Say No to Credit Cards Diary

Say_No_to_Credit_Cards

Scott-Weiland wrote: »

Hope you used topcashback if you used moonpig 12.5 percent at the minute

HI Scott, I sure did. I always use Topcash or Quidco when I buy anything on line. My total is not going up very much these days as I am not buying anything, but that is good.

How are you doing?

Say_No_to_Credit_Cards

Good morning guys

I did not get time to post yesterday as I was so busy with work, overtime, cooking and doing a lot of cleaning. I have decided this week I am going to try and clean all the work during the week, so to leave weekends free. Not sure if it will work or not.

This will leave my weekend free as I want to have a really good sort out in all the rooms to see what junk can go. Then the house will be all nice and decluttered which is great.

Tea for tonight all sorted. The food budget is going great. Last night I done gammon and instead of using two packets with two gammon steaks in each I used one pack and cut them in half. I find it quite strange but nobody noticed. So the other pack can be used for another meal.

Starting this diary has really changed the way I think about spending money and the way I use stuff in the house. I am into my seventh week of not using a Credit Card and I really do not intend using any because that is my new mindset.

This month I have to pay the car tax which I am going to get today from the car boot sale money, so that is an annual bill that is sorted.

My next annual bill is the tv license in July I think that is about £140. So at weekend I am going to ebay, ebay and ebay to make the £140 to cover the tv license.

September annual bill is the house insurance, that is usually about £160. So on to that next.

When I go into the town where we live I am going to go and buy some of those tins you cannot open and start budgeting for the annual bills next year so I don't have to worry about them again.

The key to this is organisation and I have decided I am going to be organised.

Roll on weekend when I have my next sort out. This sounds really sad but I am really looking forward to it.

Also at weekend I am going to an afternoon tea which should be really nice. It was a gift that somebody gave me months ago and I have never used it. So I got myself organised and found the voucher and rang and booked it. So that is Saturday afternoon taken care of and did not cost a penny.

Take care everybody and have a great day even though the weather is not as nice today, but I don't think we can complain.

enthusiasticsaver

You sound like you are really getting to grips with budgeting and brilliant you have the money waiting to pay car tax from all the extra money you earned through car boots. Great way of decluttering too.

Say_No_to_Credit_Cards

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

You sound like you are really getting to grips with budgeting and brilliant you have the money waiting to pay car tax from all the extra money you earned through car boots. Great way of decluttering too.

Hi enthusiasticsaver

Thank you for dropping by. Yes I feel like I am more focused than I have ever been..

It is strange but going to pay for the car tax made me start thinking about what annual bill will arrive next. It is really weird but when I mentioned it this morning I was thinking in advance. Well, when the postman came he delivered the tv licence reminder, isn't that weird it is £150.50 this year. So I have got a few weeks to generate the cash which is great for this year. However, I have decided when I get the budget 2019 tins up to now I am going to put:

£3 a week is going into the TV Licence fund,
£3 a week is going into the car tax fund.

As the annual bills come in I will start the next years tin ready for the 2019 bills. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Take care everybody

Gemsy81

You've given me some inspiration on the annual bills front....that's going to be my job for tomorrow I think, working out when/how with all of them!

enthusiasticsaver

Great idea on the annual bills. Insurance's, tv licence, car tax and mot/service and Xmas can all be budgeted for annually.

Say_No_to_Credit_Cards

Good morning everybody,

A sale on ebay yesterday with a profit of £45.40 after fees and postage, which is great. This is going to the TV Licence which is due next month costing £150.50.

Went and got a few of those tins yesterday so have marked up the TV licence one and the car tax one up to now. As the annual bills come in this year I am going to start a new tin for that. Think the next one will be house insurance.

So my plan is as soon as I have raised the TV Licence cash I will then start on the house insurance cost so I do not use those horrid cards. Over the weekend my job is to do a few comparisons on house insurance and also look at topcash and quidco and work out the best deal. This will also give me a figure of the cost of the house insurance so that I know what I am working with. I am hoping to do another car boot sale so I think that should cover the house insurance amount.

Once this is paid I am going to do another tin and put an amount in each week so that 2019 is covered.

WHY HAVE I NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE.

Tea for tonight all sorted again. I am only going shopping on Sunday this week as each week I have been pushing it back a day, so over seven weeks I actually loose a weeks shopping. That has been fine up to now, but will see how it goes.

Gemsy81 - Thank you so much for dropping by. I think the annual bills tins are a great idea. I purchased the ones that you cannot get into until you actual open them with a tin opener. That way I will not be tempted to use some of the cash in them. Just think this time next year when they come around again there will be no panic and no using those credit cards, it really has to be the way to go.

enthusiasticsaver - Once again thank you so much for dropping in. Your advice and help is always appreciated. You got me thinking about Christmas, I know, I know, I know. Yesterday I found a journal in a cupboard so I thought over the next week I am going to write a list of people that we buy for. Then I am going to see if I can use anything that is in the gifts given but do not really want box in the loft and of course the bottle cupboard. The people left over I am going to try and buy maybe two presents a month from now till December. I hate Christmas shopping in December as the shops are so busy, when I am out and about if I buy a present or two it will also stop me spending on myself. A win win situation.

Jobs for the weekend are:

Meal plan for next week
Ebay, Ebay and Ebay
Get the Washing and Ironing up to date
Insurance quotes for the house
Christmas list

Off to work so everybody have a great day

[Deleted User]

Well done, SNTCC! You're so organised, I love it!

I'm doing a sealed pot challenge for Christmas this year. I only started last month but am hoping to raise around £100 with it, which would cover my DS's gifts and will reduce the impact of Christmas.
I just throw any loose change I find lying around in it and am hoping it'll add up.

I'll try to pay for some things annually next year as well, it's such a good thing to do!

As for buying presents for people - are there any you can strike off the list? We have deals with our siblings that we only buy presents for our nieces and nephews and not each other. That's saved a bomb over the years! And we just do £20 token presents with our parents. We've totally binned off any presents with friends too. Christmas is expensive enough as it is. Most of our friends were really happy to do this as it took some cost off their Christmas list too.

GeorgianaCavendish

Hi SNTCC! Great diary, you've made a brilliant start
I've made a decent amount from TopCashBack thanks to insurance purchases, it is one of those things that I can't believe I didn't do earlier but I only found out about cashback sites from MSE. I've told so many of my friends about it that I've also managed to get a chunk of referral money

I'm also trying to save in advance for annual expenses like insurance. It feels so good to be in control of the process, rather than the nasty surprise of a renewal notification and having to reach for the credit card.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Great with the savings tins SayNo, once you've got this all sorted and the credit cards gone, you'll be able to save the money in virtual pots in the bank account rather than spending out on tins each year. Just check the tv licence though, it's the one thing I don't pay annually as I think you get a discount for paying by monthly direct debit (if that's not true though I will happily pay for it in one go and strike another monthly payment off the list. )