Starting Afresh in 2017

Bobarella

Hiya StartingAfresh

Just my two bobs worth. Have you physically cut up your cards yet? I only ask as you mention being scared you'd end up spending again if you had space on your Barclays card.
In my opinion it is worth taking the £1k limit that HSBC have given you. It's better to pay less interest however that comes about.

Is there literally no way of transferring the remaining 2k onto another of your cards? I've found there are so many ways around things over the years. If one of your other cards has space there may be a new deal for the remaining debt that allowed you to move part of it onto several cards. I'd definitely not pay interest if you can avoid it. Maybe come up with a demotivator for the £50 interest you are paying. For example

Month one -£50, missing that night out you had to cancel with your friend
Month two - £100 is a weekend away in a nice hotel with your friends
Month three - £150 is the cost of a cheap flight to a European city plus cheap accommodation whilst there.
Month 12 - that £600 is a brilliant Christmas with every present paid for in advance and lots for food and socialising.

Or whatever floats your boat

Bob

StartingAfresh

Thanks all!

Bobarella - that is a really interesting way of looking at things - when you highlight interest like it...it just sounds mad, doesn't it! I sometimes feel like I need to learn how to "money" from scratch. Obvious things like interest just don't seem to sink in, in my mind!

There's no wiggle room to transfer cards at this point, unfortunately, as I don't have much credit available. After thinking a lot, I'm actually going to go for the HSBC card and will reduce the Barclaycard limit down. I did a bit of shopping around and it seems Barclaycard would almost definitely give me a card for the full amount, but as I can't transfer my old Barclaycard onto it, it's a bit obsolete! And you asked about me cutting up the cards...honestly, no. I'm a little afraid to! I know it sounds silly. But then - if I'm serious about this, I know I need to do it. After payday on Monday, I'll chop up the NatWest, Barclaycard and Halifax cards, give it a month or two to settle in, and then chop up the Tesco card.

The weekend was lovely, and just what I needed. My friend and I cooked and watched movies and walked along the sea. I contributed to groceries and drinks, and we bought a coffee and cake. All in all, I spent under £30, which I definitely would have spent somehow over the weekend anyway. The insanely long bus ride was worth it! I also can't spend money on the bus, hahha!

I would have usually spent a lot more on this weekend. There was a dress in the sale down to £29 from £100, and it looked so nice. My friend told me to get it, and part of me was thinking "why not??" I was seriously tempted to use the fumes of my credit cards to buy this bloody dress - even now! But I didn't.

I also would have gone out for breakfast today, dinner yesterday and to some bars. My friend suggested a cocktail bar with an average drink price of about £15 each. Argh! Needless to say, we didn't go.

It is easy to spend less when you genuinely don't have it, I know. But the fact that I didn't give in and do this stuff - which, honestly, I would have done last year, despite having literally no money - is showing some kind of mental shift? I hope so, anyway!

I'd even have spent money on the bus for snacks and magazines, which I haven't done - although I am now currently on the bus starving! Nearly home, though.

One of the things I'm most worried about in the coming months, as mentioned before, is my social life. I am quite lonely in my current city, and recent months have been a challenge, as my housemates are now dating people and my house feels like I'm constantly a third or fifth wheel! Most of my friends and family live far away, and I do frequently visit them. I have a history of anxiety and depression, which has been under control for some time now - although I had some episodes of anxiety late last year - and my friends are my support network. Long-term, I do want to move permanently, but for now I can't. And I can't just hop on a train left, right and centre whenever I see fit now I'm sorting my finances out! I might ask my friends to come see me more, although my house is pretty cramped, or I'm going to look at booking tickets well in advance. It was nice to see that this weekend didn't cost too much, but it wasn't without effort - and my friend, even though I told her I was skint, still tried to convince me to go out for cocktails and to buy a dress. I need to remind myself to stand firm!

When I get home, I'm treating myself to egg and chips for tea, and watching a movie. I have breakfast and lunch sorted for tomorrow - porridge for breakfast, soup and bread for lunch - and then will head to the supermarket for the final hurdle before payday.

Seven days until payday! I'll keep you posted re: the HSBC card.

Hope you all had lovely weekends!

Bobarella

Well done on resisting the dress etc. It is a tricky one feeling a bit cut off whilst trying to deal with debt. For you, all or nothing isn't going to work because you need to see your support network. The key will be finding low cost ways to do that. Not impossible so don't give up hope.

StartingAfresh

Hey all!
So...HSBC has given me the full amount! It was painful and a horrible interrogation and I cried in the bank like a ridiculous person, but I can transfer the whole amount over. So I can close my Barclaycard!!!
So I'm going to put £106 on the card for 32 months, and the rest of the debt will be snowballed away during this time.
Today has been hard already - not helped by cold porridge for breakfast and sad soup for lunch - but I feel a bit better. I just have to survive this week - one more week of no money - and from then on...the only way is up!
Happy Monday, all!

LauraB89

You are definitely headed in the right direction StartingAfresh - once you get into it, the moneysaving becomes quite addictive!

One thing that I like to do, to motivate myself, is to work out how much more ££ I will have once my debts are paid off - well done for getting the card sorted, you are going to get there!

