Can I tame the debt beast in 2014??

teacherindebt

Hi Judi I'm a new money saver too who just wants to get rid once and for all! We have very different circumstances but debt is debt Good luck on your journey!

judi24

beanielou wrote: »

Why don't you pay the rent off the debt?

Thanks for the suggestion - I could do that but her rent is part of the £600 that i was planning on using for my variable expenses. It is paid into a different account from my main account that my salary goes in and monthly bills come out of - so it would leave me £80 a month less to live on as my plan is not to touch my salary for day to day costs and pay what is not taken up with monthly bills off my debt - meaning a more simplified budget (although doesn't sound it!!!)


If I paid a chunk off my debt (£400) i would have £520 for food, diesel, pocket money, kids spends etc for 3 adults, 2 kids a dog and a cat


mmm would be tight but i'm sure I can do it with a little frugal effort!!!

judi24

Finally got access to my Tesco CC online and checked my balance - had to get a new security access number twice!!! Balance slightly higher than expected!!! so I haven't been able to transfer the full balance to my Barclaycard CC (0% until Dec 2014) - I know its not the longest 0% around but I don't really want to apply for another CC and I am hoping I can pay it off by then anyway!


I also took a couple of things back to Next that I bought in the sale - One Item I had paid full price for without even knowing it!!! So £31 back onto Tesco CC


Scores on the doors look like this:


Nationwide CC £2000 - 0% until July 2014
Barclaycard CC £6844.59 - 3.5k 0% until Dec 2014 the rest 0% until July 14
Tesco CC £577.91 - Not sure about interest rate - think its around 12%


Total CC debt = £9422.50


The plan is to have this all paid by Sept - £1000 per month - but will need to make up the aditional £577.91 somehow


Beanielou - I think I will do what you suggested and pay the £380 rent from my DD1 to it and try to live on the £520 - it should be possible!


Doing ok with my Dryathlon challenge too - on day 4 today! and been to gym for the 1st time this year!

judi24

well doing ok with the Dryathlon - day 5 today!!!


Not much ro report today - been to a new gym today and yesterday - going to change my membership to them as thier kids activities are much better its about £5 more than my current gym but if I get to use it more that will be a bonus and the kids love the swimming pool!


Made turkey fricase for tea with enough leftover for tomorrow - apprt from that not much to report!


I have £15 in my purse which I want to save for DD3's tutor on Thurs so really want to get to then without spending anything! At a training day tomorrow at a Hotel so nice lunch provided but will take my own lunch the rest of the week - must avoid the work canteen!


Got a stressfull week personally - meeting with social services on Tuesday! So just need to keep relaxed and try to look after myself - not sleeping well! - anyway enough rambling!!!

judi24

So the £15 I had in my purse has gone!!!! I took kids to the new gym last night and had to buy locks and swim hats - coming to £14.96!!! So will now have to lift money for DD3s tutor and my fat club on Thurs.


Smile acount looks dire - £79 OD but DD2 hasn't paid her rent yet (despite me saking twice!) so will £21 in credit when she does. Then £50 child support due in on Thurs ( and each week) and £135 CB next Tues. The only food i should need is some salad veg, pasta and milk this weekend so £10 max.


So will have £306 in total until payday on the 28th!


I need to think about how I use the bits of money that goes into this account as this is what I need to live on week to week - but I am always a little panicky as it comes in in dribs and drabs so when I look at my balance it always looks like i'm skint! which in turn causes anxiety even though I know I'm not! I do have a £500 overdraft on the acount however I would prefer not to be in this constantly.


Might need to think of a more controlled way of using this account!!

judi24

I have been thinking about the £520 that goes into my smile account and actually write what I need to use it for so i am clear that I can do it! so here goes:


Food - Usually spend £100 a week but with some careful planning I can get this down so going to say £300 for the month as a challeng - I need to change the way i shop and do a big monthly shop - probably online. Then visit A**i maybe twice in the month for fresh bits and things like cereal - I need to keep out of the local shop as it often costs me £20 for milk!!!! I am also on the Dryathlon this month so not spending any money on wine - would like to at least reduce this after Jan so want to include it in my £300 shopping bill and not nip into the off licence for more!!!


Fuel - It costs about £55 to fill up my car - on a normal month this last most of the month - probably about 3 weeks and 3 days - obviously it goes up if I do longer trips or extra running around so I am going to say £60 a month


DD3s Tutor - this is £15 a week I really don'e want to give this up as all my other kids have had this oppertunity (we have an 11 plus system) I simply so not have the time or patience to do this at home and I also think she wouldn't do it as well for me. I am in 2 minds about whether the grammar school would be the best school for her but I know she has self esteem issues and by saying she won't make the grammar school would not be fair - I have said to the tutor to give me a realistic opinion of her ability by Easter - then I will try to gently 'persuade her' that another school would be better. I do think the tutor work is helping her anyway with her school work so its not a waste.


