My Debt Busting Diary 2016

ScattySkewbald

Hi ani*fan - thanks for stopping by :hello:

eBay items have finished and I've made just shy of £12 , so another £88 to find for my vets bill target. Have relisted what hasn't sold. Need to list some more but just haven't got the energy tonight :cool:

I've just bagged myself a bargain for my big lad (yes I know I shouldn't be spending but it really was a bargain!). His arthritis has really played him up this winter and I've found magnetic stable wraps have really helped him. I've been looking for some magnetic bands that he can wear for turnout and the ones that seem to come recommended were £80 a pair. So, it's my birthday soon and I was going to use my birthday money to put towards getting him a pair - well I've just purchased a brand new pair for £15.50 off eBay :j:j:j

Right best go, little man is ready for his feed x

ScattySkewbald

Just had an early morning wake up call from the little man. He's fed and resettled, so thought I may aswell Spring into action lol!

Not a lot to report on the money front, just ticking by until payday. Tried a new baby group yesterday, which was fun and had the added bonus of tiring little man out! He slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon which gave me the chance to do a few admin tasks and have a quick tidy up downstairs.

Pony food ordered. I've bought the larger sack which should last him 8 ish months, works out about £20 cheaper than buying multiple little ones. I figured the money I'd saved on the bargain boots could be used for this - that way, apart from hay, the ponies should be sorted until I go back to work. One less thing to worry about!

I've started entering a few on line comps as bit of fun - who knows I might get lucky!

A day around the house is planned for today. OH finishes for Easter on Thursday so would be nice to get it half way tidy before then. First load of washing is in....

Right, I think I'll spend a quick half hour taking piccies fie eBay and then best get the animals sorted.

Have a good day x

ScattySkewbald

Slightly early than usual scores on the doors for this month, but since it's payday tomorrow and I've got a few minutes now, I thought I may as well update.

Sooooo.....
O/D - was £784.33 now £738.00 (£46.33 paid)
Cc1 was £4200.49 now £3981.01 (£219.48 paid)
Cc2 was £1425.54 now £1380.38 (£45.16 paid)

Total was £6410.36 now £6099.39 (£310.97 paid)

Ytd was £6897.24 now £6099.39 - £887.85 paid


Not too bad - we will get there eventually!

Weigh in last night was another 2lb loss so currently at 27lb / 31lb, nearly there although I may add another 4-7lb to goal as I still don't feel at my best if that makes sense.

Listed another 8 items last night and currently have £15 in bids, so all being well that'll take me to £27/£100 for the pending vets bill. Over a quarter of the way there already and the visits not even happened yet! Fingers crossed it doesn't work out more expensive!

Aprils going to be a spendy month. Work needs doing on OH car (~£450), my car insurance needs paying (~£320) and need to restock horse meds (~£120) plus obviously the vets visit ( ~£100). With this in mind I'm going to be ebaying like mad! Car ins, meds and vet will initially go on my Te5co card (not currently used) to get the points, but would like it all paid off by end of May at the very latest. Overpayments through April are therefore doubtful, but I will be aiming for the following.....
Cc1 pay £100
Cc2 pay £30
Od pay £40

I have £100.80 in my TCB account so would be really nice if this become payable this month....

ScattySkewbald

Gold medal for the OH, he's managed to negotiate a deal with $ky which means we'll be saving £35 a month - not too shabby! Still think $kys a complete rip off but the sports channels keep him out of mischief!

Vets bill may be slightly higher than first thought as we had to sedate him too and he's got some meds, hopefully the bill will come through either today or Tuesday so I can see what we're dealing with. Have a month to pay it off, so would be nice to fund this out of the eBay sales.

Bod3n have sent me a £10 voucher- I had a look at their sale items and have bought LO a duffle coat for next Autumn / Winter. It's cost me £5.90!

Need to get some more bits on eBay this weekend. Have a few items ending but still only £15 in bids so far. Every little helps though.

ScattySkewbald

Had some items finish on eBay last night totalling £16.99, so another chunk towards the vets bill. The rest finish tomorrow and are currently at £14.50. Fingers crossed will hopefully be there or there abouts by the time the payments due.

