Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

GeorgianaCavendish

Early posting today - TGIP (thank god it's payday!)

I opened a Monzo account last week and I've transferred my budgeted monthly travel and day-to-day expenses over. I'm interested to see how the spend tracking and 'save the change' works on this account. I've set up a savings pot for Christmas, and I'll see how much I manage to save through this method and if I need to top it up to get to £40 a month.

I've transferred money into my Debt Buster Bank Account and my Household Account, so I've got a true picture of what is left in "my" account much earlier in the month. I'm keeping a sharp eye on the Debt Buster account to make sure that all my direct debits transferred across properly, looking at the authorisations it seems to be ok but I'm paranoid and will make sure I'm able to jump in and do a debit card payment if I need to. I've also made my snowball payment to Tesco for the Jan/Feb period.

The most exciting thing about this month is that my final direct debit to the HSBC loan has been paid! Woo hoo! :T

I'm expecting to receive cash back from HSBC during February (I think 10% of the total interest paid on the loan), when I do it will be added to the Debt Buster account for an extra payment to Tesco. And it means that next month my snowball will have almost doubled in size!

I'm planning to stay personal loan free for near future. I definitely don't want to move any of my credit card debt over to a personal loan because that kind of debt consolidation has never worked for me in the past. I'm happy to carry on with the snowball method and will keep an eye out for any future 0% balance transfers / money transfers for the interest-bearing Barclaycard and Paypal balances.

Now You're Just Some Money That I Used To Owe
I keep singing this to the tune of Somebody That I Used To Know

My list of money that I used to owe is now :
- Student Loan
- Lloyds Credit Card
- HSBC Loan

I think I will update this as the list grows

wishingthemortgaheaway

Congratulations-
I sang that 'song line' as I read it, very good. Also 'du du du du another one bites the dust'

GeorgianaCavendish

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

Congratulations-
I sang that 'song line' as I read it, very good. Also 'du du du du another one bites the dust'

I might use that when I'm throwing my snowballs at a debt

Working_Mum

Well done on how you've flipped your thinking!! Great result chipping away.

I love, love, love the Old Fashioned part of this Forum. I regularly check it out for ideas about living a frugal life

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76774846#Comment_76774846

EssexHebridean

Do you have access to a microwave at work GC? If so what about jacket potatoes with beans/cheese for lunches? You could take a tin of beans to do two days and a pot of grated cheese? We just end up with sandwiches or rolls, and fruit - and I'm lucky because MrEH makes our lunches - dinners are my responsibility which suits me fine as I don't mind cooking when I get in, but damned if I could be bothered with faffing around with sarnies first thing!

GeorgianaCavendish

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Do you have access to a microwave at work GC? If so what about jacket potatoes with beans/cheese for lunches? You could take a tin of beans to do two days and a pot of grated cheese? We just end up with sandwiches or rolls, and fruit - and I'm lucky because MrEH makes our lunches - dinners are my responsibility which suits me fine as I don't mind cooking when I get in, but damned if I could be bothered with faffing around with sarnies first thing!

I do have microwave access at work (so good for reheating leftovers) but I find that if I have a jacket potato for lunch I feel really sleepy and sluggish for the rest of the afternoon. A shame because I really love jacket potatoes!

I will have a think about other lunch dishes that could work on the same 'less fuss' basis though, because it is a great idea to cut out the faff of making something every day. I could get a bag of couscous and some stock cubes to keep at work & make a portion every lunchtime, just need to think of what to have with it!

GeorgianaCavendish

Working_Mum wrote: »

Well done on how you've flipped your thinking!! Great result chipping away.

I love, love, love the Old Fashioned part of this Forum. I regularly check it out for ideas about living a frugal life

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76774846#Comment_76774846

Thank you! I've still got a long way to go but it feels much less terrifying. I just had my 3 year MSE anniversary and I remember writing that first post with a racing heart and sweating palms, convinced I was the only person in the world with that attitude to money. This forum has been such a support and inspiration to me.

I will check out the Old Fashioned part of the forum now, thank you for the link

EssexHebridean

Ooh yes - couscous is great. You could roast some chickpeas ahead of time (one tin would do two lunchtime portions), and maybe some fried or grilled halloumi? I chuck either chopped dried apricots or a pot of ready to eat pomeganate seeds into mine, and a BIG handful of chopped coriander. in terms of the base couscous it's also really nice with lime juice added in (I give it a few good squeezes from the bottle straight onto the dry couscous before adding the boiling water) and again chopped coriander or parsley. Halved cherry tomatoes are great thrown in as well. I love a couscous salad - in fact it's what we're having for dinner tonight!

GeorgianaCavendish

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Ooh yes - couscous is great. You could roast some chickpeas ahead of time (one tin would do two lunchtime portions), and maybe some fried or grilled halloumi? I chuck either chopped dried apricots or a pot of ready to eat pomeganate seeds into mine, and a BIG handful of chopped coriander. in terms of the base couscous it's also really nice with lime juice added in (I give it a few good squeezes from the bottle straight onto the dry couscous before adding the boiling water) and again chopped coriander or parsley. Halved cherry tomatoes are great thrown in as well. I love a couscous salad - in fact it's what we're having for dinner tonight!

This is such a mouth-watering description that maybe I'll have it for dinner tonight as well!
I think we have a winner, I can keep a stock of some of these things at work (couscous, stockcubes, lime juice, stock cubes, dried apricots etc) and prep the other ingredients on Sundays and Wednesdays for 2 days ahead. Chickpeas is good, roasted veg, halloumi (my fav!), lamb (those two times a year when we have it for Sunday dinner). I'm starting to feel hungry again! :rotfl:

lucielle

What about soup either tinned or homemade?
L