Taking Care of My Pennies

beanielou

If you carry on saving with the CU you can borrow at a later stage at a much more favourable rate.So you could reduce at least some of the interest that way.

MrsNotAPenny

Yeah, because I've been saving with them for a year I could borrow 3 x my savings. It's 12% Apr. However, I wouldn't be able to withdraw my savings if I took on the loan and now I have a little cushion I'm scared of letting it go (I know I'd still technically have it!) I'm definitely thinking it might be an option in the future, maybe when I have another wee stash elsewhere.

I have applied for a cap 1 card, only balance transfers on 0% until October 2014. Waiting to hear back, I'm not hopeful! £100 in interest is a bit of a pain, but it could be worse!

MrsNotAPenny

:wave:

Some very good news from me! I have managed to move £4,200 of my £6,900 credit card debt moved to 0%!! I'm over the moon!

That only leaves about £900 being charge at 21.9% and about £1,800 on 6.9 %. It has cost me about £70 to move it all around (3 separate cards) but it'll be saving me about £70 a month in interest. Word cannot describe the reliefe I feel!

So, I have between 26/29 months interest free on the majority of the debt. I'm planning on saving a little bit of the interest I'm saving (does that make sense!) Only about £15 of it though.

I'll also be seeing the 9's by the end of month. However, I've been here before and know how quickly it can all start to add up again if I take my eye off the ball.

I'm tempted to use my wee bit savings to pay off a chunk of the £900. This is when single debt busting is hard, no one to bounce ideas off of. I probably won't, or I might. Oh I don't know! :rotfl:

beanielou

Great idea I think to use part of your savings to pay off part of the 900.
Then break the part that is left into manageable targets & blitz them one at a time.

LivvyLoo_2

Hi MrsP,

I agree with Beanielou, thats how I tackled my catalogue bills, broke them into chunks and set myself targets of when to get them paid by.

x

Skint_but_Optimistic

Wow well done, you will blitz it - nice to have some good news re the interest.

MrsNotAPenny

Thanks guys!


(I wrote a huge reply and it got eaten!)


I'm a little bit scared to use my savings. Using £200 of it would save me £40 ish in interest (over the year, it would probably take a year to replace it!) but what if something came up? or I needed something - I can't think what, car repair or something. I guess then I could use the other half? or borrow from family - which I've never really done, so it would have to be something really urgent for me to do that. I will think about it some more!


Beanielou, well done on the debt free status! I saw you on the honour roll but wasn't logged in to reply! Bet it feels great, I'll experience it one day

MrsNotAPenny

so this month's payments are all done and dusted, total now: £10,039! Soo close. I had miscalculated last months interest - so it was about £40 more than I was expecting. I'm still pretty pleased.


This is what my wee savings are looking like:


Isa: £41
Car funds: £120
C/Un: £345
Jars: £12 (had more but I used some to pay something hobby-related - still beats using my cc though!)


So, it's not millions (or thousands, in fact it's barely hundreds) but it's more than I have ever had in savings in my whole entire life. No joke.


I went travelling once for a few months (originally it was to be for a year) I had about 18 months to save for it. Full time job, my only outgoings were minimum payments of about £45 ~(my debt was 'only' about £2000 at the time, car insurance - about £25 pm. No dig money, bills, kids, nothing. I didn't save a penny for it. I used my last pay cheque and some money I'd been gifted (£500) to go. I still shake my head about it now. All the great things I could have seen and done if I had saved. All the experiences I could have had. I still had a brilliant time but when my money ran out, I just came home.


That was about 6 years ago and it's only end of last/this year that I have managed to actually save some money. I think for me that is a bigger achievement, learning to budget and stick with it. Making sure the bills are paid and still keeping a tiny little bit aside. It's easy to just blow £10/£20, it's much more of a challenge to put it in a jar and not go near it.


I doubt very much I'll ever been Scrooge McDuck with safes full of money. I'll always be more of a spender than a saver, I've hopefully got the balance a bit better

MrsNotAPenny

MUST.NOT.ORDER.ANYTHING.FROM.MY.CATALOGUE.MUST.RESIST!


I really really really want...


New boots: £140
New bed frame: £220
New living room furniture: £450


£810. I'd only be able to scrape together enough money to pay £20 towards that a month. 40 months to repay. 3.3 years. I also think it would be charged at something hideous like 30.9%.


I also know if I replaced my bed frame, I'd need a new mattress. Then, I'd want to decorate, buy new furniture, blinds, cushions, throws, curtains, I want to change a large cupboard into a wardrobe, new lamp, new bed sheets, new flooring...££££££££££. I dread to think how much I could clock up on my credit card/catalogue (who have *kindly* increased my credit limit by £500)


Even just the boots would take me 7 months to repay. I might start a 'new boots' jar. Probably by time I save for them I'd realise just how much other stuff I could buy with £140!


No. I won't. There's no real need for boots at this time of year any way and there's nothing wrong with my bed (or living room furniture)




Down to my last few pounds of this months budget, I'd forgotten about Mother's Day. I explained I was skint to my mum and she isn't bothered a bit about it, I'll get her something nice next week when April's budget starts.


Hope everyone is well.xx

beanielou

No, you certainly do not need anything from that catalogue at that APR which adds a third onto the cost of everything :eek: