NST December: Debt Destruction December

laurenh1

Me too please- LOVE the food bank challengenge:)

bizzie

Can I join in please. November was a blur / write off on many fronts but a new month tomorrow so onwards....
Will be back to update.

clippy_girl

I would like to join please!

Kerry woman glad to hear your mum is back home, hope it went smoothly

DancingDragons

Exterminate - Bargain Hunting Websites. (not MSE As I don't use it for that as such) But deal sites? I can spend all my spare time on at this time of year. I don't need anything, Santa's sorted.
Remember - Foodbank was at MR T's last night handing out a shopping list. Stuck the list to fridge door will top up with thing from Aldi and make it go much further.

Fmess

I have had a more relaxed attitude to money saving over the last 12 months. I think I was a little exhausted after 3 years of constant money scrimping to try and clear by debt and the ending of my long term relationship in the process. Over the past year, I have had a new roof, soffits and fascias, had a new cloakroom installed, had three new windows, had a bedroom turned into a bathroom so that I have an upstairs bathroom and a long dreamt of bath and just bought a new to me car. So I am in debt again, but I have a much larger personal income due to three promotions and a pay rise, so I can and will do this.

Exterminate I have got into a bad habit of not walking my dogs enough on weekdays They get walked once a day by the dog walker and go running at the park with her but I need to make the effort to always take at least the youngest one out at night. I am going to try and come home from school earlier (where possible) and walk them when its not picth black, and then continue working at home later in the evening.

Budget
Human food = £120
Animal food = £170 (I have bought January's dog food too as the company closes down over Christmas)
Petrol = £80 (may need more due to driving to Christmas events and visiting relatives but unsure with my new car)
Personal = £350 - 6 Christmas meals and 3 beauty treatments

Remember We are doing the reverse advent calendar at school so I will put in to this.

dolly84

Morning all.

My budgets for December are

Petrol/Diesel £83.01/£115
Food £70.06/£330
Entertainment £0/£100

My month starts on the 26th so we have already done 1 grocery shop and filled both cars up. We have quite a high entertainment budget but we never actually spend it all plus it is used for all the unexpected bits we might need.

I will try to count NSD but I don't really follow that as such, as long as I stay within all my budgets I'm not too fussed.

We have DD's birthday this weekend, all presents are bought and wrapped, she got her main present in August, a new phone, which is half birthday and half Christmas. We are going to the cinema tomorrow (I hate how expensive this is now but we rarely go), we booked online to see Paddington as it is quite busy and I didn't want to get there and be disappointed, then we are having a takeaway for supper later.

Today I need to buy dog food, clean the floors and upstairs of the house ready for the weekend, ride my bike (it is blimming freezing with a biting wind), I did plan to go first thing but it was icy and we live in a hilly part of the country and I didn't fancy losing traction on a hill with cleats on. I need to post an ebay parcel, walk the dog, drink excessive amounts of coffee, write a letter to school for DD and put some washing on.

