A new debt free journey

Archer0710

I have just read your diary and wanted to say have you tried your local Free Facebook site?

I got a lovely table from there that seats 6 and in the end swapped it for my 4 seater table but initially it was free to whoever wanted it. It's in virtually perfect condition and I'm pretty sure other tables come up. It's certainly a start while you save for another one and better than eating off your lap spilling things and ruining things (or is that just me )

I know what you mean about it seeming to take forever. I know people earning substantially less than I do who always seem to have Money for clothes, beauty treatments etc and it sometimes makes you feel like giving up and doing the same. I just try to remind myself that I am doing this for me and no one else just view it as a percentage of your life and get it done as fast as possible.

lcc86

Thanks Archer0710, I'll try that. I did my budget for the next 6 months and the table and chairs I want will take me 5 months to save for (only approx £200 total but such is the state of my finances!) so that option may be better. I do have £300 emergency savings and if I find the items reduced in the sale I might consider it but I'm loathe to use that as a table is not an emergency! Lol.

On the plus side, I know my budget is sorted until June 2015 and Glasto is affordable, so definitely something to look forward to.

On another topic, does anyone know of any reputable companies which recycle old laptops? I have one and got a quote from one company (forget who now) for £12 but barely seems worth it after I've paid postage (I don't trust "free" postage after an old mobile went "missing" in the post once!).

lcc86

So.....

I fell off the DF wagon a little over Xmas (alcohol and the Internet really don't mix!). I spent £100 on my credit card on sale items :mad: I also bought some other stuff but did use my own money for a change, so even though it wasn't ideal it's a step in the right direction!

As a result there will be no additional progress made into my debt repayments this month. However, for the next 6 months I've planned to pay an extra £100 a month off all my debts. I've removed my credit card from all online accounts like Amazon to prevent me just buying something on impulse, and removed the card from my wallet so it really is for emergencies only!!

Finally I'm actively looking for a new job which pays more and/or involves less commuting. I'm not happy in my role in general and am annoyed that I have got back into debt because of it, so hopefully I can resolve this soon.

lcc86

Well, I think I must've cursed myself with my talk of looking for a new job, as we were paid a visit from our most senior manager that very day and told that a. There will be no promotions for the foreseeable future due to public sector cuts and b. There may be redundancies. And I'm in the unfortunate "last in first out" position.

This has really made me think about my options for the future. I have a degree and shouldn't be working at the level I am now, but if I stay where I am I know there's no option to earn more money and risk of redundancy. I may be able to do a couple of years study and retrain as a social worker, which I have thought of doing for some time. IMO this would improve my job prospects immensely, and I already work in the social care field so it's something I know about and enjoy.

The downside is it will cost me 10k to top up my current degree.... This is a real dilemma that I need to get my head round, as being 8k in debt doesn't put me in a good position to borrow any more money. And it completely ruins any chance of being debt free in 2 years or so...

Any information and advice would be greatly appreciated from anyone who has been in the position of wanting to retrain for a better future or being faced with the possibility of redundancy, or just any neutrals who can look at it from an unbiased perspective!

lcc86

Well, the last week at work has not been positive for a variety of reasons I won't go into here. I've decided I really can't afford to retrain (that and work refuse outright to sponsor me) so I'm stuck on my current pay grade for the foreseeable. I'm looking into some volunteering opportunities to see if I can get some more relevant experience to help broaden my chances elsewhere.

On slightly more positive news, I thought my first loan repayment was due this month, but it looks like it's actually next month, so I'm better off than I thought. I was going to pay extra off my debt to parents, however had another unexpected vet bill this weekend (story of my life atm!) so I'll have to use some money perhaps towards replacing what I've taken from my emergency funds.

On another positive note, I've had almost an entire week of NSD's. When I have spent money it's only been on essential toiletries like toilet roll etc. I also bought a stool for £3 this week, which I needed and which I thought was very reasonable for a brand new metal stool - thank you Ikea!

