Ultimate Challenge. 457 days / £16600!!!

lubava

Wow. It took me whole week to read the lot.Kat you are fantastic. I will count all my debts tomorrow. i think i have about 19000 but i will have exact figure tomorrow. I would love to pay it all off by december 2013 but with 3 kids and huby (not money suvvy) it will be difficult. I also just started new job 3 weeks ago. It pays less than my last job in london, but it only takes me 30 min to get to work and not 3 hours as before. I also dont have to spend £500 on train every month. Using hubby's car to get to work at the moment and its costing us 150 a year to insure me on the car plus extra 15 on petrol(200 monthly). I have plentt to sell but have ebay phobia. Any help would be welcome as i have some kids clothes to sell plus some lovely dresses from my slim years. I will update my signature tomorrow. Im currently attempting £40 weekly spend on food and so far i stuck with it. I bought most of my xmas present and only need something for parents in law. unfortunately my job doesnt have overtime neither does my hubbys and we cannot get any partime jobs as we work different shifts to cover childcare between us. I wouls welcome any ideas though. . I will post some more tomorrow.

Happytogetdebtfree

Hi lubava and welcome. Good luck with your negative wealth journey :-) you have already made savings with your new job :-) spending only 165 as a one off and £15 fuel bill a month means an average saving of £485 that can be put towards the negative wealth :-) x

Unicorns

Aww thanks guys, I feel welcome already!

Lol killerpeaty I will only admit I’m fabulous when I reach my goal in dec 2013.. Or maybe half way through.

Homemade scotch eggs sound lovely! I made spicy butternut squash soup the other day (I was so proud lol and the bf liked it) wasn't too keen on slicing and dicing the butternut though, I think I was literally there 20 mins and had a full blown workout.. Maybe pre chopped next time if it’s not too expensive.

What I plan on doing is paying my normal monthly dmp to step change (I was previously with a fee charging one) and anyone reading who is currently with fee charging ditch them! When I tried to leave mine they tried to tell me I’d be back with more debt, it won't work etc etc well I got in touch with my cc companies and explained I’d be moving to a free dmp could I make payments myself until this was set up.... they were all very nice about it and all agreed and I am now £40 better off per month going towards my whole debt. I also had to pay £500 to get fee charging one started.

The £420 a month will go into a savings account ready to pay the debt in one go, purely because I wouldn’t want to absolutely commit to the dmp company that I can make this payment month on month because it will be tough and because it's my own personal goal if I don’t have the whole £420 one month I can try and make up for it in the next.

I'm feeling really positive and I will get round to sorting out my sig, on with a day’s overtime tomorrow.

Lubava I completely understand the whole horrible commute to jobs blurgh!! Less pay for a happier non train commuting life sounds good to me. I even think with paying my debts off I can actually find a job I more want to do or has more suitable shifts rather than have to do because of my debts, or even without the pressure of debts I might have no worries about my job because I’ll know I don’t HAVE to be there if you see what I mean? Time will tell.

Night all.

NinjaSavingKat

Well a very good evening to you all!!

I made it to work in great time. A little too great with a full tank and empty roads nearly making myself motion sick! Never good for the "save petrol" gauge but sometimes a girl just has to make herself happy in the simplest of ways....:T

So I am settled into my night shift. I am here until 0700 and might see if I can come up with some good ideas for our December challenge. For you newbies who are determined to debt bust perhaps I could tempt you to join in since you have missed the start of NOvember. I'll warn you though it gets addictive!

I have brought lots of nibbles with me tonight to keep me amused. I have become very aware of my eating habits and am determined now to make myself a little healthier in the long run..( apparently rice krispies are not classed as a healthy dinner )...

So I have my box from Graze with nuts etc, a tub of tinned pineapple with two tangerines, a flask of tea, a bottle of juice, another tub with home-made slightly singed and "not quite stable" carrot and apricot cake, AP olives, salsa and Tesco Everyday Value tortilla crisps for dipping.... OK not healthy healthy but I can't eat a "meal" during nights...ahem....

Lubava - WELCOME to you! Thank you seriously for taking the time to read this whole thread! I am glad I have been able to keep you amused thus far. You are clearly on the "Up" which we are all about here. Sometimes the smallest changes are the most important. Despite no access to OT ( not many people do ) you will find many many ways of making money.

Ebay can be daunting at first but once you get into the swing of things ( start small ) you will get hooked and want to sell anything that isn't nailed down.... a few pointers..

• Be completely honest. You'd be surprised what people buy. ( broken, damaged, stained within reason, etc )
• Its free this weekend otherwise you pay a small fee to load it up, then pay a small fee when it sells depending on what it sells for.
• Don't sell yourself short, if its worth £50 - don't put it on for 99p.
• Branded items sell very well - especially with clothing.
• Make your title about key words not a "nice phrase"..i.e. "Dress NEXT size 10 A-line belt knee-length black" is better than "Beautiful and Cute dress from NEXT in a size ten"..
• Before you load an item up it will tell you how much it will cost. There is a "simple form" for small items and an "advanced form" for more complicated items ( electrical / cars etc ).. On both of these the first picture is always free / thereafter they charge. take one good photo in good light and save money.

So young lady get over this phobia. I want your first item loaded up tomorrow please.... there are rules if you are joining in this thread! :p:p.. ( I am nicer than I seem don't worry )..and remember you choose when the item listing ends... its a lot simpler than you think. Now get cracking!!!