BadBookkeeper

Happy December Turtles


#19 Checking in Day 1


Debt Plan - I have calculated that if I pay £250 per month towards my debt I will clear it 5 years time :0!! Just in time for when our remortgage is due so if its clear by then at least we should get better deals as my credit rating, outgoings etc will all be better. With interest rates set to rise this is my LBM. My DFD should be 1/12/22. I am hoping for sooner..... All budgets prepared and need to scrape a bit off here and there to make them work. Aiming for 15 NSDs. Not one today as had to post an item and order photos online.
Exterminate - 10 days without F@cebook! I'm put a post on fb last night saying that I'm not going to be on FB for 10 days and to message me if need to tell me or show me something. I should save around 1-2 hrs per night. I am going to use this time to watch Christmas dvds and play games with my DS and have conversations with my DH!
Clear up - 1 item a day. I think I can easily achieve this. I have some clothes ready for the next charity bag.
Explore - Love this one! There are a few places nearby that I have never been. I live in North Wales and went up Snowdon on the train with my Grandparents as a child but not since. Will aim to do this next year with my family. However for December there are a few places I can think of for a nice walk.
Mental Health - My DS was soooo excited its December this morning even wishing people a Happy Christmas on our walk to school. Made me feel extremely happy. Feeling on top of the preparations which is definitely helping. Not a good nights sleep as DS came in at 3am but feel ok.
Budget - I have a list of everything I think I need and how much it should be or I'm willing to pay. I'm hoping I have over budgeted on most things. I only have one Christmas night out with friends so I am not cancelling it however I am not buying anything new to wear. My grocery budget is going to be weekly
Evaluate - Thankful that in 2017 we managed to decorate our lounge and dining room and overhauled our garden (still needs finishing but the end is near and money is there to cover the last bits)! Aim to go up Snowdon, lose 1 more stone, teach my DS to tie his shoe laces, reduce my OD by at least £300, save up £400 for Christmas 2018. Also need to ask my employer for a payrise/more responsibility or find a new job.
Remember - I will give at least £5 to charity through various means and will donate food items everytime I do a food shop checking first to see what the foodbank desperately needs.


December Budgets:
DS party things left to get - £50
DS Birthday presents left to get - £15 (blooming fingerlings)!
Xmas Bits & Bobs - £229
Usually Monthly Spends (photos, DS haircut, night out, avon, etc) - £99.50
Fuel - £15 per week
Groceries £50 7th , £60 14th, £140 21st, £70 28th

Florence_J

Debt destruction: My debt free date will hopefully be my 30th Birthday, that's what I am channelling all my energies into. Unfortunately due to being out of work for about 6 weeks (and having no savings) and it being Christmas I am likely to borrow more money from my OH so I will probably get into debt this month. It will be 0% interest and non bank debt, but it will still be debt. I had a few more expenses this month then planned, I had to pay for my DS Check, I have changed energy suppliers which means I will temporarily pay 2 energy bills, so a lot was going against me but all presents for my family have been bought, just OH's family to go (his family is 3 people whereas I have more than that in siblings alone).

Exterminate one bad habit from your life for the first 10 days. Well, I think I have been doing a bit of differing today because I am waiting for a parcel to arrive so I haven't really settled down to a good task, but I have done 2 wash loads and the ironing.

Clear up, clean up and take control. Ooooh, this sounds good. I have sort of started making space for future incoming items, but it was more re-arranging then decluttering.

Explore your local area – I do love a winter walk, I know a house about a mile away that always decorates for Christmas so I will go look at that one evening.

Mental health. I am aiming to go on the exercise bike 4 times a week. It's exercise I can do in the warm, the comfort of my own home, and in front of the TV so there are no excuses.

Budget EVERYTHING before you start the month. It's not that I haven't or won't do this, but as I at this moment still have no income, it is hard to plan around this. I will obviously keep costs to a minimum.

Evaluate the year you have had: In all honesty this was one of the toughest years I have had that didn't involve a death or an alcoholic parent. But I cleared my overdraft for the first time since I opened the account in 2008, I cleared a credit card in full, I paid back over £3000 of debt, and I wombled over £2000. I finally got help for my mental health. Next year I hope to be on target for paying off my debt by my 30th birthday in 2019, I hope to pay back whatever I borrow from OH this month, I hope to lose a good amount of weight, I hope to publish an e book and I hope to run a half marathon.

Remember that this is a difficult time for many. I am volunteering with my local food bank tomorrow and have been doing an unofficial 'reverse advent calendar' and have a big bag of stuff to take which I am a little unsure of how I am going to get on the bus.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

clippy_girl

Morning all :j

So have been giving some thought to paying debt off. was debt free but then bought new kitchen and also had new boiler and pipes and work done to bathroom. came to around 9000 ish (pound sign stopped working!).

