Catriona's Credit Card Countdown

catriona79

The new totals are as follows:

Debt:
Barclaycard - £8,200 – 0% until September 2017
Santander card - £2,710 – 0% until May 2016

Total credit card debt is: £10,855


Savings:
TSB account - £3,165
FD regular saver - £1800
HSBC ISA – £351
M&S regular saver - £150
Car savings - £120

Total savings are: £5,867


Which means that my net debt is £5,164

This means that my total debt has increased by £1,675 since I last logged it here.

This is due to Christmas at home, new phone, uni fees and sales shopping. Oh well, it's done now, all of it was thought through. Life is expensive.

catriona79

Well, finally the time has come to do the dreaded update.

The totals don't quite add up, it's because doe to balance transfer there is a positive balance on my HSBC credit card. On the savings side I've also added £400 to the total, as that's what my friend owes me and is going to start paying off at the end of the month.

It's a big rise in debt, but with the new lodger we are still ok for a debt neutral status by end of April. This means that when I turn 37 at the end of May, I'm going to be out of the woods. Positivity!

catriona79

Hello everyone - what an amazing Saturady morning.

It looks like my money update is already out of date

I've cancelled my Halifax credit card by phone this morning, and have transferred the balance from Santander onto my new B-card. So all on one card now, and all without a transfer fee on 0% until Sept 2017.

Have decided to carry on saving rather than paying off the card. This is because I think I'm going to lose my job in the next 12 months, so am going to need the security of a large pile of savings. Should this be happening, I will then transfer the balance onto the longest 0% card available, even if there is a fee. And for now, I shall carry on saving what I can save, and will be feeling more secure in the process.

I've closed down all credit cards which I am not using, and will close down Santander when the balance transfer goes through. I wonder what my minimum payment is going to be.

I have seen my Noddle credit rating plummet from 5 to 3 in the last three months, which is probably due to the credit card reshuffle, my Xmas spending and the mortgage application. I'm hoping this will go up to a 4 when it all starts showing on there.

25th is the day when I will update again, and will be able to see a downward shift again.

In the mean time I had an NSD yesterday.

Today, my lovely London friend is coming over and I'm going to view some apartments by the chocolate factory in brum to see what they are like - not thinking of moving seriously but just curious.
Today may be a bit spendy, that's because I'll go out for dinner with my friend, but all budgeted for!


Also, YNAB has completely given up on me, it won't sync with my computer, so I can't use it at the moment... Perhaps that's not such a bad thing

Orange_Ena

catriona79 wrote: »

Hello everyone - what an amazing Saturady morning.

It looks like my money update is already out of date

I've cancelled my Halifax credit card by phone this morning, and have transferred the balance from Santander onto my new B-card. So all on one card now, and all without a transfer fee on 0% until Sept 2017.

Have decided to carry on saving rather than paying off the card. This is because I think I'm going to lose my job in the next 12 months, so am going to need the security of a large pile of savings. Should this be happening, I will then transfer the balance onto the longest 0% card available, even if there is a fee. And for now, I shall carry on saving what I can save, and will be feeling more secure in the process.

I've closed down all credit cards which I am not using, and will close down Santander when the balance transfer goes through. I wonder what my minimum payment is going to be.

I have seen my Noddle credit rating plummet from 5 to 3 in the last three months, which is probably due to the credit card reshuffle, my Xmas spending and the mortgage application. I'm hoping this will go up to a 4 when it all starts showing on there.

25th is the day when I will update again, and will be able to see a downward shift again.

In the mean time I had an NSD yesterday.

Today, my lovely London friend is coming over and I'm going to view some apartments by the chocolate factory in brum to see what they are like - not thinking of moving seriously but just curious.
Today may be a bit spendy, that's because I'll go out for dinner with my friend, but all budgeted for!


Also, YNAB has completely given up on me, it won't sync with my computer, so I can't use it at the moment... Perhaps that's not such a bad thing

Well done on cancelling and moving the CC's about. And that's a nice amount of 0% time. :T

Fingers crossed your job is safe but I can understand that need for security. But, if the worse happens, I hope you find a job quickly and can then use some of those savings to rid yourself of some of that credit card debt. Being debt neutral must be a lovely feeling.

I think the minimum payment of my credit cards is 1%. I know my Ll0yds CC has a balance of £3140 and my minimum payment is £31.40 so I think that's 1%? Maths isn't my strong point

I'm not sure N0ddle is that reliable. I hover between a 2/3 but it seems a bit behind with information. When I check with Equif@x I had a much better credit score thingy. Maybe I just don't want to believe N0ddle :rotfl:

How were the apartments? Tempted?

