Debt Destruction December!!!

PheoniX

Morning everyone! :xmassmile

I have just emerged from my pit.. well actually leapt from my pit after reading the thread on my smartphone, to switch on the laptop and tell you MrsGSR what a fabulous idea you have for planning financial dates and forecasts on your 2014 calender! :idea:Can I steal your idea too? I was actually laying in bed wondering what to have as a christmas gift from my friend's mum who has been enquiring what I would like. A shiny new calender is ideal as it will prove useful and won't be too expensive for her :T.. I would personally buy some coloured stickers and everything too :T

I am not particularly gifted in the technological department and so have not entered the spreadsheet zone but I like the fact that the calender is to hand and the information is laid out in front of me. It could be used to make a note of car tax, mot, insurance, RAC cover, direct debits and birthdays. I am terrible at remembering dates and usually send birthday cards early to make sure they get there for sometime at the beginning, middle or end of the month! It could also be used to keep a note of what Im adding to the emergency fund or my jars because from January I intend to be more organised for the first time ever and put money aside for car expenses, christmas, etc.. :cool:

My statement of affairs could be referred to see what else I could add onto the new super efficiently planned calender. I will look very carefully for the right one, maybe an inspirational one with pictures of camper vans (which I will buy one day) that will keep me motivated Similar to your idea NSK with your spreadsheet travel pics! I could then drop my friend a subtle hint that she could pass on to her mum So thanking you Mrs GSR for your splendid idea! :A

I said I would get another 3 SFDs as a result of this bed to work malarkey and thats what I've got so, 7 SFD's now to date! More spending predicted on Wednesday for Xmas bits and also as many yellow stickered items at Te$co. After last week's fiasco, I think I will go armed with a helmet, shield and batton to avoid being trampled by the crowds :rotfl:

£674 overdrawn and still counting! But 7 sleeps til pay day! whoop whoop! _party_

Hope your keeping warm and feeling better P Jay and Mountaingirl

Tatty bye lovelies :wave:

PheoniX

Just read your post Calling 14 after I sent mine and Im so sorry to hear of your loss Thinking of you and your family at this difficult time and sending you a big hug and lots of strength.. I hope your other relative will get better while being looked after in hospital.. xx

PheoniX

Calling 14 I read your post after I sent mine and wanted to say I'm so sorry to hear of your loss Thinking of you and your family at this difficult time and sending you a big hug and lots of strength.. I hope your other relative will start getting better while being looked after in hospital.. xx

MrsGSR

Oh Calling14 I'm sorry for your loss :-( massive hugs and thoughts with you at this time.
PheoniX, it's one of those wall chart calenders so I can see at a glance, I will also transfer dates to the monthly calendar. It was only a few quid from Amazon. I wanted to be able to see where the extra expenses were each month.

his_missus

Hi All,

Just thought I'd pop in and see how you're all doing with the December challenge. I'm very glad I refrained, the CC has taken a bit of a festive hammering this month and budgets have been blown to smithereens!

Calling 14 - sending you lots of virtual hugs at this very difficult time for you and your family xxx

his_missus

PurpleJay - glad the op went well. Hope you enjoy some festive cheeseboards this xmas

Tiptoes - hope kitty is feeling better. It's horrible when they're so ill because they can't tell you where/when it hurts. Hugs xx

Fmess - how's the diet going? You must be mad starting one before xmas, though I see your reasoning.

Siouxsie32

Aw Calling14, how sweet of you to send US hugs. I think every one of us is sending them to you How awful for you and your family. Hope you're managing to look after yourself. Hugs to your whole family.

Sick DDDers, injured pets, ill relatives - what a horrible time for everyone. Hope you all feel better soon (Cheesy smile to cheer you up!)

I'm working my way (slowly) through my 'To Do' list from the comfort of my sofa. Everything seems to involve delving into my Misc Budget :mad: Collect dry cleaning, book car in for winter service, book waxing...the list goes on! However, and it's a massive however, the first thing on my list was to transfer the balance only Amex card (the one I used to buy my shiny new laptop last week) to another card offering 0%. I made the phone call and, unbeknown to both myself and the guy at the credit card company, Amex don't allow balance transfers :eek: Yikes, I now have an extra £1000ish on my Amex card that needs to be paid by 21 January (because I REFUSE to pay interest to another credit card company. Ever!). The sooner my payslip comes the better so I can work with exact figures rather than my estimates. Spending now has to go into further lockdown!! Waxing? I made the appointment for my eyebrows only. The rest I can do myself. Dry cleaning? Well it's been done so I need to pay that. Winter service? It's only £25 and I have to drive to Scotland over Christmas so wouldn't mind the garage giving my car the once over. It seems good value (they change oil. water, deicing fluid etc and give a winter kit to take away). Okay, so I'll pay for the eyebrow wax, the dry cleaning and the winter service but that's all! Oh heck, I need to post gifts to my sister's kids and get a present for my dad. Hmm, just as well I've been careful til now!

