PigginSkint's DFW Diary

PigginSkint

Hi All

Must do better - it is a shockingly long time since I last posted again!

After a total of 5 weeks off sick, I finally returned to work last week - I was on phased return all last week so I only did a few hours each day - about 2 on Monday, building up to about 4 on Friday. I had Wednesday off as annual leave because I had a hospital appointment (with all the travel involved I just thought it was easier to have the day off) which I really needed because I was absolutely exhausted. Technically I am still on phased return this week but I am going to attempt to do something close to normal hours.

I am quite cross with OH at the moment - he managed to drop his iphone down the loo one day last week. We have tried to save using a few methods that we found by googling on t'internet and by discussing with other people - burying it in rice for 2 days and also stashing it in the airing cupboard. Still no joy! OH is planning to take it to one of the well known phone shops to see if they have any bright ideas. However, it is looking fairly certain that this is going to cost me money because OH can't really be without a phone for very long. He may try to get a 2nd hand one, though. Hopefully he may have enough money in his bank account to be able to avoid using the credit card (please note - my credit card) but that will cost me anyway because it means he won't be able to pay me back very quickly for something else he has recently put on the credit card. :mad:

Right, my lunch break is over so I had better get back to doing some work!

Bye all!!

PigginSkint

Hi All

OH's phone was beyond repair, but he managed to trade it in for a 2nd hand one - he got £40 trade-in value so he only paid £104 for a replacement. I suppose that's better than it could have been!

DS submitted his UCAS application a couple of weeks ago, and has already had 3 offers from the 5 universities he applied for (still waiting to hear from the other 2). His first choice sent him an offer within 3 days (and I think it might have been 2 days) of him submitting his application.

I have started planning for Christmas. I have bought a few things using my debit card (mainly food and drink and a few food and stationery stocking fillers for DS). I have bought one present using my credit card - electric razor for a very good price from Amazon's lightening/Black Friday deals for DS :money:. Otherwise, I am currently trying to pay as much off the Egg/Barclaycard as possible (most of it is OH's expenditure unfortunately) and won't use that card for any Christmas spending until after my next statement date, which will be approx 4th December. I should be able to pay most of it off by the end of January, through a combination of Christmas present savings, increased cashflow in January (because of no Christmas spending) and hopefully a backdated payrise (which we normally get in our December paypackets backdated to August) and/or a Christmas bonus (which we got last year, with payrise taking effect in January). All of this means that I should be able to minimise the amount of interest that I need to pay!

I really need to update my spreadsheets as a matter of urgency. I haven't done them properly since I did some balance transfers in the summer and I need to plot how quickly I am paying off individual items and what I need to pay and when in order to take advantage of the low rate APRs that aren't life of balance ones. They really need to take priority and I have already reduced my minimum payments to everything else (i.e. the low rate APR life of balance cards).

Right I really must do some work.

Bye all!

PigginSkint

Hi All

Well I still haven't updated my spreadsheets - very bad of me! This means I haven't yet done my 1st December figures so I can't update my sig yet.

I am waiting with baited breath for the Egg/Barclaycard statement to show online, so I can on with doing some Christmas shopping - and hopefully pay a large chunk of it off before the next statement date.

We have just been upstairs to the canteen for our Christmas dinner - (most of our students break up tomorrow) - main course and pudding for £6.50:money:. Lots of food so feeling completely stuffed now! Really not feeling like doing any work but I suppose I had better do some!

PigginSkint

Hi All

Finally my Egg/Barclaycard statement is available! This means I can finally start doing some serious Christmas shopping.

Also, we plan to buy a new dishwasher soon so that it can be delivered in time for Christmas so I will probably do that this weekend. I have already identified the one I want and checked the prices - it nearly always the same price wherever you go. Some places have free delivery so that is the way to go I think.

I haven't quite saved up enough for it, but I am very close. We have one slight spanner in the works because I need to get my boiler and gas fire serviced very soon - the gas fire is currently being a bit temperamental about starting up and doesn't seem to burn very brightly when it is on (maybe a blockage somewhere). This means that I shall have to use some of the 'House maintenance savings' (savings account) to pay for that - this is the same pot of money to pay for the dishwasher. Oh well, such is life!

We have just booked DS's driving theory test for 5pm on Tuesday 18th December so fingers crossed - luckily I had got enough money saved up to pay for that.

Oh well, better get on!

Bye all!

PigginSkint

Goodness me! How long since I last posted??!!! It is all down to being stupidly busy at work and ill several times over the last few months. I am also seriously behind with updating my spreadsheets. I am currently enjoying a total of 10 days off work (on day 4 at the moment) - 2 weekends, 2 bank holidays, 2 university closed days and 2 days annual leave - so hopefully I shall doing something about it, but at the moment I am just enjoying relaxing! Watch this space .....

PigginSkint

Hi All

Just skiving because I am so tired I don't feel like doing any work. I will do some before I leave to go home, only because I must! I seriously need an early night tonight and I then I might be fighting fit to really get stuck into stuff tomorrow!

I badly need to update my spreadsheets - the only thing I am up to date with is my regular/minimum payments. For months now, I have just been checking my online statements just to make sure I haven't missed anything or paid anything late, but I am seriously behind with my budgeting and overpayments.

It's daft really as I have got more more in my bank account this month because (a) it is one of the 2 months of the year that I don't have to pay for my travel pass (b) I have been paid some overtime (woohoo! first time ever!).