My debt is currently 9050 which means i haven't paid any off. i have paid stuff but keep adding more to it (its on 2 0% cards). mainly my v expensive over budget holiday to usa last aug :mad::o

Balances are
5138.28
3710.30 (soon to be up to 400 more once i get new cambelt).

to clear it, it will be around
18.5 months at 500
15.5 months at 600

I'm going to try and clear card 1 when the 0% ends in Sept which will be 571 per month. this is a bit of a stretch :A

i rent my spare room on airbnb and generally earn around 500 per month. however i keep dipping into this when i run out of money from my wages (despite having very generous budgets).

i have opened a new savings account and have now got my airbnb money to be paid in there. have set both cards up as a payee. i need to ensure i use all airbnb money for paying off the cards.

i will then need to plan better using my salary and when its gone, its gone! once i can stick to it i will look to trim it down and use that for a small emergency fund. will be using notebook all month for recording spends :cool:

I have done my budget for dec and will be-
food- 60 (have already got protein shakes in so this is mainly lunches and airbnb stuff)
entertainment- 150
xmas- finished xmas shopping but cooking xmas dinner for a few friends next week instead of buying pressies. will be about 30 i think as frozen turkey is 16 just need veg, pig in blankets and pudding.

have a good day all :beer:

f0xh0les

Debt destruction:
My only debt is the mortgage, which I am knocking 5 years off when remortgaging in Feb. Currently £108,800. Overpayments are on hold while saving for plastering, new bathroom shower and flooring. I go wildly from overpaying to manic scrimping to pay for another job to be done. I don't want to put it on credit and just have it done, as I would pay it off too quickly and leave the family short. I am really debt averse as DH lived in his overdraft for YEARS. His parents paid it off twice, and I paid it off twice, but he was cosy in it. It is gone now, and has been for nearly 2 years.

Exterminate one bad habit from your life for the first 10 days.
F4cebook - I am not bothered about people showing their 3 trees and how many bulbs they have stuck all over themselves, or the pile of presents under the tree.

Clear up, clean up and take control.
Will make a real effort to have the whole house clean every day. Not at the same time perhaps, but all beds made, all floors clear, and washing up done after every meal. Kitchen table cleared too! If I don't do it, nobody will. So there is really no excuse for me not getting on with it. It bothers me, so I should sort it. I am in control of my environment. I have a diary for next year that is filling up fast with kid stuff. Need a wall calendar too,

Explore your local area – What a brilliant idea. I have lived here for nearly 2 years now and still have not made it to the local nature reserve, or half the parks nearby.
I will stop going to the usual ones and head out in a different direction.


Mental health. Not a problem, I am much more likely to be miserable in summer. I can only change myself, not other people. They do not get to live rent free inside my head. I cannot change the relationships other people have with their families. I must not try and be the peacemaker between people who do not have the sense to value me. If I want to see people enjoying their family and being close and caring, I can put on a film from the Christmas channel, it runs nearly 24/7 for over a month.
As Father Ted (I think) said, Fantasy on the inside, reality on the outside, Dougal.

Or it might have been big/close, small / further away.

Either or.

Budget EVERYTHING before you start the month.
This one is difficult as I have a service and MOT the week before xmas and it can either be virtually nothing or practically everything. Last year was awful, so might be due a kind one this time. Trying a new garage as I think I may be being taken for a mug. Also DS4 will be 8 on Christmas Eve Eve and I do not have his ransom demand yet. Will probably involve a surprise trip to see Paddington and a hot choc in town too, just cos it is so close to Xmas I try to give him a special 'event' rather than just a 'thing'. No lists from the other 3 either. Just after Xmas is insurance for 2 cars. Need to keep some back for that.


Evaluate the year you have had: Paid lots off the mortgage, got double glazing and went to Ireland x2 and short holidays at the seaside and in Cheddar exploring caves and looking at bats. Making memories with the kids. They remember going to places, not how long you stayed there. Kept debt free.

Remember that this is a difficult time for many. - Will try.

Right, these cakes for the school fair won't walk themselves to school.
Enjoy the 1st day of December, and keep warm cos it is blimmin' freezing.