But CONGRATULATIONS on your new job and being so close to home! This is a fantastic saving but be warned we have some OH's on here who have got bitten by the "saving bug", yours might surprise you. Get your signature up and running I want to know where all the debt is please..:D

Unicorns a big WELCOME to you as well! I like the fact that you are now dealing with your debts yourself. Cut out the middle man and take it all on board. It's very empowering to know that you are dealing with it ALL yourself and doing the leg work. It's also superb that you know exactly how much is required. Number crunching / selling / spread-sheeting etc gets addictive and is very very much the sole purpose in my life at the moment ( apart from this lovely thread of fun )...

I understand why you do not want to commit to such a large amount each month. Placing it in savings is a good idea but is the interest frozen on your debts? I get the feeling it is, you seem super on the ball.

December 2013 is my target and by goodness I am going to get it. Join me???:).. I am intending to clear a very large amount by the end of this year leaving me with one substantial loan which means I will have to pay an extra £450 or so each month to clear by December 2013...

By hook or by crook as long as its legal and I ain't selling my lady bits I will do it! :T:T:T AND even better that you have OT tomorrow. Best way to spend your time I think...:(

StGood - big YEHAAAAAA for the extra money from the loser ex! Every little helps! And bigger YEHAAA for making scotch eggs from scratch.. I swear ( look at my other challenge NOvember ) you will see a massive change in your money when you look at how much is spent on food. Its amazing how much I used to waste. I am super duper careful now and I get the feeling you are too since you are already home baking!!

Right now.. I am starving and I might have to shift computers very soon. I am loving the newbies joining us and am super thrilled that the contagion that is "debt busting" is getting to everyone!!

Killer I will be Googling bento boxes tonight. Although I created one with ramekin dishes full of salsa and olives covered in clingfilm and sat contently inside a Tupperware tub! I might just save my pennies although its rather heavy....:rotfl:

Right I'm off.. probably forgot something and will be back later...

Onwards and Upwards!!!

NinjaSavingKat

I know what I forgot.. Geordie Boy has bailed. Apparently the rail replacement to my house tomorrow is just too much for him. Strike Two. Apparently we will meet after he is back from Geordie Land next Monday. I might be busy... for the foreseeable future....:p

I am too determined, too strong willed and too focused to waste "me" time on a man who does not see my worth. And when I say "see my worth" I mean really see it, want it, work for it and be real.

Geordie Boy gives me a feeling of him not being bothered. The man that wins my heart will be bothered and won't be put off by an extra half hour on the bus...

I need rid of my debt, I want to go on holiday on my own, I wan to buy a winter coat from Reiss with no guilt and I want a rose gold watch from Micheal Kors...

I am not going to waste my time on someone who is wasting my time.

Simples...

Onwards and Upwards on my own...

Siouxsie32

NinjaSavingKat wrote: »

Killer I will be Googling bento boxes tonight. Although I created one with ramekin dishes full of salsa and olives covered in clingfilm and sat contently inside a Tupperware tub! I might just save my pennies although its rather heavy....:rotfl:

Wow kat, you must be a fab driver if you can get that lot to work on the back of your bike without it ending up a mushy mess in your bag

Hey newbies :hello: Well done for sticking with the thread all the way til the end...we do like to talk a bit on here :rotfl:

Good luck with your shift kat, it's not easy working through the night :eek: I tend to eat my way through the nightshift so well done for being so organised and disciplined!

I had a lovely, unexpected (oops, that means an unplanned spend :eek:) catch up with a friend of mine today that I've not seen for a while and we ended up going for lunch. I'm kinda exhausted now though, time for bed! Lots to do tomorrow - earning money and ebay listings are top of my To Do list

Hope the night goes quickly for you kat. Catch up tomorrow (We'll be very quiet until you wake up )

NinjaSavingKat

Siouxsie my olives leaked and my crisps were soggy but I ate it all anyway...;-)

Thank you for keeping the noise down I know what you kittens can be like...

Listerbelle

Delurking for a minute......

You are all doing SO WELL. Thanks for the inspiration!

Regarding Ebay, I use this free photo gallery site:
http://jpegbay.com/
You upload as many photos as you'd like, in the order you want them to appear on Ebay, into a "folder" (which they call a "gallery"). The gallery is given a file name which is an html link that you include in your Ebay description. Copy this link.

On Ebay, there are two pages/tabs where you can write your item description. One is labelled "standard" and the second is "html".

Write as normal on the "standard" page, and then click on the "html" tab and paste in the html link you copied earlier.

Now click on the "standard" tab. Ta-da! Lots of gorgeous photos for free

You still need to upload a single photo in the usual way, this main photo will appear in any search.

Good luck! Happy Ebaying!!

(Back to lurking now!)

NinjaSavingKat

Wow thanks Listerbelle! I am going to try this later today...

One word...#bed..

missladyannie

*Durr, I must have been overtired as I posted this on the wrong thread last night! lol!*

Hi everyone, i'm back at work this evening, yawn, I was so tired today, i've overdone the second job this week, i'm back in again tomorrow morning as well. I'm glad I have Mondays off from my main job otherwise i'd be dribbling! Its so hot here as well, my feet have swelled up like balloons!!! lol!

Today wasnt a NSD, however I did get 10 cans of Baked Beans for free using the Heinz vouchers which was good, and even better as they are on offer at 5 for £3 so you are in credit on the shopping bill! I also took back DS's socks to Tescos as they had a hole in and got them replaced, and also had to brave customer services to get my 85p back as the checkout guy didnt scan one of my Beans vouchers!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone, keep sharing the good news x