oh my life...... Light Bulb moment.

PlymouthDad

Hey Mimi, just saying hello and well done with your journey so far. I am in a terrible mess and have just started out on here. Just read your thread and Its comforting to know I'm not the only one in a wee bit 'o trouble, mind you I owe nearly 50k.But with support on here I hope to keep seeing that number get lower and lower

OverRated

MiMi66 wrote: »

I looked over the benefits of other paid for accounts and opted for the level down which offers things that I need and curently would have to pay for - Mobile phone insurance, European holiday cover (maybe dreaming a bit there hey), Experien membership (I would be paying £8 for this currently monthly - I'd signed up for the free month last week to review my horror credit) and Love film which I pay £4.99 a month for now. So a new account covering those things is £10 a month - saving me 2.99 from current amount, and also 4.99 for Lovefilm, £8 for Experien (mind you I would have cancelled this), and gives the mobile phone cover and also some holiday cover should I be lucky enough to wraggle something VERY cheap (likely a tent I think - probably about 20 miles away but hey I am not fussy). SO I think overall I will save about £7.98 a month and that is without the Experien membership.

Hello :wave:

Just read the thread and your doing so well! Reading threads like this really help push me to deal with my own debts. So thank you!

I wanted to ask you about your bank account fee and if you are actually getting value from it?

For example rather than paying for Experian I use noodle which gives you a free online credit report just like the paid version of Experian does.

Lovefilm is amazing for saving money (stops us going out spending money) but I try to plan ahead so if for a particular month I wont be using it (for example I cancelled as the weather started to change) to save a little extra.

Also for the holiday cover what does it provide you (especially if it's a break away in the UK - even then EU cover is reasonably cheap)

Does the mobile insurance provide the level of cover actually needed? Based on the rest is it actually worth £10 per month?


Only posting to see if I can help. If the account is right for you then heck go for it but wanted to check

PommeVerte

Hello Mimi,

Just read the first 4 pages of your thread (haven't got time to finish, need to get out to work - i'm a nurse too!) inspiring stuff ! You've done a great job so far, and it sounds like you're a brilliant mum too

I'll finish the thread tomorrow, i'm looking forward to following your progress, keep up the good work !

Pomme :beer:

MiMi66

Hi Plymouth Dad and Pommeverte,

Thanks for reading and also for the feedback - nice to know that we are all supportive of one another.

Debt is on one hand as comon as muck and then the other it is so painfully individual - bit like a divorce I think :-)

Hi Over rated - my thought s are mirroring yours on my bank account. Ashamed to say I haven't even taken up the option of Lovefilm - but did cancel our household membership. ALso no European Holidays this year! Ha what a surprise :-? The phone cove ris worth it - I haven't beenable to find insurance for less than £10 a month to cover mine, so on that alone it is good. Mind you I shall look again and review it all soon.

Ah, Mum's birthday was ok - a potentail family disaster was overted - always good, and I spent about £60 in total, doesn't cover much does it... And the best thing - all paid in cash:-)

Trying to wean off credit card use....easy in the first half of the month - shockingly hard in the second half..... I am trying to cut in it down month on month though.

I am very excited about the project 'Vintage Bike'!! I have mentioned this haven't I a few posts ago? I was groaning about the bad timing of the find of a frame, at a time of no cash - I am all flow at the moment - cash comes in and cash goes out, without hardly a pause:-) Brilliant cash flow one could say! Anyway the bike, she will be beautiful by the time she is done - I have chosen the colour now - Honey Suckle Blush (pale rosy crream colour). Anyone who is curious take a google at Claude Butler Mixte vintage frames on the net and have a peak at restored ones.... I am obsessed:-) Nice to have something to focus on other than debt repayment. I am doing an extra shift while on leave this week - this will go to the bike restoration kitty....I am determined that it will all be done in cash.

Now - a week off work and free fun to find - fortunately my son has had a lovely good mate move just a street away so they are happy with one anothers company - hanging out gaming, playing tennis on the school courts, (we live just a few doors away from school), cruising PC World (14 year old geeks - love them - My son's teacher said that he and his friends puts the cool into geekiness - I thought that was a nice thing to say) and I hope to get them away hiking on Exmoor or maybe a few days camping on Dartmoor. Maybe not this week but I've got two weeks off at the end of August, so maybe then.


My daughter is packing the work in at her job with extra hours over the summer - she's self funding a trip to Bestival on the Isle of Wight in Sept, and has won a place to go to a Rotary Club exchange (for free) in Germany in late August for 10 days - needless to say - she is happy....I am so proud of her taking hold of being an independent young woman and getting on with life challenges and making it all happen for herself. Cluck cluck. All bodes well for University next year after a gap year now. (She did brilliantly in her exams - good enough for Oxbridge....more clucking going on here....)

MiMi66

Just had an email from Sainsbury's energy - Gas monthly DD has increased by £20 to £74 a month - must try to get that down. Electriciity has gone down by £3 to £43 a month - not enough to conter balance the loss.

