Working Hard Debt Diary - Here goes

Verbatim

Had a family party at the weekend which I managed to produce on a budget. Lots of cheap bulky meals, which everyone raved about, and with plenty to go around. I was a little concerned about feeding 14 on a budget but I managed it.

Well done on the planning and keeping to budget.

shame about the wine but at least you have some supplies in for yourselves.

WorkingHardDFW

Thanks for that Verbatim

Wine arrived today which was funny! Too true plenty to keep us going through the summer!

firesidemaid

hi

just been catching up on your thread and had a couple of thoughts about your cc shuffles....

do you think it would make sense to move the highest % card debt to the new lower card offer ie. IF to the Bcard?

also, if you moved the overdraft (if it were possible with a cash cheque) would you be able to keep your o/draft at the new level. i'll explain a bit better! ie. now you won't go more than £5k o/d as you can't. if you had a 5k limit but put say 2k on a credit card, could you keep to 3k o/d when you still had a 5k limit?

re. OHs:rolleyes: - i too seem to have much more energy and effort to throw at moneysaving. i hate having to constantly battle over money. it's true that if we let it slip a little it is so easy to let it slip a lot. i know i hate being seen by my OH as the money ogre;) !

WorkingHardDFW

Thanks for your comments firesidemaid - much appreciated. Thats why these forums are so good many heads mulling over a problem.

It would make sense to move the higest card on to the B/card but most of our big card debts are on different balances. IF for example some is at 0.013% per day and the rest is at 16.94% (£5700) and its clearly its the lower rate which gets paid off first. Therefore unless we can BT the balance we're not saving as we'd be moving the lower rate debt! Hope that makes sense. I've discussed with my OH and we both feel that at present to move the OD (which could be called in at any time) to B/card, halving the interest rate, will be a physcoloical help plus we'll also start paying back the debt. At present we pay £50pm in interest and once its on the card we'll pay v roughly half of that plus at least £100 pm debt reduction!!

I take your point completely Firesidemaid since we've cleared the OD before and look where we are today. Whats different now well...the fact that we/I am in control of our debt as never before is so totally different...the fact that we are sucessfully (with a few hiccups) nearly a year since our LBM and 7 months since we started reducing our debts and we are still on track. I guess its one of those MSE DFW things that when the attitude changes it changes - certainly for us.

I do have more time (work part-time) and energy to devout to being a DFW that my OH but he is slowly coming round. Since last month he has started taking his lunch to work - I couldn't get him to do that before - and he even writes himself a note to remind him (reuses the note and the tinfoil). His attitude to the Sky Sports going is OK (although he is missing the cricket now) and he see's the bigger picture. However as in the best partnerships I'm managing him slightly differently so that he doesn't feel like he is missing out - making sure the fridge is well stocked at weekends etc.

Had to laugh over the weekend I had a housefull of people for a few days. Both my brothers and their other halves stayed and at times were raiding the crisp box. They all got out the crisps (Lidl or Aldi best) and commented on the make then they commented that actually they were OK - I think I may have got some more DFW converts....

WorkingHardDFW

Slight panic - keyboard stopped working !! It never rains but it pours...

Paid the BT cheque into the bank today so hopefully that will move the OD to the CC pdq - pity it can't make it disappear.

Spend the pm filing etc whilst the kids were watching a film we'd got from the library - not quite a no spend day - but it is half term and it is pouring with rain so they can't go out and play out...

Anyway realised after my foray on the CC board that our MBNA card deal expires at the end of August so the Halifax deal which prompted me to attempt to move around my debts will come along just at the right time. I won't use it now but I'm sure there will be another along in a while particularly as the Halifax card will be clear by then. Since I don't want the £6k of debt going up to their normal rate - very scary :eek: and just not going to happen.

Need to get ebaying again next week since I've stepped off the gas with that the last week or so....

WorkingHardDFW

Our BT of the overdraft has gone through - lovely to see a credit on the current account - not so lovely to see a debit on the once empty (for a month at least) credit card. All good in the long run as the interest rate will halve and therefore we'll have paid more debt off by the end of the year. About £500 by my reckoning!! Got to be good!!:cool:

Sold a couple more things on ebay which bring in the grand total of just over £10. Not a lot in the scheme of things but it does all help. Planning to have a real push on ebay next week and gets loads listed. I might commit to trying to sell books/cd's on Amazon as well. I've sold books on green metroplois and I've got £20 sitting in my account there but the pace is very slow. Need to make that my focus for next week.

I start my new hours at work next week so I will be looking forward to the extra income at the end of next month:cool: . I will miss the extra time off with my DS but needs must and its only half a day a week so I really am not complaining. I'm just glad that I've had the opportunity to increase my hours.

Checked Quidco and I've got £122 tracking plus my house insurance is due in July so hopefully that will give me another opportunity to get some more cash back. Now I've taken the time to understand I like this cashback lark- :j

Lots to do and trying to stay focused. Feeling quite positive at present but lots to get done and organised before the summer holidays including childcare!

Verbatim

That's really good progress. Glad you got rid of the overdraft and that the interest on the cc will be so much less. you'll soon have it gone.

WorkingHardDFW

Thanks Verbatim.

Its really quite addictive this DFW thing. I'm almost wishing each month to pass so that I can see the debt total tumbling.

We've been making some big inroads into our debt the last few months and managed to clear 2 Cc's which is FAB but from now until the end of the years to a clear focus on clearing another card completely. With our recent shuffle of the debt and the impending one on August I'm going to need to be sure that I am aiming our debt repayments at the highest cost card. It will all sort out though.

Not sure what I am going to do when I am a DFW....maybe aim to be a MFW!! Long way to go first though....

WorkingHardDFW

Right I decided I need to be more focused to ensure that we are making good consistent progress. So this week I will:

• Clear through the house to ID as much that can be sold then;
• Get as much stuff as I can listed on ebay/green metrolpolis/amazon - Not sold on Amazon before so thats a challenge in itself!
• Sort out my menu planning for the month of June
• Do the two mystery shops that I've got organised this week

Doesn't sound like a lot but I've seriously taken my foot off the pedal with selling stuff lately and the extra money will make such a difference to hammering down our debt.

Somewhere in my diary i commited to having cleared our Halifax card by the end of this month. As it stands when this months payments go accross there will still be an outstanding balance of £561. This needs to go by the end of the month so my challenge to myself is to try and get this cleared by the end of the month. Tall order I know but I've got to try.:D

WorkingHardDFW

Not listed anything on ebay but it will be done this week - sometime!

Just updated my snowball in whatsthecost.com and was pleased to see that it more or less agrees with my own snowball aka a spreadsheet! The trouble is with the snowball although it does its job brilliantly it doesn't allow for increasing debt payments in the future. Thats by the by since it agrees with what we've got which is the important thing.

I've got two mystery shops tomorrow so that is £16 towards the debt....must get more of these lined up. Onto the task list...:p