Debty Bettys Brave New World

Debty_Betty_2

Thank u for your support SC

Another no spend day today - I guess i know i have reached my true lightbulb moment because the actual amount i owe is really sinking in and i realise paying it back is not going to be quick, but instead a long hard journey.

On a positive note i am actually getting used to having no money to spend. I used to kid myself that i had loads of money and when people couldnt afford to come out for a meal or buy a second drink i would say "dont worry its on me" so that they would feel happy. I used to cash out £50 and chuck it in my bag, then spend it and not even know what on. Strangely enough on some level i actually feel more organised with my money now and am not wasting it anymore. My £10 note is still sitting neatly in my purse since sunday.

I used to spend alot of money on birthday presents too - i have a family birthday celebration soon and am going to make this my turning point to buying smaller gifts for family members and no gifts for friends and colleagues! It is going to feel very strange but if it means i can pay this money back quicker then it will have to be done!

I am also missing my phone like crazy and it has only been one day, but i know not taking it with me today has saved me money - i will have to be more organised with my free minutes next month!

x

Debty_Betty_2

spent £1 on a lottery ticket 2day

GirlRacer_2

Well done on all your efforts debty betty. How's it going with the phone? I know what you mean when you say your missing it, I'd be he same. Persevere with it though, as I said I used to have really high bills but with a bit of discipline it really can be done. My bills are still higher than I'd like, but my contract was up last month and I managed to renegotiate the same amount of minutes and texts for half the price, so I'm hoping that'll make a difference. Keep going girl, you'll get there x

Conor_3

Just remember to take the advice given out many times - pay the highest rate cards off first.

Assuming you're not massively worried about a credit rating hit, why not write to your lenders and see if they'll freeze the interest for a while and take set monthly payments?

As for presents, if it's for the girlies, why not do some hand made jewellery?

Debty_Betty_2

Thanks GirlRacer - still missing my moby like crazy, brought it to work yesterday but turned it off and left it at the bottom of my bag. This was a trial to see if I could be trusted to carry it with me without using it ( so that i have it in case or emergency) I seemed to go ok yesterday but to be honest i get to addicted so will probably try and go cold turkey for the next few days until my new minutes come on. I get quite a few free minutes and texts included in my £15 so i dont really have any excuse. i just need to shut up as you suggested LOL

Conner - thanks for you message I will definately pay the highest first, i am in the process of switching things around a bit because i got a letter about a balance transfer with very low rates. I will update my situation with an soa by the end of this weekend. Also good suggestion about the jewelery will look into it.

Debty_Betty_2

Just checked my bank account and got £100 paid in from my mobile phone company from redemption vouchers YAY

Also been doing a bit of filing today so that it will be easier to find the info for my SOA and came across a certificate for a few shares - i looked them up and they are worth about £270, i phoned the company and asked about cashing them in and they asked if i had a certificate for them, although i had the original certificate they reckon they sent a updated version a couple of years ago which i never recieved. I spoke to a manager and explained i never recieved an updated certificate and they said they do not take responsiblity for that and that a replacement will cost £50 and it will cost about £12 to sell the shares. Should i just sell them so that i have more money to add to my debt or is it worth writing to them and having a rant?

Also found £100 of gift vouchers in my box of bills and statements that i had recieved for my birthday, christmas and last birthday, I had collected them together to buy something bigger for myself.

Today when i found them I decided to go and buy something for my relative with some of them. As i said before i normally spend alot on family presents but decided that i would only buy a small gift this time so that i would have lots of vouchers left for the other birthdays that comes up YAY - I am bit worried about handing the present over though, because it is much smaller than any present i have given in the past. I guess I should remember that its the thought that counts and that I dont have the money to buy large presents. I had to break the habit sometime and that time is now - i want my debt gone!

Anyway off to go and cook some dinner and then put my soa together - no takeaways for me tonight xxx
xx

chevalier

Hi Debty well done on taking charge of your finances. Ref the presents. If someone comments (and get your bf on side about this), you could tell them you are saving to buy a house.

Hope you can keep up the good work. And look forward to seeing your SOA!
chev

Debty_Betty_2

Great idea Chevalier, I have spoken to my bf and he is on side so we have our story

I am feeling a bit more organised now that I have filed all my bank statements and bills into a folder. I have looked through the statements and notice lots of cash machine withdrawals and spending in Tesco and restaurants.

I have been on the £10 a week challenge for the last 2 weeks and found it has made me realise how much money I been wasting.

Before my light bulb moment - Each day I used to spend £10 on cabs and £4 on bus fares, about £10 on lunch and snacks and even though I had shopping at home would go to restaurants or get takeaways and treat friends and family. I have also been terrible with my mobile phone as well as using all my free minutes and texts I ran up bills of £100-£200

I have now used a travel pass for the last two weeks which costs me £53.80 per month and I can use it whenever I want so it has been very good value for money. I have taken lunches to work, cooked at home and cancelled my gym membership

Debty_Betty_2

My SOA - please note i have cancelled gym membership and magazines, cabs, and am trying to do the £10 a week challenge.

Monthly Incomings: My salary - £1,540

The figures below are what I pay from my wages
Mortgage/Rent – £330 this is my half
Council Tax - £45 (this is only my half my bf pays other £45)
Gas - £15 (this is only my half my bf pays other £15)
Electric - £20 (this is only my half my bf pays other £20)
TV License - £5.50p (this is only my half my bf pays other £5.50p
Phone, internet and TV £35 (this is only my half my bf pays other £35.00p)
Mobile - £30 (this works out to be half price when send in redemption vouchers)
Food - £100 (My bf also puts in £100 towards food)
Loan - £370 (all mine)
Credit card £64 (all mine)
Credit card £55 (all mine)
Credit card £20 (all mine)
Pet food £15 (all mine)
Travel £50.80 (all mine)
Money for my purse to spend from now on £50 per month

MY DEBT AT LIGHT BULB MOMENT - I am moving the credit card debt to better interest rates so will update you as soon as this is done.

Credit Card 1 £ 2,698 at 6.95% for life time of balance
Credit Card 2 £ 2,663 at 27.9% aghhhhhhhh (this will be switched to lower interest tomorrow morning)
Credit Card 3 £ 5,000 at 15% As of now this is on 12% for the lifetime of the balance
Overdraft £ 1,500 at 15.9% i aim to pay this first

I will continue to pay the required loan payment each month for the loan below and try and throw the rest of my money at the cards above.
Personal loan £20K I know this is around 8.9%

Debty_Betty_2

spent £8 yesterday on part of a takeaway including drink (although this was within my £10 budget i still felt a bit wierd spending money on something unnecessary)

Anyway took this weeks £10 out of the bank and had another no spend day today