I am being upgraded from Mum to Nan - I need a plan!

mark55man

that's good that you got the option for a BT for BC until 2020 - it helps to give you another planning option - although my BC options have seemed to have short decisoin periods, you can't just put it in your pocket for months.

at £24 for each £1K is the flexibility it buys worth it for you in terms of juggling the other debts. only you can judge that, but its nice to know you are still seen as a good risk

does it matter that transferring from H to BC puts more eggs in their one basket - well I don't think so, and if spending £60 clears it off you plate for 2 years its not that much in the grand scheme of things especially if other debts have even low interest rates


good luck and keep working the options until you find one that works for you

enthusiasticsaver

I think it is tricky trying to guess whether you will get a good deal when you need one. Moving the Halifax 1 now will cost you around £60 but it means you can concentrate on Barclaycard 2 assuming Barclaycard 1 will be paid off by August. Similarly you may find a better deal with maybe a 0 fee later on in the year.

Mum2Nan

Was awoken super early by Hardy and his wet nose. He was obviously hungry.

It's been another glorious day here and have been for a walk taking in the lake. The swans looked so graceful and their cygnets are off the scale in cuteness. I sat watching them for a good hour.

The 0% offer from BC online was confirmed by snail mail this morning. This is the first time I have ever received this offer from BC. Previously, it's always been typically a year at 2.9% BT fee so know what you mean Mark88. I checked my credit report and opened this account in October 2014. Enthusiastic, thanks for your input. I am in such a quandary with knowing what to do for the best.

1. Do nothing
2. Pay off Halifax 1 and continue making payments to Halifax 2 and 3. Am confident Halifax 2 will be paid off in November
3. Pay off Halifax 1 and 2 leaving me to pay minimum plus a bit more to Halifax 3 and concentrate on BC 1 and 2.
4. Pay the whole Halifax debt now (bar a small amount to keep the account open) to concentrate on BC2. 1 will be paid by 1 August

It's unlikely to be option 1 as I have already increased my limit by £3K (confirming I am still a good risk Mark88) so options 2 - 4 are available. I am certain that BC3 will need to be transferred as I just won't make any impact on that due to the expiry date so close to BC2.

Decisions, decisions but doesn't have to be made until the end of the month. Numbers and dates are whirling around in my mind. I am pleased I am taking a much more cautious approach to how I handle money matters compared to this time last year but it's taking over my life in the short term because the overall plan is, despite the 2020 end deal, I want as much of the debt gone by the end of next year to drop down to a 4 day week.

I'm having a relatively lazy and relaxed afternoon / evening so far with L&H who can't seem to sit still for any length of time. One load of washing is on the airer. Other things that need to be done this weekend:

Floors swept / hoovered / mopped
Sandwiches for work next week. Fillings will be corned beef, liver sausage, cheese & pickle, all freezable
Meal plan

Lots of positives from last month I intend to continue into this month:

Lunches for work & meal planning have been the biggest contributors towards not overspending or wasting money, time or food.

Sticking to a budget. This was fairly easy in the grocery and cats' budgets as I had so much to start out with. This probably won't be quite so easy this month as I start running out of things (smoked haddock, boo) so might be more of a challenge. We shall see, have a determined head on.

Shopping with a list to avoid duplication

Keeping cupboards organised (they are still looking like a scene out of Sleeping with the Enemy)

I am so grateful for my flicker of a LMB back in December. I think it's fully switched on now.

I need to update the loan amount to take into account interest which was £19.74. No overpayment this month (another boo).

Mum2Nan

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last posted on here but it's been a hectic week one way or another, mostly to do with work but...

I am continuing with lunches and meal planning. Prawns are down to one bag so progress is being made.

My credit card closed yesterday which meant the start of another new month for me.

Totals for last month:
Grocery shopping: £73.79 / £225 (SoA)
Cats: £11.50 / £45
Fuel: £30 / £50 (good that I've saved but feel sad as it means I haven't seen as much of my parents as I would like)
Entertainment: £19.51 / £35
Miscellaneous: £35.99 + £25 Nectar points
Health & Beauty: £18.49 + £4.98 Boots points
Presents: £30

I didn't feel like going shopping this evening having worked late 3 nights this week and was out last night socially and due to that have already blown this month's budget (£34.65 / £35 :eek: )

Will transfer 50% of the grocery savings to Halifax 2 and the balance towards my family trip next month.

The savings from the cats' budget last month is going to have to pay for the lack of funds in my entertainment budget this month.

Mum2Nan

Not having a very good week so far. I haven't been sleeping too well for the last few days. Up until last week I could have been forgiven for thinking there was only one 4 o'clock per day.

Apart from the fact I have had to 'steal' the cats' leftover pot from last month to add to my brought forward entertainment budget last month because I blew my new month's entertainment budget last Thursday (this was not how I envisaged my budgets working), I felt sickly hungry when I arrived at work yesterday morning and despite trying to ignore it, gave in and bought breakfast for £3.60 :eek: and today I left my lunch at home so another £5 on lunch :eek: - let's call it £4.90 as I found 10p on the floor on the way from the train station The rest of the week will be much better (I hope!).

As I didn't want to be the killjoy of the team, stuck £2 in for the world cup sweepstake. I don't even like football that much but this is the new me, living dangerously!

In MSE news, I have now transferred £88.10 from last month's left over grocery shopping budget to Halifax 2 so need to adjust my signature. The other 50% is going towards my family trip next month.

I am really enjoying our weather. It's gone 9pm and it's still quite warm and the birds are still singing.

beanielou

Nothing worse than not sleeping properly.
Hope that tonight is better for you

Mum2Nan

Awake and up again before 5 am so feeling very tired tonight. I took advantage of this by having breakfast before I left for work and remembered to take lunch. Can't afford any more expensive breakfasts and lunches.

I received an e-mail from PayPal reminding me I have money in my account (from my 2 eBay sales last week). I hadn't forgotten it was there but tonight it's been transferred to H2.

Had to get fuel tonight so spent £15 to get me by. It's very expensive again at £1.30 a litre in the BP garage. Will fill the tank up when I am next at Sainsbury's as it's much cheaper there. It will probably be this weekend as I am running out of the usual fresh fruit and veg.

I've got another 2 really busy days at work so will be pleased when Friday early evening arrives.

thegirlinthegreenscarf

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Organisation, meal planning and shopping lists are the answer to your overstocking and high grocery bills. Maybe check household stuff one a fortnight so you don't splurge on offers when you already have loads.
QUOTE]


Please please please can you share your meal planning tips with me?
This is an area I really struggle.


Thanks

thegirlinthegreenscarf

Mum2Nan wrote: »

I have been a busy bee this afternoon.


With regards to Netflix, I thought the renewal date was the day after the GG mobile which would have been May 10 but it actually went out yesterday. This is my only entertainment at home as I am not connected to live TV so feel I have been given a month’s grace to think about this. It’s only £7.99, less than £100 a year. I do accept the ‘onlys’ add up though. I have made a note in my diary in advance of next month to review.

I have worked out I can drop one appointment at the chiropodist over the winter months by going quarterly rather than bi-monthly so will save £38 there.

If anyone can see any flaws in my plans or think I could do better I would welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Netflix do vouchers. You could always ask for netflix vouchers as a gift - maybe in exchange for babysitting (£8 or £9/month?)

Mum2Nan

thegirlinthegreenscarf wrote: »

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Organisation, meal planning and shopping lists are the answer to your overstocking and high grocery bills. Maybe check household stuff one a fortnight so you don't splurge on offers when you already have loads.
QUOTE]


Please please please can you share your meal planning tips with me?
This is an area I really struggle.


Thanks

Hi Thegirlinthescreenscarf

I am no expert but I took Enthusiastic's advice on the following:

Check what you have in before buying items you already have

Meal plan, batch cook and cook from scratch. I have been doing this at the weekends to save wasting food, time and money and I am doing it again tomorrow.

You can also add to Google whatever you have in and it will come up with suggestions.

Hopefully, someone else will be able to add to my suggestions.