Diary of a holidayaholic

clippy_girl

Hello, my name is Clippy and I am addicted to going on holiday

I had a big debt a few years ago from a postgrad uni loan, credit cards and money borrowed to buy stuff for my new house. When I started in 2010 it was £11.5k :eek: I finally cleared it all last Aug but went on holiday on the card and then booked another (also on the card). I have just returned from a fab holiday to New Zealand :j and would like to get the card cleared.

Previously I have knuckled down and cut back and cleared off a good amount each month. However I have discovered I am definitely more of a make more money than a cut back person so that is how I did it.

I live off my salary and its just about enough to live off but none left over. I budget £100 per month for food, £40 for petrol and give myself a £40 per week spending allowance. I put money away for xmas, other gifts and haircut. I also put away £50 per month from weekends away. I have various things I could cut back on such as gym, sky (lowest package) etc... but I enjoy them so they are staying

I then have a make more money account which is used to pay off debts. I get £340 pm rent from my lodger which goes in and I do mystery shopping. This can bring in anywhere between £100-£300 each month. I generally have been paying off around £550 each month but if I earn more from MS then I pay more. However from this month I will be putting away £100 per month for stuff for the house and garden as I need the front painted, replacement window, fridge freezer etc...

Any other extra cash such as Quidco, work expenses, ebay etc... also go towards debt.

So the credit card currently stands at £5392.94 interest free until Jan 2014. It will prob remain at this until May as the rent money was used on holiday and as I was away I have no MS payments due.

I have decided upon my next holiday destination and I want to go to India next March. I have a rough figure of around £3000. I know the tour and flight will be around £1500 so that leaves £1500 for spends which will be more than enough.

So adding the £3000 to the cc the total is around £8.4k. I am going to aim for £500 per month towards debt/holiday. This is £50 more than I have been paying (as I'm now also saving the £100 house money).

So it will take roughly 17 months until Sept 2014 to clear. Once I have cleared it I can then use the rent money to save for holidays in advance

So here comes the plan...

clippy_girl

Things I need to do/not do-

• Only use debt account money to pay off debt (except for work/MS expenses as these are reimbursed). If I need clothes etc... I will need to save up from left over weekly spends
• Ensure I earn £210 per month average from MS
• Find an extra £50 per month. This could be from MS but jobs not always available. Should get a small payrise soon of approx £30pm so that can go towards it. Hopefully another small one in summer than can also go towards it.
• Start entering competitions again for cash or stuff to sell

I am going to try and keep diary up to date with what I have done each day to clear the debt. I will transfer any money into debt account immediately to the cc to see the balance go down

So really I would like to try and bring forward the DFD as early as possible! Lets see how I get on...:money:

gallygirl

clippy_girl wrote: »

So it will take roughly 17 months until Sept 2014 to clear. Once I have cleared it I can then use the rent money to save for holidays in advance

:rotfl: Will believe it when I see it :rotfl:

Tax code change will bring in extra so with the £30 payrise that should do it :T.

niknok_2

Clippy you are just like me!! Ex travel agent and serious holiday-a-holic....

This year im pregnant thought, due in 5 weeks and instead of a fabulous 2 week mexico holiday at £3500 for the 3 of us we have settled on centre parcs at £500 for 3 of us needless to say I AM NOT IMPRESSED!! haha

My holiday CC currently stands at £4620 so im trying to clear it ASAP which will be hard on mat leave pay!

Good luck hun, have subscribed

clippy_girl

hi niknok :wave:

congrats on the baby :j im sure centre parks will be lovely, £500 seems a good deal, i always thought it was much more than that! :A

so yesterday i drove back home and went food shopping. despite being deliriously tired from jet lag i made myself go to lidl 1st rather than just getting everything in tesco :T unfortunately i spent just under £60 of the food budget and didnt buy any meat as dont need to batch cook most dinners for another two weeks. not looking good for food budget also spent £7.50 on massive catering pack of bacon but enough for a few months.

i then did a bit of gardening as i hadnt picked up all the branches i trimmed in autumn or cut the shootings on the strawberry plants so they had multiplied everywhere!

