My Debt Free Diary

saver03

I thought that I would start a diary and hopefully that will help me see where my money goes and also if I can save any more.

I have 2 debts.

Cahoot loan £6200 5.6% apr (last payment 9/2/09 but hopefully sooner)
Mum £14600 left no interest

Here is my soa:

Outgoings

Rent £410
Gas £50 (on a meter only so high as it's winter)
Electricity £25
NTL £30 (only for next 5 months though)
Contents insurance £23
Mobile £35
Water not sure what that will be until
Tv licence £21.92 (for first 6 months)
Food £100
Misc. £250 (Holidays, birthdays, christmas etc.)
Loan £271.60
Mum £200
TOTAL £1416.52

Incomings
OHs £1175
Me £550
TOTAL £1725

My aim is to be debt free by the time that I am 30 which will be September 2009 so I really need to be cutting back and making extra payments.

I have just joined quidco and I am going to make more of an effort to put any unwanted stuff on ebay as I have about 5 boxes under the stairs.

Any advice would be greatly received.

joughtib

Right, here's a starter for you

Gas £50 (on a meter only so high as it's winter) (Try turning thermometer down by 1 degree, saves Gas, and the planet!)
Electricity £25 (Make sure all non essential items are turned off, such as tv on standby, and lights off when not required
Mobile £35 Can this be dropped to a lower contract, or PAYG?
Misc £250 (Holidays, birthdays, christmas etc.) Try to cut back on this allowance. Even if it means cutting a few days off a holiday, 10 days not 14, also for birthdays/christmas, try to economise where possible, look at greeting card spending, which can get horrendously expensive

My aim is to be debt free by the time that I am 30 which will be September 2009 so I really need to be cutting back and making extra payments. Excellent plan, quicker the better!

I have just joined quidco and I am going to make more of an effort to put any unwanted stuff on ebay as I have about 5 boxes under the stairs. Join other sites as well such as Pigsback, Greasypalm etc, and stick all those boxes on ebay.

saver03

I went to the Trafford centre this evening with the sole intention of having a look around and try to get my nan a card for mother's day but I ended up buying a few things that I didn't really need. :mad:

I bought myself a book and justified it as it was on half price and looked interesting but I could have saved the £3.99 and borrowed it from the library as it is probably something that I will only read the once then sell on for a loss!

Then I saw a nice card for my mum in addition to the one I got her for Mother's day as this one has a nice verse in so now I have 2 for her. I guess it's not too much of a waste as she did bail me out with a £15000 to save my interest on my credit cards. I also bought my nan a nice magnet as a little something extra for Mother's day as you cannot buy one without the other!!

Worst of all OH went to get a drink from a vending machine and it took the £1 but gave no drink.

Total spend £9.47 and all totally unnecessary

angchris

hiya :hello: your misc spending is a tad high i`d suggest for your hols save some money up each month book your time off work and get an internet cheapy a week beforehand it`ll save you loads :j for birthdays and chrimbo those that i can get away with getting choccies get just that...homemade choccy truffles all wrapped up really nice in cellophane and ribbons they look quite proffesional even if i do say so myself and for the cards which are hideously priced in the shop i bought a wholesale job lot of really beautifull handmade cards off ebay i have sold quite a few of them for £1 each at work and have kept the rest purely for my own use..so now i have a cardboard box full of all different occasions cards in my garage that cost me nothing in fact im in profit with them :rotfl: all i have to do is wander out when i need one and choose rather than paying £1/2/3 a card!:j

saver03

Another day another spending mistake!!

I had not realised that my free trial period with dvd rental company was ending tomorrow and as I have discs at home I will have to pay the months rental which is £15.99.

I really need to become more money savy and stop spending on stupid unnecessary things and also making silly avoidable mistakes.

saver03

I know I still have a long way to go but I find it psycologically better to be under £20000!

I have been trying to keep my spending to the bare minimum and making sure that I list stuff on ebay as I must have £100s of pounds in boxes under the stairs!

