Fox's Debt Free Diary

FoxFace

Good morning Nothing to really report here... funds have been too low to make any additional payments and life has been too hectic to really do anything proactive to clear the debt any more quickly than planned.

On the good side though, I haven't really spent anything other than grocery budget, which I haven't gone over I think just not spending it a good step in itself, isn't it really?

Hope you all have a wonderful day
Fox

jackieblack

FoxFace wrote: »

Good morning Nothing to really report here... funds have been too low to make any additional payments and life has been too hectic to really do anything proactive to clear the debt any more quickly than planned.

On the good side though, I haven't really spent anything other than grocery budget, which I haven't gone over I think just not spending it a good step in itself, isn't it really?

Hope you all have a wonderful day
Fox

It's a great step!
It's during these 'slow' times that it's important not to lose focus.
The early 'heady' days are the easiest, when you're fired up and there are some quick things that get you off to a flying start. But it's a medium-long distance event, not a sprint, and that pace can't be maintained all the way through.
Once the initial 'rush' is over, that's the time when it's easy to get disheartened and slide back into old/bad habits, so sticking to your new budget is really important.
Well done :T

another_casualty

You are doing great foxface . I was impressed when you opened a new seperate account for your self . All good

JoJoC

Hi, just stopping by to say hello and wish you luck.

It sounds like you've got a great way of keep motivation high, so i'll subscribe to your diary as I do lack in motivation sometimes!

I also opened a separate spending account to avoid the confusion of what was 'available' in the main account. That account is just for bills now and my husband and I use the spending account day to day. Much less confusing!

All the best

FoxFace

Wow thanks for the kind words everyone

I am blessed with a decent amount of willpower when I need it... I just forget once the problem is solved... however I have a savings goal once the debt is cleared, so hopefully I can continue this time

Nothing really to report here, apart from my bank trying to get me to spend more money now the balances are transferred... the amount of credit offers I have had just in the last week is actually silly... obviously I am in no way inclined to accept them, but no wonder people end up in trouble

JoJoC

Yes, we've seen that a LOT! My husband balance transferred after his 0% ended a couple of years ago and he got a letter from the now empty credit card increasing ihs balance to 15k! 15k on a credit card! Needless to say that one was shut down pretty quickly. They're really cheeky, these banks.

Glad you've got a savings goal for after the debt is cleared - care to share?

FoxFace

JoJoC wrote: »

Yes, we've seen that a LOT! My husband balance transferred after his 0% ended a couple of years ago and he got a letter from the now empty credit card increasing ihs balance to 15k! 15k on a credit card! Needless to say that one was shut down pretty quickly. They're really cheeky, these banks.

Glad you've got a savings goal for after the debt is cleared - care to share?

My Grandfather of 84 on State Pension recently cleared a credit account that he had... they have upped his credit limit to £18k... I kid you not!

As for the savings goal, it's pretty much a WIP as I need to focus on clearing the debt... I would very much like to work towards actually getting some money behind us as a contingency fund, and also possibly an ISA, or some kind of savings account at least. I will be working out specifics as the debt is cleared... baby steps and all that

JoJoC

Oh yes, baby steps indeed. I have lots of grand plans for when we're debt free but i'm sure those will change/ become more realistic as I near that date!

Good grief, do banks have no sense? If he racked up that debt and was paying it back on his pension, it'd probably take him 20 years to clear... who wants their DFD to be when they're 104?

FoxFace

So today was fun... My good friend randomly repaid £200 I had lent to her a few months back... I had totally forgotten about it to be honest!

Also, our CEO e-mailed everyone today to tell us they were paying us a £280 bonus this month, to thank us for our hard work

I also have 27 hours of overtime from last month, being paid in my wages next week... I absolutely cannot wait to get paid Probably going to leave it the all in the bank account to lower the overdraft, as this is the only thing that's costing me ongoing interest at the moment.

FoxFace

*early Xmas post klaxon*

I was reviewing our budget to end of the year this morning and realised that I have no contingency for the festive period

So I have set up a weekly transfer into an otherwise unused savings account,from now to 9th December. This will be my gift budget for presents etc. I know it seems a little early, but I'd rather plan ahead now than end up just banging a load of stuff on the card in a blind panic last minute Also, if we do spot any good presents on offer now, we will have a fund building up to pay for them as we find them

We also started discussing school holiday budget. We aren't having a family holiday this year, but do plan to have lots of(cheap/free) days out. For the most part we will be going to free places and will take food with us, but I think it's realistic to assume that we will need *some* money... and it's better to plan and not use it, than to end up being caught short and going totally off piste.

I also looked at possibly increasing the loan to cover the overdraft, but the additional payment just isn't realistic so we have made the decision to keep chipping away at it for now, possibly sell some unused items and review it once some of the other debts reduce. Looking at the interest vs what it is costing, it might not be the most cost effective way to tackle it anyway.

Still counting the days to payday, so I can update my sig once more payments go out :T

Edit: Also just realised we got through the first month with no slip ups, yay!