money saving things done yesterday-

• holiday clothes washed and dried at mums so no elec costs :rotfl:
• went to lidl rather than just tesco to get everything i could cheaper
• bought sprouting potatoes and seeds for onions, cucumbers, leeks and carrots to grow my own
• went to bed at 8.30pm so saved elec :rotfl:
• bought magazine deal which cost the same as the cashback. free gift worth £52 can go on ebay when arrives
• turned heating off timer (was on whilst away as i have a lodger but its warm enough now)

so plans for today are-
hang out washing
go to gym
plant potatoes (and maybe seeds)
move some bushes to the front garden to clear out my second raised bed to grow stuff
go to tip to get rid of garden waste
go to trampy shopping centre in car on way back from tip to get cheap pot of fence paint (saw it for £4.99 yest) as its too heavy for me to carry.
finish unpacking bag
cook pot of curry
cook pot of soup
cook chicken breast and make salad for week
enter comps in front of all of the trash i recorded whilst away

happy sunday

gallygirl

clippy_girl wrote: »

money saving things done yesterday-

• holiday clothes washed and dried at mums so no elec costs :rotfl:

Yes, don't worry about me, I'm just trying to pay my mortgage off :rotfl:.

niknok_2

clippy_girl wrote: »

hi niknok :wave:

congrats on the baby :j im sure centre parks will be lovely, £500 seems a good deal, i always thought it was much more than that! :A

so yesterday i drove back home and went food shopping. despite being deliriously tired from jet lag i made myself go to lidl 1st rather than just getting everything in tesco :T unfortunately i spent just under £60 of the food budget and didnt buy any meat as dont need to batch cook most dinners for another two weeks. not looking good for food budget also spent £7.50 on massive catering pack of bacon but enough for a few months.

i then did a bit of gardening as i hadnt picked up all the branches i trimmed in autumn or cut the shootings on the strawberry plants so they had multiplied everywhere!

money saving things done yesterday-

• holiday clothes washed and dried at mums so no elec costs :rotfl:
• went to lidl rather than just tesco to get everything i could cheaper
• bought sprouting potatoes and seeds for onions, cucumbers, leeks and carrots to grow my own
• went to bed at 8.30pm so saved elec :rotfl:
• bought magazine deal which cost the same as the cashback. free gift worth £52 can go on ebay when arrives
• turned heating off timer (was on whilst away as i have a lodger but its warm enough now)

so plans for today are-
hang out washing
go to gym
plant potatoes (and maybe seeds)
move some bushes to the front garden to clear out my second raised bed to grow stuff
go to tip to get rid of garden waste
go to trampy shopping centre in car on way back from tip to get cheap pot of fence paint (saw it for £4.99 yest) as its too heavy for me to carry.
finish unpacking bag
cook pot of curry
cook pot of soup
cook chicken breast and make salad for week
enter comps in front of all of the trash i recorded whilst away

happy sunday

Wow sounds like a busy day for you today! Such lovely weather though just nice to get out in the garden. My OH is going to start the garden ready for the turf next week and i might go and prop myself up with my uni books.... after making strawberry cupcakes!!

clippy_girl

mmm strawberry cupcakes! :EasterBun

so did most of my jobs yest except tip, cheap shop and comps. lots of potatoes planted

checked payslip at work today and wage is around £27 per month more unfortunately car lease cost has gone up £8pm

been researching some anti wrinkle stuff but theres so many brands and products not sure what to go for :think: dont want to spend lots but dont want cheap if doesnt work. think i will give l'oreal a try as i used their collagen filler pen on frown lines before and it worked well. each product is around £10 and im going to get the filler pen, day cream and night cream. still got whole weekly budget so may get on wednesday. have already got an eye cream i need to start using it!

been swimming tonight which was nice. put 8lbs on on holiday so really need to get that off :eek: would also like to loose around another stone so need to keep up exercise and healthy eating. going to aim for 5 gym sessions as week

clippy_girl

hmmmm just checked cc as need to know how much i spend on joint stuff with my friend on hol so we can work out how much i need to give her (she has def spent a bit more). been waiting to see how much mcd cost in the airport we stopped off in on the way back. would have been bought around 5pm thur uk time and its still not showing. bit strange as the other things have been showing for days! maybe card didnt work and it will be free

just paid off the cc in full and got £191 left in debt account. need £100 for house fund and then if theres any left after paying my friend it can go on cc

niknok_2

Ooo £27 up a month on the wage front is good.... boo about at the car lease though!

Great that you paid your CC in full. I have about £140 on one CC and i'm debating paying it or waiting for my ebay sales to have hit the £140 mark. Scared i'll spend the £30 I already have in there though.

Hopefully your mcds was free and it will never show. Bonus! Whens payday hun? Im on countdown OH's is tomorrow and mine is Friday.

amyc92

subscribed :Dxx