New here, starting on my debt free journey

Onebrokelady

Just wanted to pop in and say hi is your phone a decent one that you dont need to upgrade? If so you could get a sim only deal,I have an iPhone 6 and Ive just finished paying for it through my last contract and the contract has now ended so I went and got a sim only deal,I was paying £35 a month and Im now paying £9 so quite a saving,I only really use my phone for text messages so got unlimited texts plus i think 250 minutes which I will barely use,I do use the internet on it though so have 4GBs for when Im not near WiFi but tend to only use free WiFi when Im out and about,I also wanted to have my camera which Ive obviously still got ,if this phone breaks I will just have to buy a new cheap one

Onebrokelady

Oops forgot to say good luck with it all another thing Ive noticed is your tv deal is £55 you can definitively save money here and your home phone too, I am currently paying over the odds for my Virgin TV but Im about to ditch my TV package because I dont really watch it much,I do watch Netflix though so Im keeping that,Im going for a broadband/phone only deal and just having free view and Netflix for the tv and I think its saving me about £25 a month
I also work for the NHS and Im applying for a Blue Light Card to get discounts,I think it cost £5 but you would quickly make that back,Im not sure If it!s available nationwide though but if you look it up it should tell you
As for the other point you mentioned about other people seeming to manage the answer is yes some people do but if you look closely an awful lot of people are relying on credit to make ends meet or for treats, they look like they are managing on the money they earn but in reality are struggling too,I mentioned to a friend about my financial difficulties when I first realised I was in trouble and she admitted that she is in the same boat and owes roughly the same amount as me,the only difference between us is she has a husband and Im on my own,they have holidays every year and she goes off on spa weekends etc but she is relying on credit just like I was, Ive just woken up to the realisation that I cant carry on like this and she hasnt yet so try not to compare yourself to others because you never know how much credit they are using to find their lifestyle

Mumof31987

Onebrokelady - wow £9 is amazing!! I definately need a new phone as iv had it 24 months and it keeps turning off but i think i could definately lower my expectations on yhe type of phone. All i want is internet (i have 4gb right now -5 would be perfect) and also much more memory than i have no - memory is the main thing for me!

The tv package is sky and we honestly never watch it!!! We have a kodi stick and netflix which we watch and i also watch youtube wuite a bit. The only thing is we talk about getting rid of sky but it has the phoneline and internet all combined and we didnt see a much better deal when we looked before but we can look again!!

So when we moved in elec was a key thing that i take to the shop. I think it definately eats electric but at the same time i like paying it in cash and having no debt there.

We basically need a proper sit down and face the music really.

Today has been a no spend day. At daughters dancing there was a cake day but i managed to not buy. Then we were going to go to a big loxal park but instead me and daughter made pasta necklaces which took along time to paint and she really enjoyed. We watched a film and made cupcakes with things i had in the cupboards.
For dinner iv made hunters chicken for us and saudages, peas and mash for kids which was all just lying around needing used so im happy we didnt end up getting a takeaway for a pizza from sainsburys.

Todays spends - £0

Mumof31987

Also i really fancied a drink tonight after a busy week but nothing in the house and normally id nip to the shop for crisps, wine and treats but iv found 1 cider which will do me fine. Iv also managed to get overtime 7am-11am tomorrow and then a childrens party at 2-4pm followed bY MILS for dinner. Looks like it will be a no spends day again if i stick to plan. I have already bought the present a car race track for £5 and bathset for £1.

redofromstart

Just dropped in to say good luck with your diary and your journey.

Mumof31987

Thanks!!

I have looked through the last 5 months of my wages and i was payed -- £675 £733,£793,£ 646,£ 628. Before that i was on maternity leave but id save on average im getting £650 with any overtime added on. I also noticed there is alottttt of sainsburys shops i hadnt realised about. Between £10-£35 but sometimes there 3+ a week eek!!

savingholmes

Getting your husband on board would make a big difference by the sound of it.

We made a decision from day 1 that we fully shared all our income - at times that's meant I supported DH when he went back to college and at times he's supported me like that. It's swings and roundabouts. We aren't the best money managers in the world - but we see it as a joint problem - rather than me trying to sort it all by myself. We also "tart" our CC and everytime a 0% deal ends we move it even if it is into each other's names - based on who could get the best deal at the time. It takes a lot of trust - and we do try to keep the split reasonably even.

Mumof31987

Savingholmes i think that sounds a great idea. I think the easiest way would be to get another 0% account but im just a little scared to take another one out.

I asked OH if he wanted to go through it tonight but he said hed rather not do it a sat night. I know hes putting it off because it sometimes leads to arguments of where is the money going, how can i spend all the money he gives me and still struggle. I know he probably thinks i want more money.
Its not actually that i want more i just want to know where all the money is going and maybe we could change around where the direct debits are taken from . originally we set up a joint account with the plan of putting ALL DD from that account. We were lazy and didnt change the details with the companies and then we just carried on the way we were.

Mumof31987

Managed to get an extra hours overtime and today is double time so thats aleays good!
I was planning on a no spend day but i need to go get bread and il do a small shop to last until wednesday (payday) but will come in under £10 and il start fresh on wed.

Mumof31987

Spent £9.60 in aldi but got - apples, oranges, raisins, chicken, pizza, chips, 2 loaves of bread, chedders and brioche rolls so that will do all snacks, luch and tuesdays dinner so all sorted until payday.