I am losing the first child benefit this month to as my daughter hits the threshold age to adulthood - odd that the government considers them adults at 18 but the CAS says parents must support their children til they are 20?

I think I will have to review my mobile phone contract - will go into Orange this week as I think I am not using the full package at all.
3 and a half weeks to pay day and then the magic under £20000 mark - I CANNOT WAIT! So hoping I do not get any unexpected outlays in the next few weeks.

I dropped some clothes into a 50/50 shop yesterday - fingers crossed for a little bit of money from that - I want to take my son out for some new bits of clothes so I am hoping that will part cover his bits.

Though I am having to try and think about new glasses - varifocals with prisms make for an expensive outlay - things are starting to look a bit blurry so I just have to figure a way to cover that cost. Next month or October I think as School uniform has to come first.

Can I say that I am loving my new fridge having now gotten over the shock of having to pay out for one - she is very lovely and quiet generally and clean...... I would reccommend Gorenje as a brand if any one is looking at replacing a dying fridge.

Frugal living hey - what fun it is :-? - like going back to a by gone era.... Maybe not a bad thing to some extent but worrying about cash all the time cannot be good for a person.

I have another extra shift booked for early September and hope to get one in August too - Can't do to much though as I will drop with working fulltime already. This is all with the aim of project bike (my love.... seeing as I am a mad cat woman already with no man - I shall ride a bike and just complete the picture of and eccentric middle aged woman...purple here I come!)

If I can cope with doing an extra shift every few weeks I shall do so and put it straight to savings for Christmas and next years summer. The Debt plan will stay the same and if windfall should happen I would make a payment to bring that down a bit more. Ah plots and plans hey....

wannabee_in_credit

Good luck with it all

Our gas dd doubled this month from £40 to £80 which has devastated me. But we've run up arrears on the account, thanks to the fact that we needed the heating on well into April this year. We just have to suck it up for the time being.

August too is my most expensive month - me off work and entertaining the kids full time.

MiMi66

Thanks Wanna be.... Aren't gas prices mad - I am the same - the long winter has to be paid for - I really will try to keep the heating off as long as possible this year - fingers crossed we don't have another long harsh winter. Still heating along with food and clothes, school costs and getitng about - thats what all this is about isn't it - we work to survive I guess - being really basic about it. Anything else acheived is good fortune and money management stretching far enough.



I am feeling a little bit pleased with myself - I know that my overall debt has only dimished by £1600~ (LBM) or £2600 ~ (from worst point), but what I haven't done is make it worse. I know I did do one balance transfer of new debt in that - but overall I have cut back enough to not build up more debt which prior to all this I was merrily doing at the rate of on average £400-500 a month. So I've stopped that and paid money back. Smug me, pat on the back me. £20369 to go.....

It has meant that we rarely rarely eat out and if so it is CHEAP. Clothing has been the big thing that I have cut back on. Food I find harder being a ethically driven gourmet....ridiculous isn't it - I should just eat from Tesco and get on with it.... I am trying to be good with the food budget and not overspend but it is the weak point in my money managment now. I've even weaned myself away from Amazon to a must more reasonable level - no more impulse purchases.

I just hope I can keep up the payments back and acheive my end of year goal of £18300 debt remaining.

Right off to get a few groceries now - Lidl's actually - they tend toget local fruit and veg in when they can.

MiMi66

One of the things I am most struggling with is how to budget my remaining money over the month to cover food, petrol, clothes and incidentals. Just did my receipts and somehow I must have miscalculated. Grim tidings. I've £70. To cover three weeks plus I've got £200 in rainy day account. This is bad news for the holiday period - rude words. My using credit card has a statement date of the 14th so I can use that after that date as I have used it a little this month and to use it any more this side of the 14th would present me with a bill too big to pay next month. So I can cover food and fuel til the 14th on £70, probably get away with £30 as cupboards stocked and just need a bit of diesel til then. Then I can do food and fuel for two weeks on the dreaded CC us school uniform - that can be paid off with end of Sept pay. I am aiming to only use this card on a pay off in total month by month basis. If I need to dip into rainy day fund I will have to I guess. Bum.


Where is my money fairy?? Don't you just hate personal responsibility!

judi24

Just wanted to say hello MiMi66! We have lots of similarities too! I'm a nurse, single mum with 4 kids (21,20,11,9) all living at home - I have £15.5 k debt between CC's and a loan and many of your struggles sound like mine! will be subscribing and cheering you along hoping for some inspiration! Hard going sometimes this life business!

wannabee_in_credit

Good luck sorting it MiMi. School holidays (and uniform) are so costly aren't they? I think the plan is fair enough - £70 is nowhere near enough for 3 weeks.
I have a cc for the same emergency stuff, and had to dip into it over May when too much stuff required too much money at once. It's paid back now.