SarahNeedle1872 - DFW Diary

SarahNeedle1872

Just thought I'd start my own diary... I spend a lot of time reading other people diarys and I think they are great way to document progress. I don't expect my diary to be addictive like everyone elses (I-A, onedayiwil and Sea78 to name but a few) because nothing very exciting happens in my life, and I don't mind if no one else reads it. I intend to use this as a motivational tool, but if anyone has any comments to make, please feel free!

Previous SOA...

SarahNeedle1872 wrote: »

Income

My salary £1200 - SMP starts in 8 weeks time £432 per month
OH salary £1150 basic

Total £2350 - £1582 with SMP


Outgoings

Rent £625
Council Tax £121
Elec £50
Food £400
TV Licence £11.05
Sky £55
Phone/Int £55
Mob1 £40
Mob2 £70
Car Ins £508 paid yearly
Petrol £50
Home Cont Ins £12
Pet Ins £14.50
Child Main £160
Smoking £160
Drinking out £250
Savings £150
Newspapers £30

Total £2254 (not inc car ins or debt repayment)


Debts

First Direct Loan £5000 @6.9% for 24 repayments - Total £5357.90
4 payments made @ 223.25, remaining £4464.90
Egg CC £3000 @16.9%
Morgan Stanley CC £535 @ 15.9%

Total £7999.90


Actions so far

Have just applied and been initially approved for Sainsburys Bank CC, fee free transfer, 0% for 5 months (only £2500 tho, got rejected for 12 month 0% ). Also Egg 'anniversary' month in May, so 0% balance transfer available then (3% fee)

Checked Council Tax Banding - we are in line with the whole street

£2 pot started, odds pot on the go already. Going towards reusable nappies for impending bambino.


Next Steps

OH on budget of £40 per week drinking out:beer:
OH giving up smoking:eek:

Food bill mission £50 per week inc dog food.

Sell watch on eBay

Unused CDs/DVDs onto Amazon

Review Car/Dog/Contents ins.

Review Elec supplier (would do Water too, but only been here 6 months, and never had a bill or the meter read!)

Walk the dog - not entirely relevant but need to buy a Spend/Bill diary, so gonna walk to cheap bookshop in town rather than drive

Previous SOA posted above, have made quite a few changes, but won't post myself a new SOA until I know what childcare costs I'm gonna have -but I will say OH is still not smoking, has cut his going out right down since DS was born, shopping is never more than £50 per week, altho I now have a sperate budget for dog food. Also sold a far bit on eBay/Amazon, and saved as much as possible to add to the figure in my sig.

That's it for now, I will update when I have a better idea of my figures.

I will also just say thank you to everyone who has helped me, whether they were aware of it or not. This is a fantastic support network, long may it continue!!!

Sarah x

superpup

Hi Sarah

I don't post often but saw your diary down on page 2 and wanted to bump it up for you!

Don't put yourself down. I've seen your posts on other threads and you're certainly not boring! I'm sure loads of the regulars will be posting on here once they spot it.

Congrats on birth of DS too :T

Well done to your OH for giving up smoking and cutting down on the beer. :beer:

I've been obsessed lately messing about with spreadsheets and trying to cut expenses here and there and plan for future bills. It's all I do and think about. It's soooo addictive isn't it?

I don't feel qualified to delve into your SOA but I'm sure other peeps will do soon. I'm sure it'll be sky that gets it first, lol :rolleyes:

Anyway, I wish you lots of luck.
x

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

Hello Sarah

Congratulations on your successes so far .... 30% off your debt (wish i were there!!)

I’m sure others have scrutinised your S.O.A on previous post so im not going to further ... however ...

Couple of things.

Noticed you have a <£1 or found pot! (how long has this been going for??) - Definitely open this and pay it into your savings account or off a debt. Its costing YOU interest whilst its in there.

