C'est La Vie - Living a glitterful life whilst busting the butt of debt

LaFolie

Well hello there!

Having lurked this Forum for longer than I can remember (note to self - GET OUT MORE), I've decided to FINALLY start a diary to chart my progress towards the sumptuous state of actually having, and not owing money

Pull up a seat and nurse your drink whilst I tell ye the tale of me and my current state of being (if you're going to the bar, mine's a vodka diet pepsi, NO ICE).

So, I'm 23 years old, and live in Sheffield (by way of various European cities). I have a not-brilliant-but-not-too-bad paying job (having lived in London, I consider the rents up here a BARGAIN!), and am studying for a degree with the OU at present (sudden reminder that I should probably actually do some work this week!).

I live with my 'boyfriend' (whom I hardly see - he works nights) and have no kids or other dependents, so I have nothing 'tying me down' as such, yet I STILL manage to spend beyond my means.

So voila, the nitty gritty of me. Rapidly becoming aware of how big this post is going to be, so debt breakdown to follow!

LaFolie

*clutches hand to chest emotionally*

Well first of all, I owe my parents, and god, everything

*snaps back to reality*

OK, so I might enjoy indulging in sarcasm quite a lot. I mean it only with love, I promise

So, onto what I owe:

£914 - the current balance of my overdraft
£245 - the current balance of my credit card

Now, these amounts aren't hideous by some peoples' standards, but in relation to my income, they are. More importantly, they're currently weighing like a millstone around my neck, preventing me from doing all that I want. I am so not a girl who deals well with being caged and controlled!

My current income and outgoings are as follows (cba to do a proper SOA, mainly because I dislike their formatting and font ):

Income - £1000 pcm (after tax)
Rent - £425
Council Tax - £99
Water - £30
Electricity - £41
Phone / Broadband - £24 (this includes ridiculously fast interwebs, more calls than we can use, and line rental)
Mobile 1 - £27 (I know, I know)
Mobile 2 (le bf's) - £12
Gym - £25.95
Contents Insurance - £15.34
Bank account fee - £6.50
TV License - £37.62 quarterly

This adds up to (roughly) £706 a month on a non-TV license-paying month, or £745 on a TV license-paying-month. My overdraft has been in this state for at least a year. So where the chuff does that extra £255 go?!

I should explain at this point - my bf earns significantly less than I do, and gets paid (legally!) in cash, so our agreement is that I pay bills, rent etc, and that we split his wages equally as 'spending money'. Usually this equates to £30-50 per week pour moi

LaFolie

I'm a very organised gal (I organise other peoples' lives for a living and love it ) so I need a plan of attack with which to massacre this debt (no other verbs are strong enough).

So, my plans are:

• Overpay my CC bill every month: currently my minimum payment is around £25 per month. I plan to pay off at least £40 per month
• Kill the CC more humanely with surveys: because not even debt deserves a lingering death. I currently do surveys on 2 sites, and am due a payment from one soon. This will help get rid of part 1 of debt
• Spend as little of my 'spending money' as possible, banking the rest: and here is how I plan to tackle the overdraft. I figure if I set myself a target per week, say £35, for everything social, I can bank what I have left of that,
• Don't spend on debit card, except for groceries: seriously, I'm terrible for this. Well not terrible, but worse than I could be. the 'oh what the heck, it's only £18' (usually this sentiment involves a pretty dress) feeling attaches itself to the debit card like a leech. I need to plan ahead more, and only have it in my purse when I know I'm going to the supermarket!

• Keep a spending diary: pretty self explanatory - this is a separate sheet in my finances spreadsheet ( :heart2: ) which I aim to be very good at keeping up to date (I haven't been in the past.. oops!)

Making this a tad harder is the fact that I refuse to not have a social life. I'm 23 for gods' sakes. However, this can be done more frugally, I'm sure, and none of my friends are exactly rolling in it, so they're not going to complain

Now, I'm off to find a profile picture, and update my finance spreadsheet :heart2:

LaFolie

So, SO glad it's the weekend! Have already been rather productive today, been to the gym (my legs aren't going to let me forget that any time soon!), done 3/4 of the monthly shop (last 1/4 to be done this pm - don't have a car, and I can only carry so much!), and given the bf a rollicking for not picking up after himself :mad:

Have also made a £32 overpayment to my CC, financed by the extra pay in this month's wages due to some overtime I did in Jan and Feb.

Have sent my apologies to a pub gathering this evening - can't really afford it atm, as I have quite a lot of social occasions this month, starting with lunch with one of my best friends tomorrow :T I WILL be good and only take a tenner with me, the rest of my money and my debit card can have a lazy sunday at home!

