New Life, My DFW Diary!

Lucy1982_2

Hi Lisa.

I already take a packed lunch to work, I generally go to Sainsbury's with the intention of just walking there and not buying anything :rotfl: But always end up spending money!! :eek: I think I need to find a new thing to do to get me out of the office.

I don't actually go to the pub all that often. maybe a couple of times a week max, sometimes never. The problem is my friends insist on rounds which can make it expensive especially as I rarely drink alcohol.

Your right I do want to enjoy myself while I pay off my debt, but I am trying to find ways of doing this cheaply. Money's going to be a bit tight this month as I had my car tax due, I had to pay the deposit on my car insurance, my car needs servicing at the end of june (I might push this back until the end of July) and I'm trying to pay another £50 off my overdraft without going further into it. I have a music festival I'm going to with my boyfriend in a couple of weeks, which I think is about £10 to get in. I'm going to suggest that I make us a picnic or something as food at these things is always expensive. Although as it doesn't start until after lunch a huge meal then might be an idea.

But I am not going to go to sainsbury's today. I've made myself a huge salad and I'm going to sit and eat that. I have a team meeting this morning so will raid the free biscuits so I don't buy a snack later.

Here's a copy of my updated SOA. All of my savings kick in next month so this is based on that:

SOA

Income Avg: £1,044.58

Outgoings:

Rent - £207.50
Contact Lens - £10.00
RAC - £9.90
Car Insurance - £32.38
Petrol - £80.00
Phone - £25.00
Debt - £467.34
Living allowance - £60.00
Overdraft payment - £50.00

Total - £942.12

Debts:

Lloyds TBS loan 1 - £8,357.87 (APR 7.8%) min - £242.82
Lloyds TBS loan 2 - £761.25 (APR 16.9%) min - £101.85
Bed - £249.33 (APR 0%) - £22.67 fixed payment
Style card - £441.59 (APR 24.9%) min - 4%

Sorry it's a bit long, but any advise is appreciated. I know I have spare money but I just disappears, I think I need to follow my own advice and start a spending diary!!

Thanks

Lucy1982_2

I should just point out that I live with my Mum so rent includes everything!

Becks_in_Debt

Lucy1982 wrote: »

Hi Lisa.

I already take a packed lunch to work, I generally go to Sainsbury's with the intention of just walking there and not buying anything :rotfl: But always end up spending money!! :eek: I think I need to find a new thing to do to get me out of the office.

I don't actually go to the pub all that often. maybe a couple of times a week max, sometimes never. The problem is my friends insist on rounds which can make it expensive especially as I rarely drink alcohol.

Your right I do want to enjoy myself while I pay off my debt, but I am trying to find ways of doing this cheaply. Money's going to be a bit tight this month as I had my car tax due, I had to pay the deposit on my car insurance, my car needs servicing at the end of june (I might push this back until the end of July) and I'm trying to pay another £50 off my overdraft without going further into it. I have a music festival I'm going to with my boyfriend in a couple of weeks, which I think is about £10 to get in. I'm going to suggest that I make us a picnic or something as food at these things is always expensive. Although as it doesn't start until after lunch a huge meal then might be an idea.

But I am not going to go to sainsbury's today. I've made myself a huge salad and I'm going to sit and eat that. I have a team meeting this morning so will raid the free biscuits so I don't buy a snack later.

Here's a copy of my updated SOA. All of my savings kick in next month so this is based on that:

SOA

Income Avg: £1,044.58

Outgoings:

Rent - £207.50
Contact Lens - £10.00
RAC - £9.90
Car Insurance - £32.38
Petrol - £80.00
Phone - £25.00
Debt - £467.34
Living allowance - £60.00
Overdraft payment - £50.00

Total - £942.12

Debts:

Lloyds TBS loan 1 - £8,357.87 (APR 7.8%) min - £242.82
Lloyds TBS loan 2 - £761.25 (APR 16.9%) min - £101.85
Bed - £249.33 (APR 0%) - £22.67 fixed payment
Style card - £441.59 (APR 24.9%) min - 4%

Sorry it's a bit long, but any advise is appreciated. I know I have spare money but I just disappears, I think I need to follow my own advice and start a spending diary!!

Thanks

Hi Lucy, i work that out to be you should be left with £102.46 each month, where does this go? I would suggest doing a Spendin Diary, I personally dont do one, but I am going to start, I have read throughout many post people doing them and beleive that people are shockd as to where the money goes.

I am with you on the going to the pub, I am lucky most of my friends never have much money so we always suggest just buying our own drink's when we go pub as I only ever drink coke and usually make a small coke last 2 hrs. I used to be a nightmare before I had debt when we went out clubbing, I used to buy rounds between me and my best mate and nobody ever repaid the favour, we both love shots, generally when we go out now just me and him buy rounds, but when I have had a few a tend to go to the bar and buy us a shot each and another alcoholc drink or 2/3 shots at a time, he is a bad influence on me, I like to stick to shots as they get me drunk quicker so in thoery I spend less. normally regret it the next morning.

Lucy1982_2

Just had a very boring team meeting without free biscuits!! :mad: But I am sat at my desk with my packed lunch :A feeling very good about it.

Becks.

I think the key for me is just not to go to the pub or just buy my own drinks, it's not so bad if it's just 2 of you but any more and it's stupid. I'm going to start the spending diary. I'm also going to challenge myself to spend nothing and lunches and as little as possible on things I don't need.

We'll have to see what happens. I know where some of the cash has gone this month. I didn't have anything in my savings to cover my car tax. But never mind!

Lucy1982_2

Ok, just joined the unnecessary challenge and I've re-worked my budgets to show this. I'm going to work really hard to stick at it as I will really help this month I think.

I've worked out the including the money i have already wasted (sorry spent) this month and the further £30 to get me through to pay day (sticking to the challenge of course) I have about £30 sat in my account. Now I have a 30th birthday party and a music festival to go to, which this £30 will have to pay for. Unless I'm good have have NSD all the time

Now I have already put aside £50 to pay off my overdraft which I WILL NOT touch! The 30th is at the rugby club so v. very cheap soft drinks (about 80p for a coke or 20p for blackcurrent cordial) So I will drive which means hopefully this will come in at under £5 leaving me £25 for the festival. Everything else is budgeted for and I just wont go to me dance classes this month, I pay weekly when I do so it doesn't matter.

Assuming I stick to the above and nothing else crops up I should remain on target to be less overdraft on payday :T

Thank God for the challenge, I'll keep a spending diary to see where I spend money and hopefully this will come down next month and I'll have even more money to pay off my overdraft :j It's all very exciting!! But if I can bring my living allowance (waste money) down to £40 a month that'll be great.

Keep smiling everyone we can do this x

atypicalblonde

Hi Lucy hunny just catching up with your thread. You are doing so so well attacking your debts, but my only slight concern is that I dont want you to be depriving yourself of too many things, which may inevitably lead to a blow out because you feel burnt out after a few months. We may be in debt, but we are still allowed treats, we are only human after all.

The unnecessary challenge is great, but please dont be too hard on yourself if you do have the odd treat or too, you are doing really well xx

Lucy1982_2

I know. I tend to get a little excited about it all sometimes. But I was thinking about it and my first thought was to not go to the music festival (but OH really wants me there) second thought was to take a picnic and make my own food. But looking at the budget I thought, will it kill me to spend a little on myself this month?

But I do need to get my weekly spending down. I tend to spend money on nothing. Although saying that I know were some of the money has gone, best friends birthday, car tax etc. So I'm not to worried about it.

The only thing I am a little worried about is clothes. I've lost loads of weight and I'm just about to drop into the next dress size and have no money for clothes. But on a good point I have cut up the first of my store cards and cancelled it so I can't spend on it any more!!! :T

But I'm going to be really good this month and kick start my spending diary, find out where I'm wasting money and cut it for next month that way I might be able to do some clothes shopping.

But you'll soon know if I'm about to blow out!

Lucy1982_2

Hello Everyone.

Hope we all had good bank holiday weekends. Well I had a real money saving weekend and didn't spend a thing :T . Well I had to put petrol in my car, but this is in my monthly budget.

I also had money to put aside from last weeks £10 challenge which goes with the £13 I already had put aside (£16 in total). I've decided to keep any spare cash I come across at home ready for weekends when I need it. So far I have managed to put aside money for the music festival, I'm just working on the spending money at the moment. But as OH and I decided to just go to the evening bit I don't need to worry about food, just a few drinks :j I'm going to try and spend as little of this weeks £10 so that I can buy drinks at the birthday party I'm going to on friday. So at the moment I am feeling a lot less stressed about it all.

I've got some money being transfered from my Amazon account today so that's another £13.54 towards my overdraft. And I have also solved the clothing issue. It's my birthday in June and as Mum didn't know what to get me she took me shopping on Sunday. So I have loads of new clothes and I only have to wait until my birthday to get them :T

So still feeling good about everything I don't feel like I'm about to blow out at the moment and I've very impressed with myself as this is the first bank holiday that I've not spent any money. Oh didn't spend a huge amount either. We stayed in and only went out for lunch yesterday. So all in all a good weekend if a little wet!

I hate the rain and it's beautiful here this morning :mad: typical.

Keep smiling

Lucy1982_2

I was just sat at my desk wondering why the 29th of May was ringing a bell. I always worry about what I have forgotten to do when this happens. Then I worked it out.

I should have got married 3 years ago today. But we split up 3 months before the wedding day and I blame him for all of my money problems. I took out my first loan to cover the wedding, he couldn't get credit and while I've added to it in the last 3 years I would never have taken out a loan on my own.

All in all not a good day. But things are looking better I'm paying off the debt I have a wonderful OH although it's still early days. Things really do get better don't they.

ifstar

No point in looking backwards Lucy, you are probably in a much better place now than you were 3 years ago (both financially and in your everyday life) and you sound like you have learned from the past.