paying off my last debt today! but the hard bit starts now... winkle's frugal month

winkle1

HERE IS THE LINK TO MY ORIGINAL SOA: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=531206

Today I am going to pay off my last debt (apart from my student loan), but in order to do this I have to have a frugal October. I’m starting this to keep me on the straight and narrow, so I’ll only be boring you for a month!

I recently broke a bone in my foot so I am housebound and off work till at least mid October, possibly after that too. So I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to pay off the last debt in one big chunk and take advantage of not being able to go out, not needing train fare, lunches for work etc. Here is my SOA for October:

Income: £ 1673.56 wages
£ 835.34 savings

Outgoings:
Rent: £360 (this includes council tax as well)
Student Loan: £133.97
AOL: 7.50

TOTAL: £ 501.47

Usual outgoing are as follows:
Food/Housekeeping: £150 a month – boyf says he will put in his £150 and we will attempt to live on this for October. We have already done a Tesco shop of £35 out of this.
Mobile: usually around £40 – DD comes out 26th of every month, so next payment will come out once I have been paid again, so don’t need to calculate in this months outgoings.

Debts:

£ £1,907.66 on Egg 3.9% for 6 months


So according to my calculations (Income plus savings minus outgoings minus debt), that leaves me with £99.77 for the month.

This, after seeing what some of you guys live on (I salute you all), should be enough. I would like to use this money for bills or food if we need it towards the end of the month, as boyf has been really supportive and I haven’t had to put in my housekeeping this month because he knows I want to clear my debts.

So I am off to pay the Egg card IN FULL! YAAY! This feels GREAT!

angelfairy

Hi Winkle,

Sorry to hear about your foot. I read about it on the 'other site' but didn't get a chance to respond.

Glad to hear though that you are able to pay off your Egg card!!! WOO HOO.

Gee, what are you going to do with your time now you are housebound???

I must say, I have turned the budget thing into a bit of project and try scrimp and save where I can. I am sure you will have a 'frugal' month like you want. Have a search for Keren's post for her August month, you may get some ideas there.

All the best
Bec

madmoney_2

:T Well Done Hun, Im sure the frugal month will be more than worth it!!:T

oops_a_daisy

awww sorry about your foot but a BIG WELL DONE to you for paying off such a huge chunk of your debt. Good luck. xoopsx

Shineyhappy

Sorry about your foot, but congrats on your debt freeness!

If you are worried about money, what not use your time to send off for freebies and set yourself a challenge to get as much as possible from the net for free whilst you are off work?

winkle1

hi all and thanks for your replies. well I am now debt free!!!!!!!! (apart from the student loan).

by the way, what do people class as being debt free? do you class student loan or mortgage as debt?

shineyhappy and beccaoz, I am thinking of entering loads of competitions this month, reading up on ebay and seeing if I am brave enough to sell a few items and try and amke some money from cashbacks sites.

redrabbit29

winkle1 wrote: »

hi all and thanks for your replies. well I am now debt free!!!!!!!! (apart from the student loan).

by the way, what do people class as being debt free? do you class student loan or mortgage as debt?

shineyhappy and beccaoz, I am thinking of entering loads of competitions this month, reading up on ebay and seeing if I am brave enough to sell a few items and try and amke some money from cashbacks sites.

I don't and will never class my student loan as a debt. I don't even think about it and to be honest I can never see myself paying it off in full (not in the next 10 years anyway). I owe about £11K on it.

Well done!

winkle1

Should I go and post on the ''I'm Debt Free post then''?!

Shineyhappy

I dont class my student loan as a debt but I do count my mortgage, I think its a personal thing. I feel like having such a big mortgage is a chain weighing me down and I cant wait until I can afford to start overpaying it.

But most people dont seem to class either so.... well done you :j

angelfairy

Winkle,

I can't remember who from the board send you all the details about the daily clicks through topcashback/greasy palm/quidco extra. If you do a search around I am sure it will come up.

I have been selling a bit of ebay recently and quite enjoy it. It would be even better if I was at home and could focus a lot more on it. Have you thought about the AQA service that some of us work for? Not sure if there are any vacancies at the moment, but it can change daily.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Well done on paying everything off!! It must feel good.

What are you going to do once frugal October is over? Save up to be mortgage free or pay off the student loan?