Currently in the middle of sorting out all LO's clothes again!!!! Have a pile to eBay so need to get onto that this week. I cannot believe the amount of clothes he has and how quickly he's growing!

Looks like today is going to be a lazy bank holiday around the house, as both LO and OH are full of the grotty cold I've just gotten rid of. Not too bothered as it'll hopefully give me the chance to crack on with some jobs and the weather looks pants!!!!

milasavesmoney

I'm happy that you are able to stay home with your little one. You are doing an amazing job of tackling your debt and making it all work. Looking forward to more posts.

ScattySkewbald

Hi Milasavesmoney :hello: thanks for reading! Really wish I could stay at home permenantly with him but that's never going to happen, so I'm determined to have the full year and return part time.

The rest of my eBay items finished last night and bagged another £46 towards the vets bill. So far ebays contributed £78.52 towards it and still no bill, so fingers crossed when it comes through I should have made enough to cover it. As a rough estimate I think we're looking at £110-£120 plus £15ish for writing out a prescription :mad: So another £50 ish to go. I've relisted everything that didn't sell plus a few other bits and so far have £4.99 in bids and a few watchers.

I've ordered the big lads meds, approx £60 cheaper than going direct to the vet :eek: These should last him 4 months. They've gone on Te5co card for now to get the points, but will pay off asap.

OH car going in for work, expecting it to be £450 ish. It's budgeted for, but keeping fingers crossed it doesn't cost any more.

Jobs for today.....

1. Package and post
2. Laundry (for a change!)
3. More eBay pics
4. Check meal plan
5. Quick tidy / Hoover

Florence_J

Hi there, just read this from cover to cover, i think you're doing great, so many money saving tips already, keep going, and good luck!

ScattySkewbald

Hi Florence J - thanks for reading my ramblings :wave:

Nice suprise with the car - it came in at less than £200! Think OH had got it all wrapped around his neck a bit, but I'm pleased all the same

All the eBay buyers have paid up except one, so everything's been packaged and sent. Managed to get another 6 items listed yesterday, all clothes mainly so won't make a great deal but it all helps. Currently have £8 worth of bids which will go towards the vets bill (which still hasn't arrived!). As great as it is that I'm getting the bill paid without getting into more debt or using my mat pay, I'm soooo frustrated that my overpayments for the month are £0. Need to carry on ebaying so next month I can be back on track with the overpayments.

Mortgage fixed deal runs out in November and a quick search shows we could save anything between £150 and £250 a month by switching when the time comes. I know this is all subject to change, but worth bearing in mind and investigating further nearer the time.

The big lad will be on 24/7 turnout within the next couple of weeks. This should pretty much half my hay costs. Can't come soon enough, it's felt like a long winter this year despite it not being particularly cold here.

Going to venture into town later and have a wander around the charity shops. The little man has out grown a lot of his stuff, so will have a look to see if there are any bargains to be had.

Right, best get those woofs walked X

ScattySkewbald

Didn't do two badly in the charity shops, spent just short of £12 and managed to get 2x Joules tops, a boden t shirt, a fat face t shirt, a pair of Caldene jods, a pair of Joules jeans and a next hoody. Unfortunately the hoody was the only thing for little man, but they were all bargains :rotfl:

I've got another £14 in eBay bids and £5 still waiting to be paid - so hopefully at least another £19 towards the vets bill. Nearly there.....

House is a tip again. Really need to get on top of this as it really drags me down. Need to make the most of the odd 15 minutes here and there whilst LO is asleep or safely amusing himself.

Made the most of a bit of sunshine yesterday and cleared my field and gave the big man a good groom - he's moulting so badly, I got covered! I've also picked up a fb freebie filing cabinet which will be great for tack room storage. Really need to get organised at the yard too as I've got loads of stuff. Rugs will also need to go in for their annual wash soon.

Need to get back on track with SW. I've had a week off and feel like I've lost the plot with it a bit. Why is it weight goes on so much quicker than it comes off? :mad: