Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

Lau0707

I think I need to do a NSWkend too... I have two this month as we'll be in America, and money is already packed... so technically that means no money from my card ha ha....

Husband is still very snobby about picnics where the kids and I love it, and I love them financially too!!! I'll get around him one day!

armchairexpert

Weekends are such a challenge! I didn't realise how much we (*cough* Mr Expert) used shopping as a leisure activity previous to budgeting. Picnics, bike rides, walks around the Botanic Garden are all very well on nice days, but when the weather's bad what's to do? There's only so many weekends in that any one family can stand.

Lau0707

I completely agree with you, we get so bored at the weekends, its our only time off together during the week and it just seems a good idea to go shopping, until I look at our bank accounts and get really annoyed at how little we have left, and then over analyse things and get annoyed we spent X amount in shops x

JoJoC

Another one agreeing with the big weekend of spending! It's so hard not to when we work hard all week and don't get to spend much time during the week with the kids (5.30pm until bedtime at 7pm) so weekends are our time!

We frequently go out for brunch or to parks with picnics then spend on ice creams and juice for everyone etc. As soon as our plans involve other people, too, it becomes so much more difficult to rein in the budget.

Seems its a common pain!

GeorgianaCavendish

Lau0707 wrote: »

I think I need to do a NSWkend too... I have two this month as we'll be in America, and money is already packed... so technically that means no money from my card ha ha....

Husband is still very snobby about picnics where the kids and I love it, and I love them financially too!!! I'll get around him one day!

That is a great way of looking at holidays

My dad is very snobby about picnics and his attitude rubbed off on me too but since the start of my MSE diary & bringing my own lunch to work, I've started to really realise that I could make myself a gourmet style picnic for a fraction of the price for something mediocre in the shops. That really changed my opinion on them

GeorgianaCavendish

armchairexpert wrote: »

Weekends are such a challenge! I didn't realise how much we (*cough* Mr Expert) used shopping as a leisure activity previous to budgeting. Picnics, bike rides, walks around the Botanic Garden are all very well on nice days, but when the weather's bad what's to do? There's only so many weekends in that any one family can stand.

This is really true, I didn't realise how much of my leisure time involved shopping or just idle browsing for things to spend money on. I used to browse ebay or ASOS on my phone when I had a spare half hour, no wonder I always felt like I needed to buy things!!

GeorgianaCavendish

JoJoC wrote: »

Another one agreeing with the big weekend of spending! It's so hard not to when we work hard all week and don't get to spend much time during the week with the kids (5.30pm until bedtime at 7pm) so weekends are our time!

We frequently go out for brunch or to parks with picnics then spend on ice creams and juice for everyone etc. As soon as our plans involve other people, too, it becomes so much more difficult to rein in the budget.

Seems its a common pain!

Those little spends really do add up and I always forget to budget for things like ice cream or drinks. And of course they are much more expensive from an ice cream van or cafe at an attraction than they would be elsewhere.

GeorgianaCavendish

Good news : the sofa can be repaired! :j It will cost just under £50 which is obviously SO MUCH BETTER than buying a new sofa. Good old G-Plan!

I've been able to make a small overpayment on MBNA which brings the balance on the first tranche of debt down to £149.85 (this is the tranche on a promotional rate which ends in September). I have been tempted to overpay all the money I made from focus groups, cashback etc but I've got some expenses associated with the professional exams I'm taking through work and I want to set aside money to cover those. (My employer covers 50% of the cost of the course but they reimburse me once I've passed a module, so I need to make sure that I've got the cash upfront.)

So, my revised target is to have a £50.00 surplus by the end of the month for an overpayment which in combination with the June direct debit will clear that first tranche of debt. I've got a few more things to list on ebay (clothes and a handbag) and I'll keep on with the survey sites (I'm nearly at reward payout point on one of them).

GeorgianaCavendish

I just realised that I didn't update on my April goals earlier in the month, so this is how I got on.

April Goals

Financial Goals

1. Revisit the Snowball Calculator and make tackling remaining Barclaycard 27.6% debt the #1 priority Done! Made an overpayment to the B/Card which cleared that 27.6% tranche
2. Re-do Budget to reflect increases in council tax, utilities and broadband (boo!) Done, reluctantly
3. Investigate other electricity and broadband providers Done. There were no savings to be had on electricity (the one that looked like a saving involved paying for 18mths upfront and the saving was in the form of an Amazon voucher, not cash. No savings to be made on broadband at all. At least I looked!

Other Goals

4. Revisit my study timetable to take into account upcoming assignments and exams Done, sort of. I've got a couple of assignments in for marking at the moment, once I receive those back I'll be having a call with my personal tutor to come up with a plan for when to take the next exams / assignments ... watch this space!
5. Swap over winter and summer clothes from wardrobe. Do a ruthless sort out of summer clothes and sell/donate anything that no longer fits or wasn't worn last year. Half done. Clothes have been swapped over. I've taken all to-donate items to the charity shop but I still have about 5 things to list on ebay. I also have a couple of things that I need to get repaired.
6. Step up meal planning to make things healthier, simpler and cheaper Not really much progress on this. Proper meal planning is the first thing to fall by the wayside when I get busy/stressed and I need to find a way round that
7. Big Fat Spring Clean Nearly done! Got a lot of spring cleaning done ourselves and we saved up for a professional deep clean of the flat which is happening next week (which coincides with our managing agent getting the windows cleaned)
8. Get shelves up in utility cupboard and boot rack assembled in hall Done! Must be honest, this wasn't done in April ... only got them sorted this week but it makes such a difference!
9. Walk part of my commute every day, even if that is only one tube / bus stop difference Sporadic success with this. It makes me feel so much better when I do get a walk in, great opportunity to clear my head and I can feel the tension dropping off my shoulders. I need to do it more.
10. Swimming and yoga every week Not done. I've been swimming once since I originally wrote this list and haven't been to yoga at all

I'll update tomorrow with a new list for the rest of May and June

GeorgianaCavendish

May and June Goals

Financial Goals

1. Revisit Snowball Calculator to prioritise the MBNA debt.
2. Clear first tranche of MBNA debt (£149.85, promo rate runs out in Sept) and get second tranche down to £300 (currently at £550.75, promo rate runs out in Oct).
3. Revisit budget. I'll be 6 months into my DFW journey by the end of June and I think I've picked up lots of tips from these forums, so I want to revisit my budget and see if I can make any more cuts/savings that can go towards debt repayment.

Other Goals

4. Book appointment with tutor and make a realistic plan for next set of assignments/exams.
5. First draft of Assignment 1 and Assignment 2 submitted.
6. Get those last few things listed on ebay / get repairs sorted.
7. Make a realistic meal plan (with view to making things easier, simpler, cheaper and healthier). I need to be realistic about this, I think my failing is that I over-complicate things at the planning stage and in reality I don't have the time or energy to put those plans into action.
8. Walk part of my commute every day and go for a long(er) walk every weekend.
9. Swimming and yoga every week. Swimming should be easy to in once a week - I just need to pick a day and stick to it! ; yoga class is a bit harder because the timings don't quite work for me so I'm going to find a video I like and do a routine at home at least once a week. I've heard good things about Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, anyone followed that before?
10. A nice one - use all the cosmetics/bath products on my newly assembled storage shelves to treat myself to a Home Spa Session. Maybe not once a week but once a fortnight should be achievable