On the other hand, it has been an expensive few weeks for various reasons - family do, booking holiday, ordering new sofas (because the old ones are kn*ckered), ordering a new fridge freezer (ditto!) etc, etc.

I am determined to step away from farming this evening and step towards Excel!!

Right, really must do a bit of work!

Bye all!

PigginSkint

It's a big day this week as my son gets his A level results on Thursday so should be off to University in about 6 weeks time (gulp!). This will have a big impact on my finances both bad (maintenance from ex stops, child benefit stops) and good (my food bills should be less for a start!). So I really need to revisit everything so I can work out how much I can afford on weekly basis to pay to my son to supplement his income.

I am currently starting at the beginning by doing a revised SOA and see what that throws up. Lots of things to do though - updating spreadsheets, signatures, investigating new ways to save money. I've got a couple of 0% deals that are coming to an end, one credit card is almost clear (only about £100 to go) and shed loads on my 'spending' credit card as the past few months has been rather expensive for a number of reasons - holiday, new suite, new carpet, DIY etc.

Watch this space!!!

Bye for now!

dawnybabes

Fingers crossed for good results x

PigginSkint

State of Affairs
Date: 12th August 2013
Monthly Income
Salary £1,371.59 includes deduction for travel pass
Child benefit £0.00 Last payment September 2013
Maintenance from ex £0.00 Last payment July 2013
Partner's contribution £433.33
Total £1,804.92
Monthly outgoings:
Mortgage £235.94
MPPI £17.99
Halifax homeowner loan £74.38
Home insurance £23.54
Life insurance £17.86
Council tax £95.00
Gas £53.00
Electric £76.00
Water £20.98
Phone and broadband £25.00 approximate
TV licence £12.12
Mobile phone contract £10.70
PPC £10.40 Prescription Prepayment Certificate - only 10 months out of 12
LTSB Loan £113.41 Took out loan in January 2012 to pay off overdraft
Egg/Barclaycard credit card £100.00 Minimum payment plus extra payments
BA Amex credit card £25.00 Amount paid is higher than minimum payment (£5)
Halifax credit card £70.00 Amount paid is higher than minimum payment (£48.94)
Sainsburys credit card £150.00 Amount paid is higher than minimum payment (£47.60)
Amazon/Halifax credit card £35.00 Amount paid is higher than minimum payment (£26.73)
Intelligent Finance/Halifax credit card £25.00 Amount paid is higher than minimum payment (£8.39)
Barclaycard credit card £60.00 Amount paid is higher than minimum payment (£13.19)
LTSB credit card £13.00 Approximate minimum payment
MBNA credit card £45.00 Approximate minimum payment
Littlewoods catalogue £33.00 Approximate minimum payment
Pocket money for son £21.67 The purpose of this exercise is to see how much I could increase this by (currently £5 per week)
Vegetarian Society membership fee DD £1.75
RNLI £3.00
LTSB - extra S/O payments £40.00
Savings £156.00 Various savings pots including household maintenance, presents etc
Food £200.00 approximate - will probably reduce when DS goes to University
Total £1,764.74

Difference = £40.19

Debts
Mortgage - Halifax £18,687.90 SVR 3.99 %
Halifax Homeowner loan £6,000.00 SVR 3.99 % outstanding balance = approximate (no longer listed on online banking)
Total for mortgages £24,687.90

Egg/Barclaycard credit card £4,529.48 APR 17.9% (SVR)
BA Amex credit card £120.66 APR 4.9% (LOB)
Halifax credit card £4,894.23 APR 5.94% /6.95% (LOB) all OH's
Sainsburys credit card £2,115.93 APR 5.9% (LOB)
Amazon credit card £2,643.81 APR 5.94% (LOB)
Intelligent Finance credit card £786.97 APR 4.95% (LOB)
Barclaycard credit card £573.43 APR 0% for 24 months (expires summer 2013)
LTSB credit card £1,245.90 APR 0% for 16 months (expires approx Dec 2013)
MBNA credit card £2,851.47 APR 4.9% (LOB)
Total for credit cards £19,761.88

Littlewoods catalogue £263.00 APR 0%
LTSB loan £3,173.76 APR c13%
Total for non-mortgage debt £23,198.64

PigginSkint

Hi All

I thought it was about time I posted an SOA (don't think I have done it before!) - see previous post. I am hoping to increase the pocket money I pay to DS when he goes to University so I am trying to work out how much I could afford.

Gas and Electric is high so this is prime candidate for seeing if I can get this lower. Mind you, I have just had my latest statements, based on estimated readings because we were on holiday when they came to read the meter, and they owe us quite a lot! Need to get my meters read and then I can review the situation!

Egg/Barclaycard is quite high mainly because of the cost of our holiday but there have been a few other factors recently. I had to get the plumber out recently but luckily I had enough in my current account to cover that. We had a new carpet in our bedroom recently (a somewhat urgent job!) but I had enough to cover the cost by clearing out a few savings pots! We had a new fridge freezer (also fairly urgent) but I was able to get a good deal on that from my catalogue so that is being paid over 52 weeks interest free. The other major expense recently has been our new suite (sofa and 2 arm chairs) - which I got a really good deal on by going to a local furniture warehouse (rejects/seconds from major furniture retailers but still good quality stuff) and I already had half the cost of that saved up, so only the other half went on the credit card. Also we have had a number of weekends away in the last few weekends away but all good value, even though I did use my credit card.

Anyway, onwards and upwards!!