Midland Mummy Makes a Plan!

Midland_Mummy

Hello all,

I've read a few diaries on here and it has inspired me to start my own. We currently have a bit of debt, some managed (loan) and some not so managed (OD, next account, credit card)
Our problem is we spend spend spend without really budgeting or planning and rarely check the bank account until the end of the month to double check everything has come out or do some damage control for what's left to come out

Because of the loan I think it will still be a few years yet before we are debt free but I will give it a go. We both work husband works full time and I work 9-3 as we have two school aged children. We both bring in fairly good wages which does allow us to relax too much with money hence why we are in debt!

I've read a lot about the NSDs on here which are such a good idea.... Bit harder with kids tho as there is always something.

Anyway hopefully this diary keeps me on the straight and narrow and maybe in some ways helps others along the way

Will post my debt stats tomorrow, need to verify balances first

brightnotes

Good luck, MM! I don't even have kids and I'm finding the NSDs difficult. I figure it's a case if practise makes perfect.

Midland_Mummy

brightnotes wrote: »

Good luck, MM! I don't even have kids and I'm finding the NSDs difficult. I figure it's a case if practise makes perfect.

Thanks! Practise definitely makes perfect ;-)

Midland_Mummy

So I started our 2014 budget yesterday and it's awful to see how much surplus we should have left per month for debt and savings because it is a lot and yet we spend to the very last penny and then some on credit! Not anymore! I'm pleased I have started this now before Xmas rather than blowing more money.

I have to make a Christmas plan!
We also have one child's birthday in Jan before Jan pay so I need to budget that in also and we are hoping to put our house on the market in Feb so need to put some cash and time aside to get it looking nice.

I will add to the debt later but here's what I know

HSBC OD £1,000
Next Account £104.16 (I have been paying this off as it was more)
MBNA credit card £359.68
MasterCard (aprox) £4,500
HSBC Loan £15,000 (aprox)
HMRC overpayment owed 1,000

Will update two aprox figures. The HMRC overpayment is from tax credits we are no longer entitled to any and what we did receive from April needs to be paid back, I can do this with a repayment plan however.

It is quite tricky trying to budget for everyone. We have 4 in the house with different activities going on. I'm unsure if it's best to allow myself and husband spending money per week/month or not? My new budget does include a lot...?

Midland_Mummy

HMRC repayment now set up. £19.17 per week to repay £996.82.
We are no longer entitled to tax credits anyway which is somewhat of a relief because it seems we have been repaying overpayments every year!

Midland_Mummy

Morning, still feeling positive today about our long journey ahead.
Going to get the children to write their Xmas lists this weekend so I have some idea and can delegate things out to family and shop around for others.
This time of year is always so busy, I have 3 pre paid events that I need a dress for. They are all with different circles of people so I plan to buy one and recycle for all three hahaha. I don't really have many in wardrobe that I could recycle saving even more money unfortunately... :-(
Which is another plan in my debt busting mission. To loses weight.
I've been a member of almost every weight loss club and I haven't really done very well but paid them £5 per week, every week, for the membership lol this stops now. I prepaid one membership which finishes end of Nov which I won't renew. I tend to drink a lot of wine on a weekend and also buy lunches so pack ups are on the list and wine is being reduced!
I am studying and have an exam in 2 weeks so it's a good excuse to stay in, not drink and get some work done!!

I forgot we also have a Halifax OD £100 too.
Will pull out papers tonight for the HSBC loan so I know exact figure and post starting stats.
Want payday to come now so I can get started!!! Just less than 2 weeks to go :-/

Midland_Mummy

Booked the dreaded dentist :-( and while it's not debt busting or exciting it feels very empowering to stop putting things off or to one side and deal with them head on... Starting with the very delayed dentist check ups!

Midland_Mummy

Oops
This weekend has been very spendy...
I went shopping Friday night with a friend and wanted to buy two dresses that I could recycle for the various social events I have coming up... Ended up buying four dresses, pair of shoes and a necklace!
Stopped for some tea which cost £10. Then realised the next day I needed a new bra for Xmas party dress so went back to the shops and bought new bra, new bra set, shape wear, ankle boots, pair heels, two more dresses, skirt for work and a pair of skinny jeans....!!!
Was like a woman possessed.
Having always struggled with my weight then finding a style that really suits me I went a bit mad. Now that's out my system I'm hoping to get back on track!

- silver lining, I went through my wardrobe and have a couple of old dresses to list on eBay!

Kids need to do their Xmas list today so I can start bargain hunting and spreading the costs.

Just had an email from my storecard with my statement and they have doubled my credit limit! I didn't ask them to. Everyone is so eager to get you into debt! Also received a letter Thurs from cc company increasing on cc limit by £1500 on dec 10th. Naughty people

Midland_Mummy

Been a while since I posted....

Went back to my old ways over Christmas, completely and un-necessarily overspent and now 10 days after payday decided I should check the bank balances.
We are very tight this month now. I can't even list what we spent money on! We have nothing to show for it really.... And the kids got far too much for Christmas and already aren't playing with some things so I will be more aware of this next year.

Anyway it's done now. I will reassess the debt and repost it.

We have our daughters party this month but I have bought her presents already and pre paid most things.

Our plan for this year is to sell our house and move, we have a bit of work to do on the house first but looking at listing it in the next 6weeks - just hoping we can get a new mortgage with debt???

richardvc

Hi MM - having been where you are currently and come out the other side I just wanted to let you know that with determination, single mindedness and effort you can win this war with debt.

As anyone on here will tell you, you need to complete a SOA (statement of affairs) first up.

That is a real eye opener. You list everything that you spend and what you owe. It includes budgeting for all the things that we tend to forget ie travel costs, car tax, MOTs etc etc

You also list all your debts with their relevant APRs and so on and then post it on here.

Once you have done that then minds far smarter than mine will pick over it and show you how to make some savings, how to pay off debt faster and basically how to get your life back.

No matter how serious it is, there is always a way forward.

But without you and your OH committed to the plan it will serve no purpose.

If I can give you one tip it would be to use Microsoft Money (or similar) which is a money manager on your PC.

Your log your income and all your outgoings so at anytime you know what you have available to spend, what needs to be paid - you can also track your debts on it too.

Anyway, good luck MM. The outcome is worth the effort and the sacrifices !

Midland_Mummy

Thanks Richard. Where can I find the SOA to fill out?

I'm off work today and Monday and I just really want to get this sorted. The worst thing and possibly the most humiliating is that we consolidated some cc debt early in 2013 and I stupidly never cancelled the cards just cut them up so when they expired new ones were received and now have outstanding balances again :-(