I have a group session at Apple tomorrow to learn the basics of my new MacBook I have a few questions (a few less thanks to the helpful thrifty lass :A) so hopefully I'll be ready to make the move fully from PC to Mac. Must also make it to Covent Garden and back without spending any more money (that involves a walk past Wholefoods and my lovely smoothie shop - can't promise anything!!)

Another small trip to the supermarket tonight (I have no coffee, it's an emergency!!). I have a £5 off £20 voucher but don't think I can find enough to make up £20 worth (unless I stock up on things like coffee and toilet roll). Off to make a list.

Going to make a dash for it before the heavens open....again!

Have a nice evening everyone

apple_muncher

Finally made another NSD - 9 now - aftrr a run of spends. Have a stinking cold, but dh went and got me more balm tissues ( I know they're expensive, but my nose would be red raw without!), lemsip and milk and Ca1po1 (not for me!). He also paid in some cheques, so I'm hoping to appropriate some of that! Over £300 is mine anyway, cheque req from work. Rest to savings? That's my plan...

The payment from my nw to mortgage went through, so I can now get excited about Tilly Tidies!!:j

MrsGSR I love your colour chart idea! I've started a similar thing using msoftword, but it's only black and white at the mo.

calling14, sending you lots of hugs. A close friend, in the last 4 weeks, lost her mum suddenly, got married, her new husband's aunt died the next day, then her mum's brother soon after. It is a rollercoaster, dealing with all the emotions as well as practicalities. You have my sympathy.

purpleJay, what on earth does a zombie elf look like?!

Fmess do you ever stop? Hope you do get a break and recharge your batteries - 25 weeks is a loooooong time in the education world!

NSK are you ok? You're v quiet today?

Well, stinky cold has been passed onto my mum, so there's no way I'm putting her on a train home tomorrow. So I'll be driving her on Weds, or Thurs even, if we don't recover soon! I don't mind the journey on a good travelling day (155 miles, but can take between 3 and 5.5 hours) but need to be well to cope with a bad one. Going there and back in one day's too much, probably, as want to visit my dad too! Anyway, brain is too fuddled to decide tonight.

PurpleJay

:xmassmileThanks guys. Currently eating Christmas cake and feeling ok. Painted M's face to look elf like and off he has gone to Beavers where he always has loads of fun!

Big hugs to calling14. My mum has dementia and went into hospital and then to a care home over 2 years ago. At the time we doubted she would see Christmas but she is still going strong (despited being immobile, needing help with everything and weighing about 6 stone). In the meantime my uncle and aunt, both in relatively good health back then have since passed away. You just never know how things will play out. Thinking of you, these things can be such a shock. My mum used to say she wanted to die and my aunt used to say 'but we don't get to choose'. Mum doesn't say that anymore thankfully but I think she would if she understood what was happening. All very sad.

Have had a pj day today and as such can declare SFD no 10 :j

I have spent quite a bit of today reading through posts on here including some diaries. I might even start one up. I did start one on they MFW board a couple of years ago at a point where I paid off a chunk of money which had been sat in the bank. The diary lapsed though as I never managed to pay any more off, always struggling to manage on what is coming in (or rather over spending). I now find myself coming to the end of 2013 with almost 1k in my credit card and with a number of things needed such as tyres for the car and fence panels to replace but without a plan. I do have a safety net in an ISA which I am desperately trying not to touch and which I would like to top up to where it was 3 years ago. The more I think on, the more I think a diary will be a good idea.

Had a call from the bank this morning to say some git has tried to used my debit card but luckily they picked it up straight away. Only a £20 transaction had gone through which will be refunded in due course. 4 other transactions had been refused. While on the phone I applied for a new 0% credit card so that I can make a proper plan to clear my credit card while not paying interest. All approved while I was on the phone so just waiting for the paperwork in the post.

MrsGSR - I am also liking the idea of putting things to be paid on the calendar and colour coding Need to order one... Just realised I haven't done yet!

Apple muncher - a zombie elf would involve a Christmas elf costume with Halloween make up and some stiff legged walking, arms out in front lol! As it is, he agreed to go as a Christmas elf so had green and yellow round the eyes with a bit of black eye liner for detailing and rosey cheeks Lovely :xmassign:

MrsGSR

Thanks for the comments re my wall planner, calender thingy, I'm hoping it's going to work. I'm not a spreadsheet girl at all and find a notebook, pen and calculator works much better for me so it's just an extension of that really.