Post wedding debt plan

Pengwern

well an eventful 2 weeks since I was last on here. 2 funerals in 2 weeks and 1 week living with the inlaws. Has done wonders to the budget but very stressfull and difficult time. So I managed to come under budget on food and fuel as I have not really gone anywhere and living at the inlaws no food needed to be purchased. We did pay in kind with childcare and cleaning, but was happy to do it.

Trying to sort out the living situation for us both. So have started looking into purchasing a bolt hole for husband. It is really random but with the debts we have which are all on 0% they will not touch us. however they will lend us the money plus extra to clear the debts. I guess it makes them more money as we are paying interest on extra money, however I cannot see a way to make it work without doing it their way. So now trying to throw all I can at the CC and not keep it in the savings acount so it is less for us to add onto the mortgage. Husbands salary has also gone up slightly so that is going to help. Also cannot get an appointment with a mortgage adviser as they are all so busy! there must be lots of house buying going on.

Pengwern

well lowest cc bill for a long time arrived today, £360. normally my monthly petrol bill is that amount. need to keep away from the shops and hopefully next months will be the same if not lower if I am really careful with the food shop. managed to bank £35 from the savings jar, this is the tea money I get from paying with a cheque. It is the only cash I ever have and I try not to use it, but it comes in handy when trying to pay our milkman at home.

Boiler was fixed today but it still has a slight issue so they need to come back and sort that. not sure the cost, they are going to call me next week to discuss! working hard to try to pay off the 0% CC as this is standing in our way of being able to secure a flat for my husband to live in during the week. He is working this evening so will not be home till tomorrow. only a few more weeks and weekends together will be a thing of the past. it is a 1yr engagement anniversary this weekend so hopefully the weather will be kind and we can go for a lovely walk.

castlelough

Pengwern! That is very exciting about buying a second property!
Why will weekends together become a thing of the past? Is your DH going to be working on weekends?
I know it is tough. My DH is a publican and works late nights (no closing time down our rural part of the world, unfortunately!) and he farms during the daytime so it is quite hard to pin him down for quality time together.
Hope you get lovely weather for your engagement anniversary! x

Pengwern

hello, yes other half works weekends during the season which is from Sept till May! His job is more a lifestyle than work, but he loves it so no complaints from him. Weather has been kind and so has the money fairy. I cut a load of lavender into bunches and put them outside the house, free to those who wanted them. I also made more jam and chutney than I needed for us and xmas presents so put some outside for sale. I sold £10 worth on Sat, husband was sceptical when I did it but was very pleased when we sold some. I also listed another 5 items for sale and two have bids already. That is £25 in two days and we have not left our village.

Trying not to think about other flat purchase as we have not had official mortgage acceptance. Definatley cannot buy a new build but there are some more that are 10yrs old which we could afford. Made appointments to see them next weekend so we will see if the pictures reflect the actual thing.

Pengwern

So I have just been for a run and it gave me time to think. I have regigged the spreadsheet and decided to pay more off the CC as I go along rather than putting it all in savings. I want our credit file to show we owe as little as possible for when we apply for another mortgage and it seems that the credit file information is at least a month out of date. therefore by my logic if we make one large payment and then apply for the mortgage before our file is updated we will look like we owe more than we do. I have signed up for the 30day free trial with experian. never done anything like this before. it is quite interesting and scary how much information about you they hold. Have put the date in my diary to cancel so no charges are incurred.

Off to write a job application, not sure if I want the role. however it does mean a pay rise of £4k/yr so not something I can pass over. it is only temporary and we definatly help with the debt repayment. Not something I want to do on a BH but husband is working and it will keep me from driving to the shops.

Pengwern

Last night I paid 10% off the cc debt. That. Felt good and so did colouring 10 squares on the ss. Only another 90 to go! I think I can pay some more off this month but want to wait for the boiler repair bill to come in first before I clear out the surplus from our account. Husband is currently making 1% a week extra from some additional work. Not a Huge amount but it all helps. Sale items sold for a large amount, much more than expecting. So that helped with the 10% pay off. Some more still to sell but I will wait a few weeks to do that.

Low spend weekend but high fuel use so that budget is going to be tight this month.

Just2Ashamed

Just wanted to say congratulations and good luck on your debt-busting journey. I think I may have to introduce my sister to this diary... she gets married next month and is already stressing! Your jam and chutneys sound delish too

Pengwern

Thank you for the lovely comments. Have a fabulous time at your sisters wedding, tell her not too stress, it is the only time you will get a room full of people all wishing you all the best in the world. It is an amazing feeling.

Posted sale items yesterday, my postage estimates are getting very good now, so all done in the amount I charged. One item is hopefully being picked up tonight, then I more I item is still to pay.

Paid a few more pounds off the cc last night to round up the joint account. Fuel was put in car yesterday and it was 2 weeks ago I last filled up. That is unheard of normally, so lets hope the month carries on like this.

Pengwern

Not much to report, this time in the month always frustrates me. I have made a payment to the cc but left some surplus in case of unexpected bills. It is then only at the end of the month that I can make another payment if that surplus is still there. I guess I should consider myself lucky I have a surplus, but shifting this debt is not going quick enough for my liking. Trying to see if I can cut back on anything else, but having looked at my expenditure last month all I brought was fuel and food. So unless we go hungry that is it. I already buy the value brands and know the prices of our staples. So when they reduce in price I stock up.

Pengwern

Good food shop this week, it came in under £20. The cc is now standing at £3674.63 so I feel real progress is being made. We started with over £4k and at its highest it was over £5k. So still a lot of progress needed if I am to clear it by Xmas when the 0% ends. I really do not want to pay any balance transfer fees if I can help it. Currently at the in laws and helping them clear up after the hoards have just left. 3 loads of washing and some hoovering. I feel my bed and board has been covered.

This week is going to be costly on fuel as I am in the office every day. However on 3 weeks till my role changes and hopefully my fuel consumption should plummet. Final sale item has just been paid for, so trip to the post office for me this week. One more bag of stuff to sell but I will leave it a while as I need to be in a strong frame of mind to deal will that stuff.

Eon also sent us a letter saying we could have a smart meter installed. Not sure if it is a good idea or not. I regularly send in meter readings so it seems like hassle for no real benefit. I guess when we all have to have them it is going to catch some people out who get estimated bills way below their actual consumption.