Because I had about 10 days off work over Christmas, I had £50 left over from my monthly petrol budget, so also put that towards debt repayment. In the past I would've spent that!! So very happy overall with a very restrained week. Here's hoping the upcoming week can be the same!

lcc86

Another week another vet bill sadly. Won't be happening again as the animal in question is no longer with me but financially at least I had that spare money available to pay it.

This week I've spent £10 on diy materials and medicine, until my fridge packed up.... So that was £130 for a new fridge which I didn't want to have to spend. I knew I'd need a new fridge and freezer eventually but hadn't been able to put any money aside for it. The freezer is still just about holding on for now luckily. I decided to use Very for the fridge, you can pay over 3 months interest free. I decided to take that route, even though it is a form of credit, as my only other option was my credit card, which is no longer interest free, or using their buy now pay later service, which again isn't interest free. Not happy at increasing my monthly outgoings but at least it's only for 3 months and was for the "right" reasons.

Here's hoping next week will be a week of no surprise expenses! I've decided to commit an extra £50 a month to my debts to help pay it off quicke, and will post an updated total after 1st Feb.

lcc86

Must've jinxed myself - my phone broke so £50 excess paid out on my insurance today!! So annoying. Other than that I'd spent £5 this week and was doing so well. It's £50 less that I now have for my debts this month and I'm really annoyed. I've worked out my debt pretty much remains what it was when I started this diary. It's really disheartening when I've sold things, cut back, looked for deals etc. Just seem to be having expense after expense atm. Every time I buy something I've actually planned for I seem to get an unexpected bill which I then struggle with...

Anyway rant over. I'll get there one day, these little setbacks are what emergency funds are for, and thank goodness I had that extra cash, got to put a positive spin on iT!!!

lcc86

Managed to buy myself a new phone for £15 this morning to last me while my own is being repaired. Luckily I have just been paid £40 in work expenses so that covered it. The rest will go to my debts. The phone I bought also has £10 credit so I can use this the next time I need to call an 0845 number or similar instead of getting charged on my contract. I am also due an Amazon payment early next week, and sold something else on there yesterday for £5.

I have a job interview for a different area of my company within walking distance from home. This would make such a difference to me financially, however I'm not getting my hopes up too much as I've heard they may promote an internal candidate. I feel that because of my financial situation I'm having to prioritise location over enjoyment of any potential job, which is a shame but I will work out a way to keep my experience relevant and keep building on my career.

Now I'm just hoping for a quiet weekend, I don't think I could bear another unexpected bill or cost right now.

lcc86

On doing my mobile phone insurance claim I've realised I'm not making the most of my bank account at all, and that therefore it's a cost I could probably cut.

I currently have a ll0yds gold account at £13 a month. It gives a £100 interest free overdraft, mobile phone insurance, aa cover and travel insurance. I never use my overdraft (and aim to keep it that way), my insurance excess has cost me what my phone is worth, and I rarely use my breakdown cover or travel insurance. So thats £156 a year I spend for something I rarely use.

I'll be honest, I thought I couldn't get all of the above benefits cheaper by paying for them individually, especially when the account was cheaper (it used to be £10 a month). I looked into it this evening and I could get cheaper breakdown cover and mobile insurance, and buy travel travel insurance when needed. I could save about £50 a year, maybe more, which isn't going to make a huge difference but why continue to throw money away!!

lcc86

So, new month new goal I think! For February I want to have as many NSD's as possible. I need to pop to the supermarket for some essentials this morning but I'm okay with that. Just going to see how I go, I didn't spend much in January to be honest due to all the emergencies I had so should be okay. I have plenty of food in the freezer and cupboards so fingers crossed! I'm not going to buy any meat and see what impact this has on my expenditure (I budget £25 a week for food). I also want to definitively make a decision about my bank account fees and sort that out either way. So to confirm, February targets are:

1. Have as many NSD's as possible.
2. Sort my bank account out.
3. Buy no meat for the month.