Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

XSpender

Thank you EE.

I thought that DH was entitled to JSA based on his NI contributions (32 years of full employment!) but when he tried to apply on line it was for universal credit. I will ask him to ring up today as any amount will help towards paying our mortgage.

XSpender

Lloyds Loan #1........£8982.77......£275.11......3.9% APR 35 payments left
Lloyds Loan #2.........£13,150.74.....£265.94....3.9% APR.......54 payments left
Lloyds CC (Me) Part 2..........£2928.65.....£0.........0.0% APR until 26th March 2019
LLoyds CC (Me) Part 1.........£2318.23.........£52.........19.19%
Virgin (Me) Part 2 ........£970.00........0.0% APR until 30th Sept 2018
Virgin (DH) Part 2........£5453.86.......£98.........0.0% APR.......until July 2018
Virgin (DH) Part 3........£4372.97.......£0.00.........0.0% APR until Sept 2018
MBNA............£7880.65........£78.80...........0.0% APR until Sept 2019
Hitachi........£1343.37...........£47.97...0.0% APR 21 payments left


TOTAL - £47,401.24


The debt list will look a little different next month as my update won't be done until the end of July now that DH is not paid mid month and I am going to have to BT the balance on DH card that is expiring at the end of July to one of my cards. I have enough limit to do this although the fees aren't great. I would rather do this than apply for another card. The recent silly spending on my card will have to be moved to 0% as well so all in all will cost about £250 in fees. Maybe I should apply for a fee free card?


DH has made the call and he does qualify for JSA and has his appointment next week.

XSpender

I have had a look at the credit card eligibility calculator and I have2 hope of getting a fee free card and one of ‘em is called Bob! I have looked at fees and limits and have a plan for next month.

I had a free trial at DH gym tonight and it was good but I am unhappy with how unfit I am. Went to Sainsbury’s afterwards and spent half next weeks food budget but got some really cheap ys bread for once.

Downloaded some free kindle books and will curl up with one and a cuppa when DS is in bed.

Eager_Elephant

XSpender wrote: »

DH has made the call and he does qualify for JSA and has his appointment next week.

Excellent:j:beer:

lindez

oh that is good news on the JSA lets hope things start to get better for you. You are doing really well. x

XSpender

DH went to the dole office today and there was no record of his application! He has to go back next week.

He has been contacted by an old colleague about a self employed opportunity which is out of his current trade and very much up his street and has also another couple of things bubbling along. He had a call today about a job offer but the salary(that wasn’t on the advert) was really low and the job is too far away to make it viable.

Losing his job has given DH (and me) a bit of a fright and we have agreed, once DH is working again, to save a small emergency fund and then throw everything at the debt with a view to being debt free by 50. I’m thinking gazelle like, no holidays, rice and beans, sell your grandma kind of intensity.

If he goes the SE route we are stuck with our mortgage as he will not be able to show his income for a year or 2 so will look to overpay once debt free. I am so glad we didn’t consolidate into the mortgage and I will not be going down that route if DH gets an employed position and we can remortgage sooner.

Little spending has been done although our food spending is still too high and the bank account is looking a lot healthier than it did when DH was working. It won’t be looking so good when he doesn’t get paid again

I am feeling very fat and unhealthy, my diet is carp. I’m actually only a few pounds over weight but I feel rubbish and am considering doing the 6 week plan DH did. I need to reset my eating habits and doing it on my own isn’t working.

apple_muncher

Looking after yourself in all this uncertainty is really important, so please do prioritise your diet. Xx

brizzlegirl

Wow...youve been busy and planning, planning, planning. Thats good and I am glad you're keeping positive which I am sure isn't always easy. EE's advice is always spot on so glad you're due to get something.

I agree re the EF. I am self-employed and only just building up mine and thats too narrow a margin for my liking. I don't really have a buffer at all and that needs to change so with you on that one.

I am also trying to cut down on the junk. Drinking much less and it has to be helping as weight is down by 2kg.

Onwards and upwards

Hugs

Brizzle x

XSpender

The SE opportunity has n to materialised for DH but it may come up again in the future. He’s still waiting for the lower salary job to come back to him. He is hoping the job centre can help him with his search as he is having a lot of agencies ring him but not for actual jobs,

DMIL gave DH £20 yesterday for a D0m1n03es pizza as they are doing a great offer at the moment. She has also offered to pay for a skip as DH is landscaping the garden including removing a large raised bed, paths and 2 patios, a lot of overgrown shrubbery and replacing the utilty room (we only need a sink and a tap) so the old units, worktop and sink and flooring need to go. Oh and 2 sets of old garden furniture that is beyond repair (left by previous owners) and a load of other junk.

I got paid today and all our bills are covered for the month and we have enough put by for August’s mortgage payment. If we can manage this month without spending DH JSA we might be able to cover September’s shortfall.

We cut right back on food spending last month and DH ate out of the freezer a lot but we still spent over £400.:o. This cannot continue. There is too much spending on booze and snacks. We have done a meal plan for next week and have been to Aldi. We spent £50 but this included £8 on the perfect gift for my friends DD, soap powder and a month’s supply of dog treats and dog breakfasts and a bottle of wine.

I want to stick to £50/wk which means less beer for DH and less snacks. I have a different budget for gifts so I have £8 of the £50 left for food until next Friday and there is nothing we need.

XSpender

Another beautiful morning here. I would be sitting in the conservatory but it is in the middle of a makeover!

We have bought a tin of paint from Wilk0, some furniture paint and some cushions, moved some existing accessories in and bought a couple of plants. We inherited the very good quality cane furniture from the previous owners, which is in great nick if not to my taste. It is so comfortable. We were going to have the chairs re-covered at some point but DH washed one of the removable covers and had the genius idea late Friday night of just turning them over to the plain side:T The cost of this has been covered from the return of some curtains we had bought for the bedroom last month and other bits scraped up from the budget. It is a large room that we have never made use of and I have always been a bit embarrassed by the state of it When it is finished the room will have been totally transformed. I wish I could post you some pictures I am so pleased with how it looks, a bit of a retro 80s look but I love it. Or I will once it's finished

I have been able to use £20 of the haircuts budget as when I went yesterday my hairdresser said my hair didn't really need a full cut so did a dry cut and we have agreed to leave it even longer between cuts as I am growing my hair.

The £50 food budget didn't last long as we are on £58 now for week 1 and DS needs some pack lunch bits for a school trip and DH will probably want some beer for tonight.

I also need to give DS £5 (:eek:) for an art activity at school next week. This is on top of a dress up outfit and school trip cost of nearly £30 later in the week!

DS has a sports activity this morning for an hour, DH is going to pick up the rest of the paint and continue upcycling the furniture and cleaning the conservatory ready for painting and I am going to do a bit of batch cooking from the freezer and do some housework to my standard Is it only my DH who cleans the bathroom but not the toilet?