From debt to freedom...

lucielle

Great news on biting the dust
L

Kitten868

4 debts down to 3. Such brilliant news! Fewer payments to make. Are your credit cards offering balance transfers so you could save money on interest? We've just done one to barclaycard who are doing it fee free plus £20 paid off it! Interest is so much worse than debt. It could also help you consolidate to fewer creditors which I like. I like having fewer people to pay off. You might prefer ticking them off. You do so so well. 
Hope you get your next response from your solicitors after their urgent update soon xxxxx

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you everyone for your kind words.🙂

Kitten868 - unfortunately I’ve not seen any 0% transfer offers although I do check the MSE credit club. Bizarrely Debt no 3 contacted me to say they were increasing my credit limit, although I hadn’t asked them to and certainly don’t want any increase. I had, in the post yesterday, a new Form E to complete. I had already completed one about 18 months ago, well no it’s probably nearer to 2 years ago, so my homework for this weekend is to redo it. It will be good to fill it in and see that there is one less debt and things like the H2S account will be new as will my job 2 income. I have been expecting this, so had already got a ring binder folder and had been adding statements to it as they came in, so hopefully it won’t take too long to gather everything together and get it back to the solicitor.

Yesterday was quite an up and down day. Poor DD3 had had enough of lessons by computer I think! I spent the morning pouring over figures, researching up to date balances and making overpayments😁. Didn’t get much housework done, but I did get outside😀. I got some cerinthe, cornflowers and larkspur sown. I had tried to save some cerinthe seeds from last years flowers and had them drying in a dish in the kitchen. Unfortunately when DD1 came home, she didn’t realise they were seeds and threw them out😲. Lesson learnt, next time I will buy small envelopes and label them as I dry them! My first sow of tomatoes have come through and I spotted the first sweet pea seedling yesterday🙂. Hoping to get outside again today and sow some lettuce and peas. 

We got out for a shorter walk yesterday afternoon which was uplifting. DS3 and I were walking at a slower pace with the elderly lurcher and saw a squirrel digging the ground, then stop and eat whatever nut had been dug up. Probably a hazelnut. It was wonderful to see. The squirrel bounded up a branch as we approached and watched us carefully as we looked at him or her! The daffodils are coming out everywhere at the moment - so cheering to see them everywhere 🙂.

Have a good Saturday everyone.

savingholmes

Squirrel walk sounds lovely. Ouch to DD throwing out your seeds - my family would do the same. A bigger credit limit will help your credit utilisation score and could open up new offers for you. I also find the credit club details are typically 3-4 months out of date so it takes a while for debt repayments to show on their system.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you SH, I hadn’t thought of it like that. I had noticed a time lag with the Credit Club so perhaps when the window loan shows as being gone, I might have a greater chance of getting a 0% transfer. Will keep looking.

Honeysucklelou2

Saturday was a busy day. The weather was glorious, blue skies, sunshine, the whole world seemed to be coming out of hibernation!  I have to drive through a wooded valley to get to the nearest big town, which is where DD1 works. I went to collect her this morning and the sight of the trees against the blue sky with sunshine streaming through the branches was so beautiful. One of the trees was covered in white blossom and as the light caught the blossom, it seemed to be almost aglow.  Makes my heart sing to see such sights! On our way back, we saw a pheasant fly across the road, it’s flight path low but seeming to glide  almost effortlessly, the sun lighting up the orangey colouring of the wings and body.

Sadly, I didn’t  get to my seed sowing as I had planned. I did get out for a walk  circling a different parr of the village for a change.  I avoid the lanes on this walk as it’s the most popular village walk, but stick to the parallel path across the fields, which I haven’t seen anyone use.

Police in our local area have been sending tourists home . Not quite sure why people have travelled here in the first place in a time of national lockdown. Frustrating too as I haven’t even been to the beach despite it being a few minutes drive away on the basis it’s about 4-5 miles away and I didn’t think I could in lockdown.

Paid £25 to H2S so the new balance is £200, back to where it was before the garage bill🙂

Spendless

My DH once throw away an Aloe Vera plant that was on a windowsill in a plant pot because he was tidying up! He admitted doing it too, it wasn't accidental! 

Yes police will be out in areas where a lot of people are attracted to at the same time. I live where is mostly flat, but there's a council tourist attraction which has a hill.  Whenever it snows it is hugely popular with children for sledging as there's a lack of suitable places. Consequently a few weeks back that was where a police presence was.  In England they haven't given a mileage radius of where you're allowed to go, they've just stated 'stay local' and then said this refers to the village, town or city where you live. That leaves it open to interpretation. The police must face a right predicament in these situations because how do you define a 'tourist' as in a day tripper from out of area to someone who lives nearby. Even them checking a car reg won't necessarily provide an answer, my husband's company car is registered to his workplace over 100 miles from our home address. In these sort of cases, all police can do is turn everyone away. The unusually good weather for February will have drawn more people out too. 

Well done on building savings back up. 

savingholmes

Seems really early for trees to have blossom. Glad you are still getting out on your walks. 

crazy_cat_lady

The better weather is so good for the soul isn't it? I feel like a different person with the lighter mornings and evenings...

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Spendless, SH & CCL.

Spendless- I forgot to say on the previous post that was a really interesting phrase “circumstantial debt”.

SH - I do live in a part of the UK that is usually milder and we do tend to have Spring start a good couple of weeks before other places. Most gardens have got daffodils in bloom at the moment and the camellia in my garden has been in full bloom since the 4th December, although that is early by usual standards, normally it’s between Boxing Day and New Year that the first blooms appear!

CCl - I love it when you can come out of school and not be driving home in the dark 🙂.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day - clear blue skies and sunshine all day. I spent some time tidying my desk which was a useful exercise, since I found £2.02, which promptly went in the sealed pot, several packets of herb seeds in a tin and a collection of pens. I was also able to locate 2 or 3 of the statements needed for the solicitor. These have gone into a folder to go to the solicitor. I tend to leave my statements unopened on my desk so I have a mounting pile, not because I’m putting my head in the sand about finances, but more because when they are open, I don’t want the ex coming in while I’m at work and reading them.

After tidying most of the DDs and DS3 and I went for a walk to our nearest beach, as the crow flies. It’s inaccessible as a beach ( we can look at it longingly from the top of the cliff), but there is a place where the coast path lowers and you can stand by the rocks,  look at the sea and be covered in spray depending on the tide. It’s about a 2 mile walk from home. It was absolutely glorious, the deep blue of the sea contrasting with the light blue of the sky. The grass was a vibrant green as we took the public footpaths to the coast path. The beauty of this walk is that not only is it out closest point to the coast but it’s not accessible by car at all. You have to walk to it either by public footpaths or by the coast path which means it’s a quiet walk. The ground at the lowest point was quite saturated so at one point I found myself on the floor covered in water and mud, but all part of the fun. DD3 ended up slipping over too from laughing so much at me😂. I slept really well last night!

Today is another beautiful day. I took DD1 to work this morning at 6, came home and did some reading and then got out for a run by 7.15. I haven’t done much running since the end of last summer, so decided to start C25K again. I was pleasantly surprised....I wasn’t the breathless wreck like last time I started it, so fitness levels aren’t as awful as I’d feared although could do with lots of improvement. Perhaps the walks have all helped.

Direct debits have gone out this morning but bizarrely the debt repayment ones haven’t. One usually comes out on the last of the month and the other on the first, but neither has🤷‍♀️. Maybe something to do with February being a shorter month and not ending on a 30th or 31st?

Have a happy Monday everyone🙂.