pickle me's diary

pickle_me

I remembered an extra expense - I give £15 a month to Action for Children. It's the only charity I give to regularly.

Funny how this whole process changes your attitude to money and spending. I never paid much attention to my bank statements, would occasionally look but not necessarily be able to identify straight away what each item was Now I check my balance at least once a day and I know exactly what each item is. There are far fewer of them, which helps!

Even my lovely husband has changed. He went to the local shop earlier to get some popcorn as we were all settling down to watch a film and tescos were doing some good stuff for £1 a bag. When he got to the shop, they were out of stock - so he got a bag of giant chocolate buttons instead (also on offer at £1) plus a can of coke for himself. Previously that one trip to the shop would have turned into a big spend on random items - we all know the sort - probably around £10 if not more.

Even more amazingly, he told me to take some cleaning products off my shopping list today. Let me explain: he's a better housewife than I am in terms of cleaning. I'm very much of the 'if I can't see the dirt, it doesn't bother me' school of thought, and I tend to think that one big bottle of generic lemon cleaning liquid will tackle most things. He on the other hand approaches housework like it's a military operation, takes no prisoners, and likes to have a different cleaning product for every job. Seriously, he has a cleaning product fetish :rotfl: Anyway I was going to get some limescale tablets for the toilet bowls and he told me not to bother, the bleach we had was doing a pretty good job on its own.

:eek::rotfl:

So, we are making major progress with our respective mindsets. Hopefully by the time the debt is paid off, he will have reached the place I was before it all started - not exactly a budget whizz but he will consider credit to be EVIL and a thing to be avoided at all costs, or at the very least, paid off in full every month.

Me? Well obviously I am going to be a budgeting, saving, money-managing genius with spreadsheets at my fingertips and every last expense accounted for down to the last penny ... we shall see

pickle_me

If I had some spare cash, I would buy:

a new pair of jeans (all my skinnies have lost their shape)
a new blusher (I'm literally down to the last powdery remnants - I'm really not a big make-up wearer but my already pale skin is losing colour as I get older, sob)
a new swimsuit (we swim regularly with the kids and the one I have doesn't fit properly, isn't at all flattering and makes me feel mumsy. Yuck)
new underwear (everything I have is years old )
a new nightdress (ditto the underwear!)
new running leggings (I have ONE pair, just one, and when I'm running regularly - three times a week - well, it would be nice to have a couple of pairs!)

New clothes, full stop. I haven't bought anything new (to me) in over a month, since my last ebay purchase. Haven't bought anything new new in months. I'm so bored of all my clothes.

But as per the MSE mantra, these are all wants, not needs. I will buy myself some new (well, probably ebay new) clothes for the summer as I have a very special holiday ahead (paid for by my very generous parents, so not a threat to debt repayments). Until then - I shall grit my teeth and continue to wear the same old stuff. And pinch my cheeks for a bit of colour - I learnt that off Scarlett O'Hara

pickle_me

Does anyone else spend hours doing debt-busting sums in their head? I'm constantly working out what we'll pay off next month, then the next month, how much we'll owe in six months time nine months time, twelve months time, when we'll pay off the first credit card, the second ... My drive to work takes 15-20 minutes and I usually spend that time thinking about credit card payments I can't decide whether that's funny or just tragic.

Next month our childcare costs drop, so our credit card payments increase and after going over the sums again I think we can increase our payments from £500 per month to £850. That's a really satisfying chunk and it will be lovely to see the total go down faster! I don't think this will be cutting the budget too fine - it will slightly reduce the small amount we put away each month for emergencies but for the sake of paying the debt off faster, I'm willing to take the risk. If a major emergency did occur we could always drop to minimum payments for a month although I would sell a kidney before I let that happen

I am aware that I am completely obsessed with paying the debt off so there is always the danger that I start cutting corners a bit too sharply in order to do so. Maybe it's a good thing that I'm balanced by my laidback husband, who although on board with the new and improved household budget, seemingly remains unconcerned about our debt levels ...

I was feeling grumpy about my lack of clothing choices this morning when I dug out a top I'd forgotten about and haven't worn since before Christmas. There you go - if I still have clothes I can forget about, I can't be so badly off. It's a nice cheerful scarlet colour so has perked me up a bit I've also remembered a blusher I bought last summer on a friend's recommendation that I didn't like much so haven't used. It's an ok colour but has a golden shimmer to it, which sounds lovely but it's just not really me. However, beggars can't be choosers and I'd rather be pink and slightly sparkly than pale and grey, so it will do for now!

daggy37

Hi my brains been taken over by sums too .Im finding myself regularly sitting on the sofa with a calulator working it all out.ive paid it all off in my head. Now i just have to actually do it !:)

natsplatnat

pickle_me wrote: »

Does anyone else spend hours doing debt-busting sums in their head?

