From Debit to Credit

tori.k

Hi All

After sifting through my notebooks and scraps of paper decided it was time to keep a more coherent record of what im trying to achieve.
We've been dancing the finance hokey-cokey for more years than I care to admit didn't seem that bad when we were younger but time has a sneaky habit of catching you with your draws round your ankles and the Doddy old fool (DH) and I find we are both closer to 50 than 21 but our finances are still stuck in the 80's with neon socks and a bad perm it time it grew up.

THE AIM

Oddly im pretty frugal and not bad with money but im miserable at forward thinking and it life's inevitables that catch me out this has got to change if I ever dream of being able to actually retire this side of 102.
we are carrying some credit card debt and a unsecured loan this need to cleared and a emergency fund built then I can look towards savings

Current debt

HSBC (Dods) 2050.41 0%
HSBC (mine) 377.00 0%
Barclay 1224.15 0%
Sainsbury 4546.20 5.5% ( 18months to run)

Total unsecured debt £8197.76

To clear all Credit cards debts £3651 by Christmas and live within our current budget start building a emergency fund.
To clear loan and create a 1k emergency fund
3 month living expenses fund (3K)
Pre-paid funeral X2
Retirement savings plan

tori.k

Total monthly income: £

2,095

Expenses (incl. HP & secured debts): £

1,247.49

Available for debt repayments: £

847.51

Unsecured debt repayments: £

317.29

Surplus (shortfall if negative) £

530.22

Now i've snowballed just the credit cards and that gives me a debt free date of Feb 17 so I need find the extra within my budget to get this to December 16.

This I will do by being a bit more inventive with my household spending and any overtime I can pick up from work and generally making every penny stretch.

I have started today with the (reversed ) penny challenge (better late than never) this will go towards my 1K emergency fund

I currently spend £60 a week in groceries and household sundries my penny savings will have to come out of that have a good start this week as I have a £5 morrisons voucher to use. Doddy says I can make a meal out of nothing so this should be doable.

5 hrs overtime as well this week I also have £100 coming back to me from my old electric supplier supposedly within 28 days so wont bank on that quite yet.

tori.k

penny saver done so have a £7.31 in the EF will do this first thing with my morning coffee hoping it will become habit before long.

I spent some time making a shopping list of the regular shopping that I buy have warned Doddy that meals will be very simple and a bit repetitive over the next few months, im hoping to find an extra £30.50 in my very tight budget each week towards the credit cards, we have been overpaying the cards since January so expenditure has already been cut to the bare bones but we have also paid off over 3k already this year.

Dinner will be a meze ( sound better than freezer odds and ends) so other than bread and milk £1.75 im covered for a few days I have tomorrow off work so will dust of my apron and go through the cupboards and see how many meals I can shop from home this week.

[Deleted User]

You sound like you have a good plan in place.

We are doing the same with the meals & feel that taking a list & only buying what is on there really helps.

Eating pretty much the same each week which can get boring but sometimes we just switch it up with things that cost about the same.

Will be worth it when you are able to tick all those things off your list!

Dxxx

tori.k

Thanks Dolly im kinda lucky that Doddy has a sweet tooth so as long as there is a desert on offer he doesn't care what comes first. Unlucky that he is type2 diabetic a double edge sword as means I cook from scratch so cheaper and we rarely eat out so it was not something we missed that was axed from the budget.

Penny saver done and in double figures already due to me forgetting it's a leap year

Min payment went out for Dods Hsbc £51.26 bringing his credit card pennys under 2K feels so less daunting to deal with.

4 days to Dods Payday and we still have enough in the bank to cover the months household DD we are ideally trying to live off his just income using mine to service the debts this seems to be working really well.

The good news just keeps rolling in with a £332 tax rebate due

Plan to dust off my apron and go shopping from home, S/F quorn burger for tea with a carrot and raisin salad, Dod can have a banana split for pudding don't have any cream so he just have to do without.
milk already in the slowcooker for greek yogurt and I really should look at the ironing pile most I reckon can have a good shake and fold...very moneysaving

Doris17

Love the sound of carrot and raisin salad tori.k well done on the tax rebate. Great plan. xx

PS subscribe.

tori.k

Thanks Doris

Please don't take this the wrong way but it nice to know im not the only woman of my age group to be walking this path at the moment, It seems so many of my peers have their ducks in a row at this point in there lives and im still trying to herd (financial) cats.

Pennysaver done.
Washing ready to go on the line soon as the mist clears
Noticed an email from my new electric suppliers they take over from today and have already reduced the electric DD by £2 im guessing thats off the back of the readings from me and my old supplier.

