I Will Be Free

peaceandfreedom

IWillBeFree wrote: »

Thank you itcouldbeworse xx

I am hatching plans to make offers that will ensure he pays for dinner and drinks

Hee hee, are you planning to make him an offer he can't refuse

Have a wonderful evening - hope you manage to get buy without blowing your remaining 44 quid but even if you do, you've done very well :T.

mumblingtaff

Hope you have a fab time all dressed up and out on the town. You've done fabulously well this week so deserve a treat xx

IWillBeFree

Thank you

peaceandfreedom

and

mumblingtaff

I really appreciate the support!

Well, we had a fabulous Friday night - we had a lovely dinner (and used a voucher), the play was wonderful and it was a very pleasant night for walking around London. Very glad we did it. Sadly though, I must have lost my touch a little as despite my eye lashes working overtime, the fella mentioned he's concerned about his budget so he wasn't going to pick up the bill. I can't blame him, especially now that I kow how important budgeting is!

So, £21.80 for the train and £20 each for the meal and tip (bargain really for the West End) and I was left with £2.42. A good night though so I didn't dwell on it.

Saturday morning was spent checking balances and updating YNAB. It is sooooooo good to see the numbers going down! A very productive morning, although the hounds were unimpressed :rotfl:

I recently used the SWITCH incentive to close down two bank accounts (hence where that little balance came from ) and opened a new one with Clydesdale (for all bills) and kept one other (Halifax with the dreaded £3K OD:eek: facility for all my income). I called both banks on Saturday morning and the Halifax said I should have had my £100 incentive by now so they would look into it and I should have it by Wednesday. Also said if I use my OD for up to £10, there are no charges - this is a big thing for me as I have come to loathe bank charges! The Clydesdale said the incentive for £150, should be in my account within 3 months of opening it, so a while yet. They also said if I used £25 of the OD (£100 just in case I miscalculate anything) there would be no charges and above that, it's £6 per month.

So, to cut a long story short, I can access £35, charge free from the ODs until payday - this Friday! That made my Saturday :j:j:j

Weekend was very frugal, for obvious reasons. I had an appointment which was budgeted for and topped up with petrol for £20 as I miscalculated my petrol needs. I went to the gym, had long walks with the hounds and the fella and a friend provided me with dinners on both days In fact, I had left overs from my friend's dinner for lunch today. So nice of her to let me have it.

Planning a very low spend week again and to be honest, I have everything I need for lunches and dinners, if I am creative with the cupboard and freezer contents so I should be OK. I feel so encouraged from last week, it will be a breeze

IWillBeFree

A little update to start the day....

IWillBeFree wrote: »

1. Halifax overdraft 2,881.78 PAID OFF 15.7.15
2. Halifax card 4,404.34 at 19.5% account closed PAID OFF 11.8.15
3. Tesco card 10,672.16 at 17.9% account closed BALANCE £10,580
4. MBNA 9,121.73 at 0% until 1.1.16 then 25% BALANCE £8,940.20
5. Barclaycard 8,231.61 at 0% until 1.10.16 then 25% BALANCE £7,905.24
6. Friend 2,000 at 0% but is asking for payment BALANCE £2, 000

Total: 37,311.62 NEW BALANCE £29,425.44 BELOW £30k

crazy_cat_lady

Brilliant - it's so good to see this numbers coming down isn't it?

IWillBeFree

It's what keeps me going with such passion

mumblingtaff

Well done! Making great progress!

IWillBeFree

Thank you MT! I am trying my very best!

in_need_of_direction

Amazing progress. Have you worked out how much you've saved in interest and charges?

IWillBeFree

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Amazing progress. Have you worked out how much you've saved in interest and charges?

That is a very good point in need of direction! I have not but I do now that I was paying roughly £71 minimum payment to the Halifax card every month and the interest was roughly £68 every month so it was barely touching it!:(

The overdraft, also with Halifax, had an emotional as well as financial hold on me. This was the account I used to share with my ex until we split. When we separated finances, I agreed to take it on and for the past 4 years, it has been horrendous - overdrawn up the £3K limit each month and then getting fees added, between £90 - £120! :eek::eek::eek:


I worked out, as it was overdrawn until the middle of July, that I will have one last fee to pay, and then that's it - no more charges! :j:j:j


I think I chose to pay those two off first as a) they weighed heavily on my mind for various emotional reasons and b) I wanted to follow Dave Ramsey's advice and attack the smaller debts first, and get them out of the way!

It's Barclaycard next and the loan from my friend. I am minded to talk to him about my situation but fear about how he will take it. He may panic and think I won't pay him back, for instance. Or maybe I am just too embarrassed and don't want him to know how much of a fool I have been.

My aim is to reach below £25K by Christmas AND to save £1,000 for emergencies.
So, no room for any more stupidity.