Paying off debts by taking money saving to the extreme.

415SanFran

Just a question fairyface, are you concentrating on one particular dept at a time, or are you paying them all a little more each month?
Have you had a look at the "Make X amount in November Challenge". That may help you to stay on track.

Isn't it strange that when we feel very low and feel like a good cry something comes along to make us smile, like your lucky neighbour bringing you the bits before her holiday, sometimes though a good cry is what is needed, and we do feel better for it.
Take care x

[Deleted User]

Hi Fran thanks for your replie, Hi I am not paying one a time I have to make the mininmum payments but trying to do a little bit more, well the auction didnt go well came home early nothing decent to make money on, stopped in the supermarket just looking for reductions, came home with reduced meat and bread and a few value products, only spent £28 instead of around the £100 mark, still going through stores, making a pizza tonight and having it with a salad, off to work later, just gonna check ebay now to see if my selling limit has increased yet, until later take care.

Valli

Morning Fairyface

I notice you have commented you are making the minimum payments on your debts but I am wondering what you are doing with the extra? Are you throwing all that at one particular debt with the aim of wiping it out altogether or spreading the money around. If it were me I would be focussing on one debt only to use the extra payment for. I would EITHER choose the smallest debt, to get rid altogeher (psychological boost IYSWIM) or I would be throwing all my extras at the most expensive debt.
Also I would be sending the extra payments as soon as I could, as that too will shave pennies off the debt (and, of course every penny less you owe means less interest is being charged).

Igamogam

fairyface wrote: »

I took dog out this morning found 4p and a new box of matches, like Tesco say every litte helps:)

Roadkill - the best sort of saving;) We keep all our road kill in a jar and use it towards a Christmas treat:)

Think I may well employ my own version of Thriftyniftyme idea of graph paper

newgirly

Hi Ilona, another fan of yours here :hello: I have been enjoying catching up with the last few years of your blog and have left a comment a few times, keep up the positive moneysaving!

frugalqueen_2

hello - thanks for the mentions xxxx you have to strip life to what you need to survive and live simply and walk away from consumerism. i was in debt, paid it all back and now i'm paying off my huge mortgage. every time i want to feel very rich, i count my blessings xxxx love frugal queen

Mrs_Vimes

Hi everyone. I'm really enjoying this thread. My partner was made redundant over 2 years ago. This website and the old style forum helped us make the most of what we have, changed how I shopped and taught me life skills at the age of fortyish I wish that I had when I was just starting out.
I found that charity shops in certain areas were brilliant for work clothes. For example N**t and M*S blouses for a around a fiver or less.


Frugal Queen I love reading your column every day!

makeyourdaddyproud

Another tip is the veritable throw-away razor. Instead of paying £2 for a bunch of 5, get an old-style clamp type razor with a release hodder for the old fashioned blades and use them. I pay about £10 for 200 Derby (5p each), and they have 2-3 uses per blade.

I bought a collectable 1940's Gillette razor 5 years ago which is still going strong. I have to shave 4 times per week and its a great saving.

In fact, there is a SuperMax brand costing just £6 for 200 on ebay at the moment.

Regards.

Smiley_Mum

When I have a bath I just run the bath for a set amount of time, flat out my hot tap puts out around 10 litres of water a minute. I run the bath for around 4 minutes, hot only. My combi boiler is set on the economy setting and when finished, I turn it back to minimum. We don't have a shower, but we do share bath water for 1 adult and 2 little people. When doing dishes, I use a kettle of water to wash them and then a kettle of water to rinse them. Try and wash off as much as you can off the dishes with cold water, before washing them up in hot. I've not put heating on, occasional day for an hour, but apart from that not had it on. It's gets too stuffy and my throat gets sore. I layer up and put fluffy socks on when indoors. I make soup in a slow cooker, set it at the lowest setting, four hours and then it is on a stay warm setting. If you go shopping late you can get veg cheap to make soup. Groceries and utlities I've managed to reduce, just by menu planning and using up everything in the cupboards. Used to just shop and top up every day but now I run the cupboards down. It's amazing how inventive you can be when you force yourself to use what you have in, rather than just nipping to the shop and spending another couple of quid. We ran the freezer and the cupboards down over the hols and the kids were teasing me that they could actually see the back of the cupboards for once. All the best with getting your debt paid down. You can do it.

makeyourdaddyproud

Also, don't forget appliances on stand by. Boiling a kettle unnecessarily full, radiators on too high.

Thankfully we are well off and have no debts but still keep resource usage down.

Someone commented earlier about volume discounts on rice. If you use alot of herbs, you can buy these from independant asian shops for a fraction cheaper (avoid all the Swartz? spices and herbs, they're pricey).

You can even grow your own: I grow parsley, rosemary, thyme and oregano. With exception to the former, all are 'hardy' and do not need potting in a greenhouse.

Need I say growing tomatoes (although water hungry), is a good one for those that like, well... tomatoes.

Cars: Get the most economical, we have a Corsa, which is economical and cheap to insure and tax.

Combined insurance: M&S policies have been consistently cheaper than the competition if you have buildings, contents and car cover together.

When I think of more, I will post them.