Catriona's Credit Card Countdown 21 February 2013 at 7:45PM edited 15 March 2013 at 9:41PM in Debt Free Diaries 680 replies 54.4K views

catriona79

Hello and good morning,

Is everyone doing well ?
I have paid off a bit more of the debt. It's much slower than I had hoped but hey ho, it's progress...
The totals are below:

Barclaycard 1 - £200, new total £3200
Barclaycard 2 - £150, new total £6350
First Direct CC - £100, new total £2900
Lloyds TSB CC - £100, new total £1900
Ikano bed loan - £94.5, new total £0
HSBC CC – £411/£411 new total £0

The new total is :eek::eek::eek: £14350 :eek::eek::eek:


So we are moving in the right direction, albeit slowly...

amyc92

You sound like your doing very well!!! Well done xx

karmachilovething

Well done making those payments! All progress is good progress!

Hope you had a good easter!
KC

catriona79

It's pay day soon, it's pay day soon!

Starslimmer

Its so nice when you ralise youre getting paid and can clear more debts!

catriona79

Hi All,
Hope everyone's been doing well?
I fell off the debt busting wagon in April... I was quite naughty! Spent about £350 on clothes (all needed and in the sale) and went out a shocking amount
It did make me feel happier, so it's alright. This means that in May, instead of paying off in the range of £900 off the debt, I only managed £550, but that's something still.
Had to adjust the spreadsheets and have seen the impact of my naughtiness, so hopefully that will stop me going off the rails to that extent.
Also, I have surprisingly been paid £80 more than expected (no idea why..?) so that's good news. Maybe increment, since it's April's wages? I shall not be complaining

My adjusted debts are below:

Barclaycard 1 - £200, new total £3000
Barclaycard 2 - £150, new total £6200
First Direct CC - £100, new total £2800
Lloyds TSB CC - £100, new total £1800
Ikano bed loan - £94.5, new total £0
HSBC CC – £411/£411 new total £0

The new total is still a scary :eek::eek::eek:£13800 :eek::eek::eek:

stationeryspender

catriona79 wrote: »

Also, I have surprisingly been paid £80 more than expected (no idea why..?) so that's good news.

This is probably due to the tax boundaries changing. If it is, you can imagine the same every month for the next year!:j

catriona79

Starslimmer wrote: »

Its so nice when you ralise youre getting paid and can clear more debts!

Hi Starslimmer, thanks for popping by!

Yes, I get stupidly excited about pay day! I cannot wait for the day when my debt is even half of what it used to be. I think I will be much happier when it gets to roughly £8k
It is a strange thing, I do like nice things, but I am not that much bothered about making lots of money. Just enough to have security.

Soon, it will be 2 years since I moved to my house. I have alwasy said that I was not going to do another one up, but the more I think about it, the more I want to go for it again! I am a bit bored of where I am and am thinking maybe someone else could enjoy this house while I get myself a new challenge. It is scary though...

If I sold my house I would have around £65k equity so I could pay the debt off and get another place, then do that up and have the excitement of creating a new home. Think I need a project!

What have you all been up to? What's been on the horizon for you? Any new ideas or challenges?

catriona79

stationeryspender wrote: »

This is probably due to the tax boundaries changing. If it is, you can imagine the same every month for the next year!:j

Oooh I see! Thanks for that StationerySpender, that's great news! I shall have to put that in my budget then and make sure it goes to my debt and not towards my Chanel mascara fund

dktreesea

catriona79 wrote: »

Dear Diary,

Had a bit of a set back today... Went to the dentist for another check up, and it turns out that one of my molars is infected and needs root canal treatment... Not good.
My choices are:
1. Have it done on the NHS -£40
2. Have it done by my dentist, who is wonderful - £300
3. Have it done by a specialist with much better equipment etc £750

What do I do? I have discounted the NHS option. It doesn't buy as much of the dentist's time and the materials used won't last as long. Less time means that the infection might return, as the infected tissue may not all get removed from the tooth.
The diff between option 2 and 3 is mainly equipment and skill of the dentist - apparently there are dentists who do nothing but root canal fillings.

So, I am a bit torn.
My dentist says 75-80% success with option2. It's higher with the specialistist, but still no 100% guarantee. If it doesn't work, I'm going to have to have the tooth out. So what is worth doing? :eek:

I have had two root canal fillings, both on the NHS. The first one, done a few years ago, twinges a bit. I leave it to twinge, as I use it to give me an indication of when my teeth may not be in optimal condition. The second one is perfect, have never so much as had a twinge since.