Debt Demolisher

Cherryfudge

I'm sure having more debt makes people more inventive in their use of money.

I think I've seen this sort of savings referred to as 'paying yourself first' and £520 is always a useful amount to have. I thought I was being careful over Christmas spending but with a couple of main presents still to go I have spent sooo much! I think a Christmas savimgs account would be a very good idea for me too this coming year.

Thanks for the feedback

enthusiasticsaver

motivated wrote: »

:xmastree: Christmas shopping all done :xmastree:

Finished off the few bits I needed to do. Bought our turkey and gammon and a few extra bits we will need, and then home.

I’m only cooking on Boxing Day and already have the dinner and dessert and chocolates, nibbles etc. I’ve been picking up extra bits each week. Gone are the days where I would hit the supermarket on Christmas Eve at silly o’clock to avoid the crowds. Buy a trolley load of food and think nothing of whacking it all on a credit card. :mad: What on earth was I thinking.

Need to wrap the last of the presents, I hate this job. May put a Christmas film on tomorrow afternoon and sit and do it all then.

I can’t believe we’ve managed to do Christmas within budget and it’s the first year for as long as I can remember that when it’s all over I won’t have added anything at all to the debt. Last year and the year before and the year before that :eek: well we won’t talk about that

Now I know that I can do it and am already starting my Christmas saving for next year.
M

Well done on sticking in budget and not getting sucked into the silly spending for Christmas. I have just done a shop and picked up my first xmas bits. A box of crackers from Lidls and 2 boxes of the really nice mini mince pies from waitrose. Next week I will pick up a joint of beef for xmas day and a roast chicken for some time over the xmas period and just veg, stuff to make a trifle and a few extra snack bits like nuts, sausage rolls and some nicer biscuits than usual. The rest of the food I buy next week will just be a normal shop.

We have also bought a couple of bottles of wine and 1 prosecco and our most expensive outlay this year is the DH has decided he wants to try his hand at cocktail making so against my better judgement we have bought some spirits as we don't normally have any in the house but it will last us all year hopefully!!.

enthusiasticsaver

motivated wrote: »

Thanks cherry but I have to admit I wouldn’t want advice from me with the amount of debt I’m in :rotfl:

I simply opened an online savings account named it Xmas and added to it monthly sometimes rounding down accounts and transferring that over after my payday too. I knew I had no source of credit whatsoever once January this year went and I had my true LBM.

Now I know I can do it I will be doing it again. Even £10 a week from now will give us £520 plus the bits I add as I go along will boost it a bit more. When I think what I would waste £10 on just popping in the corner shop. I would buy a paper and milk and I would see biscuits or whatever on special and think oh I’ll get those too. (We didn’t even need them) Before I knew it a tenner was History.

I also have a sealed pot that I’m adding bits and pieces to but to be honest I tend to pay everything online now and rarely carry cash. Listen to me I sound like I’m rich :rotfl:

All the ideas and tips I use I have stolen from people on here. I am constantly learning new ways of budgeting and saving
M

Sounds like you have budgeting down to a fine art now. I just restrict myself to one main shop a week and one top up shop for milk, bread and very occasionally salad in the summer or bananas as the only fruit we tend to run out of midweek. No biscuits, cakes or crisps allowed as not good for diet or groceries budget. We just wait until next main shop day.

motivated

Cherryfudge wrote: »

I think I've seen this sort of savings referred to as 'paying yourself first

Thanks for this cherry, I’ve looked it up and it’s basically pay yourself before any other bills etc. I have a set amount on a standing order which goes straight to one of my savings accounts. So I suppose it is like paying myself first. I have this amount budgeted within all my bills and DDs every month.

enthusiastic-saver wrote: »

Well done on sticking in budget and not getting sucked into the silly spending for Christmas.
The rest of the food I buy next week will just be a normal shop.

DH has decided he wants to try his hand at cocktail making

I too will be just doing a normal shop next week and hopefully we won’t need to buy too much as I think we have plenty here. Maybe a top up shop will be needed. The cocktail making sounds a lot of fun. My DD does this and some of the concoctions she has made are delicious

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Sounds like you have budgeting down to a fine art now. I just restrict myself to one main shop a week and one top up shop for milk, bread and very occasionally salad in the summer or bananas as the only fruit we tend to run out of midweek. No biscuits, cakes or crisps allowed as not good for diet or groceries budget. We just wait until next main shop day.