Also, with reference to your savings for your credit card, if you cannot pay off the credit card in full, make sure you pay off the penultimate statement, therefore you will only be charged interest on the difference (currently £2548.68 - £1828.47 = £720.21), instead of the b/forward balance(£2548.68). It could save you £40 or so in interest charges....

Fantastic news on OH giving up smoking - specially with the littlen (bless)

Wishing you every bit of luck (and earned success)

SarahNeedle1872

ThankYouAndEnjoy! wrote: »

Hello Sarah

Congratulations on your successes so far .... 30% off your debt (wish i were there!!)

I’m sure others have scrutinised your S.O.A on previous post so im not going to further ... however ...

Couple of things.

Noticed you have a <£1 or found pot! (how long has this been going for??) - Definitely open this and pay it into your savings account or off a debt. Its costing YOU interest whilst its in there.

Also, with reference to your savings for your credit card, if you cannot pay off the credit card in full, make sure you pay off the penultimate statement, therefore you will only be charged interest on the difference (currently £2548.68 - £1828.47 = £720.21), instead of the b/forward balance(£2548.68). It could save you £40 or so in interest charges....

Fantastic news on OH giving up smoking - specially with the littlen (bless)

Wishing you every bit of luck (and earned success)

Cheers. I've got another card with a 0% deal on til March 08, so when the current on runs out, I'm gonna pay off the money I've got, then BT the rest. Hopefully by March, I'll have saved enough to pay it all off!

It's been quite tough getting the 30% off, but I am b***dy determined to do it... I have to go easy for a couple of months til I go back to work tho, with matty pay, we can just about cover the basic bills, and all the xmas saving etc will have to go on hold. Thank goodness for 0% CCs, at least I won't be paying interest!

I am v proud of OH, it has been very hard for him to give up smoking, but he has done SO well staying off them since Feb... and he goes out nowhere near as much.... Love him!

Sarah x

SarahNeedle1872

superpup wrote: »

Hi Sarah

I don't post often but saw your diary down on page 2 and wanted to bump it up for you!

Don't put yourself down. I've seen your posts on other threads and you're certainly not boring! I'm sure loads of the regulars will be posting on here once they spot it.

Congrats on birth of DS too :T

Well done to your OH for giving up smoking and cutting down on the beer. :beer:

I've been obsessed lately messing about with spreadsheets and trying to cut expenses here and there and plan for future bills. It's all I do and think about. It's soooo addictive isn't it?

I don't feel qualified to delve into your SOA but I'm sure other peeps will do soon. I'm sure it'll be sky that gets it first, lol :rolleyes:

Anyway, I wish you lots of luck.
x

Thanks... I've never been bumped before!

I must admit, between this site and my spreadsheets, I hardly look at anything else other than online banking! I am proud to say I am addicted

I will post a new SOA once I can figure everything out. OH has just been given a payrise, but they didn't action it in time for pay day, so I have no clue what his new take home is. Plus DS might be going into nursery a couple of days a week when I go back to work, so that'll be something else to add... But when I have posted it, please feel free to comment on it. More often than not, I get my 'advice' from other peoples questions/comments rather than asking my own, so any suggestions will be welcome.
I do have to admit that Sky will probs be the one luxury we do keep, as OH is working so hard, he doesn't go out much anymore, and normally just collapses on the sofa watching TV after work. And after me forcing him to give up smoking (that's his take on it!), Sky is our one compromise... I am working on him tho, just might take a while!

Sarah x

superpup

Hi again

More often than not, I get my 'advice' from other peoples questions/comments rather than asking my own, so any suggestions will be welcome.

Definitely with you on that one. I've found that whilst I haven't been posting, I've learnt pretty much everything I've put into practice in the last few months just from reading diaries, etc on here.

I don't have sky but notice whenever people comment on SOA's it's always the first thing they mention. I agree that your OH has been brilliant on the not smoking and going out fronts and that's a very fair compromise!

How many pets is your pet insurance for? I used to be with Petplan just for my dog but when I went to put the cat on it I noticed the premium had gone up loads so I got a quote from Sainsburys and I insured both the cat and the dog for the same price I was paying per month for just the dog with Petplan IFSWIM?

