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Road to Recovery - My Diary

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  • Hope78
    Hope78 Posts: 755 Forumite
    Feel dreadful as I've let this slip for a bit and it's amazing when you fall off the wagon it's very easy to spend spend spend! And I'm afraid I've done a fair wee bit of that nothing awful but still feel horrid! The only saving grace is I've done most of it through Quidco so will get something back.

    I bought make up from House of Frasers that I didn't even neeed or really want so it's going on ebay tonight with a few other bits and pieces.

    Some of the items did include presents and I did manage to save some money on those;
    1. 1st birthday present for friends wee girl in ELC sale (£5 off)
    2. £10 off travel cot for best frineds baby (glad I hung back to buy it)
    3. £15 off streilser from mum to new baby (so £25 instead of £40 and I've
    still to get that £25 and I got boots points on it)

    Well that's me just trying to make me feel less guilty!

    But that's the past and I'm focussed again and I'm back to surveys and clicks etc with vigour! My aim is to collate as many points etc and have lots of Boots vouchers which I'll use on Xmas presents (already got £15 worth).

    Not managed to get any temping jobs but have a new pupil to tutor over hols so that's a little bit extra over the summer.

    I'd better be off and get my stuff ready for ebay.

    Cheers
    Hope x
    LBM 03/07 £44k:eek: DFD 31/12/17 :A 12/17 £2545.50
    Credit Card £2500.00 & Next £45.00
    Savings = £81.21 & Help To Buy ISA = £4700.00
  • lynzpower
    lynzpower Posts: 25,311 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hope,

    Did you try to transfer any of your debt to 0% cards?

    Has your debt gone up or down since you last posted?
    :beer: Well aint funny how its the little things in life that mean the most? Not where you live, the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
    Theres no dollar sign on piece of mind
    This Ive come to know...
    So if you agree have a drink with me, raise your glasses for a toast :beer:
  • Hope78
    Hope78 Posts: 755 Forumite
    lynz

    My credit score/rating isn't such that I could even consider applying for 0% card. They limit wouldn't be high enough to transfer my balances and I can't run the risk of having another card either on my credit report or in my wallet!

    It's probably stayed the same due to payments to loans and car etc but put a few things on CC. Too scared to work it out until end of month so I'll be updating my sig beginning of Aug and just call July my blip.

    On a positive note have figured out that this time next year one of my loans will have just finished! Kinda wishing the year away but it's something to aim for!
    LBM 03/07 £44k:eek: DFD 31/12/17 :A 12/17 £2545.50
    Credit Card £2500.00 & Next £45.00
    Savings = £81.21 & Help To Buy ISA = £4700.00
  • Hope78
    Hope78 Posts: 755 Forumite
    Well I went ahead and worked out total debt not as bad as I thought! Really I've put myself back 2 months on Nationwide Visa but the rest have come down so overall my debt is leass than last month.
    LBM 03/07 £44k:eek: DFD 31/12/17 :A 12/17 £2545.50
    Credit Card £2500.00 & Next £45.00
    Savings = £81.21 & Help To Buy ISA = £4700.00
  • Hope78
    Hope78 Posts: 755 Forumite
    Having learnt my lesson very quickly about the dangerous to not sticking with this site (only a few weeks but still had an impact) I'm back to my DFW ways! I've put a fair few things on ebay yesterday and sold two already!

    Today I phoned about upgrading mobile and instead of choosing a shiny new handset I choose to keep the one I've got. This means I get £100 credited to my bill which means 3 months without paying a billy to pay. Also changed my tariff for the same money I get 100 more minutes and 300 more texts which should mean I never have anything extra to pay when bill comes in - sometimes I've been a few pounds extra. If I was brave enough I'd have gone onto pay as you go but my mum depends on me for lifts and can't run the risk of not having credit to phone her if I'm late. So perhaps not DFW as I'd like to ahve been but still it's better than what I had before!

    Also phoned The AA to suspend my membership becuase I got a years free recovery with my new car insurance therfore I won't need to pay for AA again until October 2008 but my plan is to find it cheaper through this website and cashback sites before it starts up again.

    Cheers
    Hope x
    LBM 03/07 £44k:eek: DFD 31/12/17 :A 12/17 £2545.50
    Credit Card £2500.00 & Next £45.00
    Savings = £81.21 & Help To Buy ISA = £4700.00
  • Hope78
    Hope78 Posts: 755 Forumite
    Seem to be losing direction a bit used the old credit card again so it's now firmly back in dads wallet where it belongs! Have given myself a good talking to! Wasn't even sure why I was spending but have now figured it out - my oldest friend had a baby last week and I am now not only the last remaining singleton but the only childless one! If only I had a crystal ball and knew if one day it'd happen then I'd not feel so bad! So in other words I've been trying to 'buy myself happy' but it hasn't worked compared it to the elation I get saving and making money and DFW came out tops!

