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Debts and discipline

2

Comments

  • Tigsmom
    Tigsmom Posts: 290 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Do you need to go to the pub?

    Can you invite friends to yours and tell them to bring beer? Or go to the cinema instead?

    Make packed lunch and leave your money (and cash card) at home. Things like crisps and chocolate are cheaper bought in multipacks from the supermarket instead of individually from the sandwich shop.

    Congratulations on getting a new job by the way. They're hard to come by these days. Good luck with the saving.x
  • smiley-signs064.gif
    Packed lunch is the way to go, sooo much cheaper. £10 will do you for a week!
    DEBT FREE AND PROUD:D
    'Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt'
  • artnoble
    artnoble Posts: 879 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Tigsmom wrote: »
    Do you need to go to the pub?

    Can you invite friends to yours and tell them to bring beer? Or go to the cinema instead?

    Make packed lunch and leave your money (and cash card) at home. Things like crisps and chocolate are cheaper bought in multipacks from the supermarket instead of individually from the sandwich shop.

    Congratulations on getting a new job by the way. They're hard to come by these days. Good luck with the saving.x

    I can yeah, its just changing the habits of a life time, but I've got to do it though. I can't keep putting things to one side. I'm 30 next year, I don't want to be in this position when I'm 40!
    Watch this space.... Will update soon!
  • artnoble
    artnoble Posts: 879 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    smiley-signs064.gif
    Packed lunch is the way to go, sooo much cheaper. £10 will do you for a week!

    Your right, a few cobs and a fruit will do me for a day.

    Actually in a position now where I can keep a company vehicle so going to save so much on fuel.

    I know this is the right time to make the change, I'm just worried it'll last a week and I'll be back to my bad old ways
    Watch this space.... Will update soon!
  • sara_77
    sara_77 Posts: 58 Forumite
    Debt-free and Proud!
    Set yourself a weekly budget. Take the money out the beginning of the week and leave your card at home. It will probably be difficult the first couple of weeks while you adjust but it does work.
    Any thing you have left the end of the week either pay towards your debts or put away as an emergency fund.

    Good luck with getting debt free :T

    Sara
    May 2008 total debt £25280.56 :eek: as of 14/09/2012 total debt =£0
    Finaly debt free:beer:

    NSD - August 11/11 :j, Sept 4/15
  • thatsean
    thatsean Posts: 992 Forumite
    Hey, welcome back. Wondered where you had gone! Budget is king, work out everything, and become obsessive about checking balances! Have you thought about the likes of pay plan or cccs to take care of payments for you? Both are free to use.
  • artnoble
    artnoble Posts: 879 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    thatsean wrote: »
    Hey, welcome back. Wondered where you had gone! Budget is king, work out everything, and become obsessive about checking balances! Have you thought about the likes of pay plan or cccs to take care of payments for you? Both are free to use.

    That seems to be a growing trend. Being prepared and pro active.

    I've not really looked into those companies, one problem I do have though I don't really know where I owe money to. I can see the companies on the credit report however allot have stopped contacting me. So need to find a way of getting back in touch.

    There's allot of hard work to be done now.
    Watch this space.... Will update soon!
  • Tigsmom
    Tigsmom Posts: 290 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    artnoble wrote: »
    I'm 30 next year, I don't want to be in this position when I'm 40!

    :rotfl:Well I'm fourty.... erm.. a bit older and STILL in that position! A pat on your back for sorting it now.:)

    I actually stopped doing the pubcrawl on a weekend thing when I was around your age (mainly to save a bit of money and also because I'd moved away from the pubs!). I have to say it was difficult at first but I don't really miss it now. I look at the state of people still doing it and thank my lucky stars I had the sense to give it up. I know you are single and probably think that's how to meet someone but there are other places you can meet people (and when they're sober!). Maybe we could do a survey on where people met their partners (you might be surprised ;)).
  • Denene
    Denene Posts: 131 Forumite
    artnoble wrote: »
    I will start to record it. Is there an app or whats the best way of doing it.

    I've been using an app called iXpensIt to track what I'm spending, and have been finding it quite useful. There are free and pay for versions.

    It lets you put in a lot of detail about where, and on what, you are spending your money, and I think you can make charts and things. I found it easier than remembering to write things down, or add up receipts at the end of the day, because I can carry it around with me.

    Whatever way you're recording your spending, it does take a bit of discipline to note every single time you spend, but it's definitely worth it. It's been a real eye-opener for me to see how much money I waste without thinking about it :(
  • azlan
    azlan Posts: 67 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture
    There is a brilliant spreadsheet for tracking all spend/making a budget created by cw18 on the OS board that I use here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/39711066#Comment_39711066 - it's post 360 - last one on page 18.
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