Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

GeorgianaCavendish

PositiveBalance , Seasidegal - Apart from the stockpiling of toiletries I don't have the storage space to benefit from a really big shop. My cousin buys lots from Makro and CostCo but there is no way I could fit that quantity of stuff anywhere in my flat! I try to have about a month's worth of stuff like laundry detergent, toilet rolls etc in the flat and to take advantage of a half price or 2-for-1 offer when they come up but not to the point where I have 12 bottles of Persil lining the hallway
I found out from another thread that I can set price alerts on MySupermarket so that will make my special offer stalking much easier!

GeorgianaCavendish

I keep seeing adverts on the tube for a budgeting app from HSBC, but I always miss the important details. Has anyone tried this and how did you find it?

FiscalPickle

I will look into the HSBC app, I bank with them and it sounds on the surface like something that could be really useful to me.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41429379

[Deleted User]

Well done on your progress!

We also rent (very cheapy up North I might add) and could save £300 a month if we moved 10 minutes walk away. We live in a 4 bed house with 2 adults and a child, but we did need the space originally (I was working from home so 1 bedroom was my office, and I'm from abroad so we need a spare room for when my family visit), and we're planning on having another baby and I just don't fancy moving again in a year's time. We're also very close to very good schools here, and even though we only have a small yard, we overlook a lovely big park that sort of serves as our garden. We have great transport links and shops around. It's just perfect for us and our quality of life is so good here, we are willing to pay the extra £300 a month and wait for that little bit longer until our debts are paid off.
While it's important to get rid of debt, it needs to be at a sustainable level if you're in it for the long haul. Having a place to live where you feel comfortable, as long as it's within your means, is a very sensible thing to do. What good is getting out of debt if you have to get home to a place you don't like every day?

GeorgianaCavendish

Thank you Moguline, that sums up my feelings on renting at the moment. I know some people are able to cut their budget to the bone and focus everything on debt repayment but I think doing that will lead to a blow out and much more debt after a few months. So now I!!!8217;m looking for a middle ground where I can make a sustainable commitment to repaying the debt while having a reasonable, budgeted for, quality of life (not champagne and caviar but not sackcloth and ashes either!)

GeorgianaCavendish

Thanks FiscalPickle, that looks good - I will have to investigate!

GeorgianaCavendish

We/'re on holiday this week. After the events of the last few months, a friend offered us use of her holiday home. Usually I'd let offers like this slide but I checked on sky scanner and found that we could get some very cheap flights for this week, so we went for it. We've been keeping everything as MSE as possible (local transport instead of taxis, loading up at the supermarket and cooking for ourselves, and lots of walking and reading instead of looking for entertainment).

It feels really good to be away from the routine and have some breathing space to try to make sense of what has happened.I'm realising that we slipped into survival mode as a way of coping and haven't even started dealing with what happened. I don't think this trip is going to make us feel "over it" but it's a good start.

GeorgianaCavendish

Oh no! That formatting looks awful will fix it when I’m back on my laptop!

ChasingSunshine

Pops up from lurking to say that if you are posting on an apple device (iPhone, iPad) then if you go to settings and keyboard you can turn of smart punctuation and it should solve the formatting problem. Has been an issue on the forum for a while.

Enjoy your holiday. Sometimes just being away from usual routine can create some headspace to help you start dealing with other things.

Seasidegal58

I hope you're enjoying your break away Duchess. Sounds so very MSE as well!