58k in debt to frugal living..

natsplatnat

£50 a month = £600 a year!!

I have been saying for over a year now that I need to change our broadband, TV and line package... really should do as I reckon a new package will save us £30 a month = £360 a year!!

debtfreeoneday

I know Nat! Scary how the figures can multiply.

So next on the list is our water situation - we have a tank in the front garden where all our waste water goes.. it fills up stupidly fast and costs us £400 a time to empty it - in 6 months, we've had to empty it three times (it was full when we moved in) - that's a crazy cost on water.. we're trying to think of ways we can divert waster water elsewhere.. obviously the loo will have to continue to go in there, as will the dishwasher (but this is a very economical one using a bowl of water per wash).. which leaves us the washing machine and the bath.. need to get our thinking caps on with this.

Had a long talk with DH tonight about using our money smarter as there are few areas where we can make a big difference, he's probably 50% on board.. he thinks we don't have spare cash as it is.. need to keep working on him..

Didn't go to Tesco as figured I would save the petrol as I have to go that way tomorrow.. trying to get DH to think in these terms is hard..

I used the selling technique of 'you can retire earlier' if we get rid of the debt / mortgage quicker! Maybe I need to keep reminding him of that?

Day at hospital tomorrow which I'm not looking forward to at all..

debtfreeoneday

Hospital done, thank god and all was well!

Spent £2.40 on car park charges, but for the first time in ages have some money left out of my monthly spends - only £3, but it's better than having nothing!

So in TV news, we turned the TV ariel off tonight to see how we fare for a week - sure we will be fine.. and hopefully next week I cancel both the TV licence and the TV package, though need to check if we are in front or behind with our TV licence payments as sure they do 6 mths in front, 6 mths in arrears?

7.83 in my cashback account ready to withdrawn, so will do that and chuck that towards the loan overpayment..

debtfreeoneday

Update time.. have had a fairly productive week in terms of pennies!


Another loan payment made, so it's down to £9,682..


Really chuffed that I picked up a £15 off £60 spend for Tesco.. so I've managed to get most of our Christmas dinner effectively free!


I've had my first day off my diet in three months today as my WW subscription has ended, so treat day after losing 30lbs and tomorrow I will sign back up tomorrow using DH's top cashback so I will get another three months free and here's to another 30lbs hopefully gone over the next 3 months!


Have a great weekend all!

WhiteRose2014

Well done for all your hard work so far :j you have come such a long way! now subscribed x

debtfreeoneday

Been AWOL for a week as it's just been so busy with work!


Nothing much happened on the debt fighting front.. except a renewed attempt starting with me determined to think about every penny we spend and get into major saving / flinging every spare penny at debt mode.


One exciting thing is that a house boat has come up for sale near us, something we have always wanted to do.. but a scary concept.. however with equity in our house, we could be mortage free in 5 years which is a nice thought.. just have to book to go see it!

debtfreeoneday

Another 2lb gone in weight loss this week which I'm chuffed about - 1 more pound to get to 2.5 stone loss!


Signed up for delivery saver tonight for 12 months on the food shop.. and after something being damaged last week we got £5 off this weeks' shop! I know it's maybe money we could save by not having it delivered, but I stick to a budget this way and we live 15 miles from the supermarket, so what I save in petrol, budget and time and not having to do the shop with three year olds in tow makes that £6 a month so worth it!


Have decided to set up a separate account to save money towards additional payments towards the loan and move across pounds and pennies when I can.. Thinking I will do so every Friday and go to the nearest £5 in our bank account - it will soon add it.

debtfreeoneday

Hope everyone is having a nice christmas..

I've been sooo busy, I've not been in here for a while, but 2015 goals updated. Currently trying my hardest to get a weight loss in Christmas week and then really get back on it weight loss wise.

Been thinking of my focus for 2015, and whilst most of that is about making debt repayments and doing what I can to get us towards being debt free, we have a bit of work that needs doing to the house and well, life goes on doesn't it.. for me it's about doing things as cost effectively as we can and savings pennies where we can.

I am really determined to spend 2015 focussed on money throughout and will be in here waaaay more often.

I got a letter from our loan company recently saying because they failed to tell us about our ability to make repayments earlier, they are refunding some £500 of interest to us. I plan to split this a between the loan repayment, the emergency fund, the house fund and smaller amounts between our holiday account and our car account.

Thanks for reading..

chevalier

Happy Christmas. When you say you have a tank in the front garden for your water waste, do you mean you have a sewage soak away tank? If this is the case and you have had it emptied 3 time in a year, then it may have a problem. We had a similar tank in our old house that serviced 3 properties, and it only needed emptying every 18 months or so - when it worked correctly. Good luck with the last of your money debt busting
chev

debtfreeoneday

Hi - it isn't a soakaway - just literally a collection vessel, if that makes sense. We have started redirecting our bath and shower water elsewhere and hope to do something similar with the washing machine and see what difference that makes.. so I'm not sure what else we can do with it to be honest.