Dinner is new potatoes in a cheesey spinach dressing couple of veggie sausages and peas. will knock a banana cake up for Dods for desert and a cheese and onion quiche for tomorrow as I will be back on shift and Dods has to fend for himself a bit as im not home till 8pm

Tallied up my receipts for my grocery spends
23th/ 30th may £50.83
30th/6th June £29.38

I still have a fair bit in the freezer so this weeks bill should be low

Doris17

tori.k wrote: »

Thanks Doris

Please don't take this the wrong way but it nice to know im not the only woman of my age group to be walking this path at the moment, It seems so many of my peers have their ducks in a row at this point in there lives and im still trying to herd (financial) cats.

None taken. tori.k don't beat yourself up, I have learnt over the years, people put up a great front and what look perfect on the outside isn't. We all have secrets. You are doing well. Positive thoughts.

tori.k

Pennysaver done

Back to work today I have the naff shift all week 12 till 8pm but I suppose someone has to do it and it better than being on the night shift, counting the days till pay day 16 to go before I can make payments on the cards middle of the month always feels like limbo.

I also have a lot of birthdays end of the month, Youngest Son followed by sister then beginning of July see's Doddy and eldest son on the same day.

Already have youngest sorted as he wanted some prints that he picked up from a museum in the US framed so i've had those done for him. and sending him go-karting with Doddy and his brother before his brother takes him off for the night for a few beers.

Just sending my sister the usual gift vouchers i've been trying to knock gifts on the head for years it seems daft that I send her £20 then she sends £20 back later in the year I would rather cover the cost of lunch and we spend a day together. I may force the issue next year as I rarely see her.

Eldest son has vouchers for a sea Kayaking course that he wants to do but hasn't got round to booking.

Poor Doddy has copped out again and I've started getting him some clothes that he needs and would have to buy anyway but he can have cake

Then im clear until October on the birthday front :j

I have never been this organised in my life.

Noticed that Dods raided half the quiche for his tonight's tea for his crib so he will just have to have it twice or cook for himself.

Better stop procrastinating and get on with the day, been a great couple of days off just pottering at home and reading everyone's diaries made even better that they have both been NSD

tori.k

Pennysaver done

Well my good luck seems to have run it course when the engine management warning light showed up on my car, im quietly optimistic that it not something huge as she feels fine to drive so with luck it's something like the lambda sensor it's only a little smart car cheap to run and doesn't cost a lot to repair. she regularly serviced so with luck it wont be a massive issue, Road tax is also due but at £30 a year I really can't complain.

Work will drag this week as it's show week with Royal Cornwall kicking off today so 8hrs will feel like 12.

Bad news continues with the sister in law turning up this weekend :rotfl: she's lovely really im stuck working but it will be good for Dods to have time with his sister she is London way and I worried after the MIL died that they would lose contact but both are making the effort to stay in touch which is lovely to see.

Had a look at the snowball calc again last night and have decided to ignore it. It puts paying Dods HSBC as the one to over pay first im guessing as it is the biggest balance and what we have been overpaying will see all the cards cleared before the 0% offers end but Dods HSBC has the longest 0% left on it so for comforts sake would rather clear my hsbc and the Barclay card first as the 0% runs out January 17 on these. but will overpay the tax rebate and the electric refund off of Dods when they turn up as this was unaccounted money. Just need pay day to hurry up.

Probably a bad move but I also got another Credit card.

This may seem odd but I've actually never used a credit card. my HSBC card was a balance transfer card that was used to move the balance off of one of Dods old cards, it's never been used for anything but paying off that debt.

This new card is a cashback card and I intend to treat it like my debit card repaid in full each month ( Dod's isn't allowed this one ) my reasoning is it's tied to the company I work for I already get a 10% store discount and a extra 1% with the card ,I don't get store discount on fuel but can get cash back, I also get 0.5% on anything I buy elsewhere. It wont add up to much a year as im not a big shopper by nature but seems worth a try if im spending the money anyway. If I get the wobbles over the whole thing I will just shut the account. will see how its goes.

tori.k

Pennysaver done

Well optimism paid off and its just a sensor gone on my car a cheap and easy fix
Also picked up a shed load of overtime, horrid shifts but beggars can't be choosers

Living on Dods wages has finally caught up with itself the odd money left in the household bills account each month finally added up to a months household DD, his pay day today see us with enough to cover 2 months DD which finally puts and end to robbing Peter to pay Paul that we have been doing since Christmas it's my first small victory :j

Also did a quote in preparedness for my car insurance renewal I had commercial insurance so couldn't transfer the no claims after we folded the business so it cost £200 to insure my little car, one years no claims and online cashback see that coming in at just over £120 don't think I can ever get it cheaper than that as im now DVLA aware but no restrictions but I can live with that each year

One of my smaller aims is to get as much as I can paid annually so I can put the money away each month in a high (lukewarm) interest saver ready for the next year.