Debt Free by THIRTY!!

debtfreeby30:S

Had a couple of NSDs since the weekend and only spent £3.10 today on essential postage costs as I needed to change the addresses on a couple of licenses. :T Need to set myself a more difficult target for next month!

Had a look through my spending diary today as my credit card has reset for the next month, throughout February my spends have been as follows:

£218.49 on food and household shopping :eek:
£135.99 on hotel for Paris trip (sneaked on to the Feb spends but this was previously budgeted for)
£19.97 on 2 items from QVC which were ordered pre-money saving mode Only payment next month will be a final £8.99 and then DONE - no more!!
£3.87 on toiletries
£10 cash on petrol
£2 cash on lunch at work
£1.30 cash on parking
£0.29 cash on birthday card

Soooo... Not too awful but much room for improvement. Over £200 on food and household products is waaaay too much. I am getting on ok with the meal plans just need to make sure I'm really mindful of what I spend and where. May try going a little further afield for groceries and see if an extra 5 mins in the car results in big savings. Not bought any clothes or spent excessive amounts on toiletries though!! :j For next month I will aim for £150 on food and household and an additional £50 for other bits and pieces (getting my hair done at the end of the month plus we have a wedding to attend). Potentially I could come in below target but we'll see..

BF has started counting his NSDs too, love spreading the money saving vibes!!

debtfreeby30:S

Hmmmm feeling a bit pants today about how long I'll potentially be paying off my credit card and how that means I have to live more than sensibly. I know it's all my own fault and I should quit feeling sorry for myself as far more people have paid off far bigger debts which less complaining. Just one of those days I think! Lots of my friends seem to be doing cool things with their money and I'm just sat saying "errr no sorry I can't afford to do that" I'll be doing my own head in soon so I imagine they will stop asking shortly! Still, things will be much better in a year or so when I've paid the majority of the debt off and I have "spare" cash again.

I've had 4 NSDs while at work this week with the only spending on Wednesday being for postage to change addresses on a couple of my licences. I should be happy about that!! :j BF is doing so well with his paying off debts, he should be done and dusted pretty soon which is so good for him! Maybe then he can buy all my food and I can pay off debts even quicker haha!! Just wish things would move a little quicker cos it gets so down-heartening when balances are static and not coming down! I should quit my moaning!!

debtfreeby30:S

Ok so getting these down on the 1st of the month...

Aiming for 15 NSDs, I think you get better at these after a couple of weeks of practice so I should do this easy enough !

My groceries budget is £150 and I hope to come in below this, I won't beat myself up if I don't come in below it though as it's over £50 less than I spent last month.

I have £50 to spend on other items and this will be wiped out by my hair cut so need to basically not spend any other money!

I have a wedding at the end of March and instead of buying something new I will wear something I already have.

I need, NEED, to start running again and doing exercise in general. NO EXCUSES - got to get rid of the chub!!! :eek:

debtfreeby30:S

On a better note, paid overtime is as rare as rocking horse p*op in my job but I have just arranged to cover a couple of weekends, not until the summer mind but still I never thought I'd ever actually get paid more from work!! Looking forward to having the extra pennies to throw at the Barclaycard. Must stay positive!!!

debtfreeby30:S

Aaaaand I've just got a car insurance quote for my dream car (just out of sheer curosity and I'm thinking this may be a reward once I'm properly debt free and have proper savings) I went through TCB so am due a £1.51 payment. How often can you do this? It's a £1 through another company too so can I just click on every couple of days and bag the free money?! Something to bear in mind perhaps...

debtfreeby30:S

Hello Monday! How fast does the beginning of each week come around?!

