LBM for me!

Rosie_D

Hi there

I've just read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book & all I can say is, I can't believe how much money we've wasted over the years! But no more!

We owe just over £30k in loans & credit cards at the moment as well as our mortgage so we've got a way to go yet, but we have to start somewhere!

We've got baby step one sorted which is the emergency fund of £1k, so here we go to baby step two, the debt snowball, so the first one is just over £4k on a credit card, bring it on! :j

mrsscattercushion

good luck with it all....you'll find a lot of support and advice on these boards to help you with this goal....it is worth it!

Rosie_D

Thanks for the welcome! :j:j

I think I'm gonna pay over the monthly amount due to the credit card & then any extra money made through the month will saved & paid to it too.

I'm gonna set a budget & stick to it & any money left over at the end of the week can go in the overpayment pot too (if there is any lol)

The hardest bit of the budget is always the grocery shopping, I tend to do a 'mini' shop most days but then at the end of the week it's added up to much more, I started having a little bag with the money in for the month, but somehow the money had gone in 2 weeks! :mad:

So, today is the first day of the rest of our lives, & we are on the long road to financial recovery, but I know there is soooo much support from you lovely people on here, so here goes........ :T

[Deleted User]

Have you put all your debts into the Snowball Calculator, so you know which debts to overpay, to save the most in interest?

Chemical_Thundra

Is it an American author? Did you find it translated well to UK finances?

Gareth1989

Chemical_Thundra wrote: »

Is it an American author? Did you find it translated well to UK finances?

I had a quick look at the book on Amazon and found this in one of the reviews:

This is one of the most clearly written books on personal finance I have come
across.

Although aimed at an American audience, the basic principles are
so clear they easily translate to the problems and solutions available to
someone in the U.K.

It outlines a plan in simple " baby steps" that
work. This is not a book about "secrets" that only those in the know can
reveal, just straightforward information.

Rosie_D

It is by an American author, but I didn't find that it put me off, it has made me really determined to get this done, my aim is by the end of 2015 I want us to have paid off the unsecured debt, and then we can become MFW's! I can't wait to go on there too!

Dave Ramsey tells you after you've paid off your debt to put money into an emergency fund which equals between 3 & 6 months expenses, and then put money away for retirement & then for kids college & then pay off your mortgage, but as we've got a really good offset mortgage then we're just gonna put all the savings in there.

I'm allowing £10 per day Monday to Thursday for groceries & if there's any left over then roll it over onto the next day & see how much left on a Thursday & pay that to the credit card. For example, today I only spent £6.91, so the £3.09 will go in the pot with tomorrow's £10 & any left will go into the credit card, on a Friday I'll take out the money for the weekend, and then Monday it'll all start again (sorry if I'm long winded) lol.

I don't know if this system will work, but I'm gonna give it a go, it's all trial & error at the minute!

[Deleted User]

Do you not think £180-ish pm is a bit steep, for groceries?

Mags_cat

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Do you not think £180-ish pm is a bit steep, for groceries?

It will depend on a few things though :

• Composition of family - numbers, special dietary needs, pets etc.
• What standard of living they are starting from (whether they could afford it or not it's what they're used to!)
• Income - what can they actually afford?

£180 / month might be huge for some, but it might be a half, or a quarter of what they were spending previously.

LannieDuck

Rosie_D wrote: »

The hardest bit of the budget is always the grocery shopping, I tend to do a 'mini' shop most days but then at the end of the week it's added up to much more, I started having a little bag with the money in for the month, but somehow the money had gone in 2 weeks! :mad:

We have the same problem and have decided to try tackling it by doing a big online shop at the beginning of the week at a cheap supermarket, then one top-up shop during the week at our preferred supermarket.

So far so good...

Rosie_D

I can see what you mean about £180pm groceries, but that includes nappies & food for 2 dogs, toiletries etc, I thought it might be a bit low if anything, but my challenge is to make sure it doesn't go above this.

There are 4 of us, me, hubby, 5 year old & 18 month old, plus 2 dogs.