2014 is turn around year

debtfree2014

Next automatic payment £237.84 22 Aug
Total pay off today £556.64

If I keep on paying monthy amounts as they due, its well over double this amount. I am hoping to clear one each month. 4 loans, going from 5 months down to 3month of payments left

loane 1 3 left
loand 2 4 left
loan 3 4 left
loan 4 5 left

I am going to scrape every penny I can into getting these paid off. I can make extra payments too, when I have spare cash Ive saved

Also a payday loan of 450 due out of my account on 22nd of August. I am going to go to the back on Monday, stop continuios payment and then ring them to set up a repayment plan

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debtfree2014

Thank you Jodles, I most certainly will x

debtfree2014

NSD today as its Sunday and I have very little money, to last me 2weeks.

Job 1 for today I am going to count my 20ps and cash them in. Jar says £23 but I have had a few out.

Job 2 is have a look on the old style board and stretch out this money as far as I can. It will be interesting to see how far I can stretch it and what I can go without. Lunch at my mams on a Sunday and stuff in fridge for tea. So ok for today. I will b back in later with a cash total and an update on my frugal findings. I can eat at work, dont have to sneak it, we are allowed to eat food on the premises as long as we dont go overboard. If it get really tight I feed DH and dog and Ill eat at work.

How did I allow this to happen. I have not even got fab things to show for it, just completley wasted it :mad:

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debtfree2014

Total cash from 20ps, purse, draws etc £29. This has to last us 2 weeks for food and petrol. This is going to be a challenge

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DawnW

can you have a look at what is already in your cupboards, fridge and freezer, and make as many meals as possible out of that?

Lots of ideas over on the OS board. Sometimes people post a list of what they have, so that others can suggest what they could make.

catandy

hang in there debtfree2014 and don't beat yourself up about how you got in this position - at least you're doing something to turn it around! and for what its worth we there seems to be a lot of company in the same position

Steerpike88

Hi,
I'm sorry that you're struggling. I had a really hard time with debt too, I couldn't get myself out of the cycle for a long time.

I found a few tips and tricks really helped me squeeze my pennies. Firstly, don't take your card out with you, or if you have to, only take a debit card and only put in what you budget for yourself for a week or two.

Home-made lunches! I'd make myself sandwiches, a home/made kidney bean dip and carrots, or a home-made hummus concoction (use peanut butter instead of tahini), sardine/mackerel pate, bake a couple of cakes and freeze them in portions so I could take some into work with me. (they defrost over a couple of hours)

I noticed that we would go to the pub for a meal or get take-away after work cause I was starving by then, so I always had an extra sandwich ready for after work. Just notice money-spending triggers and try your best to solve it. Another trigger I had was walking through the shopping centre to get to the train station, or to get my lunch (Don't do that any more!)

Libraries are great for taking out books or whatever. I go to charity shops for new clothes. Although car boot sales are the best, I never used to have a car so I'd only rarely go.

I cut back on meat and made lots of lovely veggie dinners (try the A Girl Called Jack blog) or her book if you can afford it.

I put salad in a salad bowl in the fridge place in a paper towel and cling film it and the salad lasts about 7-10 days now instead of 2. That was a real money-saver, I started looking at food in the bin as money in the bin.

It does take a lot of effort, but I do a big cooking/baking day once every two or three weeks and top it up once a week when I can be bothered.
I make home-made pizza, falafel, meatballs and tomato sauce, lentil patties, chilli, cakes/muffins.

It's a lot of effort at first, but once you do an initial big cook, just double up your recipes and freeze the other half for a no fuss dinner.

I found lots of free activities to do, as I hate watching T.V. I did more reading, more visiting people at home, growing vegetables, DH and I go for walks and "runs" (well he runs, I am far behind at a slow jogging pace). I've been learning coding online for free, which is SO much fun.

I hope you don't take it too much to heart if you didn't quite get there yet. It's hard and sometimes you fall off the wagon and you think 'oh no big deal' then a big bill comes in. and you have high interest and you feel there's almost no point as you never stop having money troubles. But this is a great community, the more time you spend on here the more you learn and the better you are supported and people here are inspiring.

Just keep posting!

debtfree2014

Thank you Dawn Cat and Steerpike, for reading and posting, thank you steerpike for all your tips x.

I do have food in the cupboards and freezer fridge is bare. We have 2 allotments, so can get veg from there. Luckly DH is not a big eater or fussy and eats everything I put down to him and will knock things up himself too. Freezer could do with a clean out, so I will use this to dig to the back and empty and and clean it out. I have a soup maker, its a jug and you put in your ingredients and it cooks it, blends it then done, like cook, blend n pour. I'll use that too.

If I can do 14 days on £29 just shows, what I waste.

I'll be back

Thank You :A

debtfree2014

Beginning of a new week and a new plan ( another one)

£10 in the car for petrol today. I can walk to work and back and DH is retired, will use car as least as possible.

That leaves me £19 for food. Got today sorted and working on Tomorrow and Wednesday. Ill be back in later with some totals.

Also having a House and Life clean out. I am a bit of a hourder, stuff here I have never used for years. So my pland for these are

First try and Ebay or Shpock them. If that fails, freecycle, if some can use it. Failing that, charity shop or skip.

Thank You for reading

debtfree2014

£5 spent from £19. Sorted with meals till Thursday.

Today
Today SnK pie 1.49 family size from our local bakery (could not have made one cheaper)
Potatos from allotment - free
peas - out of cupboard
Yorshire pudds - home made

Tomorrow

Mince 2.50
Rest of Bolonese stuff in house or on alloment.
Pasta - got loads of the stuff
There will be left over, so will freeze for next week.

Wednesday
Tuna and sweetcorn pasta bake - all stuff in the house

Plenty of bread, biscuits, fruit for a few days. Also got planty of breakfast cereal jam and stuff. Soup beans etc in cupboard but they are low, just a couple of tins. Just as well we are not big eaters ( I can be but that me being a pig)

Milk £1

Thank You for reading

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