Catriona's Credit Card Countdown

catriona79

Rebecca01 wrote: »

Hi Catriona,

Glad you had a lovely time in London. Property !!!!!!:rotfl:

That is what keeps me going too. Food !!!!!! when I am dieting also.

I could look at property all day.

Hope you find out about your job soon so you know where you are at, but at least you are in a position to have some security. So you don't rush into anything, but don't over think it. Lol xx

Hello fellow addict! :T I do go on right move almost every day! :eek:

Yes, any future risk taking endeavours need to be halted in case of unemployment. Fingers crossed it won't come to it, less for the sake of the job and more for my money making schemes!

How have you been? Pay day been and gone and the next one will be more significant for you as well. The race begins then!

My mum visited this weekend, so it was fairly spendy, £120. But she's only over once every couple of years, and it's good to spend time with her. We don't get to go for coffee every other weekend, or have Sunday lunch together, so this is just a blow out. It was lovely. No regrets.

Back onto YNAB tomorrow. I'll update it as I'm having my morning coffee.

Hope you're having an enjoyable weekend.

catriona79

Hello lovelies,

Quite a productive start to the day here. I can't seem to be able to work with YNAB very well, so instead of guessing and adjusting ad infinitum, I made a fresh start, which is what the app lets you do.
It kept all my accounts but zero-ed their balances and I feel organised again. I've assigned myself an amount for everything I've spent so far with mum (drinks and restaurants).
I only want to use YNAB for tracking my monthly spend, so it doesn't matter about not having the longitudinal view. I find Microsoft Money better for looking at the historic data, over the years, and so will have to update that at some point too.

So, a new day dawns here, as it is 1 November - and here's to a fairly disciplined month.

My goals for November are as follows:
1. Pay off £850 Virgin CC and close down the account.
2. Close down my Post Office card, one I use for spending while abroad, and its balance is zero, but I won't need it this year, and not having it will hopefully make it more likely for me to get a good 0% balance transfer offer I will need mid March 2016, when my Halifax card 0% period runs out.
3. Not get more than £150 into my overdraft - I'm with FD and so it's free up to £250, but I need to get myself out of that hole.
4. Keep within £200 for groceries. I have £40 left on my M&S gift card and want to use that for Xmas goodies / presents, and although I'd normally like to set myself a target of £150, I just know I won't be able to this month and don't want to set myself up to fail.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

catriona79

bellevie wrote: »

First time I have caught up properly in a few days. Your trip to London sounded good, glad you had fun!

I would do as you had planned clear the smallest card, keep your savings as a safety net.

If you are confident your savings & lodgers could carry you for a while in the event of a job change going forwards I would throw every spare penny (allowing enough so that you can still live and have fun) to the debts, to try and clear perhaps your next smallest debt.

And ditto to property !!!!!!, its addictive stuff!

Hello Bellevie,

Thanks for your opinion. I've earmarked £850 of my £900 lodger income towards the card, and am hoping to get that cleared. It is going to be a fantastic feeling, as I've never done that before, I've always been paying them down but then moving the rest onto a new deal. Never ending cycle of debt!
Trying to get away from that and seeing a light at the end of the debt tunnel is a great feeling, and when I've paid this one card down I'm sure that will boost me too. My journey has been filled with hiccups and backward steps, or very slow progress, so this is a big change for me.
Come to think of it, I should have done it ages ago! Also, I should not have lived by myself last year, but instead got two lodgers in and all this would be done now. But there's no time like the present.

I think, had I not been living alone, it would have been very different between me and my ex, who in the end saw me as a bit of a meal ticket. I'm not saying he was a bad person, but him seeing the space I had and me freely picking up the grocery bill on top of that must have been quite convenient, given that he would come and stay Fri- mon each week, and not be that eager to even split the grocery bill, let alone just offering to pay for it in full on occasion.
I think the message I was sending out was that I was ok with that and happy to carry on, as I had enough. He meanwhile, was living with mum and day, earning more than me, paying them hardly anything and talking of getting a Porsche. :eek:
Sometimes I think, we are our worst enemies. I projected this carefree image, when in fact I was worried about money and my debts were again increasing. Then I broke up with him and instantly rented the room out. Things have been getting better (financially) ever since.
Next time, I need to remember that honesty is important. And take responsibility to be honest with my partner about how I feel. I don't like asking for help though, I think you said the same about you, Bellevie. I envy people who can be more relaxed.

catriona79

Ooh. I completely forgot when setting my budget that my mum kindly gave me £150 - so that can go towards my card too. This should mean no going into the overdraft for me this month!!!

bellevie

catriona79 wrote: »

Hello Bellevie,

Thanks for your opinion. I've earmarked £850 of my £900 lodger income towards the card, and am hoping to get that cleared. It is going to be a fantastic feeling:j It absolutely will be!!

