Dont think of cost, think of value

Tradcob

Hello all!

I have been dipping in and out of MSE for about a year but not really changed my habits much, I thought if I started a diary then it may help me become more focussed on my goal of reducing my debt, changing my spending habits and it may even provide somebody with a little entertainment!

So, I am 29, I have a NATWEST loan of £3000 but also a temperamental car that I think I need to replace as I drive approx. 50 miles a day getting to and from my job.

I do not have any kids, but do have my OH, 2 cats and one hairy pony to look after and love

My partner and I do enjoy going on holiday and save up and have a mega holiday every other year rather than one per year.

We enjoy camping, walking, horse riding (obviously), cycling and also staying in with a film or two….

I have a good job that pays well and am striving to make my way onto the next stage of my career (and next salary band) by early 2017, by this time I would like to have cleared my loan and replaced the car…. We do have a big holiday planned for next year but we both pay into our joint account and without making any additional monthly payments- the holiday is sorted…..

We ‘own’ our house (do you really own the house before you’ve paid off your mortgage?) well you know what I mean- but looking into the future this is not where we want to end up living forever and can see us saving up to move house in the next few years.

So, big plans ahead! First things first- I need to clear that loan!!!

I plan to go and have a chat with the bank as to be honest I’m paying a fortune in interest and need to see if there is any way of them reducing this (I’ll probably get laughed out of the bank- but I can ask can’t I?), then I think I have a couple of options that I am hoping you guys could help me with- So, I could afford to increase my monthly repayments from £120/ month to probably £200 ish a month, we tend to get a bonus at work around March/ April time but obviously I can’t rely on this- only use it wisely once it’s in my bank account! Usually I would put this towards a treat for myself and OH and then the rest would go towards holiday spends (oh….. both appear to be treats don’t they?!), anyway- this year this will be going towards paying off the loan- so I need to do the figures to work out when I can pay the loan off by.

I was also wondering about a 0% credit card- having never had a credit card before I have no idea if you can get one to pay off a bank loan, but I like the idea of being able to overpay as and when possible as this feels like a good option.

What are your thoughts on this?

Anyway, I think that’s enough for my first post- and I do apologise for waffling- but I’m sure you will get used to me

Tradcob

Hi, so my car has decided that I would like a lights display on my way to work, so going to have to send it to the dealership to be looked at as my trusty local garage has looked at it a few times and can't work out what's causing the problem, sigh! oh well, it needs sorting so no use worrying about it, fingers crossed it doesn't cost too much to fix!

Its not a good start is it?!

Tradcob

Good morning all,

So I struggled to sleep last night, not through worry thankfully but excitement over reading the ideas on here to save money and pay back that loan.

I’ve decided that I need to get my current car working safely and there’s not a lot I can do about the cost of that at this point, apart from pray it’s not an expensive job to fix, if it is expensive I really will just have to deal with it then move onwards knowing that I’m heading in the right direction to clearing my loan and getting a more reliable car!

So, I was reading up on the debt free challenges last night and I love the idea of the 100 ways to make 1% savings as this really does break down the challenge, now once I get my repayments altered it means I can concentrate on what else I can do to raise some extra cash and pay off extra chunks regularly until it’s all gone!

Now ways in which I think I can raise cash- declutter and ebay! Hopefully ebay is going to be my friend through this journey, I’ll also be using some free local sites too as generally that means no fees and no trip to the post office required J But when I work through the different rooms and think of all the extra stuff I have around the place I could make a little bit of cash, none of the things I have are particularly expensive but I do have a number of medium to low value items that I could easily get rid of and not miss around the place (you know, as long as somebody buys them J ). And to be honest I love the feeling you get when you’ve had a clear out of stuff, that sort of feel good lightness you get inside- so I’m actually looking forward to having a good sort out J

I am also going to set me and my OH a food budget challenge as we do spend a lot on our weekly shop, I will split this into manageable savings goals to get us used to spending less

I have a Christmas party to go to on Friday (I don’t usually do going out and partying, it’s not something I particularly enjoy, but I am looking forwards to spending some time with my old work friends who I really don’t see enough of) I am driving (hopefully if I have a working car!), have already paid for the meal, I did think that I should get something new to wear as I don’t have many ‘going out’ clothes, but I decided that with my new MSE head on that I would make do with what I have, no one will even notice if they have seen a top before, and if they do, then so what?

Talking of Christmas how is everyone doing with the Christmas shopping? I think I’ve just got a couple of bits to buy, and have declared that I’m not buying any new wrapping paper this year as we have to use the bits we already have from the past few years and the prezzies will just have to mismatch!!!

Anyway, I hope you have a good day if you are reading this, please could someone say a quick hello so I don’t start to feel lonely, I am doing the diary mainly for myself but I know you lot are a friendly bunch and I’d love to make some new friends :-D

threellamas

Hello!! Good luck on your journey. I've found that doing in small chunks really helps. Also I found that its better to not ebay everything at once, i find little and often can keep the momentum going.
Hope the car sorts its self out and that you have fun at the christmas party!!