No problems with getting them to pay up either. Cat had accident 2 months into policy and they paid up around £500 really quickly. My friend has her pet insurance with Tesco and I think she said that was pretty cheap.

x

SarahNeedle1872

superpup wrote: »

Hi again



Definitely with you on that one. I've found that whilst I haven't been posting, I've learnt pretty much everything I've put into practice in the last few months just from reading diaries, etc on here.

I don't have sky but notice whenever people comment on SOA's it's always the first thing they mention. I agree that your OH has been brilliant on the not smoking and going out fronts and that's a very fair compromise!

How many pets is your pet insurance for? I used to be with Petplan just for my dog but when I went to put the cat on it I noticed the premium had gone up loads so I got a quote from Sainsburys and I insured both the cat and the dog for the same price I was paying per month for just the dog with Petplan IFSWIM?

No problems with getting them to pay up either. Cat had accident 2 months into policy and they paid up around £500 really quickly. My friend has her pet insurance with Tesco and I think she said that was pretty cheap.

x

I'm insured with Direct Line. I know its quite expensive, but we're in the middle of a claim, so I think it'd be quite expensive to renew. BUT what I am paying is still cheaper than with Petplan, their premiums made it to nearly £17 a month:eek: (Labarador, 6 yrs old, only ever one claim with Petplan). Reading ur post has just reminded me to chase the claim tho, it must have been a couple of weeks ago I put the form in!

Sarah x

blackangeluk

Hi Sarah

Wow you have done amazing in such a small time - I bet you're so pleased :T I can completely relate to not looking at anything else on the internet apart from this site or internet banking :rotfl:

I have read loads of people's diaries and I think they are all inspirational as it's amazing the progress people make and how motivated everyone is and you are exactly the same.

Off now to convince my DS it really is bed time and not play time

SarahNeedle1872

ThankYouAndEnjoy! wrote: »

Noticed you have a <£1 or found pot! (how long has this been going for??) - Definitely open this and pay it into your savings account or off a debt. Its costing YOU interest whilst its in there.

My money pot has been going since my LBM in Jan, but I already banked £26. I tried not to count it because I get really impatient and always bank it before theres loads in there... But I just counted it again, and there's £41.83! I am well chuffed . This pot is for my OD and the only reason I haven't put it in the account yet is that I'm still using that account and I don't want it spent. I have just opened a basic account, and I will transfer any money that's left after all the DD's are covered into that account. Food/dog food/petrol money will also go into the basic account, then when the money's gone, it's gone. That way I know whats coming out of the 'problem account' every month, so any extra I put in there will go towards paying the OD.
Once everything's sorted, I'll put the cash towards the OD (hopefully by next pay day!) and if I'm really good, they'll be a few more pennies in there:rotfl:

Sarah x

SarahNeedle1872

blackangeluk wrote: »

Hi Sarah

Wow you have done amazing in such a small time - I bet you're so pleased :T I can completely relate to not looking at anything else on the internet apart from this site or internet banking :rotfl:

I have read loads of people's diaries and I think they are all inspirational as it's amazing the progress people make and how motivated everyone is and you are exactly the same.

Off now to convince my DS it really is bed time and not play time

Aaaah, looking forward to that! DS is being really good atm, he's sleeping from 2000 thru til between 0630-0830. He's 3 mths old and is so nosey, he hardly sleeps during the day for fear of missing something (I'm trying to establish a lunchtime nap, but he's not having any of it!).

I am pleased with what I've done so far, and even OH is starting to come round to the DFW way, so I'm not on my own so much anymore. I do feel a bit silly sometimes tho, because there are a lot of people on here dealing with far worse debts/problems than me. My debt's smaller than many peoples but it still stresses me.... I guess it's all relative.

Sarah x

debtfreewannabee_3

Congratulations On The Success Earned So Far.