Claire's DFW mission 25 July 2012 at 2:47PM in Debt free diaries 22 replies 1.6K views

claireh280

Hello lovely MSE folks. I used MSE a couple of years ago to get my finances in order. It worked so well for me. Recently though I've realised that I have taken my eye off the ball and I have hit the wall. Years of frugal living are taking their toll and I have made no new progress in the last year or so. I can't escape my overdraft or credit cards. In fact these are fairly new debts! I have a £400 over draft and £5000 on credit cards. :eek: I guess I haven't been that frugal after all :embarasse

So I had a lightbulb moment :idea: I need to show myself on MSE forum, get posting, get some support and make it my number 1 mission to shake off these last few debts.

So I have been reading lots and have been taking the steps suggested on DFW board sticky.

I have listed my debts in the signature. I have done a SOA and realised that my overdraft exists because my original budget did not take account of all of my spending. I had forgotten about holidays, days out, christmas, gifts etc Doh!

I am thinking that a cash only approach may be the best way forward for me and my hubby. So card use is banned, and when we get paid on Friday I will draw out cash and put it in jam jars for each category. Once it is gone it is gone. If there is any money left at the end of the month I'll pay it back into the overdraft.

I am hoping that posting here will keep me motivated. I know I am responsible for the debt, but at the moment I am just so bored of paying off debts. I feel like we will never be completely free of debt :sad:

claireh280

As usually, after a good feed I am feeling a bit more positive.

Here is my SOA - It is more realistic than my last budget, which was always leaving us £300 over drawn :eek:

Income
Hubby £ 1,193.77
Me £ 816.00
Tax credits £ 122.53
Family allow £ 134.80
Total £ 2,267.10

Outgoings
Mortgage £ 554.61
Council tax £ 117.81
Gas £ 15.00
Electricity £ 23.00
Water £ 22.00
Visa £ 200.00
Phone bband £ 20.75
Mobile hub £ 15.00
Mobile me £ 25.00
House insurance £ 24.00

Window cleaner £ 5.00

Car finance £ 102.02
Car insurance £ 27.50
Petrol £ 50.00
Car tax £ 1.67
Car maintenance £ 8.33
Breakdown cover £ 3.00

Pet plan £ 14.00
Pet insurance £ 8.00
Pet food £ 10.00

Life insurance £ 30.00
dentist me £ 15.00
dentist hubby £ 13.33
Union £ 8.00
Love film £ 5.00
nappies £ 30.00
Liverpool tv £4.99

hobbies yoga/climbing/swimming £ 45.00
eating out/takeaway £ 35.00
Big days out £ 25.00
family days out £ 50.00

work clothes £ 30.00
children's clothes/shoes £ 30.00
new clothes/shoes £ 20.00

Birthdays/gifts £ 20.00
Summer Hols £ 25.00
Christmas Hols £ 25.00

Cleaning products £ 15.00
Food £ 300.00
milk £ 30.00


Cash for bits and bobs/top up shops/sponsership/ tea club/ £ 200.00

Total outgoings £ 2,203.01

Total remaining £ 64.09

Obviously some things have got to go if I want to increase my debt repayments... all ideas welcome I am not really sure what my goals are. I guess the first thing would be to pay off card 2 as that has monthly interest. I tried getting a 0% card to transfer the balance but I could not get one for the full amount - hence card 1 which is 0%

claireh280

I should probably say that we are a family of four. Two adults, two children (5 and 3) and a cat.

pixiechick99

Just a few things seem rather low to me, wondering if maybe you're spending more on them in reality? Gas and electric only £38 for both? Also car tax less than £2 a month? And petrol? Now I don't drive hugely, my mileage is only about 5-6k a year but I seem to spending at least £65 a month now.
Sorry, I'm not criticising, just wondering if they're accurate;)

Have you looked on the OS board for ideas for cheap meals and how to keep grocery spends down, I find loads of great ideas there:)

Not much help really was I?! Good luck though, I'm sure you'll get more constructive ideas from others.

claireh280

Thanks for stopping by pixiechick99. They are accurate. We have a Citroen C1 which is only £20 a year to tax, and does 65mpg Plus we live close to a city centre and park etc so don't use the car that much. We both walk to work. We couldn't afford to run a car for a couple of years (when I took time off work to have babies), so when we could get one we got the cheapest to run. It is a bit of a squash to get four of us in, but it means we can have a car so we put up with it. We have even managed camping with it - although not sure the kids could see much out of the windows on the way

We only use gas to heat our water and cook on the hob. We don't have gas central heating. We use a wood burning stove to heat the main living room in the winter. We were lucky enough to get a grant a few years back to super insulate our house and put solar panels on - hence the low electricity. I should allow for wood expenses though. We are good at scavenging wood, but we always end up buying some.

