DFW journey starts today

twiggy86

Today is one month since my LBM!

In that month I'm pleased to say I've paid £897.49 off my debts which is about 9% of the starting total! Only £88.87 until 10% or £102.51 until I've paid off £1,000! Very impressed for my first month if I do say so myself!

I could pay that amount off now I still have:
Over £100 in my bank (should be more based on my starting budget but I think I did something wrong?!)
£140 in my bills account left as all the bills have come out - I over pay into there slightly every month so it's built up
Over £100 in OVO as my DD is always more than my actual spend (let's hope I haven't jinxed myself!) - do I withdraw some to pay off debts or leave it in there until after the cold winter months in case we do go over?

I would like to celebrate my anniversary by paying something off but I think I'll wait until payday (just over a week) and then pay off a big chunk!

I know this will probably sound very strange but I'm actually glad I'm in debt! It's made me be responsible with money and despite the fact I've spent less this month, I feel like I've got more for my money! I'm planning for future expenses so won't have that stress when they crop up, although I'll need to up my amounts to each pot once Xmas is out the way. I know if I didn't have these debts to face up to I wouldn't have put "pots" in place - although this is the way my mum has always worked. She is very happy I'm now putting this in place although she doesn't know the extent of my debt, just that I've got some that I'm facing up to.

So, happy Sunday everyone!

AleMrsT

Hi twiggy, just read through, I'm very impressed with how you've tackled it so far. My LBM was only recent too,so I'll be subscribing to share your journey and get some inspiration.

twiggy86

Thanks AleMrsT! Good luck in your journey - I'll find you and subscribe!

I went to the market today to stock up on meat as a friend had said how cheap it was! Got 3 packs of meat for £10 - one which was priced at £10.94 on its own! Plus 3 huge steaks for £10 which we've cut into 6 and popped in the freezer! Also got a gammon hock joint for £2.50 which is in the slow cooker for dinner tonight! I will be going back again to stock up as I was very impressed!

Im posting my signature as of today below, as it annoys me that it updates on older posts so you can't see the progress when reading back. Aim to do this each month so I can see exactly how well I've done that month - obviously this month was easy as I know what the starting figures were but next month won't be so clear! But fingers crossed for another good month although I do have my works Xmas party and will have to get a taxi on my own which will cost a bit!

LBM 16.10.14
CC - at LBM £6,652.68 - now £6,290.35 OD - at LMB £480.52 - now £475.01
Next - at LMB £436.48 - now £203.33 Beds - at LBM £1,667.00 - now £1,450.00
Parents - at LMB £626.96 - now £546.96
TOTAL - at LMB £9,863.64 - now £8,966.15
Nov £5 per day #18 - £118.26/£150 £1,000 EF #31 - £39.14/£1,000

twiggy86

Decided to request a refund from OVO and just leave £100 to cover it if we use more than our DD. So that's £66 winging its way towards my bank which I'll then use to pay off my debts. I'm going to adopt this approach going forward so that I request anything over £100 in there each month.

Also going to leave £100 extra in my bills account each month and use any extra to pay off debts. I always overpay into there in case any bills are more than expected. So that's another £45 which I can use to pay off debts, which I'll do once I receive the OVO refund.

So once that's in I should be able to reach not only my 10% target but also the £1,000 target! Plus it's payday a week tomorrow when another chunk will come off!

Aim by then end of November is to be under £8,500 so £466.15 - might be tight but pretty sure its doable! No - it WILL be doable!

The OVO/bills account payment should be £111 leaving £355.15. I then have £73.35 due to me from work for petrol this month (only put in £97 this month!) leaving £281.80 to find which I CAN do! :j
So I'm tempted to say the aim will be under £8,250 but I really don't handle failure well! Definite aim for the end of December though!

monz

You are doing fantastic x

twiggy86

Thanks Monz! Just found and read your diary from cover to cover! You're doing really well! I really must be more dedicated to surveys as you seem to get loads of vouchers through them!

monz

Thank you ! I am dedicated sometimes maybe too much then get sick of them for ages lol x

twiggy86

Also just realised I'm due another £25 for dog sitting so that only leaves £256.80 to find to reach £8,500! Which sounds like a lot, but it also sounds like a lot less than £9,863.64!

twiggy86

I was going to say it's been a NSD but that would be a lie! Amazing how quickly you forget! Spent £4.87 on some tobacco on my way to work but that was it.
Only got £20 for dog sitting not £25 but it's all extra! So that's gone towards the beds and leaves another £261.80 to pay out my wages to get to £8,500! Although planning to pay more than that. Probably more in the region of £400 but need to work out my budgets. Also owed £58 by OH which I won't need now this month so that can go towards it. Have £111 left in my bank too, although might be going out this weekend so might have to use a bit. So I may actually get to £8,250 pretty soon!

AleMrsT

Well done twiggy, i need to check my balances etc. My problem is i don't have any spare cash to move around, but when my DMP is fully in place i should be able to have more flexibility.