It's so simple in theory!

Fruball

Trishiapp wrote: »

Just a quick question...

What would be better for selling stuff, Ebay or Gumtree? I've never used either, so not sure which one to go for.


Thank you in advance for your answers.

You should find local faceb00k buy and sell sites. I never use ebay anymore. faceb00k pages are fee free and people collect!

[Deleted User]

By my calculations OP, your debts are £2,800.

That's not a huge amount so, hopefully, shouldn't take too long to clear.

I suggest the usual, namely post an SOA, so the good folks on here can advise.

Trishiapp

Thank you all.

Sadly, I don't have a Face Book ( not my thing.) However, after a little research I have listed some things on Gumtree and my mum will use her Ebay account to help me out ( I wouldn't know where to begin!)


Overall I feel very positive this morning and know that, once I have paid it all off, I will never mismanage my money again! Thank you Bedsit Bob for your words of encouragement I honestly don't need to post my SOA as I know where I was going wrong ( non-essential spending, which I've stopped now.)


It's very interesting that in other parts of my life, I am very competent and organised, yet, when it comes to money, I seem to be like a helpless child. I suspect, much like everything else, my very poor ( both monetary and emotionally) childhood is partially responsible for my adult struggles. But, I will not dwell on it too much and shall carry on with my plan...


So, today, I'm planning to have a no spend day. I was hoping to not spend a penny till the end of this week, but I am rapidly running out of coffee! What do I do? I might stretch it out for as long as I can, but the amount that's left in my jar may just last me another day?


Also, I am thinking of organising car-boot-sale very soon, as I have a lot of clothes and household stuff in my loft. This would not only provide me with the extra money towards my O/D, but I would also declutter my house- just in time for spring! Whilst we are very lucky this year with the weather ( temperature wise) I cannot wait for the spring to arrive ( I love my garden.)


Ah, yes! One more thing, I'm off work at the moment, which means a huge saving on diesel!


Wish you all a wonderful day!

Trishiapp

Gosh, I'm waffling on this morning! But, I was thinking last-night about simplifying my life. It occurred to me that, the less I want, the happier I am. I suspect much of it is to do with my love of peace and nature, so the question is: how on earth did I end up being materialistic? Hmmm, I might ponder this today...

foxgloves

Trishiapp - I knod of know where you're coming from on your last post, as I am similar. I have known how to plan food & cook from scratch economically since I learned to cook at school, I have strong gardenng/veggie growing skills, I can sew & knit, mend things & have lots of crafty skills which are useful for making presents. I'm eco-minded...increasingly as I get older & loathe everything about our greedy inequal capitalist society........yet partner & I had 30K of debt at its worst......all from overspending our earnings & consistently failing to budget. I am a methodical & organised person...I always have been, but was clearly applying it to everything except my money. I was in debt from age 19 to well into my 40s. The LBM occurred around early 40s but flickered a few times before it got going. Now I feel so much happier. Our income has halved because of my redundancy but we are both happier because we have got rid of the debt & are living less materialistic lives. I feel how I live now is much more true to who I am. I just couldn't go back to wasting money like we used to. Your last post struck a chord with me because I also find it difficult to reconcile all those skills I've always had, plus a sensible upbringing where money was concerned, to the stupid levels of overspending I adopted for most of my adult life! Oh well......at least we got a lid on it & I visit these forums regularly to keep me motivated to stay that way.......

Trishiapp

So today, I've paid extra ( on top of my normal min payment) £40 towards my credit card. Also, I have only spent £17 this week on groceries and enjoyed cooking and baking from scratch. As my poor daughter has tonsillitis I have made various soups for her ( carrot and coriander, potato& leek, tomato, and tomorrow bacon and lentil.)

Today is my second no spend day and I have no reason to go shopping tomorrow either Since I have plenty of food in my house, apart from my monthly prescription, I anticipate very small shop at the end of the week ( mainly fresh fruit and vegetables.)


As I am currently off work ( back in two weeks time) I am saving a fortune on diesel ( roughly £40 per week!) I am intending to use this money to put towards my O/D at the end of this month.


I must thank all the wonderful people on this site for sharing their knowledge and experiences- inspirational!


I wish you all a wonderful evening.

ViolaLass

OH and I were able to save about 20% of our monthly food bill by eating almost solely what he could get from the reduced section at the supermarket on Friday and Saturday evenings. We did it for a month to see what would happen - it did mean a bit of an odd diet at times but it was perfectly pleasant and I would do it again if we needed to cut costs (we still do it to some extent now). The quality and quantity did not go down, just the cost.

Just worth a thought if you're off work so can shop when you want - target the best reduced times for your supermarket as you can get some bargains. Even if you only do it for a couple of weeks, it could free some money up.

Scritti

Trishiapp wrote: »

Thank you all for your kind advice.

Based on your past knowledge, I have decided to tackle my overdraft first. I think foxgloves is very right in that, unless I have 'clear' money in my bank account, I will not be able to budget properly as I always end up overdrawn!

Also, the idea of my bank withdrawing this facility has frightened me-may I ask, under what circumstances does this happens?

I have taken Neil's advice and will transfer ( if I can) the £800 credit card debt onto 0 % card ASAP.

I was just about to post exactly this advice when I read your post.

(Note - there are a lot of comments here recently where people have had their OD's taken away, given sometimes just a month's notice to pay off up to a grand or more! Why? Because the banks are ****'s. They have the right to withdraw your OD with not much notice. They don't need a reason.)


I couldn't get my head around my finances whilst constantly working in minus numbers so I transferred all my CC debt onto a 0% balance transfer card (which gave me almost 2 years breathing room) and put every spare penny onto busting my £1500 OD.

I have to say, it was one of the best things I've ever done.

Actually having ALL of my monthly pay available to me made the world of difference. I easily managed to sort my finances out very quickly indeed. 12 months on, the OD is long gone, I've got a couple of grand in savings and am overpaying the 0% card each month. I will pay off the card a month or so before the 0% period ends and will still have plenty left in savings for an emergency fund.

As I say, best thing I've done along with find this site and learn from the lovely people who post on these forums.

I wish you the very best of luck!!

Trishiapp

Good morning Scritti.

Thank you for your reply. Much like you, I am intending to get rid of my O/D as soon as possible. I've calculated that this month I should be able to pay over £300 towards it ( that's if I continue as I am.) I do hope I can do better next month and perhaps stretch to £500, since there's no council tax to pay It's stories like yours Scritti, that inspire me to continue and eventually become debt free. Thank you for sharing.


On a different note, following last meter reading, the electricity company ( EDF) reduced my direct debit from £120 to £70 per month( I know that was high, but I'm all electrics )That's a whopping £ 50 per month! Yet again, this will go towards my O/D.


As my daughter is still unwell, I shall make the most of the peace and quiet and catch up on my studies. Thankfully all my housework is done ( I even washed my car yesterday! Mind you, it took a while to de-frost my hands!Still, I've saved money on car wash )


I wish you all a wonderful day!

Skinnylatte

I've subbed to your diary, I'm in a similar situation myself, and am currently tackling the OD. Good luck