Challenging myself to a life I deserve

Bird

After lurking here on and off for several years, finally the penny has dropped:

I NEED to sort my finances out.

I had a wake up call a few days ago, which prompted me into action.

Current debts:

Barclaycard: £7595.32 (£1000 @0%, 6595.32@ 17.5%)
Halifax CC: £4873.82 (@0%)
MBNA CC: £4258.9 (@14.9%)
Halifax loan: 3504.72 (24 months to pay)
Total: £20232.76

The Target:

Clear ALL debt by the end of the loan term, so 24 months to clear just over £20k.

My maths tells me that is £843 (plus any interest) per month for 2 years :eek:

The Challenge:

I want to do this with minimal impact on my wife and kid(s). This is my debt, not theirs, and although my wife is fully aware of the situation and supportive, I don't believe she should have to suffer to sort out my mess.

So this is going to be all about making extra money, cutting back on things that I spend on me, and maintaining the family standard of living as cheaply as possible.

I've been regularly doing overtime at work, but I've been treating this as my "normal" wage for too long, so my debts haven't been dealt with as they should.


Things to do TODAY:

1. start up a spend diary
2. juggle barclaycard and MBNA card to 0% ( I've had balance transfer offers from both of them)


Wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it!

apple_muncher

Welcome, Bird. Make sure you chase up that penny that dropped! Good luck with the debt-busting and maintaining quality family life
.

Bird

I did, it was hiding under a coinstar machine in ASDA last night!

Bird

So, day one is over and day two begins. I found an old note pad to use as a spending diary, I even managed a NSD yesterday.

Typically, neither credit card had enough limit to transfer the balance of the other so a bit more thinking/planning is needed to check I'm not going to get stung for interest/charges by transferring a bit at a time.

I had a phone call yesterday asking if I still had the old light unit from my aquarium as a friend's had broken, luckily I did, so I can use the money from that to do battle with Aldi today. Hopefully I can get enough to last a couple of weeks, though the way junior is eating at the moment, I'll be lucky if it lasts a couple of hours!

Still, it means I don't need to take my bank card shopping with me, so further payment to the MBNA card will be made later today.

This afternoon, if the weather stays reasonable, I'll be in the garden creating some veg beds ready to grow some goodies next year, otherwise, it'll be an afternoon of arts and crafts (mess making) with junior.


Onwards and upwards!

Indebted2U

Welcome Bird and well done on starting your diary. Good luck :T

Bird

A successful day, shopping fell within budget (even though I gave in to junior and splashed out on a kinder egg), and should last us til I need to do the big Christmas food shop. :cool:

Went to the fish shop after the supermarket to get water for the aquarium, and somehow managed to be given it free of charge! :money:

Sadly the weather failed me, so it was an indoors afternoon, but we've had fun making a mess.

What's the saying? While the wife's away, the boys will play? :rotfl:

The first of the run of balance transfers has been completed, next round on Monday when the money's where it needs to be!

Time to go and chop up some home grown (by the inlaws) potatoes for tea.

Choc-addict

Hey Bird & Welcome!!

Well done you on jumping on the MSE wagon - it's amazing how addictive and helpful it can be. Those balances will start dropping soon enough!

Wishing you lots of luck! Have subscribed so look forward to more updates.

Choc x

P.S I was (prob still am a little) of using overtime money as normal money :o:o

Bird

Its all too easy to see it as normal money, especially when it comes all together. If only I could persuade my boss to give me my basic pay as normal, then my overtime a week later, it would be so much easier to keep it mentally separate.

The fact I've been doing it for 5 or so years makes it worse, even our mortgage is based on my income with the overtime taken in to consideration!

I'm getting quite in to this writing a diary lark, I wasn't sure if I'd get on with it or not to begin with, its not really my thing, but I'm finding it quite cathartic. It helps to know that others can read it too, it means I don't feel like I'm overloading my wife with all my troubles.

daisystar

Hello Bird! Welcome to the diaries :-)


Well done on taking these positive steps, you sound very determined. Keeping a diary can be a real help as you'll have people to support and somewhere to get ideas as well as vent when things get tricky.


It looks like our goals run over approximately the same length of time although we have quite a bit more debt than you (my goal may prove to be overly ambitious but I've gone for the 'aiming high' approach) so it will be nice to follow someone who is likely to be here as long as I am - I will be subscribing and supporting you all the way!


Daisystar


PS Looks like we have debts with the same companies too - hopefully in a few years they won't be getting any more money from us eh?!

Bird

Hi daisystar, it looks like you have set yourself quite the challenge, but I've always been told, if you aim for nothing, you're sure to achieve it!

I think my goal is going to be a tough one to achieve, especially as OH will be on maternity leave in May! But if there's no challenge, there's no fun. I've always been a competitive sort anyway, not to mention stubborn! (I gave up smoking years ago because someone told me they didn't think I could, how were they to know what a favour they were doing me!)

Today's challenge is finding a Christmas present for OH as cheaply as possible (free parking in town on Sundays :money: ) Luckily its the present from junior to his mum, so doesn't need to be too extravagant - 2 year olds aren't known for their wealth!

Bird

A good day was had yesterday. I managed to find OH a Christmas present that was half price and something I know she likes.

Unfortunately junior hasn't quite mastered the concept of a surprise yet, the first thing he said when she came home from work was that we'd bought her a surprise present and it was hidden upstairs :doh:

Still, that's Christmas shopping over for another year.

I crumbled last night and gave in to pressure to bring the decorations down from the attic, but at least junior had fun tangling the lights even more than the attic gremlins could manage.

It's back to work today (hence the god-awful hour of posting) so should be a cheap (hopefully spend free) day.