Heading over to OB boards now - thanks

claireh280

Well today was a bit of a reality check. Up to the overdraft limit. I had to take my son to hospital for a check up and realised I would not be able to afford the parking so we walked - kids were brilliant! I had £2.80 in my purse, and I had already promised them an ice cream a couple of days ago, after the hospital appointment. So, no bus home either - but it's amazing how far they'll walk for an ice cream!

Also I have no ready to eat food in the house...IFYSWIM? It is pay day tomorrow and I have a monthly bulk shop turning up in the afternoon. So on went the bread maker. I managed to find a good cake recipe that didn't need butter or eggs (yay for vegans) and I have started some bagels to cook off tomorrow. Feel sorry for the kids that there is no fresh fruit around - they love fruit. It is my biggest expense food wise. But I don't think they'll complain about eating cake instead Generally I was feeling very pleased with myself and frugal...

Then hubby came home from a course he has been on today and said he had to draw out £15 for materials - which was not expected :eek: So we are now over our overdraft and will be charged Makes my careful spending of my £2.80 seem so pointless.

But - pay day tomorrow yay! Then on with the new budget. I have ditched spending on a number of categories such as take away, days out, clothes, etc to help us crawl out of the overdraft. Hoping to have lots of NSD. Feeling a little more motivated, despite the overdraft hit.

claireh280

claireh280 wrote: »

As usually, after a good feed I am feeling a bit more positive.

Here is my SOA - It is more realistic than my last budget, which was always leaving us £300 over drawn :eek:

Income
Hubby £ 1,193.77
Me £ 816.00
Tax credits £ 122.53
Family allow £ 134.80
Total £ 2,267.10

Outgoings
Mortgage £ 554.61
Council tax £ 117.81
Gas £ 15.00
Electricity £ 23.00
Water £ 22.00
Visa £ 200.00
Phone bband £ 20.75
Mobile hub £ 15.00
Mobile me £ 25.00
House insurance £ 24.00

Window cleaner £ 5.00

Car finance £ 102.02
Car insurance £ 27.50
Petrol £ 50.00
Car tax £ 1.67
Car maintenance £ 8.33
Breakdown cover £ 3.00

Pet plan £ 14.00
Pet insurance £ 8.00
Pet food £ 10.00

Life insurance £ 30.00
dentist me £ 15.00
dentist hubby £ 13.33
Union £ 8.00
Love film £ 5.00
nappies £ 30.00
Liverpool tv £4.99

[STRIKE]hobbies yoga/climbing/swimming £ 45.00
eating out/takeaway £ 35.00
Big days out £ 25.00
family days out £ 50.00[/STRIKE]

[STRIKE]work clothes £ 30.00
children's clothes/shoes £ 30.00
new clothes/shoes £ 20.00[/STRIKE]

[STRIKE]Birthdays/gifts £ 20.00
Summer Hols £ 25.00
Christmas Hols £ 25.00

Cleaning products £ 15.00[/STRIKE]
Food £ 300.00
milk £ 30.00


Cash for bits and bobs/top up shops/sponsership/ tea club/ £ 200.00

Total outgoings £[STRIKE] 2,203.01[/STRIKE] 1953.01

Total remaining [STRIKE]£ 64.09 [/STRIKE]£314.09

Obviously some things have got to go if I want to increase my debt repayments... all ideas welcome I am not really sure what my goals are. I guess the first thing would be to pay off card 2 as that has monthly interest. I tried getting a 0% card to transfer the balance but I could not get one for the full amount - hence card 1 which is 0%

I have knocked out a few things to allow for more debt repayment. So as you'll see from my signature I have been able to make a payment woohoo. I know it is not realistic not budgeting for clothes or christmas, but for now we have to get out of debt before we buy clothes and pressies!

I am really pleased. It feels like I have made a proper start. :T

HeadAboveWater

Hey

Well done on making the payment! :T You can budget for clothes, but your debt is your priority. I'm sure you've clothes that will last a bit longer, and the likes of birthdays and Christmas just cut back a bit. Plus try selling some stuff on ebay to try and boost your income, and set it to one side for presents or something.

Good luck

claire0788

Hey,

Just stopped by to say you seem like you are motivated just now Hopefully having your diary will help too for tips and tricks from people.

For the shopping aspect of being in debt, valuedopinions is a good survey site for vouchers. dooyoo for reviews and earn vouchers or cash. Then of course Ebay Saving up the vouchers and cash can help alot for birthdays and Christmas.

claireh280

I was hoping for a NSD today but I needed to get some medicine for my son who has a virus at the moment. I did save a bit by buying the non-branded stuff. He might notice that it is not pink though

claireh280

Thanks HeadAboveWater and claire0788. You both are inspiring me to get ebaying. I have plenty that I could sell on there but until now I've lacked the motivation to do it. It is definitely going to be my priority this weekend.

Just cooking up my T.everyday rice to go with my lentil, barley and tomato stew. I've got a feeling that we are going to be eating a lot of stew this month.