This really is the end

cheerio14

No real debt updates today. I bought a buggy the other week but realised that I don't like it (bit too big and bulky) so am selling it and already got what I bought it for so when that clears it'll go towards my debt. I'm just wishing the week away, I can't make any big payments until after I've had my car looked at on Thursday so I'm itching to know how much that's going to be!

I did some maths earlier as we'd like to start trying for no.2 and I've worked out if I'm sensible I can have the whole 12 months off (could only manage 9 with DS1) and I could still make some debt payments in that time which would help hugely with wanting to be part time on my return. My overall aim is to get under £4k of debt by next September. This should be do-able, if I'm careful!

I went through a crazy few weeks (months) at work but now all of that work has gone and I'm left twiddling my thumbs. I'm trying to be productive (Swagbucks etc) but if anyone has any ideas of other websites I could be earning points through it'd be hugely appreciated. Right back to pretending to work!

DomRavioli

Hi OP,

I use swags, gifthulk, onepoll, isay, globaltestmarket (surbeys), mintvine, toluna, yougov (surveys), mysurvey and opinion outpost for the most part.

Have you downloaded the swagbucks apps for phone (iphone/android)? might be worth a look, there's SBTV, Lifestylz, Sportly, IndyMusic, EntertaiNow and MovieClips, its 10sb per day on each so 60sb a day. Helps with the targets and I've been cashing out around 25 a month from sB without any offers.

cheerio14

Thanks DomRavioli I'll check that out this weekend!

So I'm ending the week on a high, I've just paid....wait for it......£1900 off my debt! Taking my overall total down to £8961 so I've lost a digit. Whilst I feel sad that I have to use that amount of money to clear debt I also feel elated that I've made such a huge chunk. I'll update my new totals below!

cheerio14

So mid month scores on the doors.....
As of mid August:
CC1: 5543.46
CC2: 2686.33
CC3: 3136.28
Total: £11,366.07

Today:
CC1: 4963
CC2: 953
CC3: 3045.67
Total: 8961.67

Reduction: £2404.4!!!

That's an amazing reduction. My aim is to be under £4k next September which, on my forecasts I'll miss by £560 so my aim is to make an extra £50 a month for the next 10 months. That could be through selling items or simply through not spending so much. When it's broken down that way it does seem doable so I just need to keep focused.

My shorter term aim is to pay CC2 off by Easter, now that it's under £1k it feels so much more achievable.

Happy Friday all!

cheerio14

So no real updates apart from I'm wishing away the month so I can make another payment to the debt! I'v requested a £24 TCB payout so when that arrives it'll go straight off the debt, I've sold a pram for £43 (£20 more than I bought it for) so that'll go off the debt and I'm determined to find a cheque I've misplaced for £19 so that can be another payment. Those little bits will total £87 so not too far off another £100 off! I'm really trying to focus on SB so I can reach a payout, it's proving a little tricky at the minute but I'm going to reach a payout if it kills me!

I've also been a bit moneysaving, I needed new boots for work and I'd bought some years ago but they were uncomfortable but I've started wearing them and now they're a bit more broken in they're fine! So that's saved me £40 and shows me I need to look more closely at what I have first before I spend!

cheerio14

I have realised that I've switched user names half way through this diary - oops!

The rest of the month is going to be tight, but we don't have any plans this weekend, hubby can pay for food for the rest of the month, got a lunch date and then dinner out which is already paid for, just need travel. So hopefully I can do the month on what's left....if I'm careful!

Bobarella

I'm so glad you said that. I was really confused thinking it was a new user who didn't understand forum etiquette I. E don't gate crash someone else's diary!

cheerio14

Hi Bob - not sure how or when I changed username but somewhere in my crazy few months I have! Oops!

cheerio14

I'm really struggling this month, I couldn't tell you where my money has gone as there haven't been any overly above normal spends but despite making £86 on bingo I'm at -£5 in my current account with over a week and a half to go. I need to pay the following:
£30 fuel
£10 food top ups
£10 travel
£30 night out (this has already half been paid for)
Total: £80 to find - now I have £20 in a pot I was trying to make last to pay off a credit card and I'm owed £20 from a present I brought at work so that's £40 and then I do have £45 cash at home I was trying to save to pay off a CC but in reality if I don't use it then I'll go into my OD which is worse so, the blessing is (if I'm trying to be glass half full) that I have £80 sat around in various guises which I can use which wouldn't have happened previously, and this is after I've already paid nearly £1.9k off my debt this month (which includes a £400 payment from this months wage) so I shouldn't be too hard on myself.

I think my take away from this is that I need to do a spending diary again so I'm super aware of where every penny goes.......11 days til pay day!

cheerio14

So the last week of payday, this month has felt super long but then pay wise it has been 4 1/2 weeks. I need to buy some fruit and put some fuel in the car but otherwise that's it. I should be able to get by without spending on my credit card (fingers crossed). Though we're having some decorating done and we've agreed that if there's too much wet paint about or if it smells awful we'll go out for dinner so that'll be an unexpected spend.

So my final total this month remains at £8,971.67 (£10 interest added) so I can say that another month has passed without me using a credit card which is quite a liberating feeling. My last transaction on a CC was a couple of months ago and I couldn't tell you the last time I went that long without spending on one. I don't feel completely in control of my money but I definitely feel more in control than I used to.

My aim for this week is to get on the christmas shopping, along with sorting out our christmas tree and making a dent in organising three projects that I'm working on (outside of work!) I'm hoping for a relatively quiet week at work as last week was crazy.

So what's new with me? We're getting some decorating done which I'm really excited about but it's going to make me want a new floor straight away. A new floor will cost around £400 + fitting so around the £500 mark, so we need to work out how we pay for that as then the house will be done.

I've got a little idea for a new income stream which I want to look into some more, I know I can do it just it requires a lot of upfront work and I'm not sure I have the energy. I finally reached a cash out on SB but I feel that for the amount of energy you have to put into it there's very little reward and with working FT and having a little one there is a balance. I've got some more bits I want to attempt to sell for a final time on the bay of e, I read a diary on here and they listed items for a buy it now price for 30 days so I think I'm going to do that rather than the traditional auction format. So that's another goal for this week.

Aims for the week:
- Half christmas shopping done
- List 2 items on *bay
- Charity project
- Spend less than £40 (inc food and fuel)
- Investigate new income stream
- Book bits for other project