I will be adding my new soa in the next few days as I have more bills

As always any advice is geatly received

southern_chick

have you started a spending diary, if you list everything you spend each day you will soon see where any money is going, it will also make you think twice about spending anything as you will then have to write it down

good luck

SC XX

saver03

I am now off work for 1 week and I plan to make the most of my time by working through all the boxes under my stairs and doing some serious listing on ebay. So I will still get paid for not being at work but I can also get some extra and clear up some space!

I do have a few activities planned for example I am at the theatre tonight but I have bought my refreshments in advance as I begrudge paying the theatres high prices! I am also going to Blackpool on Friday but I collected some vouchers and it is costing £18 for 2 wristbands and we will be taking a packed lunch. Also we don't pay for petrol so that is another plus!

I am trying my best to save money but I have a theory that I should not deprive myself too much as otherwise I would go crazy and go on a sending spree which is not good as last time I did that I spent nearly £500 in Vivienne Westwood.

I have now got a tesco clubcard credit card that I pay off in full each month so that I can collect points and use them towards my days out but I just need to make sure I don't go crazy spending on it!

saver03

Here is my new soa which includes my new bills and my new income

Outgoings

RENT £410
COUNCIL TAX £88
CONTENTS INSURANCE £23
CAHOOT LOAN £271.60
MUM LOAN £200
WATER £15.66
TV LICENCE £13
VIRGIN MEDIA £30 (only for next 3 months though then goes back up)
MOBILE £35 (contract up in August looking for different deals)
GAS £30
ELECTRIC £25
FOOD £100 (for 2 people)
PET STUFF £25 (food and cleaning stuff for 2 rabbits and 1 kitten)
ISA £250 (holidays, birthdays, Christmas, pay off debt sooner)
TOTAL £1516.26

Incomings
OHs £1175
ME £650
TOTAL £1825

Any advice is greatly received

skylight

Glad to see you are under to £20k mark!!! And am glad that you are glad about it!!

Started the Ebay listing yet??? If done, how did it go??
If you haven't done it yet, I bet its becuase it just seems so overwhelming! I feel like that with some things, so if you haven't started it, just break it into managable chunks. Do a box this week and another next. Listing it all is a lot of effort in one go!

Things that seem to be missing from your SOA - car and/or travel expenses? Clothing/Haircuts? And without wanting to sound rude, but the amount going into your ISA every month is a lot. £3k a year for holidays/birthdays etc.

I know you have put about paying of debts sooner, but would you not be better of paying more to your Mum? I know its an interest free loan (from your first posts), but if she took this out of her savings then she is losing interest on it herself.

I do pay a small amount into an ISA myself so am not judging here! (I refuse to be without an emergency fund) but for holidays/Xmas I think that it's an awful lot of money for 2 people.

Quick question - what do you do (or think you do!!) with the £300 approx difference with income/outgoings?????

saver03

That is a good question about what I do with the difference between my ingoings and outgoings, and the answer is I do not know!! The only thing I can say is that it is "bits!!" I really must start a spending diary as I think it will be quite eye opening. I don't have travel expenses as I walk to walk and my OH has a truck and fuel card that are paid for by work. I have 3 wardrobes and a chest of drawers full of clothes so I don't intend on buying ant for a while I will just make do. My hair costs £40 every 6 weeks. I can't think of anything else that I may have forgetten but I am sure there is so please feel free to tell me!

I have actually started to list some stuff on ebay and I made the most of the 10p listing day on Thursday. Still a long way to go but I am going to try to make sure I consistently list things on a Thursday and a Sunday. Check me out my ebay id. is lisa-maxwell-fan

I went to Blackpool yesterday and spent over £100 while I was there and I just don't know how. Ok well I do I kept putting a £1 here and there into machines trying to win a prize! I was so shocked when I opened my purse and realised how much I had spent. I am going to have to tighten my belt now and really knuckle down to my money saving.