I too need to have the mindset that biscuits are banned as looking at my waistline it’s clearly allergic to biscuits :rotfl:
M

motivated

Well I did eventually get upstairs to sort presents and finish the wrapping. I was watching ‘it’s a wonderful life’ love that film

DS decided to volunteer me to wrap some of his :eek: He came to my room with a bag of presents then left. He returned with another then left again. He returned with wrapping paper, tags, cello tape etc then left again. He tried coming back with more presents, NOOOO WAYYYY !!!! The Mum look was enough for him to say ‘ok leave some and I will do them’ Nice try son :rotfl:

I had my nails done today, I usually just do them myself but DSs girlfriend came with her new nail equipment, the polishes, the light and all the paraphanalia. I was her first guinea pig and I must say they look good and I’ve been pampered for free :T. She’s got herself a regular customer now.
M

motivated

:rudolf:

Hi all

So today is the first day of my Christmas holidays from work and it feels good to know I have lots of free time to catch up on other DFWs diaries and learn/ steal some more debt busting tips

Already I have now put all prezzies under the tree, I don’t like to have them there unless I know someone will be around during the day. You never know around here.
Have pulled the sofas out and hoovered underneath :eek: It’s amazing what you find even after a short while
Note to self, must do it more frequently.

It’s Wednesday and we still have funds in the bank, not a fortune mind but enough to send some to savings if we don’t buy anything. Hoping that we don’t need petrol and DH doesn’t think :eek: there’s money in the bank I may as well draw some out. He is terrible for this. I may be sneaky and just send some over anyway as he gets paid again on Friday.

I am about to dive into the freezer to see what we will have for dinner tonight and only need to pop to the local shop for bread and milk.

Need to tackle the bedrooms and give them a proper going over but still looking for the energy to do it. I aim to give the house a proper going over before the weekend and then I know I can relax a bit. I moan that I don’t have the time and energy to do it when I come home from work and when I have the time I don’t have the motivation to do it. I can’t win

I may put some music on upstairs it should help get me going
M

motivated

:mad: me and my bright ideas :mad:

Decided to tackle the spare bedroom where our DD and SIL are staying over Christmas and guess what, I’ve broken the TV in there. Moved it and leant it on something and Broke the screen :eek: You cannot see anything on the screen only lines and cracks :eek: It was an old one but still.


Just talked myself out of rushing out to buy a new one. I’m sure they’ll understand and when I stay at theirs I don’t have a TV in the room I sleep so there

Annoyed at myself for being so heavy handed but need to be realistic and not rush out to spend £100 that I can Ill afford and to be honest it only gets watched when someone stays over which is not often. Previously I would’ve been in the car by now with CC at the ready so I suppose that’s a bonus really.
M

Cherryfudge

Shame about the TV but I expect when they're with you most time and energy will be spent socialising. If you are a books/magazines sort of person, do an artistic little arrangement of some readables in the room and maybe put a mini box of chocs on top or a tiny vase with a sprig of greenery.

Anyway just clear the evidence away and pretend it was a deliberate choice of d!cor.

Glad the broken glass didn't get you.

motivated

Cherryfudge wrote: »

Shame about the TV but I expect when they're with you most time and energy will be spent socialising. If you are a books/magazines sort of person, do an artistic little arrangement of some readables in the room and maybe put a mini box of chocs on top or a tiny vase with a sprig of greenery.

Anyway just clear the evidence away and pretend it was a deliberate choice of d!cor.

Glad the broken glass didn't get you.

Hi cherry and thanks for the ideas. We will be socialising so you’re right about not spending time upstairs watching TV.

I’ve just spoken to DD and confessed lol she said it’s ok I will bring the TV back that you gave me when I moved, we don’t use it

Problem solved and it didn’t cost me a penny :beer:
M

motivated

Hi all
I plan on getting up very early and walking to the nearest shops to get my last few bits I need. I can not bare the thought of driving anywhere as it has been manic on the roads and queues I don’t do queues. I get in a proper fluster and need to leave the store. I like to be there when the shop opens, run around with my trolley like a mad woman and out again.

By the time DH gets home with the car I would’ve been out and back again. Also if I wait and take him with me we will end up with a trolley load of goodies and no food

Still totting up figures and budgets ready for the new year and am itching to get started on a full year to see how much I can pay off. I have to try not to be over zealous as if I leave us too short of money the debt busting will go pear shaped and we will slip backwards. I just need it to tick over as we plod along and make overpayments if and when possible.

I have my shopping list at the ready and will resist the temptation to buy anything not on it. There’s so many Christmassy bits in your face in all the shops so need to wear my blinkers :cool:

Will update how I got on when I get back and then I should be able to send some over to my savings.
M