I have to take a load of stuff to the charity shop this afternoon, so will have a little look whilst I'm there (would be rude not to!), but will naturally report any purchases as a confessional post ('Forgive me Martin Lewis for I have sinned' anyone?)

After that, the excitement that is the life of LaFolie will revolve around OU work and tidying the flat a bit, before collapsing on the sofa to give myself a much deserved manicure! I always like to have my nails presentable and, if not painted, buffed to a lovely shine. Some may call it vanity, I call it 'giving myself something pretty to look at whilst at work'.

Today's glitterful addition shall therefore be provided by posh hand cream and really-expensive-but-worth-it nail varnish.

Sparkle on!

PiggyBankShaker

Hi LaFolie, I love your writing style. Did you find any bargains in the charity shop? Good luck with the debt busting!

PBS

LaFolie

Hi PBS, thanks for stopping by!

Unfortunately (fortunately?) nothing caught my eye in the charity shops, so nothing more exciting than groceries bought today. Ooh, on that front though, on round 2 of the food shopping, I nabbed some yellow-stickered salmon steaks. HOLLA!

The fact that this makes me so excited worries me somewhat!

Off to beautify and numb the mind with Saturday night TV

x

beanielou

A spending diary is a great idea.
Is the CC your first target then?

LaFolie

beanielou wrote: »

Is the CC your first target then?

Hi Beanielou, yes, I'm concentrating on getting the Credit Card gone first! Might not be the sensible choice by 'snowballing' principles (the interest is ridiculously low!), but I feel that paying this off in full (which will happen a lot sooner than I can get the OD banished from my life!) will spur me on to continue my MSE ways

Lunch with the bessie has now become late morning coffee, as he's on puppy-sitting duties this afternoon. Can't argue with that; some say 'bros before hoes', I say 'puppies before yuppies'.

Need to get some socks from Primarni, but hopefully I'll come back with change from my £10. Then to the gym and an evening with my OH. He's been working tonnes recently, so have to cherish any time I actually spend with him

DAMMIT - just remembered the April Fools I was going to do to him and promptly forgot. oh well, there's always next year!

LaFolie

Well, I'm proud of myself today! Only bought a Chai Latte when I was in $tarbuck$, and then some socks. Total spend for the day was £5.75! It would have been a LOT more had I not limited myself to having £10 in my purse though - we went into Papercha$e, which, as always, was full of pretty things that were calling out to me. On the 'wait until next payday and see if you still want it as much then' list is a rose lunchbag. Soooo pretty!

Being in papercha$e reminded me of a shop in York called 'Give the dog a bone', whose slogan on the building is '2 floors full of stuff you don't need, but you really really want'.

Was very nearly more though, I reeeallly fancied a bottle of wine, but by the time I got out of the gym, all the shops were closed.

I'm hoping to rack up a couple of NSDs this week - in theory, I have no reason to spend money until Wednesday, when I'm going for drinks with my friend. Usually doesn't work out like that though - I pass a supermarket every day on the way to work, and usually have the temptation to 'just go in and get X or Y'. Got to kick that to the curb!

Well, time will tell whether I manage this tomorrow

x

LaFolie

Just popping on to update during my lunch break at work. I managed to avoid the lure of the shops on my way to work, and have brought (and eaten) my lunch, so I am feeling tres virtuous right now!

If this morning has taught me anything life-wise, it's that I NEED to escape the world of admin! Not only am I bored in my current role, but I can't stand the cliquey, petty attitudes that seems to come with all admin teams of more than 3 people. That's going to be tonight's task then, searching for and applying for jobs. Unfortunately there is no alcohol in the house, and I sure as heck am not going to ruin a NSD, so this is going to be done sober. Booooo. I get the feeling that I'm going to need a drink by the end of tonight, but said drink is obviously going to have to be strawberry milk! If I drink it out of a wine glass, that might do the trick...

Also forgot to mention that I committed myself to going to Alton Towers next month with M, the friend I met up with yesterday. Have been searching for deals, and there's a 2-for-1 deal with promotional packs of a certain chocolate biscuit bar, meaning it would cost us £21 each. I'm sure I can absorb the cost (and the contents ) of said promotional pack... I do want to save £60 for this though, just to cover my back. Naturally, I'll be packing food and drink for the day to avoid the junk food paradise that is AT!

Going to make a scrummy batch of butternut squash soup tonight, when stressed out / p-d off with work and life, I find using a hand blender to DESTROY a pan of produce rather therapeutic!

Well, off to bang my head against a plasterboard wall for the rest of the day!

x

PiggyBankShaker

It really sounds like you're on the right track. I'm job hunting at the moment too and I can sympathise, it is VERY tedious. Well done on your NSD's they all add up.