ME! Hours and hours ... and then more hours spent altering my spreadsheet... seeing how a few pence here and there can change things (or not, as is usually the case! lol)

Sometimes it gets to the point where I feel like I can't think about anything else that needs brain power (such as changing my car as the finance is about to expire or arranging to see a mortgage advisor to see if we can get a mortgage)... because I am 'all-thought-out' on re-paying my debt / balancing my pennies.

But, one day it will all be over... and the lessons learned will be with me forever!!

You are doing sooo well - keep up the good work!

in_need_of_direction

For me, it's all about percentages rather than amounts. It is oddly addictive

pickle_me

Daggy, I sat down at my desk at work this morning with a calculator and spent a happy 15 minutes doing debt calculations :rotfl:

Thanks natsplat - good to know I'm not alone. It can be totally all-consuming, can't it!?

INOD - percentages, you say? Hm, that's something I've considered but haven't got round to, probably because I can't calculate them in my head! But this is excellent, now I have new sums to do. Now, where's my calculator?

pickle_me

Husband picked up a few things from Sainsburys for me this evening, as he needed to get some bits and pieces for work. He came back and reported that Snackajacks are half-price (the kids go through loads of them, I tell myself that at least they're healthier than crisps ); and he chose Cadbury's drinking chocolate over Sainsburys own as it was on special offer and therefore cheaper. Why am I mentioning this? Because pre-LBM I don't think it would ever have occurred to him to compare prices of groceries, and he would always automatically go for big brands rather than supermarket own, which he actively avoided. (Obviously this time the big brand was the cheaper option but it isn't usually, and he thought to check!)

He may not have quite the drive that I do to bust the debt, but he has definitely changed his mindset. I'm proud of him, genuinely, and proud of myself too for getting us to this point. A little pat on the back for the pickles

pickle_me

Argh, why are we still only halfway through the month? Why is payday still so far away? And why is the urge to spend money stronger when you know you only have a small fixed sum to last until you get paid??

I'm glad it's half-term. I work in a school, term times only, so have this week off. My husband is a teacher so he has the week off too, which means we get to do things as a family, which is great. And work has been busy recently so I'm glad for the break, plus a break from the usual get-the-kids-to-school-and-nursery-then-off-to-work-then-back-home-to-do-it-all-in-reverse routine. On the other hand, school holidays aren't good for our finances! We eat more food with us all at home (husband and I both get free lunch at work) and inevitably we spend money on activities with the kids, especially at this time of year when simply picnicking in the park isn't an option. I've tried to plan free or low cost activities for the week so hopefully it won't be too costly.

Gah, I'm just feeling a bit grumpy about money today, and straitjacketed by financial constraints. This really should be the last very very tight month, I just have to plod on. And remind myself to celebrate that I have paid my last whacking great childcare bill, hopefully ever! £614 to nursery (plus £243 of childcare vouchers divided between nursery and childminder). I started in my current job 18 months ago and have been working for pennies for all that time, as virtually everything I earned went on childcare. So it's a very good thing that that will no longer be the case. (I get to spend my money paying off debt instead, ho hum. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it will feel so good when it's over ...)

pickle_me

I've transferred the remainder of my Paypal money (£68.52) into my current account (balance before transfer £26.16) giving me £94.68 to last until payday at the end of next week. That sounds like a fortune but out of that will come:

Yesterday's train tickets (family trip to London) £17.80
Tomorrow's train ticket (to London on my own for lunch* with a friend) £10 Oyster card top-up
Birthday present for my sister approx. £50
Couple of direct debits approx. £35
Children's ballet lessons £66

Total: £174.80

* lunch will be from Pret using my luncheon vouchers received as payment for doing Pinecone surveys

Ah It's not the end of the world - child benefit gets paid in a week's time so will be a welcome injection of cash. And I do have my overdraft, which is currently untouched - but I really really really want it to stay that way! I usually pay for ballet lessons by cheque so I think it will come out of my account just as my next month's pay goes in!

I've never counted pennies like this before, never been so careful with what I'm spending - it's a useful discipline. I'm very glad I won't have to do this every month and I know I'm lucky it's only going to be short-term. It must be so tough to have years until your debt-free date.

Payday next week, the end of the month is in sight ...

I think we're going to switch phone/broadband providers (I say I think, husband deals with this stuff). I just checked on Quidco and it looks as though we could get £100 cashback for signing up to the new company - and for a similar rate to the one we have at the moment. I've never had a big whack of cash back through Quidco before, I've been a bit sporadic about using it and only had dribbles back through small online purchases, so this would be fab! And if I get my husband to do it through the Quidco referral link I sent him ages ago, which he hasn't yet used, I'll get a little bonus myself. Very MSE :money: