misstara's debt diary 2014

misstara

It's not been the best day here so we decided against a walk and just went to one of the local pubs for lunch - £14.85 spent. We then went to the supermarket to get a few things, OH bought some food to do him over the weekend and I went to get some snacks for the journey tomorrow. Ended up spending £16.90 oops however as well as snacks and magazines, I also got the washing tabs that I like on special offer and two loafs of GF bread which were half price. Will just need to be a little more frugal next time I go to the supermarket.

I also gave a friend £20 towards another friends birthday gift, didn't have quite enough in the present fund so took some from the direct debits account to cover. I'll replace this next week.

Leaving early tomorrow morning so have updated my signature already in case I don't get a chance to tomorrow. Need to start packing at some point soon to make sure that everything fits in my bag.

misstara

Wow can't believe it's been almost a week since I last posted. I went completely over budget while I was away, definitely had a f*ck it moment which has also lasted this week so far. Thankfully I have been pulled sharply back to reality when checking my bank account this morning as I had gone OD when direct debits went out. I have transferred money to cover it and I shouldn't get charged for it as they normally give you to the end of the day to sort it out. Just shows how important my budget is and that I need to stick to it at all times.

Back later with more of an update

misstara

So today has been a NSD,need to try and get a few more in before the end of the month as I don't have much money. I'll get a small wage on Friday and then my monthly wage on Monday.

Friday - £34.85
- £4.85 emergency fund
- £20 food
- £10 bus fare (I have two shifts next week for 2nd job which are quite far out of town)

Monday - £1155.57
- £1100 to cover rent, loan, council tax and direct debits
- £25 cc2
- £10.57 emergency fund
- £10 loan
- £10 electricity bill

I'm going to see if there's any overtime going at my job next month as if I can put aside £1100 at the start of every month for bills and debt repayments, it will make the rest of the month less stressful. Knowing that I have the majority of things covered and just really have to earn enough through 2nd job for food and social stuff will make life a bit easier. OH's shifts are practically non-existant at the moment so I can't rely on any money coming from him, he's currently looking for a permanent position so fingers crossed. Right better get to bed, up early tomorrow.

misstara

Today was almost a NSD but was ruined by the bulb blowing in the sitting room so £2.50 spent on a bulb. I have been to the.gym with a friend so had a good catchup.

misstara

Spends for today are £1.40 on eggs and a £10 donation to someone who is doing race for life. NSDs have been a bit thin on the ground this month but it's almost a new month .

I thought I'd look for a new balance transfer credit card today and ended up applying for one - 0% for 18 months with no balance transfer fee. Unfortunately it only has a limit of £1500 so was only able to transfer a maximum of £1425. This leaves £257.09 on cc2 which is obviously a priority to pay off. So once I get the emergency fund up and running, I'll then start overpaying cc2 before the loan.

misstara

Today I was working an early shift, while I was there I picked up an overtime shift for next month but I will need more than one to be able to put by £1100 a month so will need to keep my eyes peeled for more. Good news though, I've managed to pick up a couple of extra hours with 2nd job tomorrow plus two more wee shifts next week

After work me and OH went a wander round the international market which is here at the moment but didn't buy anything as it was quite expensive. On the way home I spent £3.92 on a couple of things to go with tea plus hummus for lunch tomorrow. We discussed a meal plan for next week and made a shopping list, plan is to go on Monday morning.

misstara

Tonight me and OH went out for dinner and a concert with some of my family. It was their treat which was lovely so today has been a NSD. Looking forward to payday tomorrow

in_need_of_direction

Glad to hear you're enjoying some treats.

misstara

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Glad to hear you're enjoying some treats.

It was really fun INOD and especially good to see an aunt, uncle and cousin who I haven't seen since my brothers wedding last year.

Payday today :j and I've made my various payments and transfers. I plan to pay the council tax today to get it out the way. Me and OH are going to head out shortly to get the shopping for the week so will pay it then.

Review of June's targets
- emergency fund £200 currently £206.91
- electricity fund £80 currently £50
- overpay loan by £100 actually paid £50

So not too brilliant on the targets but I always knew June would be quite a hard going month. July will be better

July targets
- emergency fund £350
- electricity fund £120
- cc2 balance £150

My plan is to pay as much as I can to cc2 over the next 6 weeks (before the 0% balance period runs outs) and then I might use some of the emergency fund to pay off the rest of the balance before I start getting charged interest.

monz

Miss Tara where are you x