Before Christmas, I saw a lovely coat reduced from £200 to £80 in my size, I wanted a waterproof coat and really nearly bought it. 100% would have put it on my card before, but now, I know that I didn't need it and the money went on my debts!

xx

StartingAfresh

Thanks, Laura! I'm so glad I didn't give into dress temptation!

So today was fine. A bit of a crappy week, but I think for everyone - all my friends and colleagues seem a bit down, as if we are all just waiting for January to finish! I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday - eeek!

I made breakfast (toast) and lunch (sandwiches) - yay! So I didn't spend any money during the work day. I also went into town to pay my electric bill, which I had put aside, and get some books out of the library. I bought a chicken breast and some salad for dinner, as my electric bill was slightly lower than anticipated - I was planning to eat soup and bread for dinner, but honestly, all the bread is making me so ill! I rarely eat bread, and since starting this new "saving money" goal, I've gone through a loaf and a half already. Bread is cheap and easy, but also making me feel I should be rolling down the street! I've been on a LOT of antibiotics recently (six courses in four months!) and I read that you can be a bit intolerant to gluten after a lot of antibiotics for a while, so maybe it's that. I do like to cook, so it's just a bit of laziness here - next week, I'm going to make some more inventive lunches for work!

I'm currently waiting for my chicken to cook, and have already made my breakfast and lunch for tomorrow (boiled eggs for breakfast; cheese sandwich for lunch).

I feel a bit dishevelled today! My hair is a mess, and my glasses seem a bit wonky, and I just feel a bit all over the place, haha! I also broke my shoes which I am gutted about - I checked and they can't be repaired, and they're one of my favourite pairs. I bought them in Italy a few years ago, and they've lasted so well...at least, until they unceremoniously died today! Next payday I have to buy some shoes - half my shoes are falling apart, as I tend to wear them until they look like death, flopping around on my feet I'll put them in the budget!

Aside from that, a bit of same old. Spending the evening job hunting, having a bit of a pamper session, and maybe calling a friend!

I can't wait until this week is out of the way!

Money-saving points of the day:

Going to the library - I spend a lot on the Kindle
Didn't spend money on any snacks, as there were cakes in the office - yay!

What I would have spent money on today:

I was thinking about doing some baking, as I'm alone in the house this evening, so I'd have bought ingredients and a new shiny cake tin (my old cake tin went all horrible and gross, so in the bin!) I'll save the baking for next week.
I'd also have bought a face mask, but I'll dig out one from my toiletries box.

Aims for tomorrow:
Spend no money at work
Plan my food for next week - bread-free!

Hope you had a good day.

Six days until payday!

Bobarella

StartingAfresh wrote: »

Hey all!
So...HSBC has given me the full amount! It was painful and a horrible interrogation and I cried in the bank like a ridiculous person, but I can transfer the whole amount over. So I can close my Barclaycard!!!
So I'm going to put £106 on the card for 32 months, and the rest of the debt will be snowballed away during this time.
Today has been hard already - not helped by cold porridge for breakfast and sad soup for lunch - but I feel a bit better. I just have to survive this week - one more week of no money - and from then on...the only way is up!
Happy Monday, all!

Brilliant news!!:T

StartingAfresh

Hey all! So...PAY DAY was yesterday! So happy! The last week was hard - shamefully, I must admit I used my cards the weekend before going out with a guy I liked - which was a bloody waste of time, as he has turned out to be...not a very nice guy! Long story. But hey ho! I felt a bit embarrassed about it, but it's a new month - new start!

I have paid off all my bills for the month (one of the things I did last month is change the direct debits so they are all going out at the same time) so the money I have now is my money for the month! I have also put £50 into savings - £20 a month for my bills, and £30 a month for Xmas - and taken some cash out for the week. It feels really good to be back in control, and have at least some money!

I am making the HSBC balance transfer tomorrow, and cutting up the Natwest and Barclaycard cards! Yay! Nervous.

My debt is now down to £13400 from £13700 - I had planned for it to be £13250 but because of the stupid boy thing, things didn't work out. I will be into the £12000s next month, though!

I am planning to have a NSD tomorrow - breakfast and lunch all laid out, and snacks ready for work. I am also visiting a friend after work at her house - I was meant to be going to the pub tonight but I said no! Yay!

Soooo....not a perfect start to my debt-free journey, but things are definitely going in the right direction.

I am meant to going away this weekend to see my sister, but I've told her I can't - the train is just too expensive, and she's having a house party, involving drinks and inevitably more spending. She is pretty annoyed, but I have told her I want to get serious about my debt now. I am not sure what I will be doing this weekend...not dating, that's for sure! Hahahah! I will have to find some frugal fun.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. New month, new start for everyone!

enthusiasticsaver

Just read your diary and you seem to have made a good start on reducing your debt.

Totally agree with everything you have done until now. Move the debt to 0%. Stop spending on the cards and make a budget and stick to it.

What rate are you paying on the ZOPA loan and are you able to move that to a 0% card? You would need to obtain a settlement figure to see if it was worth it.

Also what are you paying fee wise on your overdraft? That is often another expensive way of borrowing.

Long term if your support network are quite a long way away is it worth seeing if you can move back there (is it cheaper rentwise?) and what is the jobs situation there?

Bobarella

Sorry to hear the guy wasn't worth your time. Better to know now I suppose.