What have I been doing for the last 10 years???

NinjaSavingKat

Domayne wrote: »

Feel free to give me any advice you've got! Im seriously bad with money, accounts, interest rates...basically anything financial and at times, need a good butt kicking!

Right first off I am sorry I didn't see your post straight away. I run a thread on the DFW board and it takes up all my time on MSE usually... but we are all here to help each other so I shall break things down.

First off from your original post and from my calculation rounded up you owe £16,200. Do you realise it was this high? Have you seen it writen down before?

Second I am going to let the laser removal slide. Keep it. It's your incentive to push hard at getting the debt paid off becuase I would suggest that you no longer buy it again as you simply cannot afford to. If we work out a plan that you can stick to, AND you find you must have this laser therapy then you need to save for that on to of paying off your debt?

So the question is how much can you pay off per month? If you have at your disposal each month around £800 I would suggest that you pay off at least £700 per month. BUT there is the issue of £400 "pocket money"...? Who are you trying to kid?

Minus everything you have listed you should have £1261.60 left. Your food ( if not paid for by your parents although you should be paying for this yourself ) will be £100. And that is being generous. This leaves you with £1161.60 left.

Perhaps £61.60 to play with or keep as a miscellaneous pot.

With £1000 per month ( to be paid off ON PAY-DAY ) you will be debt free in £16 months??? Is there ANY possible way you could stick to this??? I know it's hard but think of it this way....

You get to continue putting money away for your neice. If you can do this debt busting plan though - and adding on a few months of money saving - you could take her to Disneyland? You could also put money away in order to get something you want - your own house maybe? A holiday somewhere exotic?

You need to look towards what is possible when you are debt free. This will help you focus.

I was £16600 in debt on November 1st 2012. 1 year later and my last payment will be on 31st November 2013. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE - you just need to want it badly!!!

1. You must confess to your sister.
2. You must give up ALL online games and get a life outside your bedroom - that's free.
3. You must look for a second job or take overtime at work.
4. You must stop buying clothes - all clothes including the January sales.
5. You must stop eating out!
6. You must stop extravagant Christmas gifts - give them all a £10 Amazon voucher, tell 'em all your in debt - tha usually shuts people up.

It sounds simple, it's gonna be tough. Depends on how much you want to be debt free.


Hope this gives you something to run with.


NSK


x x x

Domayne

Nsk - You sound like a torture master! :rotfl:
I think I was very confusing in the first post though - My debt at its highest was 12.5k which was in 2008/09 when I got super strict with myself..or rather the guy I was seeing (the one whose ring I just sold) came and cleaned up my life in a way - when we met that was my debt, I was addicted to neopets, I was a huge stoner (an 8th a day!) And he got me on the straight and narrow...stopped smoking that and cleared up my debts and cancelled my overdraft but kept the two credit cards 'just in case' skip forward to january 2012 when we broke up...I went a bit crazy and started smoking again, went crazy blowing money on my game, paid for me and a friend to go to egypt...and within 6 months had maxed out both cards again (10k) the end of last yearI had another lbm...and now my debt is at around 3.5k which I hope to have paid off by the end of january/February the LATEST!
I really want to save for a house deposit, but that will probably mean another 5/6 years living with my parents...although I don't mind this much as I like living with then...although at 35 that might be a bit sad?? And really hoping I dont 'fall off the wagon' again which is why I started this diary hoping that other people reading it would make me not wanting to look like a failure. ..

As for your list xD

1 - I don't really want to confess this to anyone, not even my best friend/parents as I feel like I got myself in this mess and I want to sort it out by myself, if I tell anyone I know they will want to help and I don't want them to feel like that...
2 - I really know I need to do this like I said in a previous post, I haven't spent a penny there this month and haven't really been playing but I do have a lot of friends ive made over the years there and don't want to not talk to them...
3 - I already work 60 hours a week and think ill die if I do anymore although I can work weekends and bank holidays for the double money if I wish too which at the beginning of the year I took advantage of ALOT but then by july/august I felt kinda tired/burnt out
4 - I hardly ever buy clothes to be really honest, maybe once in 5-6 months ill go and buy some new jeans or a few tops but even then its pretty cheap, I like nice quality jeans though because I feel they last longer and primark ones always fit me funny...:s
5 - Again I don't do this that often...maybe once a month or every 2 months, my main problem areas are - smoking, games, coke, magazines and food while I'm at work...though this week I have brought my own lunches from home and only bought some cereal, milk and squash. ..oh and some cans of diet coke :P
6 - I know this one I SHOULD do as well. I've budgeted another 600 to spend this month for xmas but will look at getting it down /hides

I really appreciate your advice and will definitely take it on board and try and apply -most- of it :rotfl: I feel like I have taken alot of positive steps...albeit baby steps but I really feel...deprived? 100 a MONTH does not sound realistic for me...yet but I really hope that I become as mse as you...I checked out your thread...25 NSD'S A MONTH!! Your a harsh lady :rotfl: but I think I will join your thread in january...I know I won't be able to achieve that next month but january I get paid 3 times (around 2600) so hopinh to throw at least 2k at the cc and will aim for alot of nsd's...

