Post wedding debt plan

Pengwern

I feel like I have started again this week and it is going well. Lunch as always was taken to work and no desire to buy anything on the internet. I wonder how long this will last? Another couple of pounds sent to the cc to round down the account. Husband comes back tomorrow night. There is also an outside possibility that I could be asked to do another role at work. this should enable me to work from home which would save me £250 per month on fuel. however before I start sending that money to the debt it has to happen! It is a tantilising prospect and therefore one I need not to fixate on.

TV is playing up, all channels ok apart from BBC 1 & 2 however the tv upstairs works fine..... I had a aerial person come out a few months ago for a free quote, when he left he asked me for £20 cash as he had to travel a distance and obviously felt like he was not going to get any work. well he was not going too now, he also left empty handed and reported to trading standards for mis representation on his website. I therefore am a little worried about trying to find someone who is decent. However I would like my TV to work!

MrsSmith2013

Hello Pengwern... have just quickly read through your diary in my lunch break! I'm a newly wed too, and our debt is a credit card that we had to use to finish paying the wedding. Luckily my husband has a brilliant credit rating and we got a 0% for 16 months so I am on the debt busting too!

Will subscribe to your diary and keep up with your progress - good luck!

Pengwern

we had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the sun. Did not go anywhere so saved a lot in fuel and did not spend anything else. The BBQ came into its own which was lovely. Also decided not to get my legs waxed so sent the amount I would have spent on that to the CC. Sold another item but the buyer is now refusing to pay! so back to the drawing board on that one.

Now husband is back at work then we do not get to see much of each other. pre season is a little better as he gets weekends but as soon as the season kicks off then you can write the weekends off. At the start it is all good as it tends to save us cash, however we then tend to compensate towards the end of the season as we have not spent much time together. this year needs to be different so we will see how it all goes.

Chimney is now casuing us issues! I have however booked a man to fix the TV issue. But as always it will cost money which would have gone towards the cc. Still having a good week and 2 NSD so far. I also pay for the tea club milk with a cheque and then take the cash to pay me back. I have decided that I will keep that cash in a jar and then bank it once a month and send to the savings. If I need it then it will stay in my current account but I am hoping that I can do without it.

castlelough

Oh Pengwern I have been thinking of you with your lovely BBQ over the last few days and wishing we had one!!!!!!!!!!!! Such fab weather!!!

Sorry you are missing DH - (((hugs)))

Castle

Pengwern

It is lovely to think there are others out there wishing you lovely thoughts. thank you. Well this week has been ok I think, not on the money side though. Only drove to work 3 days as I had a meeting elsewhere so took the train and work covers that expense. Managed to delay my return journey home by a few hours as I went to the city my sister lives in. Managed to catch up over coffee which is lovely.

TV man came and did something to the aerial which cost £116.00 so not good there, but we now have our tv back. It has however made me learn how to spell aerial!! That jar with all the tea club money in managed to add up to £100 so that has gone to the bank and helpfully should cover some of the recent expenditure. Recieved payment (finally) for the item I sold so posted that on Friday. I am winning on the more out than in at present.

Husband and I got up early on Sat to make the most of the cool and to pick strawberries and blackcurrents. yesterday I made jam, flavoured gin and vodka. it works out at £1.50/jar of jam. expensive compared to tescos but cheap if you think of it as a present for someone.

currently enjoying the morning cool air and husband has been out on his bike since 6am! hopefully the roads are quieter and it is a lot cooler. Chutney making today with home grown tomatoes, all ready for christmas presents and a little for our own consumption.

MrsSmith2013

Hi Pengwern, just thought I would pop by and say hello - the homemade jams and chutney sound delicious! That would be a great christmas present to receive, some homemade chutney!

Pengwern

Well another week and what lovely weather. A little too hot for me so a cloudy Sat and breezy Sun are a welcome break. BBQ is still doing well and my supermarket shop this week was a respectable £24. Have some slabs in the garden I need to sell so that is today's job. More jam and chutney was made yesterday, that should do us for the rest of the year. I need to sort out our tin cupboard as it has managed to become very disorganised. It does not help with the money saving if we keep buying things because we are not sure if we have them.

Managed to come under on my fuel budget for this month. Next week will also help as I have another lot of meetings which means the train and no driving. Managed to get a very small bonus at work which I am debating what to do with. Save in the emergency fund or add to the cc pot.

Pengwern

Not such a good week, all going well until Saturday. Managed to only use half a tank of fuel which is amazing, also put the weekly tea reimbursement into my savings pot. The sat came and we had a day out, it was needed as the last few weekends we have been at home and gone no where to save cash, going a little stir crazy. So with the park and ride cost plus a coffee we spent more than we have done in weeks. So it only came to £10 but it still feels a lot. However the killer was our Chinese takeaway when we got back! And we used the money pot to pay for it! Oh well a little treat every now and then is needed.

Then the email came in from the builder who had just inspected our chimney, it was a lot as apparently it is in a very bad way! £600 to re point and £800 for lead flashing. So that then made me feel guilty for spending anything but to be honest what we spent on sat would not put a dent in the bill. Need to get thinking about how we can accommodate this expenditure without us getting too far behind with paying off the cc. Also as it is a shared chimney getting our neighbour to pay half! He is not one to do maintenance which is why it is in such a bad way. I have been told our house previous owners took the view that if he will not contribute then we will not pay either, hence the dire state anything shared is in!

Next week is not looking good either...

castlelough

Pengwern that builder's quote is astronomical!!!
Get a few more quotes...
We are building a house and we did not spend that kind of money on our chimney or on the lead....try to get it done for less!

And don't be harsh on yourselves for spending so little on your day out after three quiet weekends prior to it. All work and no play...!

Pengwern

Thank you for the advice on the chimney, I have now had another builder round for a quote and will be phoning some more to come and have a look. The most recent builder thought he could quote for the work by standing on the ground and looking at the chimney. I fear that if we go with his quote (when we get it) once he gets on the roof he will do a big intake of breath and want more money from us. That is my cynical opinion.

A good week this week, got confirmation that my job role is going to change for 6 months. this means no more daily commute of 80 miles. fuel bill should drop dramatically. only a temp measure for 6 months but we are being reorganised soon so who knows where we will all end up. not brought any non essential items and I am significantly under budget on my fuel. not sure why but I am not going to question it. so if things stay on track and I manage to keep from spending anything I should have saved £250 this month. going to add to my savings to then throw at the cc when the 0% rate ends.

Still not exactly sure what my new take home salary is as this month I had a very small bonus added. need to wait to next month to see what it is going to be. that extra cash was also stashed away, so feeling good about things but wanting it all to vanish now. Just want to be saving for something nice rather than paying off a debt, but then I remember our amazing day and realise it was all worth it and I would do it all again in a heart beat. hope the nice weather says for the weekend as I have lots of washing that needs to be done and then dry on the line.