Opened my eyes finally & dealing with what I see

note3

When I previously cleared most debts I followed strict budget and firstly withdraw my allowance and put in marked envelopes for the month so one for food, one for spending and one for petrol. Then I progressed to a cash only card and transferred my budget to that and didn't touch debit card for main account for rest of month.

Now I don't have an overdraft the simplest way for me to budget will be to make sure all direct debits and standing orders come out by 1st of month so any money left is mine for the month. This also makes sense as I'm now with TSB and get 5% cashback with all purchases up to £100 of contact less payments each month. This also requires minimal thought on my part as I have a young baby so need to keep things simple. If I make bill payments and transfers to savings happen by 1st I can then fill car up with fuel budget amount and then the rest is food and general spending

note3

Hey shift this debt!
Well done for starting to tackle yours too. It's crazy as just as I posted my diary I got a PM and wondered what it was for...clicked on it and saw I'd been awarded my 1 yr membership badge. Well a yr ago I made a couple of posts asking about a bad mortgage deal we were stuck in and then didn't touch forum again till now. Boy am I kicking myself as my debt bothered me then and I wanted to address it but I got distracted with life. Now I've done a yr more of adding to it and finally stopped putting it off as I've realised I won't be able to make minimum payments if it carries on. To be honest when 0% finishes on MBNA in Dec I won't be able to make min then but will worry about that when/if happens and may have to end up on a DMP. I'd rather not so I'm gonna keep ploughing away while I can

note3

Well today has been a NSD and in fact t I've listed a handful of things on eBay too so hopefully I'll have turned it into a profitable day if ppl bid on the things! Fingers crossed and more to list on ebay tonight when children in bed. Got large pile of adult and children's clothes to get through!

brizzledfw

Well done, good going

DCFC79

Have you thought about getting a cheaper sim and reducing your shopping bill.

Might already be as low as they can be.

note3

Hi yes thanks for the suggestions. My contract ends in Apr so I've marked on my calendar to give notice in march so I can switch to a cheap sim only deal as that's a definate saving to be had. With shopping I'm not sure I can cut a lot off...definately could trim some as we buy more junk food than is healthy but we've already switched to aldi and I limit purchases but could definitely limit a smidge more. I have some unavoidable pricier items like nappies but I'm trying to bulk cook now to cut down on gas and make the most of bulk buy meat

note3

So I have been looking through the money saving boards and ordered myself some free cat biscuits and cat food which is great as that helps cut small costs. When they arrive I shall transfer a few quid to card (need to see what arrives as to how much would normally have spent).

I've also created separate email account for free samples, comps and surveys so my main email doesn't get spammed then I began filling in and registering with online surveys yesterday. As I have more free time to use phone than normal because of having the baby I can use it to complete surveys

note3

Just realised, the old me would have received cat food samples but not transferred the equivalent money onto a card...woohoo new me is clear progress

blubella

note3 wrote: »

Hey shift this debt!
Well done for starting to tackle yours too. It's crazy as just as I posted my diary I got a PM and wondered what it was for...clicked on it and saw I'd been awarded my 1 yr membership badge. Well a yr ago I made a couple of posts asking about a bad mortgage deal we were stuck in and then didn't touch forum again till now. Boy am I kicking myself as my debt bothered me then and I wanted to address it but I got distracted with life. Now I've done a yr more of adding to it and finally stopped putting it off as I've realised I won't be able to make minimum payments if it carries on. To be honest when 0% finishes on MBNA in Dec I won't be able to make min then but will worry about that when/if happens and may have to end up on a DMP. I'd rather not so I'm gonna keep ploughing away while I can

I was in exactly the same situation...but well done in starting to face the DEBT! I'd worry about MBNA when the time gets closer..just keep making the minimum payments and if you can throw anything extra at it do. MBNA are notorious for offering 0% again and again...well maybe that just my experience!

You're doing great! :T

note3

Thanks I'm hoping that if they are faced with a debt management plan or offering me a further deal they will go for the deal as would rather protect credit rating.