Auf Weidhersehen Debt

Brookside88

redofromstart wrote: »

Its difficult, some people find it mentally easier to have all the debt in one place. Do you have the control to not develop new debts as a result of the relative freedom? Will it push the debt free date back by reducing monthly payments? What you often see on here is people consolidating like that and relaxing, which might be less stressful but it can lead to a creep in spending, etc.
I personally would stick with the cheapest route.

The trouble is, although I always plan to pay off 500 ish a month it's usually too much of a stretch and I then end up whacking a tank of fuel on one of the cards which then means I start to pay interest on it. I've got a card coming up to the end of the 0% rate and I'd need at least 6k credit on a new card to clear it which I don't think I'd get as I already have 3 cards on the go

Its a tricky one

redofromstart

I had to stop in the middle of posting, BT engineer arrived unannounced. So I pressed post rather than type it all again in a bit, so apologies it was rather abrupt.

I meant to go on and say that you need to do what feels right to you unless it is a massive increase in costs. Only you know if you have the discipline to get rid of the cards if you consolidate. Maybe keep one emergency one but close the others. And not a secured loan obviously. I'd see what the options are and work out the costs, being realistic about what you can and will pay.

Brookside88

Happy Sunday all.

I really am terrible at this diary lark! Must try harder.

Went to the bank yesterday which was stressful and also a waste of time! Stressful because OH is working this weekend and toddler is freshly potty trained so we have to be within 20 paces of a toilet at all times, we queued for 10 mins when he announced he needed a wee, hadn't moved forward in the queue so decided to nip to boots for him to wee (he didn't wee), started queuing again and almost got to the front and he's crying that he needs a wee again (!) so we waited and asked if there was a toilet (there wasn't) so she said she'd wait while we went off for a wee again. Back to boots... he didn't wee :mad: So we eventually go into the little room and clearly the girl is not well versed in this sort of thing. I asked about a consolidation loan but computer said no. Meanwhile toddler has used about 4gb of data watching thomas the tank engine on youtube. I'll not bother going next time

In other news, I'm lazy and haven't done any selling on fb or ebay. Surveys are going ok this month, up to £25.15 so far. I need to make £2.05 a day to hit £60 for the month.

Been PADing a bit this month too, my spreadsheet tells me how much I have left for the month and then divides that by how many days there are left before pay day so if I don't spend it, I'm paying it towards MBNA.

I'm also thinking of doing something visual like a chart where I can colour in a square for each £5 I pay off. Anyone do anything like that?

I've had decent asda vouchers for my last 2 shops. week before last my shopping came to £43 and to my surprise I got £3.29 back, and then it was £46 this week so I put my voucher towards it and still got another £2!

I hate to say it but I wish it would rain now, my garden is a mess, all brown and crispy, and my back is peeling which looks attractive

Finally got toddler to nap so just psyching myself up for another 4 hours of thomas the w*nk engine when he wakes up

Brookside88

Slow month. Surveys went ok, I got one for £10.82 last week which took almost 2 hours but it's better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick. It hasn't been approved yet however so that'll now go towards August's total.

July total was £51.81 and August to date is £19.75.

Just done my car tax for the next 6 months... £126.50 :eek::eek:
Cursing myself for buying a big fat dirty diesel now. And joy of joys, the engine malfunction light is back on AGAIN :mad: Taking it to the garage on Tuesday.

Paid £100 off MBNA CC yesterday - less than I wanted to but with the car tax and potential repair bill I'd rather wait until the end of the month and pay them whatever is left over. £70 going to Virgin, £25 to Tesco and £129 to Zopa this month too, just waiting for statements.

My mum has also booked a caravan for me, her and toddler for next weekend near Great Yarmouth. Shes paid for the accommodation so I feel it only right that I pay for fuel and food. £70 budgeted for that.

Garden looks better. My Cajun peppers are turning the most vibrant red. Padron peppers and scotch bonnets are doing well too. Tomatoes haven't started ripening yet though.

Until next time

Brookside88

Afternoon

Car is in the garage today, they called to let me know how much it'll be.... £469.08. I could literally cry. I've just totted up how much I've spent of the b*starding thing this year and it's £1,057.78 including today. I'd get rid of it but I've still got almost £4,800 left to pay on it. It's a zopa loan which strictly speaking I could pay off if I sold the car but that would leave me with naff all to replace it with another car and I want to avoid more finance if I can.

It couldn't come at a worse time because we're off to Great Yarmouth tomorrow which inevitably is going to be expensive.

So there we are, £470 back on the MBNA card. Gutted. I feel like I have the worst luck with cars. Maybe I'll leave the car at the seaside and bring a donkey back instead. Cheaper to run, better for the environment and definitely more reliable

Humph

redofromstart

Brookside88 wrote: »

Maybe I'll leave the car at the seaside and bring a donkey back instead. Cheaper to run, better for the environment and definitely more reliable

Free manure for the garden too! Hope you had a good break and that the car has behaved since.

Brookside88

oh lord it's been a while hasn't it! I'm really not very good at this :rotfl:

Still plodding along here. I got a promotion at work to Junior Merch which is an extra £5k a year (woop!) signed my new contract last week and although I can't move to my new role yet, they're paying me for it from the 1st Nov since it's not my fault I can't start yet. I also got an extra 3 days holiday for this year which gives me a bit of wiggle room for xmas.

I've subscribed to YNAB (free trial at the moment but I have budgeted to pay for it on the 16th as this is when my free trial ends) I am LOVING it. It appeals so much to my tendencies for perfection. and seeing the joint account as a big fat -£661 is pretty motivating to sort my life out! I'm definitely more aware of where our money goes and it certainly makes me think twice about whether I really need certain things. I've started pots for my car insurance next year and an emergency fund too. I've not used my overdraft on my current account for about 3 months now which is unheard of!

Had a bit of a wake up call when I joined the MSE credit club and realised that my personal debt is around £3k more than my annual income (the loan for the windows is included in that since it's in my name). It makes sense that I've not been eligible for any balance transfer cards now. I still have £8k (no balance) available on my barclaycard but they're not offering me any balance transfers which is annoying.

Total credit card and car debt now stands at £17,773 - pretty static for the last few months. Spend, pay off, spend, pay off. Hopefully now that i'm using YNAB, I'll be able to avoid using them going forwards

Happy Friday all - I'll try and update more frequently going forward