Saving for a new leg! 23 September 2018 at 8:29AM in Debt free diaries 7 replies 721 views

Tattycat6

I hope that title made you sit up!

Having lurked on the Debt Free Diaries Forum for several years now, I have decided to start my own diary. A little bit about me …

I have been a lower limb amputee for 40 years next year following a diagnosis of Osteosarcoma in 1979 (when I was 17 years old). My leg was amputated at the hip which is a very high amputation and consequently I have no residual leg at all.

After years of attending NHS Limb Centres and having had a number of NHS Legs (some good, some bad) - in 2015 I took out a £11,000 loan (plus my mother gave me £3,000) to purchase a £14,000 Private Leg. Although the loan is due to be paid off in July 2020, I am looking to purchase a second Private Leg as a new type of socket has come onto the market. The likely cost is probably around £16,000. So, my plan is to take out a new loan to pay off the original loan and purchase the second Private Leg. The more I can save to do this, the less loan I will need - hence the reason for starting a new diary.

I live with my partner who is retired. My daughter is 26 years old and lives in her own flat. I paid off my mortgage in 2016. I have several part-time jobs which pay me the equivalent of a full-time job.

I would class myself as ‘penny-wise, pound-foolish’ as I can live very frugally for a while (for example use the library rather than buy books) and then will spend lots of money at once. My main extravagances are clothes (particularly from White Stuff/Fat Face), underwear, books, magazines, toiletries and food.

I sell no longer wanted items on eBay, I always put them on at a low price and do not charge for p&p. I find this works for me as very rarely I do not sell an item. I also sell no longer wanted books on Amazon but I do not make much from this.

My aims are:-

Not to buy any more books until I have read all the books that I have purchased and use the library

Not to buy any more clothes or underwear this year

Not to buy any more toiletries until I have used all the toiletries that I have purchased

Not to spend more than my budget on Christmas presents

Keep to my budget in general

Start a Private Leg Fund

[Deleted User]

Well it made me sit up

Good luck with all your plans and can't wait to hear about you getting this new leg!

Dxxx

BettyBoof

And me! :-)

Good luck with your plans to save, I think your 'stop buying until things are used up' plan is a good one.

enthusiasticsaver

Way to make people notice your new diary. Great title and aim. Presumably as each private leg is custom made there is no way the original leg can be sold? Apologies if that is a stupid question. I don't know how they fit or make the legs for amputees. Shame it is not available on the NHS. Is this the only debt you have? Well done on paying off the mortgage.

Tattycat6

No, unfortunately each private leg is custom made so there is no possibility of selling it! I may be able to use the hip and knee that are in the current leg which would be a saving - however, over time parts wear out (a bit like a car) and could possibly become unsafe. I did have a lovely NHS Leg but my Prosthesist unexpectedly died and I didn't get on with his replacement which was one of the reasons that I decided to go private.

It is the only debt I have but life has not always been like it is now. When I was married to my ex-husband, we were constantly in debt and struggled to pay our bills. So much so that sometimes we didn't have enough food to eat (it was the days before Food Banks). Unfortunately, he had mental health problems and this manifested itself in over spending.

I have managed to pay off the mortgage in the past 8 years by overpaying and saving but my mortgage wasn't so high as I had made a profit on two previous houses. Now my house is worth exactly what I bought it for 10 years ago as house prices in this area haven't risen for several years.

I have used my Boots Points to buy six Christmas presents on their 3 for the price of 2 offer and am going to fetch my order today.

I was thinking of buying a pink vest yesterday but told myself that I have more than enough vests albeit not in pink so managed to resist the temptation! Little steps!

enthusiasticsaver

Great start on the Christmas present buying and not buying the vest. When money was tight for us I used to say to myself before each purchase - want or need? Often it was a want so I did not buy unless I had budgeted and had the cash there.

beanielou

Baby steps are good

doingitanyway

Wishing you good luck. You sound very motivated so I am sure you can do this