Hope you've had a brilliant weekend with your friend. Have a good week.

Payday is ever closer :T

catriona79

Orange_Ena wrote: »

Well done on cancelling and moving the CC's about. And that's a nice amount of 0% time. :T

Fingers crossed your job is safe but I can understand that need for security. But, if the worse happens, I hope you find a job quickly and can then use some of those savings to rid yourself of some of that credit card debt. Being debt neutral must be a lovely feeling.

I think the minimum payment of my credit cards is 1%. I know my Ll0yds CC has a balance of £3140 and my minimum payment is £31.40 so I think that's 1%? Maths isn't my strong point

I'm not sure N0ddle is that reliable. I hover between a 2/3 but it seems a bit behind with information. When I check with Equif@x I had a much better credit score thingy. Maybe I just don't want to believe N0ddle :rotfl:

How were the apartments? Tempted?

Hope you've had a brilliant weekend with your friend. Have a good week.

Payday is ever closer :T

Hello Ena,

Payday is indeed only one week away! 6 days practically!

Oh my life, the apartments were very tempting! Truly stunning design, they are restoring an iconic 1960s building. 12ft tall ceilings. Ah. The space!! Incredible. I actually really want one
http://www.thefranklinbournville.com
It would be quiet and peaceful, and a 3 min walk to the train.

But for now, I'm going to concentrate on my debt and try to make some savings. Then I will see where I am with it all. I have to say that I'd absolutely love one of those apartments. But I would need to be at a point where I don't need to rent it out, it would be my space! So I'm not quite there yet. But it's a good motivation to save; the fact that after so many years of renting my spare room out, I could maybe stop doing that soon.

I've had some great news, I got 93% in my research proposal uni assignment. I was so chuffed when I found out last night, it made Blue Monday not blue at all!!

Re Noddle, I'll have to wait and see. I'm sure that as my financial behaviour improves, it will all get better. I'll just have to try harder!

catriona79

So, here we are, the week's work has been done and I am ready for the excitement of the rest of the week. Liverpool tomorrow, after I've picked up my uncle from the airport. Woo hoo!!

I went to the meditation class today, and I fidgeted through it. No good. I'll have to try again, on a better day. The dating guy was there too, we had a nice time chatting, though there is something there that I can't escape. As if he tries to hard to be an intellectual, and comes across wrong. Can't put my finger on it. But he's decent. Definitely a good friend to have.

Time for sleep now! L1 has just spent 90minutes talking to me about her love life.

beanielou

90 minutes!!!!
I could tell you my life story in less!!!

AspiringButAnxious

Congrats on your assignment! :j :T :j

I could tell you about my love life in 2 seconds: nonexistent!

catriona79

Hello Lou and ABA

He you're both doing ok?

I've had a break from diaries, as have been hosting my uncle - having a great time and it's so good to be able to forget about worries and just spend time with someone kind. Good distraction.

I've been thinking about those apartments I'd seen by the chocolate factory. They are so very cool, but overpriced at the moment. I'll keep watching them. I'd had a serious talk with myself and have decided that for now I will have to stay in my house. At least until I'm out of the woods, money and career-wise. If I intend to retrain, I will need the income the house can bring in.

I was considering getting a one bed flat for £120k and not putting all my house money into that, but keeping some aside.
But, the reality is that 20k isn't going to go far, and so if I move there, I will be very restricted job wise (I.e. I'll have to keep working in my old profession to bring the income in) which will make the new career impossible.
So, for now, it's a case of save and see. Maybe one day the time will come when I can move somewhere I love. But for now it's a choice between that and having a more fulfilling career - which has got to take precedence, especially as there is employment instability and I know that I would struggle to find another job earning what I do now.

I know that I can't carry on in my profession with redundancies every 6 months and no security whatsoever. Need to get moving. Better late than never! And I love my new subject area.

Today I am going to show my uncle the apartments (he has asked and is very keen), and then we will be off to walk around the city. We might go to Cambridge tomorrow.

Some annoying person has left an old desk outside the front of my house! Fly tipping in this context is completely new to me - so annoying and selfish. I'll have to ask my uncle to take it apart and I'll have to take it to the tip. Apparently someone dropped it off in a van, a neighbour saw it. Seriously. They have some bad karma coming to them.

Have a good day everyone!

catriona79

Pay Day tomorrow! Exciting. Plus a day off too. And an update day!