Determined & Frustrated!

kickuptheasstime

Tuesday update:

Sooo, the expenses plan for this week (Mon 2nd Dec - Sun 8th Dec) is as follows = £737.31 :eek:

• [STRIKE]M&S Bank Loan = £243.45[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]Virgin CC = £154.04 (balance £6356.56)[/STRIKE]
• NFU Dog Ins = £20.79
• [STRIKE]NFU Horse Ins = £61.36[/STRIKE]
• Water = £18.72
• [STRIKE]Dental plan = £11.95[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]WHW Charity donation = £5[/STRIKE]
• Horse Livery = £85
• Horse School Hire = £30
• [STRIKE]Dog food = £45 (DH normally buys this but he's skint this month)[/STRIKE]
• Lesson = £20
• SJ Saturday x2 classes = £32
• [STRIKE]Misc cash spends = £10[/STRIKE]

Extra Income Target this week = £50

Hmm some work to do here - I managed to get an online deal for dog food so paid £41 instead of £45 (RRP for £55)

Think I need new tyres on my truck, so getting them checked today

Unfortunately, I forgot that I had an annual magazine subscription to pay by DD (£40) which has now gone out of my account

NFU dog insurance DD also has bounced today, so transferred £50 from my diesel account to cover this and the water DD which will come out either today or tomorrow

Not doing so well... up to £200 overdraft already :eek:

That said, I think all of my commitments are now paid

kickuptheasstime

Have spent £179 on two tyres for my truck safety comes first, but it's just another thing to go onto my CC

I could in theory move my CC debts across but i'm not sure if it's a good idea or not

Virgin CC limit £13900 - current £6384.99 allowing £6590.35 free for balance transfers (current offer is 10.9% until Dec 2014)

Barclaycard CC limit £11860 - current £6845.78 allowing approx £5000 for balance transfer (I can get 0% until March 2014)

Really not sure which way to go and I really don't know how I'm going to be strong enough to lock them away & not use them

My credit score is not great so I can't apply for a third card, certainly not at a credit limit that will allow me to do any useful balance transfers

Any advice very gratefully received!

kickuptheasstime

On one hand I'm really pleased tonight... Just checked by B/card online & I have two 0% offers on both cards, so have done balance transfer from my huge & expensive Virgin CC

1. Balance transfer to B/card #1 - £2957.37 at 0% until 1st Aug 2014 (fee £56.19)
2. Balance transfer to B/card #2 - £4275 at 0% until 1st Feb 2016 :j (fee £166.72)

I've just updated my signature though & I now actually have a higher debt than at my LBM :mad: I'm trying to comfort myself with the fact that I will now be making some progress towards paying off my CC debts rather than paying 25%-odd in interest to Virgin on my outstanding balance and just treading water.

Had a rather scary conversation with DH at the weekend about moving house within the next year. He knows about my loan, but has no idea of the extent of my CC debts. I just can't bring myself to tell him. I feel sad about it, but it's like losing control.

Hmm things to ponder.

Still keeping up-to-date with my spending diary which is helping me stay on top of my finances. Still skint though.


I have budgeted for nearly everything this month, but still need to find cash for the following...

• a tank of petrol (£50)
• [STRIKE]2 x riding lessons on 15th Feb (£50)[/STRIKE]
• equine physio (£50)
• hay (£52)
• bedding (£60)
• January school use (£42).

All of these need to be paid before my next pay day on 25 Feb. Now I've written all of that down, I'm even more scared at how I'm going to afford them :eek: I'm hoping to teach some lessons this weekend, which should bring in some cash but this is dependent on some vaguely sensible weather.... I know I have £25 in cash in the house so this will go towards petrol. Now thinking that I need to cancel the riding lessons, as they are non-essential. Yes, I'll do that now. It would just give me something to look forward to. Hmmpf this moneysaving lark is tough isn't it?

I'll have to go & have a think... I'll have a look at by bank accounts online & see if I can squeeze any funds from anywhere

A bit tired & down now - oh well, at least I'm not burying my head in the sand, like I normally do, and I haven't used my CC yet this month. Which just shows how blind I have been to everything.

Onwards.

In some form or other.

kickuptheasstime

kickuptheasstime wrote: »

I have budgeted for nearly everything this month, but still need to find cash for the following...

• a tank of petrol (£50)
• [STRIKE]2 x riding lessons on 15th Feb (£50)[/STRIKE]
• equine physio (£50)
• hay (£52)
• bedding (£60)
• January school use (£42).

All of these need to be paid before my next pay day on 25 Feb.

OK just checked my accounts - I have £50 to play with so something has to give! I will spend this on petrol as without this I can't get to work, so that's some form of priority I guess. The next thing I need to pay for as it's booked with some other people at my yard & I really can't avoid is the Physio lady - I have £25 in cash towards this and will aim to put another £25 towards it this weekend.

I'll also go & list an item on eBay that I think I can make a bit on money on

I'll keep working on the rest!!

kickuptheasstime

327 days left of 2014... works out at a payment of £80 per day to be debt free by the end of the year... £2400-ish per month

Not sure that makes me feel any better...

LittleMissDetermined

Please don't get disheartened, that's a lot of money I agree but if it takes you a bit longer to get to debt-freedom then at least you've got there!

Keep your head up my lovely, don't let it get you down x

LMD x

kickuptheasstime

Ah thank you LMD

I just seem to always be fire-fighting - there always seems to be something to pay for and I can never quite seem to get even slightly ahead of myself. I know it's a planning thing, but every month I have the best intentions and then things come up that I should have included in my budget, and when I do that I am spending over my income. And that's really bad... but I have been doing it for a very long time

Old habits die hard & I have no-one to blame but myself, I just need to keep trying I guess!!

x

LittleMissDetermined

We all fire fight, because life gets in the way! I was well on track then the boiler gave up the ghost, not something we could do without so it has probably put my target date back a few months.

Keep at it, you'll find a way

kickuptheasstime

kickuptheasstime wrote: »

I have budgeted for nearly everything this month, but still need to find cash for the following...

• a tank of petrol (£50)
• [STRIKE]2 x riding lessons on 15th Feb (£50)[/STRIKE]
• equine physio (£50)
• hay (£52)
• [STRIKE] bedding (£60)[/STRIKE] total cost of bedding = £94.77 for 13 bales :eek: but this is the cheapest deal by buying in bulk with a friend, who has very kindly agreed that I can pay her half now £48, and the rest on pay day
• January school use (£42).

All of these need to be paid before my next pay day on 25 Feb.

So update on today - I have taught this morning, and made £50 so this will be paid immediately to my lovely friend for the first instalment of bedding

That leaves me £25 for petrol...

Now I need to find pennies for hay, physio and school use....

debtfreewannabe321

kickuptheasstime wrote: »

327 days left of 2014... works out at a payment of £80 per day to be debt free by the end of the year... £2400-ish per month

Not sure that makes me feel any better...

:eek::eek: that is a lot to find! How about you target the card that is due to finish the 0% deal first and make it a mini challenge? Say give yourself 6 months to clear that one before moving on to the next one? If you finish clearing it before the 6 months then great, move on to the next. I found looking at the debt as a whole was sometimes so insurmountable that I just gave up and I fell off the DF wagon a fair few times.

Can you not come clean to the OH? Perhaps if he has no debt and has money left at the end of the month he might help in clearing the debts with you? If you are planning on making a future together then it will be in his best interests too to get it cleared so you can move sooner?

Glad to see you back though and keep going!

P.s what is your food budget this month? Can you not do a store cupboard / freezer challenge and try to pull the pennies back in that way to go out on the other things you want to spend on? Good luck :T