emslovesmickey

The handy tips are definitely good! I have only started this year but so far i have become addicted to cross stitch, do papercraft, whatever project is in the latest Crafty Creatives box (tried needle felting yesterday). I'm still trying to find my niche, but i'm enjoying it and, best of all, now that i have a reasonable stash, doing projects means that i'm not shopping online

Domayne

ems the woman I work with crochets and I've been thinking about learning to do that, but cross stitching sounds fun as well! So does papercraft even though I have no idea what it means?? :rotfl: I need a hobby though tbh as the only thing I do now is work, play subeta and read DFD's on here Trouble is I've never been very creative and lack imagination!

emslovesmickey

Domayne wrote: »

ems the woman I work with crochets and I've been thinking about learning to do that, but cross stitching sounds fun as well! So does papercraft even though I have no idea what it means?? :rotfl: I need a hobby though tbh as the only thing I do now is work, play subeta and read DFD's on here Trouble is I've never been very creative and lack imagination!

I was exactly the same but it's amazing the inspiration you get from magazines etc. Papercraft is cardmaking essentially but you can do other things too (like today i decorated a birdhouse). I started out only this year by subscribing to the CC box - they send you a box of themed crafts every month, most of which you use how you want to, plus a kit with instructions. If you like the idea of cross stitching, maybe pick a mag with a free gift up (and i know you are trying to cut down on mags) just to see whether you would like it before forking out on a kit?

Northerness

Hi Domayne,

I might be able to offer some advice for the Diet Coke. It worked for me anyway...

...I had a SERIOUS Diet Coke problem. It was so bad that I used to be embarrassed buying it because I drank so much, I thought the shop assistants would think I was a weirdo. I would easily get through six cans a day, or 2-3 small bottles. I couldn't go a day at work without buying a Boots Meal Deal either because I'd need another Diet Coke by lunchtime.

I stopped drinking Diet Coke completely several months ago and haven't had one since. Mostly I stopped because I was concerned about my teeth (I love having nice teeth and I started getting worried I was damaging them)...but I also was worried the aspartame wasn't good for me - and it was costing me lots of money!

How I stopped. I started substituting my Diet Coke with a Boots Shapers Cream Soda drink with my Meal Deal each day. It gave me the sweet hit you get with Diet Coke but after 4weeks I was absolutely sick of the taste of it! This is when I swapped it for a San Pellegrino (sparkling water). By this point I'd stopped craving Diet Coke and the water tasted SO refreshing after weeks of sickly cream soda...but it still feels like a treat because of the fizz. Now I've stopped the Meal Deals completely, and take my lunch to work.

My fridge is now full of bottles of sparkling water and it's so cheap too. I am now on supermarket own-brands - and you can get a 2L bottle for 17p. You can also buy bulk packs of smaller bottles at very cheap prices from places like Lidl. If I MUST have a coke, I'll have a full-fat version but this is only if I'm in a pub or at McDonalds and I will never buy a bottle of Diet Coke ever again. I'm extremely unlikely to become addicted to the full-fat version as I'd be terrified of getting fat and drinking empty calories, so I reserve this for a treat. I am actually addicted to the sparkling water now, but at least it is good for me and cheap too.

Now when I think of Diet Coke (or any diet-based or Sugar-free aspartame drinks), I think of POISON and I can't believe I abused my body with it for so long. *shudders*.

Good luck and hope this post is of some use!

Domayne

Ems - I looked in my local shop this morning but they didn't have any kind of craft magazines I might have to take a walk over to WH Smiths tomorrow (payday! :j ) to see if they have any there, I think I will get a magazine with a free gift first rather than forking out for a whole kit (Or I could always steal some of yours since they're coming out of your ears :P)

Northerness - Thank you for the sparkling water tip, your post was definitely useful! However, I've tried sparkling water (or was it tonic water...0.o) and I didn't really like it It tasted like fizzy air...if that made sense xD I do need to stop drinking diet coke though as my teeth are getting a bit rotten and not only that but I think it is the main cause of my heartburn and you know sometimes it feels like you can feel the insides of your body kind of melting away...lol, I have started drinking more water mixed with squash (sugar free) and I feel this is better for me, it just doesn't give that...burn? You know? I have cut down to 1 can a day for the last week...baby steps xD I think if I try and give up EVERYTHING at once, I will just be dooming myself to failure

I wonder if someone can help me with this...I ordered my credit report from equifax this morning and...I don't really understand it tbh, It shows that all my accounts are up to date, with one late payment to my halifax credit card in April of this year (I WAS late because I kind of forgot, which is the first payment I've ever missed/been late with since I got the card in 2005) everything else looks pretty good...except an account with barclays, which was opened in May 2007 and 'settled' in May 2009....but I've never opened an account with Barclays?? My overall credit score was 375...I'm not sure if this is good or bad? How can I increase it?

Domayne

Payday yesterday! Yay I have money again :T
I called my bank and ordered a new card for an old cash card account I have from years ago (last used 2005 :eek: ) which still had £2.51 in it, that stopped it from being closed I guess? I've decided to use this as my personal spends account, Transferred £130 from my pay in to last me for the next two weeks, Withdrew £10 from my current account and spent £6 on a pack of fags for my colleague but the rest of this weekend will be a no spend weekend since I don't plan on leaving the house
Hoping to live on ALOT less than £70 a week most weeks though, Maybe I can even live on £100 a month as NSK's suggestion since this week I managed to make £25 stretch all week...but I guess this also relies on me not leaving the house on weekends :rotfl:
Paid my mum £250 and was quite naughty and spent £32.66 on my game...though in fairness, its the first time this month and I had to really as I logged on and had 4 slots to pay for which I'd forgotten about and had no csc to cover them
So I have £477.34 remaining and I plan to throw £450 at my credit card, leave the rest to cover my pups Insurance, then whatever is left over throw at the CC!
Still not smoking! Well, I've had a cheeky few but I haven't spent anything on them, Don't even really feel the desire too which is very strange :think: but how our building is set up, the only time I really see my colleague is when we smoke so its more social than anything I guess...

debtfreewannabe321

Hi Domayne, welcome to the boards and I want to wish you luck on your journey. It doesn't sound to me like you have had a bright enough LBM yet to cut everything out to tackle the debt head on. Have you started a spend diary? This really brought it home to me where I was spending money and I felt quite embarrassed after the first month of keeping one, I used to think I had spare money but there were things I had forgotten and things I was buying that weren't even needed !

I agree with everything NSK has said and would have said the same as her.

As for the diet coke I also had a bit of an addiction to this. I researched aspartame and was horrified at what it was (and how much food it is in!!) Go have a look yourself. I broke my addiction in a similar way to Northerness. I cut out fizzy altogether and bought fizzy water (which i HATE plain) and some cordials and cranberry juice. I mix a few drops of cordial with a big glass of sparkling water now and it's lovely and hits the spot for the fizzy drink addiction! I also use a glug of cranberry juice mixed with the water too if I fancy a change. And guess what it's so much cheaper! 4 big bottles of sparkling water for 99p! Try it BTW aspartame is in most squashes as well so just as bad for you ! My kids had to go cold turkey on that one and they weren't happy I also lost half a stone after cutting out all products with that poison in it! (and if you fancy an odd treat with proper fizzy drink get full fat coke...but as northerness says it's got to be the 'odd' treat)

Good luck and as you say baby steps keep posting though it really helps with keeping you on track. I've been in your situation and i've come through the other side, it is possible x

debtfreewannabe321

Domayne wrote: »

Payday yesterday! Yay I have money again :T
I called my bank and ordered a new card for an old cash card account I have from years ago (last used 2005 :eek: ) which still had £2.51 in it, that stopped it from being closed I guess? I've decided to use this as my personal spends account, Transferred £130 from my pay in to last me for the next two weeks, Withdrew £10 from my current account and spent £6 on a pack of fags for my colleague but the rest of this weekend will be a no spend weekend since I don't plan on leaving the house
Hoping to live on ALOT less than £70 a week most weeks though, Maybe I can even live on £100 a month as NSK's suggestion since this week I managed to make £25 stretch all week...but I guess this also relies on me not leaving the house on weekends :rotfl:
Paid my mum £250 and was quite naughty and spent £32.66 on my game...though in fairness, its the first time this month and I had to really as I logged on and had 4 slots to pay for which I'd forgotten about and had no csc to cover them
So I have £477.34 remaining and I plan to throw £450 at my credit card, leave the rest to cover my pups Insurance, then whatever is left over throw at the CC!
Still not smoking! Well, I've had a cheeky few but I haven't spent anything on them, Don't even really feel the desire too which is very strange :think: but how our building is set up, the only time I really see my colleague is when we smoke so its more social than anything I guess...

Didn't see this post as I took so long writing mine

:j to it being payday! my favourite day of the month :T

I've only started taking 'pocket money' from our wages since our DF date. Before it would always be allocated but ended up being spent on something or other that needed replacing.

There must be non smokers where you work, how about you socialise with them? I don't smoke and have never been the only one left when the others go out in the cold

Do you know what I found best was to do a thorough spreadsheet work out exactly what I need for the month and pay off the debt/put into savings ON payday. Do not wait until the end of the month to see what's left as this doesn't work for anyone I don't think? And you end up paying less than you would have liked. Besides if the money has gone you end up having to live on what you have- you have no other choice.

I forgot to mention the game thing before. I am astounded that people spend that much money on something that isn't real :eek: I'm clearly not a gamer so maybe I just don't get it but I think you need to knock this on the head once and for all. Especially if you want to start saving for a REAL house and not an imaginary one. I should think the people who make these games are rolling in it thanks to people like yourself. Don't put money in their pockets anymore for an hours fun, is it really worth it? Put the money in your pocket where it will do far more good surely?!