Time to turn this around

FiscalPickle

Drawingaline wrote: »

I want to do more walking. Especially as a family. No one else is keen :rotfl:

Would bribery in the form of chocolate get them out there? If you hid choccy eggs out and about in the semi-wilderness for an Easter egg hunt maybe you would have some willing participants :rotfl:

FiscalPickle

My payslip arrived today ahead of Friday, must keep hold of it so I can complete my tax return online as soon as it's available.

I have worked out a budget for April factoring in the unexpected creep into the overdraft, I've reduced the entertainment budget accordingly as I've planned MSE friendly activities during annual leave. I still need a haircut every month, the growing-out has had to be abandoned due to me being unable to get past the scruffy phase. Any tips for gracefully growing out a pixie cut gladly received. I pay £25 now as opposed to £60, as I just have a dry cut rather than a cut, colour and blow-dry.

The allocation to the credit cards this month is £375, I'll pay the minimums on pay day but most will be held back until 21 April when the interest bearing balance will kick in. It's encouraging to see the debt come down, by this time next year I'll be well on the way to clearing the HSBC loan. I'm so very glad I chopped up my cards and tackled this head-on, I dread to think where I'd be now if I hadn't.

FiscalPickle

March pay has gone in, April's spending is all accounted for in the spreadsheet and the savings pots and joint account have been topped up. Loan payments are due out on Monday and I'll pay the CC minimums either then as well or over the weekend.

It's been so encouraging to see how quickly my CC pot has built up, it's really given me a taste for saving. I'll be glad to pay it to the MBNA in a few weeks though, as it sits temptingly in an easily accessed savings account. Although the temptation has been fleeting; if I'd had that kind of money within easy reach a year ago I would have splurged it on something unnecessary. Paying down debt is becoming addictive.

Total debt paid off since LBM is £3,437.33, which represents just over 15% of the grand total :T

(I will update this figure in 3 weeks to reflect the chunk to be paid off MBNA)

Drawingaline

How are you getting on fiscalpickle?

FiscalPickle

Sorry for being AWOL for a few weeks, these last weeks haven't been the greatest on the MSE or anything else front. I had to use most of the MBNA fund on urgent dental treatment, which basically wiped out that pot. I don't have Denplan or anything like that, until recently I've only ever needed a twice yearly exam and clean and the very occasional filling. I've recently had 2 root canals at a specialist dentist, then had to go back to my own dentist for a crown. All in all, not cheap.

Also, my mum hasn't been well, one of the reasons I took some leave from work was to spend time with her and encourage her to get some medical help. Her memory has been deteriorating for the last 6 months, along with her speech patterns and ability to hold a conversation. Conditions such as Parkinsons and a mild stroke have been ruled out, unfortunately now it is appears that she is in the early stages of dementia. We are still waiting for an official diagnosis, but that is the most likely cause at the moment. Worrying about my debts and financial situation seems really petty now, but it does still need sorting.

So the plan now is to get a balance transfer for the £1174 chunk of MBNA, with a 2% fee this will add around £23 to the debt, I can live with that under the circumstances. Carry on chucking money at the MBNA, then the Virgin, etc etc. The DFD may be put back a month thanks to the dental setback. To make a bit of extra cash I'm going to start eBaying again and dig out some old jewellery, as the prices of scrap gold and silver aren't bad at the moment.

FiscalPickle

My goal now is to get back on track with my diary and debt-busting. I was reading on another diary that if possible, move all CC debt onto one 0% BT card, so just one payment and the balance goes down quicker. This makes sense for me to do, so I've just done a balance transfer of the bulk of the MBNA to Virgin one a 1 year deal for a 2% fee. This will motivate me more because MBNA will be completely paid off and cancelled by the end of this month. Then I'm aiming to get Virgin paid off before the deal expires, I like having a deadline to beat. I was toying with the idea of saving to pay off the HSBC loan earlier, but with no EF that seems dangerous given that my last pot went on dental bills.

Payday is on Wednesday, once I've got back into the habit of chucking a pile at the debt each month as soon as I'm paid it will feel normal again. Really looking forward to paying the last of the MBNA, I feel like I'm streamlining the debt and giving myself more focus. I had to order a new card to do the BT, that has immediately been cut up and binned!

FiscalPickle

The MBNA has been paid off, so nice to just have the one credit card to fling money at.

The debts now stand at:-
HSBC loan £6679.68
Joint loan £268.43
Virgin CC £6229
Car loan settlement figure as at today would be £4,077

The car loan is a low monthly payment, but I could maybe save more interest if this one is paid earlier than planned - food for thought. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.

Cherryfudge

I'm sorry you are having such a tough time. Especially hope things look up for your Mum. If it is dementia, there is good advice on the Alzheimers website (applicable to other types of dementia as well as Alzheimers).

It must be a good feeling to have the Cc debt in one place and at 0% too!

FiscalPickle

The percentage of debt paid since my LBM on 01/12/17 is 18%

I had hoped it would be more, but there have been some setbacks and the debt has not increased. A year ago, I would have chucked the dental bills onto a CC along with other things to 'cheer myself up'.

This year, I had funds to pay for it outright, although they were meant to pay a CC I'm pleased that I was able to keep going in the right direction. All payments have been made from my April pay packet,

Something I've been putting off is a chat about money generally with Mr P. We are both closed books with each other when it comes to our financial situations, which can't carry on if we're to buy a home together. I will find some time over the long weekend to broach the subject.

FiscalPickle

The money chat didn't happen over the long weekend, Mr P has had a stressful time of late, particularly with his daughter, I didn't want to add to his worries.

We have decided to go away for Christmas this year, the £80 I save for Christmas and birthdays will cover the cost, along with birthday gifts and a dramatically pared down Christmas gift budget. We're staying in a hotel for 3 days, then with my brother. The thought of not having to do food shopping or clearing up is pure heaven, I'm very excited.

On the weight loss front, I binned Weight Watchers off quite a few weeks ago when I started to gain weight :eek:
Their new Flex plan just isn't for me, I find it very restrictive and boring. At £21 a month, I wasn't impressed. I'm going to try a new approach for me, any snacks I have must be a fruit or vegetable and I'm going to try new fermented and probiotic foods. Things like home made kefir and shop bought sauerkraut are supposedly very good for gut health, I have a feeling my poor gut could do with a rest. I'm back to my January weight, which is slightly depressing but WW did make me go on a slightly mad binge.