Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Well I think you did well not to get suckered into a flexiloan, Blackcats. I first took mine out when I went to the bank to ask for an increased overdraft. They suggested I had a flexiloan instead. It initially had a maximum amount of £500. You only had to be approved that one time, then you just borrowed from your flexiloan account when you wanted to & a dd payment for a small amount (plus ppi) was taken each month a bit like paying off a credit card. I don't think I ever got mine cleared. I just constantly borrowed up to the limit again. Never saw it as the bank's money, always as my income. Anyway, several spendy years go by & several factors conflated to produce a bit of a cash flow crisis. Yes, it was mostly self-inflicted, compounded by a problem with my mortgage account which I'd have spotted much earlier if I'd bothered reading their letters. So there I sat at the bank discussing options & the advice was that I already had the solution..... my trusty old flexiloan! All I needed to do was get the maximum amount increased & we agreed on £1500 (still with the same very small monthly payment). So I instantly actioned a transfer to get my current account back within its overdraft limit. When a little bit had been paid off, I re-borrowed it again.... & again. It only had to be sanctioned just that first time, you see. I thought it was the most wonderful product & recommended it to some of my friends..... none of whom were tempted to enter Flexiloan Land. Funny that.....
After the LBM, my first target was to pay off my everlasting overdraft so that in future ALL my monthly salary would be mine, & that made budgeting much easier. But 2nd on the hitlist was that damned Flexiloan. I kept overpaying it & when it had gone, I closed it. Ha!! Not so flexible now, Mr Loan! I didn't think of it again until it occurred to me I should put in a PPI claim, which was successful, I'm pleased to say.
So Blackcats m'dear, I think you were well out of those! Can't believe I used to think they were such a thoroughly marvellous problem-solving invention. It was just another means by which I could spend considerably more than I earned.
That kind of turned into a Debtisode, didn't it?
F x

HairyHandofDartmoor

I hope your holly tree stays vertical and your building quote comes soon. I'm like you, once I decide to do something I like to get it done immedietely 🤣.

You've had a very productive day. How did you ever find time to go to work? 😂

moving_forward

You've had a very productive day. How did you ever find time to go to work? 😂

I was just wondering the very same thing myself - I am also giving myself a good kick up the bum as if I'd paid better attention to my finances maybe I could not have to work full time. But no need grumbling about past me all the time while present me is still being a spendy so and so. You need to dole out big L plates for the students of the foxgloves school of budgeting foxgloves.

foxgloves

HHoD - The holly tree is still hanging on. I hope it can continue to do so until next week when it is being removed anyway  - this tree is a bit of a saga, like most things here. Getting quite blowy again here now. I really am ready for a weekend without storms......or at least where if it is raining, it is at least possible to use at umbrella!
F x

foxgloves

Moving_forward - Yes, you're right, you can't change your past spendy behaviour & neither can I, but you can do something about it now. You have a choice right up until the moment you hand over the money at the till (or click to confirm if it's online) so before whatever it is even gets to the till, ask yourself if you wouldn't really just rather have the money. It isn't a choice between buying a nice thing & going without the nice thing. It's really a choice between buying the nice thing......or keeping the money. These days, I find I would often rather keep the money.
F x

foxgloves

Greetings Diary Readers,
Well I could tell you that it is starting to blow up a bit of a hoolie here again, or that I've cleaned the entire house this morning or that I've baked the sourdough loaf I mixed up yesterday or that I've finished the meal plans & written tomorrow's grocery shopping list..........but I'm not going to tell you about any of those boring old things because (insert small fanfare from assorted brass players here, please.......), the builder's quote has arrived!! 
I have got back to him to amend a couple of things & have received the cost for those. I've also added on the VAT & had a conflab with Mr F over the phone while he was on his lunch break. And I've booked the work in for the summer.
The upshot of it all cost-wise is that it has come in at about £20K LESS than my best guess (which to be honest was based on fear & trepidation rather than any actual knowledge of any aspect of the building industry) so we are really pleased with that & so glad we can go ahead with it. It isn't stuff we're having done to gussy up the house, it is all very much necessary - part of it to sort out a damp wall - & other things which will get aspects of our house into better order. 
Now, I don't intend to go too mad just because I'd overestimated how much we might need to spend. We will need some unrelated electrical work doing, a professional paint & decorate of the stairwell (the only bit we can't do properly ourselves) plus some new flooring & carpet and either a woodburner or a new gas fire, so there is going to be no silly spending just because we feel like we've got a bit of spare money. I dread to think what the old Spendy Me would have got up to this weekend........unspent money used to sear a hole in my pocket & that little tinny voice would be in my ear going 'Spend me, s...p...e....n...d......m...e....you know you want to' & that would have been me off to the city centre buying an armful of tops that turned out not to go with anything & a bag of M&S food because I fancied something other than all the food I'd already got in.
But those days are gone. I am going to spend the weekend feeling very thankful that the quote was for a lot less than I thought & just getting on with all the stuff we'd already got planned - that's if it isn't wazzing down with rain for the third weekend in a row, of course.
Well, I've done all that cleaning, so a lovely bubbly bath beckons. 
Stay cosy all,
F xx

moving_forward

Full of sound advice as ever Foxgloves x
Regarding the stove choice: BBC news site has and article that coal and "wet" wood sales are to be stopped soon so gas maybe your better option.
Glad your quote is so much better than your nightmares!

Dottles1

Great news about the quote Foxgloves, It's not often they go in that direction.  What a relief though that you will have money left for the future.

Tescodealqueen

Really great news on the quote. I think reading your diary is getting to me. We don't often have takeaway, usually on my December birthday as a treat because I can't bear to go out and pay a fortune on a turkey dinner (the main option that time of year) we can make much better at home but I have been craving a spring roll from the Chinese all week....
Nearly gave in last night but had a good talking to myself and enjoyed the pasta bake in the meal plan insteadl!I
We do enjoy our holidays and plan to see more of the world so that money is much better put in the travelling pot!

crazy_cat_lady

That's brilliant news foxgloves  
Always good when it's less than you expect... and very well restrained with not going mad with the rest of it as well.