Taking Back Control

Madchickenlady

I have only been posting on the forum for a couple of weeks and tonight I decided to read some diaries, the ones I have read have inspired me to have a go myself so here goes
I thought a little background might be useful. I started my debt journey when I moved in with my ex partner, I just don't know where the money went but we were pretty irresponsible at the time. My partner then upand left leaving me with a mortgage I couldn't afford with two children and only a part time job plus other debts that we ran up
I take my share of the blame for the debts as I could have been more responisble but hey ho whats done is done
I decided I needed a full time job and luckily my girls were teenagers so I didn't have to worry about child care, I was working as a cleaner at my local hospital when a job came up for a Healthcare Assistant so I applied and got it, since then I have done my NVQ level 3 in Healthcare and now work as an HCA on the same ward that I used to clean, this is full time and I do three 12 hour shifts a day
I steadily got rid of the debt that my ex partner had walked away from and life was good for a few years, I've never been well off but I had enough to keep the roof over our heads and food on the table
Ten years ago I got ill and was eventually daiganosed with Fibromyalgia, this lead to a downward spiral of depression and I thought I was going to lose my job, but with the help of my lovely gp and my very understanding boss and HR department I have now got to a place where I am managing the Fibro most of the time and I am still managing to work full time.
The bad news is that during this time whenever I got down and depressed I would buy myself something to cheer myself up and it was this spending that got out of control ,so that I am now back in debt again, I really can't believe that I have been so daft and got myself back into this situation, but I have so need to take responsibility for it
Christmas 2013 sent me over the edge and I bought nearly everything on a credit card thinking I would pay it back after christmas, this was never going to happen because I had other things to pay for
January arrived and I was very broke in fact I only just made it to pay day without getting into trouble and the only reason I got away with it was because for some reason my wages went into my account two days early or else Iwould have had to miss a credit card payment for the first time ever. This shocked me into realising what a predicament I had got myself into and I had to do something about it ,so I went searching for a 0% deal cc card which led me to this site, I then noticed there was a forum and here I am, I have read lots and picked up some really good ideas and have also received some really good honest non judgemental advice and I now feel ready to tackle my debt, its not a huge debt in the grand scheme of things but its huge in relation to my situation and was keeping me awake at night.Since I came here I am actually sleeping better and I never thought this would happen but I am actually ENJOYING being careful with my money, I was expecting to feel depressed at not being able to spend but every time I don't buy something I get a thrill and every time I save even a tiny amount of money I feel great
So here is to a new year of careful spending and debt busting behaviour:j

Madchickenlady

Well today has been good so far, I have just managed to transfer the balances from both my cards onto the Barclaycard 30 month interest free card, so that gives me a bit of breathing space, the plan now is to make minimum payments of £100 a month but to increase this on months when I might earn more money. I am paid unsociable hours at work so my wages vary from month to month depending on how many weekends I work, if I only work the minimum weekends I can afford the £100 I have bugeted for but if I work two sundays I can pay off more. I decided to do it this way as it gives me more flexibility with my money, I am also going to look to see if I can put some money back for next christmas ,so I won't need to use a card again seeing as I have chopped them both up and thrown them away...lol...
My daughter has just come back from Aldi with this weeks supplies for packed lunches and some meals and it came to the grand total of £14, I LOVE ALDI....lol...
Todays meals are coming from the freezer and apart from the bits she bought today I want to use up the freezer contents before going for a major shop, looking in there today I reckon whats there will last until payday with me just having to buy veg to go with it and I don't need any cleaning products or anything like that because I overbought last month and now have at least 3 of everything
The aim of this month is going to be to get by on as little as possible with no spending unless its on essentials

Madchickenlady

Oops I forgot I wanted to post the list of things I have done to cut down my spending since I joined this site
Changed my shopping habits by drawing out the cash instead of using my card and going to cheaper stores ( Sainsbury to Aldi) I'm going to check out Lidl this week
I don't have to pay my council tax until the begiining of April so the money I normally use for that has gone to pay part of the balance on the Argos card
Managed to move both my debts from cards charging interest to 0% interest card meaning one payment and no interest
Contacted Virgin and then when they wouldn't offer me a new package I went to move to BT, So Virgin contacted me and offered me the package I wanted
saving me £29 a month for 6 months then £24 a month for the remainder of the contract
Stopped using my tumble dryer for drying my washing apart from the bedding if its raining, I have hung it on the airer instead and seeing as the heating has been on it dries in no time, I used to use my tumble dryer 3or 4 times a week so this is a good saving
Started doing the washing using one tablet instead of two as advised on one of the boards on MSE and my washing is just as clean and fresh
Remembered to read the meters so that my utility company has an accurate reading instead of it being estimated because I always forget
Plan meals to use up the contents of the freezer so I can defrost it and then plan what I am going to need to fill it up again
I think that is it for the moment but I am sure I will think of other ways to cut back as time goes on

Ali-OK

Brilliant news on the 0% for 30 months CC, no more fees or interest to pay and hopefully adds a determination to be rid of the debt in that timeframe. Great stuff :T

Completely agree about Ald! - it saves a fortune and I'm spending about the same a week as I did in Sainsbugs 10 years ago for a weekly shop .

I've become quite addicted to getting points and pennies with surveys and a bit of eBay - all helping to bring the debt down quicker. Sold £24 of books to Zapper, raised £41 on eBay last week, using Quidco for cashback on necessary purchases only - don't have time to go and spend normally, thank goodness

I'm on my own with DS who's now a teenager - us singlies can do it too!

Will subscribe and keep you company on your journey if you'd like

DawnW

Sounds as though you have made a great start. I am sure you will soon have paid off your debt :beer:

Madchickenlady

H i and thanks for the encouragement, can you tell me how to subscribe and I will subscribe to you too. I was so relieved to get the 0% deal as it means non of my money is being wasted on interest charges and I also like knowing how much I can basically afford each month while also having the challenge of increasing it when I can afford to
I agree us singlies can take control and I am looking forward to my life being debt free

Ali-OK

Go to the top of the thread you want to subscribe to (I've done this with my own thread too as it makes it easier to find!), there's a green bar across the page there, click on 'Thread Tools' and select 'Subscribe to this thread'.

Click on that and then you can also choose if you want to have any notification of new posts to it.

Elec and gas readings, not using the tumble dryer (except for towels, I confess ) - all things I'm doing too as in the past few months since I started my diary, it's those small things that are making a bigger difference to debt coming down. Really worthwhile and has meant the price rises aren't translating into an increased monthly DD.

Madchickenlady

LOL yep I also use my tumble for towels, I hate it when they go stiff

Madchickenlady

DawnW wrote: »

Sounds as though you have made a great start. I am sure you will soon have paid off your debt :beer:

Thanks DawnW I am hoping to pay it off as quickly as possible and I am not hoping I have learnt my lesson I am saying I have definitely learnt my lesson and will never get myself into this mess again:)

Kate_fixing_it

I have subscribed. I look forward to seeing you succeed on your debt free journey.

Kate x

Enjoying_life_more

Found you and subscribed !! good luck and I look forward to following your diary