Driving debt down

shannys_taxi_driver

Hello everyone,

Never had my own diary before so I'm not sure how it's going to go but we shall see.

As you can see from my signature I've been around a while and have made a good start on getting my debt down.

The good news is that I have managed by some miracle and without any real plan managed to reduce it despite going on holidays / visiting family etc.

The bad news is it's been getting harder and harder the last few years due to my salary being frozen, my pension contributions being forced up and of course the household bills and train tickets increasing amazingly fast.

So, I've started to budget for the first time ever, I bought all my family's christmas presents last month dirt cheap, have started planning the weeks meals (and sticking to it!), somehow I've even managed to persuade the future Mrs to ease her addiction to M&S lol.

Sorry the post is so long, I hope I haven't bored you too much.

Michael

Lois49

Hi. You are doing well so far. Keep it up.

shannys_taxi_driver

Thanks Lois49

Today will be a nice lazy day and should be the first NSD of the month hopefully.

My tasks for today are:

1. Write all my Christmas cards (then I'm all prepared for the big day)
2. Clean my desk top computer and hoover the laptop. - done
3. Clean the windows - two out of three done
4. A mystery shop in a pub, if we're careful to get it within the payment it will be an NSD. - done, was more expensive than I thought but the future Mrs paid the extra so it's still an NSD for me :-)

Waiting for an answer from the same mystery shop company over the payment for a ten pin bowling task also, it doesn't cover the task they set so the future Mrs is being cheeky and asking them to increase the payment. If they do we'll be going ten pin bowling also, if not there's always the wii .

shannys_taxi_driver

So, today I did most of the tasks I set myself (see above).

Managed the first NSD of the month, good to get one early. Tomorrow won't be a no spend day since I need to get some supplies from Tescos for work on the way in.

shannys_taxi_driver

Morning all,

Nothing new to report really apart from work are doing another round of voluntary redundancies so I'm thinking of applying again. The money would clear my debts and leave me with some cash to retrain in a profession I could enjoy. No guarantee I'd get it but surely is worth another go.

My one concern is that when I've applied for it before, I set my heart on leaving so got really down when I got turned down for it, mainly because my promotion prospects there are non existent and I feel trapped there.

Also the cheekiness paid off and we're going ten pin bowling on wednesday in a mystery shop, which should be fun.

Another bit of good news is I've got a voucher for £20 off a £60 spend in ocado, so will have to look later in the week to see if that can help my budget, not sure how much more expensive their food is.

Hopefully NSD 2 today also.

Michael

ps turns out I had quite a bit to report after all...:rotfl:

shannys_taxi_driver

Well, I got NSD2 in the bag, done a few surveys also.

NSD3 will hopefully happen tomorrow even though we're doing that mystery shop.

Fudgefund

Well done on the NSDs:T

I am in the same position as you, so I'm guessing you work for a Local Authority. It's terrible, they didn't let me go on the last round of voluntary redundancies either, but I'm pretty sure my whole department is going to go at some point in the next three years anyway. I'm also wondering if I have the nerve to leave, and whether they'll let me go this time. On top of the pay freeze and the general level of negativity, it's not good. Try not to let it get you down, and think about how much freer you'll feel when your finances are sorted.

shannys_taxi_driver

Thanks Fudgefund, our positions do sound very familar. This government seems hellbent on treading on every civil servant as much as possible.

I did get very down not too long ago, but now I've taken control again, I'm gradually increasing how much I'm doing to save money and it feels good.

I bought a small freezer last month for our tiny kitchen which has already made a big difference on the spending.

shannys_taxi_driver

NSD number 3 and 2nd in a row today.

Went on a mystery shop to a bowling alley, which was great fun, I beat the future Mrs in both games though both our performances were abysmal lol.

shannys_taxi_driver

Hello everyone,

Been a spendy day today unfortunately, had to pay for the Christmas meal at work (£22.95 but I've just joined a new team so thought it's the best way to get to know them) and also ordered the weekly shop to be delivered on Saturday using a voucher worth £20, so I've got a £60 shop coming for £40, not bad at all. :money:

Should be NSD 4 tomorrow hopefully, need it after today.

Michael

shannys_taxi_driver

It's been a few days since my last visit, but since Thursday I've managed to get some overtime on Saturday(wont get paid that till the end of January unfortunately) and NSDs yesterday and today.

Been trying to get some more mystery shops but been getting very frustrated with the stingy amounts on offer and inability for the companies to negotiate.