I had a nice weekend, went to see my friends on Friday night, we had pizza and watched a film - I'd paid for tea the week before at mine so she returned the favour so nothing to spend, plus BF made sure there was petrol in the car for me so no need to fork out on travel costs Dropped in on another friend on my way home on Saturday and stayed all day cos she has 2 adorable kiddlywinks and we were just chatting away and playing games! Got fed there too so that's always a bonus! Made chicken and dumpling stew for tea when I got home, it was delish even if I do say so myself. Made extra too so that will be my dinner today :T Yesterday I actually went out for some lunch and naughtily spent £8 at the pub (on food and one drink) I haven't been out in a while though and I don't think £8 is too excessive, just means I'm going to have to cut down on spends at the supermarket a little bit more. Had to get a couple of bits and pieces in town too, toilet roll, tooth paste and the like, went to 2 different shops to make sure I got the best price and defo didn't go overboard with the brands etc I chose. I can feed us quite comfortably for the next couple of days but will need bread and milk and have next to no fresh stuff in, may go shopping tomorrow night as BF is going to watch a football match. Will get my meal plan together for then! :A
My direct debit went out today to pay my Barclaycard so I can update my signature :j means I've paid £420 off this month which is £270 more than my direct debit (which is £60 over the minimum payment anyway). At least I can see it going down a little! This month needs to be a cheap month and I need to figure out creative ways of making overpayments as I will have no spare cash from my wages. Babysteps. I will be on track to pay £3000 off the card this year though come March payday as I will hit 26.8% paid which is just over a quarter of the amount and we'll be a quarter of the way through the year. Thinking positive is the key!!!

debtfreeby30:S

NB - I am yet to go running. SORT IT OUT!!!

PinkPepperPot

Wow, nice one for paying £420 off! That's great work :T

You seem to be good at budgeting for your groceries each month. Do you take cash out at the beginning of the month or just keep track of everything you spend? Me and my OH always pop into shops for groceries and come out spending more than we needed to. It's too easy just to hand over a card so I think I am going to start withdrawing a certain amount of money each month as watching cash disappear would not be so easy!

Have you got something you could do to get yourself motivated with the running? The weather is getting nicer and the evenings lighter now so hopefully that will help

debtfreeby30:S

Hello PPP thanks for dropping by!

The £420 will be offset by the smaller £150 payment next month but I'm still on target for paying off £3000 this year so I shouldn't beat myself up I never have cash on me, I use a cashback credit card (claimed £30 last month and have another £15 ready to claim this time around - great for Christmas spends!) which is cleared every single payday and I have an maximum allowance of £300 per month for spends in my (somewhat tight) budget. Means I have to be pretty strict with myself which I'll be honest doesn't always work. If I'm to make regular overpayments on my Barclaycard I have to come in under the £300 limit per month. Bit of a balancing act! I find my spending diary is my new best friend and I've been really trying hard with the meal planning. It does get to the point where there is no fresh stuff in and we're eating out of the freezer but we're doing ok so far! I'm certainly not starving or anything! Popping to the supermarket was one of my biggest downfall areas (plus magazines!) and I'm sure food bills would account for a large part of my credit card bills! :eek: I hope your debt paying is going well, I had a quick nosey yesterday, hope you are feeling better than Sunday!!

As for the running I just need to get my a** into gear - I know I enjoy it after the first couple of weeks (although I did a marathon last year and it was the definition of pure hell and I've not run since then!) My motivation should be that I'm a chubby little chub!!!

Just completed a couple of VO surveys this morning, it seems to have been a while since I've got accepted on any but I'm 5p away from another £10 voucher!! Woop! Money on the brain aaaaalllll the time. In a years time and things will be so much better, a year is not long!!!

debtfreeby30:S

Not too much to report - a couple more NSDs although yesterday was not one of them as it was raining and my feet got soggy on the way to work so I thought I should really invest in some new shoes! Allowed a massive £9.99 purchase on a pair from Shoezone , wore them for the rest of the day and only started pinching on my way home. I'll throw some plasters on when I wear them again next week!

Spent £62.29 at the supermarket too which will hopefully cover us for the majority of the month, will just need to pick up some fresh bits and pieces. I've been trying really hard to watch what I'm eating at the moment (seeing as though my running plan is going nowhere at all), think it's making me tired though as I'm knackered and falling asleep come 9pm Still I'll feel better for it in the end if some of the chub disappears!

Going to the cinema tonight, BF's treat and will hopefully have a nice chilled weekend not doing a whole lot! He's off tomorrow but working Sunday so get the day to myself!