This time I will do it....

ShopaholicNoMore

Two years ago I posted about getting control of my debts...back then I only had a £1500 overdraft to worry about. Now I still have it in addition to £3000 on credit card.

I've told my husband, who was hurt and angry that I've run up this debt. However now I've told him, I've got no choice but to get rid of it.

So, I've given myself till May to pay it off. 31 weeks. I've got a budget of £80 per week for groceries, petrol etc up till the start of January at which time I should have a bit more money and will give myself £100 a week, with a view to keeping some aside each week for presents/haircuts/random spends.

If I stick to this budget I will be able to pay off OD and cc easily. It's going to be tough though because I am terrible at not spending money!

I start each week from a Saturday and this week, ive spent it all already!

I spent £35 on a night out....my first since having a baby. I then spent £38 on food shopping for the week.

So £7 left! Still, plenty food in and nothing hopefully which should see me spending this week. I did a job today which earned me £60 which is great. I'm going to try and keep it aside for getting my hair done in a few weeks...but we will see if I manage.

So this is me...wish me luck

ShopaholicNoMore

Just to add, my cc is on 0%till May.

Homemadehappiness

Welcome to diaryland! I rejoined last week after going AWOL and have to say I feel better already for it!

Good Luck xx

ShopaholicNoMore

Thanks homemadehappiness...good luck to you too!

My resolve didn't last long...I went on the grabbit board and saw an offer on free watches from New Look. I bought one, £3.99 p&p, to put aside for a Christmas present.

The only problem with buying bargains in advance for Christmas is I am expecting money at th end of Nov/beginning of Dec which I've allocated to Presents but when I see bargains now, I've no cash in budget to pay for it! Will need to pay myself back when money comes in.

A bit more about me...I work part time, and run my own business. On paper I should have plenty money left over every month but I find I'm always chasing my tail, hence the cc building up. I really want to get on top of it so I am not chasing anymore and I might actually feel like I've got spare money.

Part of the problem is that in 10 years of business, i had never actually worked out a budget. Money tends to come in in big chunks at certain points in the year, and I would just think "wow, loads of money" and spend lots for a few weeks and then realise I was going to run out before I got the next chunk. I've actually worked out a budget and can see that when I get my next chunk in January, I'll have £1800 left after bills etc. well I should have anyway.

Am going to put £1000 - £1300 into my cc and leave a bit for emergencies.

Then in April, I'll have another £600 spare which will all go to my debt.

Then between April and June ill have another £1800 spare.

So that's £3400. I will also continue making the minimum payment direct debit which is around £70 a month. So I should be nearly there with both debts by the end of May.

The 'spare' cash takes into account me paying all my share of the bills, all of my business expenses, and the £100 a week I've given myself.

If I can up my income a bit by doing a bit of extra business, i should be there.

ShopaholicNoMore

So, Monday was a no spend day

Yesterday, I used £20 from the £60 I earned on Sunday to put towards lunch and other frivolities on a family day out. Silly spending but we had a great time an I think if we don't have some treats we will go crazy.

In better news, the pot of lose change upstairs which I hoped had around £40 in it actually has around £75. This will be used to buy shoes for my DS and the rest can go towards me getting my hair done! I've also got some extra hours booked in my second job for December so that should be another £60 - £80.

Today should be a no spend day. Tomorrow I've got to pay £5.99 for my slimming class but that's it. You might say why waste money on slimming class....well if I can shift the baby weight ill get back into my old clothes and therefore save money by not buying new ones!

ShopaholicNoMore

So last week went okay...I did burst my £80 budget by £20 but it was on some shopping - milk, baby milk, nappies etc, which will carry into this week. I'm going to try and recover it this week. I've only spent £32 on shopping, £10 of which was on flowers for presents for two parties this weekend.i think I should have enough food to get us through the week.

I've also bought a few Christmas presents, some using a gift card id had for ages, some using clubcard vouchers. They were reduced in m&s so should help me with my Christmas budget...am keeping a tight rein on what I am spending and noting it all down in a chart!

I am really getting into this money saving thing...I've asked John Lewis for a price match on a buggy I want to buy there (we have vouchers) and I used quidco for the stuff I bought from m&s.

It's my dads birthday next week so need to get him a present...hopefully use a gift voucher again in a bid to save some more money. I need to stick to this budget so that I don't reach for the cc.

I filled in a rough SOA the other day and on paper, we should Have plenty money...I can't wait till this debt is gone. The £3000 I am going to pay off equates to £60 a week...if I had an extra £60 a week I'd feel loaded,