Come to think of it, I should have done it ages ago! Also, I should not have lived by myself last year, but instead got two lodgers in and all this would be done now. But there's no time like the present. - I am a believer that things happen when the time is right, so maybe last year things might not have worked out quite as well. When timing is right things generally seem to fall into place as I think they have done recently with you

I think, had I not been living alone, it would have been very different between me and my ex, who in the end saw me as a bit of a meal ticket. I'm not saying he was a bad person, but him seeing the space I had and me freely picking up the grocery bill on top of that must have been quite convenient, given that he would come and stay Fri- mon each week, and not be that eager to even split the grocery bill, let alone just offering to pay for it in full on occasion.
I think the message I was sending out was that I was ok with that and happy to carry on, as I had enough. He meanwhile, was living with mum and day, earning more than me, paying them hardly anything and talking of getting a Porsche. :eek:
Sometimes I think, we are our worst enemies. I projected this carefree image, when in fact I was worried about money and my debts were again increasing. Then I broke up with him and instantly rented the room out. Things have been getting better (financially) ever since.
Next time, I need to remember that honesty is important. And take responsibility to be honest with my partner about how I feel. I don't like asking for help though, I think you said the same about you, Bellevie. I envy people who can be more relaxed Completely agree, its easier said than done though unfortunately.

I am not sure it is being relaxed, I think more being happy to be dependant on others - despite being capable of supporting for themselves. I am quite proud of my independence, in most cases its a good quality to have.

That said, I have heard the arguments some of my married friends have, the women mainly feeling they are forced to ask for help with essentials once cutting down hours or even the ones that do go back full time theres an assumption the childcare will come from their wage packet and they will cope just fine. Then their other halves feeling like they are just the wage packet and suddenly declare feeling suffocated!
All of these couples have mainly learnt to adjust to each other but in the early stages when 1st babies came along it really hi-lighted major issues!

The ones out of my friends where it has worked best is where they have one house hold pot, everything goes in and out of the same joint account, no secrets, no assumptions.

I like the idea of the above, but I trust almost no-one 100% so I couldn't see myself ever doing it.

catriona79

bellevie wrote: »

I am not sure it is being relaxed, I think more being happy to be dependant on others - despite being capable of supporting for themselves. I am quite proud of my independence, in most cases its a good quality to have.

That said, I have heard the arguments some of my married friends have, the women mainly feeling they are forced to ask for help with essentials once cutting down hours or even the ones that do go back full time theres an assumption the childcare will come from their wage packet and they will cope just fine. Then their other halves feeling like they are just the wage packet and suddenly declare feeling suffocated!
All of these couples have mainly learnt to adjust to each other but in the early stages when 1st babies came along it really hi-lighted major issues!

The ones out of my friends where it has worked best is where they have one house hold pot, everything goes in and out of the same joint account, no secrets, no assumptions.

I like the idea of the above, but I trust almost no-one 100% so I couldn't see myself ever doing it.

Being ok with being dependent on others is definitely a big thing. With me, I don't think I show enough vulnerability, which (in essence) is not very feminine. So I then get treated accordingly, I find. More with admiration than with kindness/ willingness to look after & protect. It's a difficult balance to strike.
I agree that independence helps in daily life and makes you able to forge a life for yourself. In my case, I wonder whether I have gone too far?

That's interesting what you say about the household finances. I would much prefer to have one pot out of which everything is paid, otherwise it can be a source of insecurity for the person who is dependent.

I have read somewhere about male perversity, meaning that a man is not going to give a woman anything that she hasn't already got. I find that when my ex and I earned very similar amounts, he would always say that he wanted to share, one pot, like his parents. Now that he earns 30% more than me and is on a trajectory to earn even more, I don't think that would be the same. It all depends on circumstances.

I think I'd find it hard to have a husband or partner and have separate finances. Why would you do that if you love your partner and believe that you have a future together? Why planning for that emergency and effectively the woman is more likely to invest in child rearing and as such will be financially disadvantaged. For me, to set it up in that way, is a bit of a problematic start. I would probably always be wary of a man who does that. I don't think I could trust him.

