Getting professional help to beat debt. Diary

dawnybabes

That's fantastic.

I made blackberry whisky this year and it's fabulous - will be making more next year :-)

Getmeoutofdebt

Well I had a quiet but lovely Christmas and now I am hoping to get back on track with my debt payments and money saving!

I am looking forward to starting the new year and feeling pretty optimistic.

I spent yesterday trying to plan ahead with my food budget until the end of January to make the most of an offer on my Nectar card. I had to spend £60 five times within a certain period of time to get a voucher worth £30 of points. The 1st three times were easy as I got some christmas gifts while I was shopping so I just had to plan to not go over the £60 mark and then anything else I needed get another day to count towards the next one. I have also managed to persuade my dad to let me pick up a few things he needs while I'm next doing my shopping to save him going. Ha ha! So he gives me the cash, I do his shopping and I get the points! Crafty! I didn't want to spend more than I normally would to get the money back but a bit of careful planning ahead and I should manage it!

I have finally had a meeting with the lady who runs the charity that I'm hoping to raise money for in 2015..... so I am kind of on track now with that..... it is just taking an eternity to set up the online donation side of it. She is pretty useless at that kind of thing, she can barely figure out how to answer her e-mails (hence the lack of communication initially) but good at looking after animals!
I will be starting my walks on Thursday but have no way yet of collecting donations. Still, it is helping me to give me something new to concentrate on so that once my debt is paid I still have a mission and a purpose.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and good luck in the new year. Hope you all do really well in reaching your targets! :beer:

Getmeoutofdebt

I feel like I haven't been on here for ages!! My internet went off about a week ago due to the storms and this is the first night that it is semi-working again so I just popped on here for a catch up. I am still awaiting the elusive payday.... I hate the wait between our early wage in December and late on in January. It kills me every year. I have £20 left until next payday and still a week to go.... groan! I think I have enough food in the freezer and fuel in the car to see me through but still it panics me a bit. I think it is going to be more like March than February now before I'm debt free but still it's not long off either way..... It just feels to be dragging so much now.
Hope everyone is doing well and sticking to their goals and resolutions!
Gmood x

Getmeoutofdebt

Payday has arrived one day early and with a nice end of year bonus! I have paid the maximum I can afford off my remaining debt and I am now down to £696!!!

I feel like I'm dreaming. I can't really believe that I am down to less than 1K after starting at 28k. The time has flown by so quickly it all seems a bit surreal!! I daren't believe it in case I've got it wrong!

This next month I'm on a super economising mission!! This is the last bit now. I'm right at the bottom of my debt spreadsheet. When I used to have to scroll all the way down to see the end, I'm now there! The last total sat there waiting to be paid. It really doesn't seem real. I can't believe I have almost done it. eek!!! :T:T:j:j

lucielle

Fab news, not long now.
L

AleMrsT

That is absolutely amazing!!!! :T 98% paid. How are you going to celebrate? :beer: Please keep writing to keep us all motivated! :money:

Fortune_Smiles

Soooo excited for you! Can't wait to see you on the Debt Free Roll of Honour.


Fortune x

Moneywhizz

Absolutely brilliant. Will it be gone next payday?:T

Getmeoutofdebt

AleMrsT wrote: »

That is absolutely amazing!!!! :T 98% paid. How are you going to celebrate? :beer: Please keep writing to keep us all motivated! :money:

Thanks! I have a bottle of champers in the fridge and I will turn 40 shortly after my last payment so have booked a meal out with my family and best friends. I think I may treat myself to a few nice things for around the house. I could do with a new duvet cover and a living room carpet! Lol.

Fortune_Smiles wrote: »

Soooo excited for you! Can't wait to see you on the Debt Free Roll of Honour.

Me neither!! It just doesn't seem real. I think in my mind I had accepted that I would be in debt forever....

Fortune x

Moneywhizz wrote: »

Absolutely brilliant. Will it be gone next payday?:T

Hopefully if I can economise enough this month to pay some extra off in the meantime....

Thanks to all of you!
Gmood x

Getmeoutofdebt

I managed to do my weeks grocery shop for £60.50 yesterday and only had to pay the 50p as I used my points to pay for the rest. I still have £30 worth left so hopefully next week I will only have to pay half of the bill and Hubby says I can have the points on his card too.

I have also emptied my sealed £2 coin tin. I saved them all year last year for the Christmas meal we went on but had quite a bit more than I needed. I put the remainder in the tin and have been adding to them since and was surprised to find that I had £90 in there!
So my plan is to try and get through the next 3 weeks without spending any of my budget on shopping and just use the points and the £90. That way I will have a bit extra to pay off my final debt so on payday I should definitely be able to pay the rest off! Eek!

In the meantime I am fully engrossed in my charity walk so I am glad that I have something else to keep me occupied once the debt is clear. I was worried I would go round the bend after losing the only purpose I seemed to have in life for the last 20 years! I know it sounds mad but I will miss the diary and the spreadsheets etc.... though I am still going to continue with the economising. Debt kind of takes over your life and as much as you want it gone it becomes part of you in a way. It will feel very strange next month to not owe anything anymore!