Reducing Debt - being accountable and taking responsibility

DrSpendLittle

Aaah, the life of a debt slayer. That constant shuffling of money around the budget to account for spends here and there that just happen on a daily / weekly / monthly basis.

So, I spent some time this morning after the £400 dentist bombshell (...aaaargh....) to find a way of 'finding' this amount of money in my budget and absorbing the cost without too much havoc on my debt slaying plans. I also have £400 for car insurance in December coming up (cries). My plans are:

November - assign £398 to my health budget, £170 to xmas pressies and make a payment of £700 to CC2 and £10 to CC1.

December - assign £250 to xmas pressies, £320 to car (for insurance, £100 already saved) and make a £680 payment to CC2 and £10 to CC1.

January - assign £250 to car (service due), £120 to weekend away with girlies and make £820 - £880 payment to CC2 (still undecided, may have some surplus from car insurance savings) and £10 to CC1

Then, carry on as normal in February. If life doesn't get in the way :rotfl:

DSL :j

DrSpendLittle

Ms Dentist decided, mid drilling, that an onlay would be more suitable than a crown for my broken tooth. I'm pleased as I was quite attached to the remaining tooth (2ish cusps) and I didn't want it drilled out just for the sake of it. Still, I'm glad to be rid of the horrible metal filling / cusp / side wall that I had put in 19 years ago after I broke my tooth eating.

However (...isn't there always a however when it comes to expensive things..?) because I want it tooth coloured, it pushes the cost up to £450 :eek:

I had first phase of treatment this morning, so I'm now £225 lighter. I paid cash and have 'borrowed' from my household category (the boiler isn't getting installed until second week of November).

The second instalment of £225 is due in a few weeks, after payday, so I'll be okay paying cash again and replenishing the boiler funds.

I'm glad I've been able to cash flow this and not use my credit card. Phew.

Other than that, I've had a NSD :rotfl: DF has brought me home some macaroni cheese (post dentist soft comfort food).

I'm on a work trip tomorrow and I've already planned my spends using my work expenses category. I've decided against using my credit card for anything now. I'd rather cash flow it myself.

DSL :j

DrSpendLittle

Hurrah, got some of my expenses back - £94 - which means CC1 balance is looking more like it should do and is now in the £300s. Just £20ish more to come and then I'm back to the 'normal' that my signature depicts.

I'm going to use cash for expenses from now on. They're likely to be smaller amounts from now on so I don't need that much put aside. Plus, Dave Ramsey says that's the best way - an initial outlay for a float and then use / reimburse as and when. I much prefer that than using CC.

Busy few days at work - in the office today and about to start a full day of meetings. Brought in lunch and snacks so hoping for a NSD but I've no clue what we'll have for dinner so I may have to swing by the supermarket on the way home.

Have a good day!

DSL :j

DrSpendLittle

Just spoke to BoS re: interest charging on CC1 as I thought I had a 56 day grace period on new spends.

Well, because I have two existing 0% balance transfers (one finished recently and the other finishes in April 2018), any new spends are subject to immediate interest charging as per the following term:

"You will not pay interest on new purchases if you pay the full balance shown on your previous and current statement ontime". i.e. you pay off the 0% balance transfers in full

"Otherwise, the period over which interest is charged is as follows: Purchases, Cash Transactions, Balance Transfers and Money Transfers (if available): From the date the item is debited to your account until the balance is paid in full"

This means my September work expenses accrued interest immediately because I hadn't paid off my 0% balance transfers.

So, lesson learned. Don't use a credit card for purchases when it has existing 0% balance transfers sat on it. Feel like I'm very late to the party on this one :rotfl:

I have spent the last 10 years thinking all new spends on CCs were subject to a 56 day grace period no matter the existing balance of the card. Doh

DSL :j

DrSpendLittle

...anyway, to move on from my CC mishaps!

Today will be a NSD...except.... I just ordered a book for work purposes which I need sooner rather than later. Things always take so long to arrive when ordered through work and sometimes its not worth it even though it comes off their card. I managed to get free next day delivery by signing up to a free 30 day amazon prime trial, which is perfect as I need the book asap! I'll cancel Prime it when the book arrives and put my expenses claim in asap.

DSL :j

DrSpendLittle

Today I've done some xmas shopping and managed to get everything on my 'October Purchase' List. I've fully sorted 3 family members and I've got one item each for two other family members. I used my Partnership card (which will be paid off in full at the end of the month) to take advantage of JL's double points weekend.

It's good to have some xmas presents ticked off the list this early. I'm going to make a couple of homemade gifts this year too, as I've been so inspired by the ideas mentioned on others' diaries. I also really like the idea of adding a personal touch to gifts.