Finances are an extremely difficult topic.

Rosylee

catriona79 wrote: »

That's interesting what you say about the household finances. I would much prefer to have one pot out of which everything is paid, otherwise it can be a source of insecurity for the person who is dependent.

I think I'd find it hard to have a husband or partner and have separate finances. Why would you do that if you love your partner and believe that you have a future together? Why planning for that emergency and effectively the woman is more likely to invest in child rearing and as such will be financially disadvantaged. For me, to set it up in that way, is a bit of a problematic start. I would probably always be wary of a man who does that. I don't think I could trust him.

Finances are an extremely difficult topic.

Hello, just popping in. I have to say I have never subscribed to the joint finances thing, and that's not because of my debt. I just don't like the idea of not having some control and while love conquers all and all of that, I am just a little bit sceptical. One sometimes hears of the other partner cleaning out the joint account when it all goes a bit awry. I am not opposed to a household pot that each person contributes equal amounts to but still retain their own account for themselves.

clearmydebts

catriona79 wrote: »

Hello and welcome :j:beer::j:beer::j

Thanks - appreciate your angle. I think it's wise to wait until the job situation clears up and using this time to get ducks in a row.

I can't even imagine what if would be like to be debt free, never having to worry about the payments and also having a stash of savings too! That would be so cool.

So, you're back in Ireland, debt slaying? Did you move to be closer to your folks?

I'll go and be nosey now and see if you've got a diary

I can't imagine what it's like to be debt free either. I seem to be carrying it around with me for so long. I imagine it feels amazing!

I moved over the the UK with my OH and we were there for 8 years with no plans to return. We got married and had baby number 1. I got homesick and when baby number 2 arrived we moved home as I got even more homesick.

catriona79

Hello CMD :j

Yeah, agreed re being in debt. I kind of got used to it, in a strange way.
I know it's manageable and I'm doing things to bring it down faster, but it doesn't bother me as much as it should. I'm beginning to think up new schemes and that's before paying the debt off. I seem to think "I'll just move it to another 0% card" - but how long can you do that for?!

My friends' partner always says that to make money you need to use other people's money, I.e. be in debt. I keep thinking up little schemes and getting excited over them, and that's only because of the security my current income (the lodgers) gives me. I obviously know that I would be at peace and possibly able to live by myself if only I paid my debts off.

I have recently consolidated my homeowner loan into my mortgage, reducing payments by £150 a month and, after paying off my card I will have reduced my outgoings by a further £50 a month.
There is also another £135 that goes out on the remaining 2 cards each month. So if that were paid off, it would mean being £335 better off each month, which would mean I maybe wouldnt have to have lodgers.
But at the moment, I am doing what I've got to do and thank goodness it's moving forward, because I do not have much patience! Not much more patience with this old debt anyway.

What I would love to do is to be able to bring in extra income in other ways so that I can reduce my working time. I currently work a compressed week and leave fpr work at 6.45; it would be wonderful to have more quality of life and time to do interesting things. I have got to keep thinking!

catriona79

Another day, another dollar!

Just having my lunch break, and I find that I am on a roll and pre-occupied with money saving.
I do have to control this though, as it can get a bit too much

Have just looked at my spreadsheet, and if I pay off my Virgin card with the lodger income, I will be 53% debt neutral! Which is where I have wanted to be forever! Definitely since I started this diary, almost 3 years ago.

I have also worked out how to handle my debt.

1. November 2015.
Pay off £850 my Virgin card. This will clear it.

2. Early March 2015.
Pay as much off Halifax card as is possible before the 0% period is up in mid March 2016. This gives me 4 pay days, hopefully at £850 each. This should then leave me a balance of £2500 on Halifax CC to be transferred onto another 0% card. This card will hopefully be one that does not charge a balance transfer fee. Maybe Tesco. If I get a limit bigger than £2500, I will transfer what I can from my third card (Santander) onto it too.

3. Mid May 2016
Pay off as much as possible of the card and transfer the rest onto another deal.
There is a chance that there's nothing to transfer at the time, if new card (Tesco?) limit is high. ive played this game before :eek: and Tesco gave me a limit of circa 3-4k. Maybe if I close down all unused CC accounts, Tesco will give me a bigger limit. Who knows? Here's hoping!