    Had my 29th birthday this week and so this is officailly the first week of the rest of my life! I don't want to be fat, thirty and skint so having only 361 days left has given me renewed motivaion. Over the hols I've picked up a new tutoring pupil and seeing a potential other one this week so fingers crossed they'll last a while or spread the word.

    Joined the olympic and change jar challenges and thrilled with my progress so been ebaying, carbooting and counting the pennies vigourously! Using the change jar to clear the overdraft on old account before closing it which means I'll not need to dip into my salary to clear it. It might take a while but I'm tryin not to have one on my new acount (initially had about -£400 on it but that was considering my salary was paid into old one) will need to tighten the belt this month but will try my damnest though realistically it might September as I've contact lenses to buy, new glasses and road tax all in August - now I realise the importance of budgeting so once those are paid its £50 a month in savings for all those little eventualities that sneak up and bite you in the bum!

    Promise to set new monthly targets at beginning of August and will evaluate my last ones then - can't even remember what they were! Well I'd better be off tea is ready!

    Cheers
    Hope x

    P.S My bro got engaged what's an acceptable gift? He's had his house years so was thinking money or offering to purchase something for wedding i.e. cake (which means I'd have time to save) and just geting them champagne and card for now.

    P.P.S He doesn't know about my debts so have to work round that.
    LBM 03/07 £44k:eek: DFD 31/12/17 :A 12/17 £2545.50
    Credit Card £2500.00 & Next £45.00
    Savings = £81.21 & Help To Buy ISA = £4700.00
  • mae
    mae Posts: 1,516 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Quote ...P.S My bro got engaged what's an acceptable gift? He's had his house years so was thinking money or offering to purchase something for wedding i.e. cake (which means I'd have time to save) and just geting them champagne and card for now. Quote.


    Just because he doesn't know about your debts it doesn't mean you need to go overboard moneywise.. Putting thought into it is so much more important.. So how about the champagne as you suggested and is there such a thing as a wedding planner book that they can start recording ideas etc and lists?? Maybe you could try and find a beautiful one?? And could you take a recent picture of them and get it framed as the time they got engaged or blatantly say you would like a picture of them which has the ring showing and make out it is just for you then get a frame and give it them as a gift??
    Or how about a gift basket as often people do on these boards, for example buy a pretty box or basket and in it put a bottle of champagne, strawberries, chocolates, a couple of wedding magazines and maybe the picture or wedding planner book and it can be inexpensive but look very expensive and very thoughtful.
    Just some ideas of gifts that can be special and are keepsakes without being expensive hope that helps. If you start suggesting now that you will pay for the cake as an engagment present what then will you buy them as a wedding gift?

    PS.. Well done with getting control of your debts I always feel that once your in control of your finances everything else in your life starts falling into place..Good luck.
  • hypno06
    hypno06 Posts: 32,296 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I think the picture/photo is a fab idea - especially if you can get a nice one done in black and white - really classic and something lovely to keep forever without costing much.

    Keep on posting, stay on the DFW wagon now xx
    Successful women can still have their feet on the ground. They just wear better shoes. (Maud Van de Venne)
    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone (Neale Donald Walsch)
  • Hope78
    Hope78 Posts: 755 Forumite
    Thanks folks you two are always here to help me figure out another path to choose! I lack imagination! Well that's not strictly true I did a similar thing the day my best frined moved so they wouldn't need to stress about food I made up a picnic basket of basics instead of house warming gift (it was her 3rd house). Perhpas in my dark moment I needed an even bigger stick to whack myself over the head with - you know when money's tight something else always pops along to swallow even more of your money! It'd work out great financially as we have a floristry cash and carry near here where I can get own basket etc and my dad's mate is photographer so he'd print me off photos for free.

    Cheers
    Hope x

    P.S Mae - I think you must know my brother anything to do with photos and he's first in line! As a teenager he got a mate of my dad's to take model type poses of him at the country park for my grandparents Xmas.
    LBM 03/07 £44k:eek: DFD 31/12/17 :A 12/17 £2545.50
    Credit Card £2500.00 & Next £45.00
    Savings = £81.21 & Help To Buy ISA = £4700.00
  • hi there. My neighbour is getting married soon and I made a hamper for him and his wife from the kids. I had a basket and I had a bottle of bucks fizz from marks, I bought champagne flutes from e-bay for 99p and made up 2 small bags of pot pourri. I wrapped it all up in cellophane and fancy ribbon and it looked fab. I had most of the stuff to hand so actually spent £2.60 on it all in. Might be an idea to do something like this for them xx
    5 Year plan. April 2020 to June 2025- CC and mortgage free by time I'm 60
    Currently CC £23,674.36 /£14,895.41/£14315.42
    Mortgage £28,214.65/ £26,254.71/ £25,746.43
    By end 2020 I want CC at £ 19,000.00.
    By end 2021 I want CC at £10,000.00
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