months interest reinstated and £50 for inconvenience, interest zero again for now.

Fab news but I had to update my spreadsheets and projections, chore.......:)

HHx

Fantastic news HH :T

We are still waiting for FOS on both NatWest and M&S :undecided

Updated signature now as CCCS payment is in all online accounts I can check but no doubt it will change a bit over the next day or two as some statements come through with interest charges. :mad:

Have you noticed that if you make changes to debt totals on CCCS website, sometime they change them back again and you have to re-do them? What's all that about :think:

7 months gone now and over £11 thousand or 13.6% paid back. Before this DMP, we never managed to pay anything back and always ended up in more debt at the end of each month. So I can't believe we are here just 7 months down the line but it makes me "greedy" for more, I want to pay it back quicker, I want our DFD sooner

I need to be satisfied and look forward to a big target of dropping into the £60 thousands next month. That is definitely a green highlighted milestones

Tigsmom

I remember a while back someone asking how to budget for the dreaded 5th week of groceries. Well up until now I have just used the budget on the first 4 and then tried to use what's in the cupboard for the 5th (we eat a lot of pasta that week!). Now I'm trying to perfect my budget I have realised that if you take your monthly budget, times it by 12 and then divide by 52 you will get the actual amount that you should spend each week. Mine does vary as some weeks I need wash powder, loo roll etc but not others, but at least it is a goal to aim for.

Hopelessly_Hopeful

bertman wrote: »

Our first statement has arrived, quite a good feeling to see that the creditors have at last been paid, for 2 months we have just sent over £1 token payments. The phones have been very quiet which was the main thing i was dreading, I am looking forward to seeing the latest statements now from the companies so I can update my sheets etc.

Have a good weekend everyone.

A very happy Bertman!!

Great news!

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Tigsmom wrote: »

Thanks HH. I'm not too concerned with creditors at the moment (I'm sure I will once my dmp is in full swing). I just want to make sure we are not going to run out of money. I think the main problem is we have 3 incomings all on different dates, 16 regular outgoings (all on different dates) weekly food shop, and then lots of little occasional outgoings such as petrol, kids subs, bread and milk etc that come out as and when we need them. I'm struggling to keep track of it all. When I check the bank it says I have x amount of money available but the available balance is y and I have to wait a few days to find out what is causing the difference. I think it would be better if all the dds came out at the begining of the month (which is 21st in our case) but not all of them gave me that option. That's why I'm starting to think envelopes are the best option so that I can see whats left. Maybe a piece of paper in each so that I can write down whats been spent and when. I downloaded a 'household budget' spreadsheet from excel. It has estimated and actual columns. I didn't have those, just the amounts I'd put on the cccs budget and then if it came to less I changed it and wrote the excess in another column. If I wanted to know how much was left to spend I looked at the bank balance then took away the items on my list I havent already highlighted in green (for paid). It should work but it doesn't because of the delay in x and y on the bank.

On a plus side I already have a 'variance' column :rotfl:

I can appreciate it is a pain with things coming out on different dates. Keep your own log and you will not get caught out.

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Fantastic news HH :T

We are still waiting for FOS on both NatWest and M&S :undecided

Updated signature now as CCCS payment is in all online accounts I can check but no doubt it will change a bit over the next day or two as some statements come through with interest charges. :mad:

Have you noticed that if you make changes to debt totals on CCCS website, sometime they change them back again and you have to re-do them? What's all that about :think:

7 months gone now and over £11 thousand or 13.6% paid back. Before this DMP, we never managed to pay anything back and always ended up in more debt at the end of each month. So I can't believe we are here just 7 months down the line but it makes me "greedy" for more, I want to pay it back quicker, I want our DFD sooner

I need to be satisfied and look forward to a big target of dropping into the £60 thousands next month. That is definitely a green highlighted milestones

Well sorted.

13 is not unlucky for some is it! In anycase you could technically view it as 14% but we don't do that anymore do we geeky? The first 10% is the hardest, as you know. Once you get to double figures the feeling is amazing isn't it. I will look forward to celebrating the 60s with you! A few 60s tunes to go with it perhaps?

Fingers crossed for us all with M&S!!!!

HHx