Dinner is something out of the freezer - DF has just nipped out to get some bits that we need to complete the cooking. I'm on cooking duty tonight.

Not sure on plans for tonight - I didn't realise that Amazon Prime came with a bunch of movies & TV shows. Might keep it open for the 30 day duration of the free membership and take full advantage of it and perhaps watch a movie tonight.

Happy weekend Debt Slayers!

DSL :j

DrSpendLittle

Hello fellow Debt Slayers!

I've had a quiet weekend so far, catching up on sleep, reading, life and cleaning :rotfl:

Did a food shop today - it was one of those shops where you end up buying the bits and bobs that you need for the meat you've already got in.

Got a pumpkin and some sweet potatoes, so I think I'll be having a Souper Sunday batch cooking soup session this evening whilst the Ham roasts. I'll use this recipe for the pumpkin soup as it looks delicious. Never made pumpkin soup before so I'm very curious how it'll turn out.

We also had to stock up on cleaning products (oven cleaner, sponges, wipes etc) and store cupboard essentials (rice, low sugar granola, cacao, etc) so it was one of those shops that was fairly expensive with nothing much to show. Still, I'm hoping it'll keep us going for a week as I've only £40 left in my food budget and we've at least 4 meals worth of freezer supplies not counting the beef joint (next weekends delight). Plus, today's roast ham should last 3 meals.

Right, better get this ham boiling. I use Gary Rhodes for baking ham (which is pretty much this recipe) as it turns out perfectly every time!

DSL :j

enthusiasticsaver

Well done on keeping in budget for Xmas presents. So much talk on here about Xmas and I have not bought one present yet. We only buy for immediate family though now so I just have 8 people to buy for. We decided among friends no more pressies just more regular meals out together and my sister and I decided last year not to do presents for each other or our families. Just OH, 2 DDS, SIL and DGD and my brother and mum and step dad. None of OHs family do presents now as too many of them.

DrSpendLittle

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Well done on keeping in budget for Xmas presents. So much talk on here about Xmas and I have not bought one present yet. We only buy for immediate family though now so I just have 8 people to buy for. We decided among friends no more pressies just more regular meals out together and my sister and I decided last year not to do presents for each other or our families. Just OH, 2 DDS, SIL and DGD and my brother and mum and step dad. None of OHs family do presents now as too many of them.

Hi Enthusiastic,

Thanks! These past two months I've really enjoyed saving up for the 'big birthday' presents I purchased. Its amazing how good guilt-free shopping feels (not in the pleasure way, just the contentment way) knowing I am gifting someone a present that has been bought with my own money that I have saved especially for. I think, in a few years time when I'm debt free and emergency funded up to the hilt, I'll really enjoy guilt free 'giving' - I can see why Dave Ramsey its always banging on about it.

Waffling, sorry! My point is that I enjoyed the pressie buying so much so that I ended up deciding to do some early xmas shopping! I already had my lists done so the double points weekend at JL was the deciding factor. I didn't want the stress hedging my bets and leaving it late in the hope of black friday / pre xmas sales so decided to go for it this weekend!

I'm spreading out the remaining pressie purchasing cots between November and December, in between my new tooth and a new boiler! :eek:

I only buy for immediate family too (6 people) and DF. My siblings and I decided a while ago not to buy for one another. We have a generally agreed budget and tend to stick to it. DF and I tend to spend £150 max on pressies for each other. We know people who spend £400 - £500 on each other and think its sheer madness!!! We'd much rather spend our money on experiences (summer holidays etc) than things for one another.

Not long till retirement now for you! How exciting! :T

enthusiasticsaver

It is always good to have a plan and yes there is satisfaction in budgeting well and sticking to it. We have loosely followed Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps although I had never heard of him when we started our road to financial independence so think his advice is spot on. Overpaying into pensions, saving emergency funds and for large items, avoiding debt, saving for uni fees for our DDs and overpaying our mortgage are the reason we are able to retire early along with some generous gifts from my mum. We are paying these on to our DDs and have a great deal of satisfaction from that far more than buying things would give us. Holidays of course and experiences, nights out with friends etc we enjoy within our budget.

Exactly 2 months now left of my working life so am very excited. This year has been harder than I thought it would be as my DH retired last year so it has been tough working (albeit part time) when he has been able to choose what he wants to do. I thought it best to give him a year to wind down though before I go as he worked long hours and travelled lots for his job so easing into retirement gradually seemed the best way. We are very lucky to have knocked 8 years off our retirement dates by following Dave Ramsey's advice.