Newbie, My journey so far

I_will_win

Hi all, I have been reading the forum for approx 6 weeks now and thought I would start to join in.

The forum inspired me to tackle my debts head on, I am not in as bad a situation as some folk on here, i really feel for them.
I make my payments every month but its the not having much left and debt not going down much that gets to me. I have a secure job and my salary is between £1500 and £1700 each month.

So 6 weeks ago, I went head on and done all the things the forum advises, new policies on insurances,mobile,tv,broadband,mortgage. No more extravagant spending on clothes,pub etc. Only 2 pints in 6 weeks!!!!!

No more canteen at work,(saves a fortune)using a grocery budget, Lottery down from £6 to £1 a week,no newspapers saving £3.70 a week.

I have my kids every weekend 16 and 8 year old,I have spoken to them and explained I cant afford to do KFC/Pizza Hut/cinema/theme parks every weekend, they were great about it, board games and dvds have been fun so far,kids have been great.

The money i have saved so far has enabled me to pay off my halifax c/c debt of £650 already.

My debt free date is approx April 2017,debt was £11k but havent included in my yearly bonus of approx £1200 each March,so this will help bring that date forward and also will stop paying £280 maintenance for eldest in Feb 2014 so that will go towards the debt.

Just wanted to share this and hope we can all help each other in our journeys.

I_will_win

Want to add a bit more,I am actually doing well with no spend days, its great when i complete each day. I dont waste any food at all, some dinners can be a bit odd but hey cant have it all good lol.

I spent £20 a week on a footie coupon each saturday, that is now £5, so in 6 weeks i have saved £90. Had one win of £450 last week, £430 went towards c/c and £20 for a takeaway on sat nite for me and the kids,chinese and monopoly was really good haha

beanielou

What a great start

lashley82

Well in fella, you sound a bit simiklar to me, situation getting dire but in a position to turn it around before it all gets out of hand. I know how it is though, I love a beer, a punt and an evening out as much as the next bloke but it does all rack up, just a little bit of discipoline can go a long way

Keep it up and I'm sure you'll be straight in no time, especially going by your user name

bargainbetty

Don't forget to look for vouchers and free days out for the kids - just because it doesn't cost much doesn't mean it won't work as a bit of fun!

The Old Style boards are really good for helping with the food/household stuff and meal planning might help remove some of the really random leftover combinations (then again, I tend to enjoy those). You could also look at the survey sites etc, which let you earn money/gift cards etc which could go towards days out with the kids (make sure you are getting all your loyalty points from Sainsbury's, Tesco etc too)

Well done matey!

I_will_win

Hi, Thanks all for nice words. Any pointers on what sites to do surveys etc. Havent done anything like them before.

Pay day on thursday, have £350 coming off nationwide credit card,yehaaaa!!!!

cheers
Andy

fozmcfc

Just popped in to say, a big well done on what you have achieved so far.

Of course once your debt starts to drop, so does any interest on cards, so you will have a bit more spare money to either pay off more off another debt or treat yourself. I'd personally do a bit of both.

Either way, hopefully your debt free date will come forward by quite a way.

Time_to_face_the_music

I_will_win wrote: »

Any pointers on what sites to do surveys etc. Havent done anything like them before.

Valued Opinions is good, I exchange my points for Amazon vouchers

http://www.valuedopinions.co.uk/

Well done on your journey so far :T

I_will_win

Thanks will look them up, I hear some stories onhere about these survey sites?? IE they stop you half way through etc,getting payments?? Takes ages sometimes to do surveys,are the worth the hassle etc,any advice and pointers would be appreciated,

cheers

I_will_win

Forgot to add, Sold my broken petrol lawnmower and strimmer on gumtree today, £30!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy days. Nationwide credit card with that.

oopsadaisydoddle

Just wanted to say well done!

I use Valued Opinions and have always found that the earnings build up quite well. Must admit I haven't done any for a while though but have had a few amazon vouchers.

Also, If you have any old clothes that aren't any good for ebay or the like, you can get approx 60p per kilo at recycling places. DH took 5 bins sacks full to our local shop and we got £24. It was all stuff that would have gone in a charity bag. That £24 will buy my DD's winter coat! Have a google for clothes recycling in your area.