Financially Free by 31.12.2013

Sunflower27

Morning Everyone,

You are all doing so well.
I am slightly off on what I wanted to pay this month but a lot has been going on so won't beat myself up about it. I have managed to pay off £320.00 and I haven't racked up anymore debt so not all bad.
The next two weeks will be tight but I like to see it as a challenge

I hope you all have lovely days today.

Sunflower

Shelbi

Afternoon Sunflower27:wave:

Thank you..so are you, your so write you havent overspent or racked up any debt & youve made a payment which is fab!! £320 isnt small change so I hope you feel really good about it, your doing well hun & were all well on route to freedom!!..Thats the spirit, its a challenge...still hope the 2 weeks fly as comfortably as possible..Im counting down to payday now 9 days..realised its moved forward because of the bank hols..whoop whoop!!! :beer:

Hope your having a lovely day too hun

horseshoe_crab

Hellooo

I love an early payday due to the date falling on a weekend or a bank holiday! I had a very bad night last night, stayed up for hours at about midnight thinking about the payday loans. This month is tight because of the housemove (although I have done quite well at getting everything at discount prices). There are a lot of uncertainties (possible extra moving costs, we also don't know when boyfriend will get his salary because its a new job) so i was just sitting up calculating the cashflow in my head.... Its going to be a squeeze to pay off these awful loans but i am determined to do it by all means possible.

Shelbi

Hi Horseshoe, sorry for delayed reply, yesterday was a crazily busy day at work & as i was out in the evening had to be sure it was all completed befre I left. Sorry to hear you had a bad nights sleep hun, but all the more reason to keep at it in 5 months time youll never have to worry about these debts again!! exciting times!:D

Congratulations on the house move & your partners new job, sounds like a busy time for you guys but a positive one too!!:j you wil get there for sure.:beer:

As for me I didnt go to cinema on wednesday just hung out with a friend instead so i had another nsd (8th). Yesterday was a spend day for sure, went out for drinks which also turned into dinner, I have to say the food was delicious & the wine & laughs were plenty, the damage was £40 but I had such a wonderful time I dont feel too guilty.;)...

This morning I was feeling well worse for wear but I did still manage to cycle in, back on the nsd, determined to get back on track, this weekend will hopefully be spend free! *fingers cross*

Making small sales on ebay £1 here and there...feeling grateful..am working on changing my thoughts to money & wealth reading and watching seminars...right now bob proctors-you were born rich (youtube) its brilliant and made me think. From this im planning to put aside 5% of my net salary into a savings account not for debt repayment but just for me, it cannot be touched (should be 10% but I pay another 5% to pension scheme already) so effectively am paying myself 10% overall. Going to put it in a savings account which works perfectly as if I open the first direct account I can waive the £10 fee by taking out a direct savings account with them its interest is 6% which is good:money:. It will make me feel better & hopefully ill have a starting pad already once this debt has been abolished....well this is the plan...nothing else to report just counting down to payday and clock watching, im so ready for the weekend to begin.....hope you all have a wonderful weekend everyone :beer:

Shelbi

Wowza!! been sitting here at my desk playing with the mortgage calculator to see how much repayments would be if I were to purchase a place for myself *forward thinking*...what can I say was bored & down to my last hour chained to my desk. Anyhow I put in £171,000 borrowed at 4.3% and was shocked by the results over 25yrs bank "X" would expect me to pay £296,616.00 (£988.72x 12 x 25)....im feeling queezy, thats £125,616.00 in interest payments...holy cow!!:eek: They must think im crazy I could get another flat for that!!...that will teach me to play about...curiousity done killed me. What kind of madness is this....whoah!! sorry random thoughts but I had to share, i've never looked at it that way before...not even with my last place...this is what happens when I try to do anything other than online shop...darn it lol!:rotfl:

Sorry on a positive note its Friday people!!! so for the majority its party time..have a fab weekend:beer:

horseshoe_crab

hi Shelbi! Hope you had a good night out because you surely deserved it! I am feeling better now because I have pretty much bought everything for the new place and anything else I need will just be small things maybe second hand from gumtree. And I still have about £100 left over which will go towards the evil which is debt as soon as i am certain i am sorted for the new place! Boyfriends job is going really well, he is getting so many extra hours which is going to help (we have been on my salary alone for 3years which is sort of why I am in this mess)

The mortgage interest might seem high, but imagine how much you would be paying in rent if you don't have a mortgage...ots probably the same or more than the interest! The number is scary but rental costs for a 25year period are probably more scary. Anyway you are doing so well I am sure you will beat this soon and then at least you will have the option to buy if you want! The savings is a great idea, I will do that too (as soon as I kill these PDLs)

Shelbi

Hi horseshoe!!