School dinners - My DS has school dinners I put £10 on his lunch card twice a month as his dad does the other 2 weeks so £20 total


Pocket money - I have siad that I will give DS and DD3 £10 a month pocket money - I want them to learn about takling responsibility for what they spend and what they ask for. I want them to be able to choose what they want and accept when its gone there is no more. My DS wants a bank account with a card - some of his friends have one - I need to investigate this. He wants to be able to put his pocket money in and any birthday/christmas money in it.


I am going back to fat club this week - this will cost me £20 a month but i do feel i need the support


Hair cuts - I have short hair and need to get my hair cut every 6 - 8 weeks - I have been getting it coloured at the hair dressers but I think I will go back to colouring it myself - i hate doing it but it will save around £35 every visit so my normal visit to hairdressrs is £65 I think a cut will be about £30 so £15 a month - my DS cut is £5 at the barber every 8 weeks and my DD3 gets a trim when she needs it so probably another £5 every 2 months - total £20 a month


Total monthly spends so far = £520!!!! so there is not a single penny left for additional expenses or treats!!! I am really not sure that is practical - if i don't budget for the odd treat (cheap night out, coffeee at the gym etc) i think I will go crazy!


mmm need to do some thinking!!!


I haven't included the £80 rent from DD1 - she was going to pay it in a lump sum this month for the next 5 months - so £400 - I had planned to pay this directly off my debt but I might have to use this as part of my monthly budget giving me an extra £80 a month for those extra spends - this certainly feels more comfortable - however I have a goal of paying off £1000 a month off my debt but need to find an extra £477 over the 9 months to be debt CC debt free in 9 months. I think I might need to go back to my full SOA and see if there is any scope to make any further svaings anywhere else!!!!


Might have to revisit my full SOA and see if there is any scope for cutting down anywhere else

Rollercoaster_Rach

Am subscribing .

RR x

judi24

Time for an update - very stressful week and not been very good moneywise either!
Been through a tough time with my DS and ex partner and ex husband - very complicated - but basically ended up in a child protection case conference yesterday with my ex husband trying to make out I was a c***p mum - result was that investigation showed kids not at risk (my ex partner hit my DS a few months ago - the reason why he's my ex!!) but my ex husband was making up stuff about me. Been a really hard time but now I can focus on getting on with my life! To be honest i would gladly pack up and move to the other end of the country if I thought I could get away from my ex-husband - but I know thats not the right thing to do for the kids!


But cos of the stress I have not been great with money saving this week - went out for a friends birthday last night and decided to pay the £20 fine in the CRUK dryathlon to have a drink - and I made the most of it! My friends all came back to mine and left at 4 am this morning!!! Result is that I have had a banging head today and can't be bothered doing anything - so I ended up taking kids out for tea! so last nights meal was £15 (it was at place where you bring your own drink so a cheap night!) but tonight tea was £40!!!! so not a cheap night!!!


The result is i am £50 into my overfraft with just over a week to go before I get paid!!!! I do have £50 chid support due next Thurs and £56 to claim back for dental treatment - but I doubt that will be paid before I get paid!!! I have £18 in my purse but will need some milk and dog food tomorrow!
I have also found out that my DS has a school residential in Sept that is £200 and a rugby tour thats £150 both of which I had not planned for!!!


I have asked exhusband to help but his response (as usual) is he will see if he can contribute but can't promise anything - which makes me laugh as yeasterday all he kept saying was 'I just want the best for my kids' - yeah as long as he doesn't have to pay for them!!!


This brings me on to my dilemma - my ex pays £50 a week child support - he works full time and has a reasonable job - he lives with his partner and they have 2 st Bernards and a horse so not exactly skint - I don't know how much he earns but I was thinking about contacting the CSA to have the amount he pays assessed by them - the £50 was agreed as part of our divorce but I have been told that it can still be reviewed at a later date (its been 6 years!). I don't know if it is worth causing drama by going to CSA but at the same time I don't see why he should get away with not helping more as he clearly can afford it! If I knew how much he earned I would ba able to check on the CSA calculator and see if it worth the hassle - not sure what to do!!!

StressedSteph

Hi Judi24,

I have just read through your diary and you have been doing really well, I don't blame you breaking your Dryathalon challenge after the week you have had.

Do you really have to pay the £20 fine for having a drink??. Surely charity starts at home?.

I'm sorry but if I were you, i would'nt hesitate in contacting CSA. He is perfectly happy to drag you through meetings regarding your ability as a mother, but as you say isn't prepared to remove some of your stress by paying you to help raise your children!.

I wonder what his job is, sometimes if the job is a standard role, like Office manager etc, you can get an idea from Googling what the average wage might be. Just a thought

I would'nt care though, the CSA will evaluate all of that, but he would have to be on pretty rubbish wages to still only have to pay £50.

Best of luck hun, I will be subscribing to follow your journey and hopefully keep you going. xxx

judi24

Thanks StressedSteph - I have tried to google his job but can't find anything - I have gone onto a thread I started years ago when we were still together and looked at his pay then - I know that was his take home pay after his car payment (he has a car through work that is paid directly out of his wages) Based on that salary I reckon he would have to pay around £70 a week but that doesn't take into consideration any pay rises over the last 8 years - but not really sure and I know it would cause hassle - Just need to work out if I am willing to fight for £80 a month.