Debt free diary - time to sort things out

Bex296

Hi Fae, thanks for the encouragement!

Bex296

So, towards the end of month 1, what have I learned?

My money goes on lots of random stuff.
Spending total exceeded this month, vastly. It totalled £170 rather than £120 I was aiming for. Some was random stuff I should avoid (eg, coffee at work), lots was a couple of trains into London and surprisingly £60 on eating/drinking out- I thought it was a lot less than that, but there have been a few occasions when friends I haven't seen in months have been down! So things I can improve on, and I'm getting better at choosing the low end of the menu rather than the high.

My diesel was an overspend by £13, but as I had a fuel leak for at least 2 weeks I think that's probably more than it should be! Said fuel leak then cost £180 to fix, but happily my OH paid half as although he doesn't use the car much, he does use it and doesn't contribute much to the day-to-day stuff.

I am (slightly naughtily) starting the 'new' month from tomorrow with an overspend (ALREADY!) as I have just got a new camera. Most of the cost has been offset by selling my old one and OH buying me the rest for Christmas/Birthday but there is about £60 that is over.... But as I have a £70 amazon voucher on the way that OH is buying off me as he uses Amazon much more, that will fix that when it arrives. Not sure this is the best way to start the month, but in the last two weeks with no camera since I sold the old one I've kept wanting to use one, and there are some gatherings over the festive month that I want to take pics at. So as long as that £70 goes right back into where it should, it's probably ok.

More control is the key, I think. I'm not great yet but I'm heading in the right direction. At least I now know where stuff is going, a little more is trickling into the credit cards and I'm controlling the monthly budget much more strictly (mine and the household one.). Baby steps...

Bex296

I've been goods and bad today.... On the good side, I spent five tedious hours invigilating for an exam and earning some extra pennies. On the bad side, I was running late this morning so bought lunch. Oops!

Bex296

Good things I've done today:
- Got a quote to sell an old camera lens for a camera I no longer have
- Signed up to a host of terrifying MSE forum challenges
- Realised I do not have a Christmas Tree stand (bought one in a pot last year, and killed it), so attempting to get one from eBay for < £5 rather than buying new when we get a tree

Bad things:
- Got distracted on ebay and bid for some lenses for the new camera. However, it's extremely unlikely that I will win either at the bids I am on so I might be safe...


I have now left ebay and intend to log off the interwebs entirely before the end of the auctions so I don't fall into an exciting (but expensive) last-minute bidding war!

Fae

Hi Bex

Far to easy to fall into the trap of unplanned spends isn't it, that's one of my downfalls to, but at least you logged of from ebay before the end of the aution, those last min bidding wars can be additive.

It sounds like you are begining to understand where your money goes, which is always a good first step. I'm sure you will get there

Fae

Bex296

Urgh. I thought I was doing pretty well, and had the month sorted.

Then I reversed into a car at the stables (I exercise a friend's horse when she's too busy so I can ride for free ) as I was paying more attention to where the dogs were. It's only got a couple of scratches, but the garage the owner uses is charging £372. My car is actually worse off, but as the scrape is on the bumper which is plastic and I'm not fussy about these things, it can wait until I get round to doing it myself with a tin of paint from Halfords.
No point claiming via insurance as my excess is £250, and if I lose my 9 years no-claims my premium will go up from £350 a year to over £1k :eek:!
Oh well. At least I didn't squash a dog! I really don't give a crap about cars - they have always been simply an irritating necessity to me- but I would be devastated if I squashed a dog.

Still, the credit cards will miss those extra payments!

Fae

Hi Bex,

Sorry to hear about the accident, but as you say the most important thing is that no-one was hurt and you didn't squash any dogs . I know waht you mean about claiming on the car insurance, it seems to rarely be worth it now unless the car is written of. Don't let it put you of your DFW stride you will still get there.

Fae

Bex296

Hi Fae, thanks for your kind words! I've been neglecting my diary a bit this month as I've been spending a lot of time on challenge forums.

Bex296

This month I have mostly been participating in Debt Destruction December, which has been a great motivation and a lot of fun. I'm not doing too well on the challenges, but I'm doing a lot better than I would be if I wasn't on the challenge. So I'll continue this next year with each monthly challenge!

I've also decided to set myself a (probably mad) challenge for the start of the year. I'd love to go and visit a charity I worked for a few years ago, as I really miss it. It's pretty cheap, as accommodation is at a friend's house so it's just flights and a bit of food (I usually take £100 spending money for a week, and come back with change. £50 would be more than plenty if I was being frugal!). So all in I could do a week for £450, or even £400 depending on flights, it used to be cheaper but alas, the budget airlines aren't flying at the moment.

However, an unnecessary £450 splurge isn't very MSE, so my challenge is that I have to save enough to do that ON TOP of my current goals, and MATCH IT with extra credit card payments. This is in contrast to my old method, which was 'Screw it, you only live once!' before plonking flights on a credit card. I reckon the fact that it's probably my favourite place in the world to be will help curb unnecessary spending, and encourage me to find creative ways of making a few extra pounds.

Why is it mad? Well, I'm going to try and do it by April... :rotfl:

So, another challenge to add to the list... I have a few things I can sell that my parents want out of their house, so hopefully that will make a few extra pennies. I've decided that money allowed to reach the target is extra money from selling stuff/extra work, and leftover money from my monthly 'spend' budget. Money left over from my wages that hasn't been budgeted as a 'spend' has already been allocated to the credit cards.


In other news, OH and I are mounting a joint attack on the credit cards, by snowballing them all together. This means mine will be cleared a bit sooner than I had anticipated, and his not too long after (as mine have worse interest rates). Without extra payments, the joint DFD would be Feb 2016, but we're aiming to get our combined debts done by April 2015, which is my original DFD aim- only now, we're teaming up and clearing a total of £13868 (plus a bit from my loans and HP for the car). :eek:

Well, you have to aim high....

Fae

Hi Bex,

Good luck to you on your saving plan, it sounds like something you would really enjoy, and it is important to do enjoyable things even when trying to get rid of debt, otherwise I think we would all get fed up and give up.

Fae