Escaping the grind...in search of a life less ordinary

MissShoes

PAD made. CC now at £405.

£44.86 in bank- 4 days til payday

Long day at work ahead- then a list of chores and errands to tackle tonight.

OH working late tonight so dinner for 1. Have defrosted a Covent garden soup- minestrone and pancetta that was YS for 75p. Will have that and if still ravenous afterwards I'll have a slice of toast.

3 flebay packs to post today- will charge to CC to keep cash in my bank account then overpay on payday.

MissShoes

Another £5 off the CC for PAD today.

£400 is now the balance.

Another £12.29 in from flebay.

Small spends today on travel.

MissShoes

Another PAD of £5.

Balance now under the £400 mark.....

£395 :j:j:j

Paid £9.15 of another card to round it down.

2 days til payday. £38 in the bank- possibly a direct debit tonight for home ins of £31.

Emergency £10 still safely stowed in another bank account.

MissShoes

Missed my PAD on 24/4

Did £95 PAD on 25/4, payday making the balance £300

Last round of flebay sales sorted yesterday and all paid immediately. Only 15 items so much smaller than last round.

After paypa1 fees, £104.90 made. Have 13 items to post as 1 buyer bought 2 items and 1 sale is cancelled so expecting p&p of around £45.

So have PAD £50 today and the new CC balance is £250

:j:j:j:j:j

I have several bills still to come out over next few days so will feel better when I know what I'm left with. Aiming to pay CC off completely and close it down this pay month and ASAP.

Nice financial planning meeting with OH on Friday- clear idea of our plans for the next few months.

He is going to look at the food stockpile and see what can be used to minimise our shopping this month, hopefully limiting it to salad/veg/milk/cheese/bread

Lots to do tonight-

Laundry- 3 loads
Water outdoor plants
Water indoor plant
Pack flebay items
List 10-20 more flebay items (I think I just about have enough stuff)
Nails and eyebrows
Bake a batch of something
Write work to do list

MissShoes

Waited a long time to be able to post in here! I joined MSE in Dec 2007 and began tackling my debts in 2008. Chronic pattern of overspending, lurching from payday to payday had led me to having iI think 11 credit accounts at one point plus an overdraft and interest rates were shooting up so payment amounts were increasing and I had to take action to stop myself drowning.

When I think back to those early days, I'm really proud of how I coped and found enjoyment and pride in being frugal and clever with what little money I had- creative grocery shopping and meal planning, ebaying constantly and doing what I could to top up my main salary with side income through childminding/babysitting/tutoring/overtime/focus groups etc. At points I really was lucky and other times hard graft got me through.

My salary had increased significantly over the course of my DF journey which did help speed things up.....but of course inevitably slowed things down when things that had been luxuries crept into the necessities category- this wouldn't work for everyone but worked for me. I'm sure I could've become DF several years ago but I added to the debt with a house purchase and modernisation, travelling a lot and an ever increasing wardrobe. Even when doing this, MSE stayed with me and I am pleased to say those habits are still here now I have a very healthy bank balance thanks to the sale of that house. So lucky property buying and selling have catapulted me over the DF finish line and into the black- and now I have the freedom to think about what I want to do for a living, set new MF goals and continue with a financially savvy existence....well I hope at least!

I have loved reading the diaries and the advice everyone gives....must now update my diary! I'm more of a lurker than a poster but this site has definitely been the backbone of my debt free journey.

Lightbulb moment- January 2008

Debts at their highest- £19450 plus probably an extra £20k in interest and extra credit taken out over the last 7 years for home improvements etc

Debt free day- July 4th- payments cleared to creditors...INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Pearl of wisdom- PAD makes a real difference and gives you a feeling of daily progress which is really important when you only have one payday a month.

Increase your income however you can- selling, babysitting, cleaning, tutoring, proofreading, overtime, second job, focus groups etc

Post on your diary regularly to keep focused- something I am still not great at

Find value and worth in simple pleasures that don't cost a lot/free- walks in the evening, candlelit bath, baking, downloading free books, signing up for free preview tickets to films/galleries/plays etc

MSE guides- all of them, saving money on travel and renewing insurances etc, as well as buying and selling houses came in handy

Which forum threads helped you- DFW, PAD, the OS board for dinner inspiration and frugal ways to live the good life

DFW diary- I had a couple only sporadically updated...they're on there somewhere under MissShoes. The last one is called Escaping the Grind....which I have done. At last.

cazmanian_minx

Congratulations!!!!

MissShoes

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

Congratulations!!!!

Thanks Caz....I'm sticking to DFW though....need to stay on track! xx

MissShoes

Just checked my file on credi1expert......my score is currently 947 out of 999 but none of the payments clearing my debts are showing on the site yet. I have 4 defaults- 1 clearing in September and 3 next year in July, August, September.

Will keep checking to see the zero balances.........

MissShoes

Happy tidings- due a refund on council tax of £115....just have to head to the post office with ID and that will wing its way to my bank account.

A day of chores and financial organising awaits...... plus a £500+ bill for some renovations on the new place.

Waiting for finances to settle then I can establish different savings pots. So far the categories I've thought of are:

- mortgage overpayment (deal ends July 2019)
- deposit for btl place (long term idea/dream)
- annual bills
- holiday
- rainy day
- ISA
- Christmas

Chasing a £26 refund from job 3 too- not sure how long that will be, then need to get ready to line up some work from job 1 from Sept onwards.

Chores day today- laundry mountain, changing bed, dust, hoover and tidy bedroom, clear out office from junk and eat from stores.

sugarcube84

Well done!!!