Tradcob

Hello threellamas, thank you for saying hello, I’ll bare it in mind to do the ebaying in manageable chunks so I can keep the energy up- thanks for that :-)

Not much to report today- I’ve managed to get my car in at the dealership for tomorrow so it just needs to get there then hopefully I’ll have a working car again- yippee!!

Going to meet up with my good friend on Saturday for Christmas shopping, I’ll be able to relax and enjoy it as I don’t really need to buy anything and she hasn’t started yet so will be lending a helping hand, will probably stop for a little something to eat, but we only see each other every few months so the value of the time and the money is very worthwhile.

Other things to do this weekend-
· Arrange a meeting with the bank to increase monthly payments for my loan
· Buy a tin to put my £1 a day for Christmas 2016 Debt Free challenge (ooo can do this in town on Saturday!)
· List 5 items on Ebay
· Full clean of the house
· Put up the Christmas decorations (soooo excited!!!!)
· Hopefully I’ll get to ride the pony and get some extra jobs done at the stables too

Looking forward to this weekend and having a fully working car again and can get started with the extra cash towards the loan!

I am getting quite excited about the challenge of clearing the loan, I’ll be in such a better position and will pick up some good habits as a result!

I do love reading other peoples debt free diaries for ideas and how well they have done, it’s a real motivator!!!

Tradcob

Hello all, so a quick update, I have my car back and it's working, yesterday only cost me £50, but it turns out there is a much bigger problem going on so it is even more important that I clear the loan quick, unless I want to spend £950 fixing the head gasket on this car, which I don't as I don't even like the car that much, so the garage have told me to check the coolant before each journey and to keep an eye on the oil, a friend of mine has pointed me in the direction of a product that may help in the short term and it only cost £8 so I will give that a go!
Night out went well and I managed not to spend anything as I was driving and giving a friend a lift so she kept me topped up with dit coke haha.
went into town today and managed to spend less than £20 and it was all things that were needed, I stopped myself getting a few things that I would have liked, so I'm classing that as a good day!
So time to settle in for the evening of strictly come dancing and film night, looking forward to putting the Christmas decorations up tomorrow, I love Christmas!!!

Hope everyone else has had a productive day!!!

angela110660

Well done so far and good luck re car. Hope you dont mind me posting but we had a great day today too! First of all parked where it is free for a few hours and then had a walk. Popped into the BHF charity shop as been looking for a table for lounge to replace nest of tables. Found one for £20 Ducal make and matches rest of our furniture? Meant to be and in great condition too. so pleased. Also managed to buy hubbys prez which is usually a trial but easy peasy today for some reason and there was 30% off. Finally got home to see an email from Truprint as I had not completed a sale yesterday and they sent me a 50% off code so that purchase now completed! What a day. Best wishes

Tradcob

Hello angela110660, of course I don't mind, everyone welcome, I can even offer virtual tea and biscuits! Glad you had a good day, I do love it when things just pop into place like you describe, how very satisfying! And what luck with the 50% off code, I should try that with other sites, you never know when it may work! Thank you for the good wishes and I do hope you pop back again :-)

Kitten868

Hello!

I'm new too.
Yes there are cash transfer credit cards I know mbna and Virgin do them with good deals on interest free for a long period and low fee. You can do a soft search through mse to see if you're eligible. I wouldn't bother going to the bank. Obviously with a credit card you can pay as much as you want each month.
I had a nightmare car. It's the reason for my debt. Best thing I did is use it as a deposit on a new car (one of those deals where they give you £3k no matter how bad it is). It is expensive every month but it's better than the unexpected expense every 6 weeks. And new car doesn't eat petrol so I'm actually saving so much money. Regardless cut your losses now while you're not in too much debt and get something new, not necessarily brand new. Should be sales in January? Get rid of the last 65 plates? Or making sales when no one has money? This is not anything I know it's purely a guess.
Where you going on holiday? X

Kitten868

Oh also I'm an eBay nut.

Tradcob

Hello All,

Thanks for saying hello Kitten 868- nice to have another newbie to talk to J

So I have decided after much researching and considering my options that the cheapest way of clearing the car loan will be to get a money transfer credit card, I’ve done my research and weighed up the cost and flexibility and that’s the decision I have come to, so tonight when I get home from work, the application is going in, it’s a bit of a relief to have made a decision and see a way forward. It’s just a bit scary as I have never had a credit card before but I think because I am going in with the thought process that it is a loan and I won’t be using it for normal spending, it’ll just be something to pay off, then I’ll be ok, I can be strict with myself and if that’s the rule I’ll stick to it.

Had a bit of a money saving moment today when I found some blank Christmas cards in my work drawer with just the right number of cards for the team around me that always exchange cards, I did buy some other cards months ago for the family and friends so I’ll write those up tonight as well.

Christmas gifts have all been bought now and I’ve been to the 2 work Christmas parties so I can relax on that front (as no extra spending) and enjoy the festive period feeling more in control of the finances.

How is everyone else doing?