Thank you it was nice to let my hair down for a little while...I think that's me set until my sis I laws birthday next month hehe...plus side I'm losing weight (this debt battle has some plus points lol)
So happy the new place is coming along, fingers crossed that all the moving costs stop here & you can throw that £100 on your cards(back in the black before you know it)!! So happy for you that your oh is getting on we'll in his new job, fab news on the overtime..the two of you will kill off that nasty debt in no time!!!

Your so right on the mortgage, better to pay & have something to show for it at the end rather than pay someone else's mortgage off...I think I am more disturbed at the cheek of the banks..is love to own one right now I can tell ya, will defiantly aim to get a mortgage when I've sorted out this...have been reading the mortgage free wanna be, I'm liking that idea...as you can see imma run before I walk kinda girl lool!!

Think this evening ill be looking for all expected expenditure & break it down into monthly figure that way I can make sure I squirrel enough cash to cover everything...would love to be in a position to not use my cards again...gosh my life is so rock & roll lol!

Hope you have a fab evening HSC... Enjoy the weekend x

horseshoe_crab

ooh an expenditure breakdown... I like it! Great idea! Me and boyfriend usually budget about £30 per week per person for food shopping, household products and toiletries. Then we budget £25 per week per person for snacks, lunch at work, "luxury" toiletries, or a coffee and cake together. Does this seem high or low compared to you because I know you are also living in London? On top of that we have the rent, 2 mobile contracts, 2 oyster travelcards, and broadband which are paid monthly. Doesn't seem an awful lot, so once new place is settled should be able to shift this debt dramatically.

A mortgage is a great goal, I am just worried about the payday loans on my credit file:( its really sad because I don't have any defaults or missed payments, so I could have got a decent credit file once all the debt is paid off....except for these payday loans which apparently deter lenders even if they are paid off ontime

But one step at a time, just being debt free will have a huge impact on my life! Lets stay determined!

horseshoe_crab

hmmm thinking about it the £25 per week for what is effectively unneccessary spending seems high.... Boyfriend did suggest we cut it to £20. The trouble is in my workplace most people are on six figure salaries so pub lunches and trips to get coffee are commonplace for them, and that is what I spend a lot of my £25 on! And since I am lower down in the hierarchy (intern) I really need to network with everyone...! Its a difficult situation loool

Shelbi

Hi HSC,

Hope your having a fab Saturday, ive been trying my hand at upcycling, basically the curtains I brought for my bedroom are see though at night when the lights on, so unknowingly been giving neighbours a peep show...not that I get up to much mostly ee is me changing into pjs or dancing around the room like a loon...anyhow I quite like the set so with an old bed sheet for lining and some wonder web I have solved the problem& saved myself shelling out another £20...if I'd been clever I'd have carried on dancing and billed them Lool (kidding).

I'd say the food shop sounds about right hun, unless your veggie as meat well expensive, I've taken to heading to the butcher's for bargains & eating more chicken, fruit & veg kinda cheap there too...I tend to buy meat in bulk, separate it into food bags in meal portions then freeze it, so I don't waste any and can make the most of it.

£25 a week for spends not so bad, London's expensive, especially if your going out.though you could probably cut it down a bit...try the no spend days challenge, that's helped me loads...£20 also sounds good no need to go cold turkey just yet, could always set challenge with other half who can have the most left over at the end of the week...winner gets massage or lunch made for them? anyway to make saving fun lol!
I have to admit I'm not a coffee drinker, am partial to a cup of rosey though, my friends and I started doing afternoon tea, we get deals from groupon..usually works out £6 each for tea on tap, sandwhiches, scones & sometimes a glass of fizz...saying that maybe you & hubby could buy a really nice coffee and have it at home, grab a cake from asda or make one, definetly work out cheaper than shop...if your by waitrose you can get a loyalty card it's free, you can get free teas & coffees in the cafe...maybe could take colleagues there? better still let them pay, they're higher earners afterall...pub lunch is tricky I feel your pain anyway you can make it working lunch and expense it?...I'd definitely give the £20 a week ago...keeping the extra £5 just incase...I try budget £50 spends a month but as you read my diary you can see that a night out at the cinema & nights out take there toll..my weaknesses for sue. gonna give the £50 spends ago this month though, I'll keep trying till I get there lol.... what's this luxury toiletries business that could maybe be cut? although we all need pampering..tis a human right...I'm a order for beauty products so I put myself on a no more buying products all used up regime, I've saved a fortune these last few months...also taken to giving my self facials, manis & pedicures...not as good as getting them done by someone else, again i grab groupon when the offers good...could go for noname or like boots own brands, apparently not too much difference, you can tell I've been watching superscrimpers again lol...swap from one extreme to the other...my outgoings are pretty similar, rent, ct, mobile, oyster, have sorted my expenses, will upload when I'm back at work this phone won't let me post it...sorry for the essay...have a fab evening xX