Working Hard Debt Diary - Here goes

WorkingHardDFW

I've got the option to increase to full time and financially it would make so much sense but I just couldn't do it until my youngest starts school. I guess I've been lucky to work part time since I had my DD.

I dare not apply for any CC's since we got knocked back a year ago. It was because of the size of our debt rather than our credit history. I'd love to since paying no interest would know a few months off our DFD. Perhaps towards the end of the year when we'll be sub £30K.

I've got a marathon in me, one day, soon!

hypno06

Same here - no luck in getting a credit card (although I haven't tried for the last 6 months or so) yet no "poor" credit history, as such, just a huge amount of credit. Despite my appeals that I don't want to borrow more, just want to balance transfer, so I am not increasing my debt, and that by borrowing at a lower APR I am actually reducing the risk of default because of lower payments......I have given up now.....and will plod on, using the high APRs that we have on our debt as motivation to get it paid off!

WorkingHardDFW

Its frustrating since like you say we're not adding to the debt just moving it around!

I try not to think about what it would be like to have a load on 0% and like you just plod on clearing it slowly month by month.

redkelly

Only got mine with some pure luck, had a offer through from my bank giving me 0% for 13 months applied and got that one with a large limit and then cleared balance on another with my savings because they had an offer on that card of 0% for 12 months and then tranfered all my balances over apart from one which is the one I am trying to clear first.

Can only work full time because both the children are at school full time and I work a lot in the evenings today did 10am till 2pm picked them up from school and then went back and did a shift this evening.......

WorkingHardDFW

That must be hard work redkelly. Don't we all work very hard at hammering down these debts :T

Just brought all the finances upto date and paid £60 of the target CC - nice feeling! Definately need to rework the budget. After six months of keeping a spending diary there are clearly some things that I am still not budgetting for. Task for later in the month. I may need to split our 'budget' account funds up as well.

We pay out of this all childcare costs, all kids activities costs, all household costs (gardens, toiletries, dentist, medical costs, misc etc) and usually other bits come out of this like clothes, birthday things and the money is then transferred from where its saved. Sounds complicated and maybe it is. I may need to spilt it up a bit more so that there is no slush fund in there. At present any unbudgeted stuff comes out of it and just gets absorbed which isn't right. Kids costs tend to come in peaks at the start of term. Maybe I need to seperate childcare costs, kids activities and leave the rest in one place. As I say one to work on this month.

Sorry that all a bit rambly but i know what I am trying to achieve!

lucielle

That total is certainly coming down. I wish I was a step behind you!
L

redkelly

You are so organized, wish I was as good as you. The start of a new term is a nightmare my DD uniform comes to nearly £500.00 !!!!
Me thinks will have to sort that this payday.
Mind you the school holidays will be bad what can you do with kids that doesn't cost money?
Love the work gets me away from a very stroppy teenager....lol

WorkingHardDFW

£500 :eek: I thought mine was bad at £50 (mind you I've still got more non school specific stuff to buy over the summer).

I probably am quite organised but not quite as much as i need to be!

WorkingHardDFW

Hello all

Just back from summer hols - fantastic - Gite in France hence the reason why I've been quiet for a couple of weeks.

Update:

Summer Holiday
My true DFW MSE ways came out on holiday - I kept a spending diary!!:D . Every penny we spent on holiday was written down. My OH laughed at me to begin with - particularly at my definition of a big shop - don't ask - but it kept us on the straight and narrow and he did join in.

About this time last year when our LB has come on and was just getting up to a 100w glow I'd looked at the budget and trimmed it back to make ends meet. Unfortunately I'd trimmed the holiday budget back a little too far and that plus the weakness of the Euro and the worldwide increase in food costs meant that our remaining budget for holiday - spending money - was inadequate. I tried to save where possible and Eurotunnel and a couple of big days out were courtesy of Mr T's vouchers.

Sunday night I entered my paper spending diary onto my spreadsheet, categorised all the items, drank a glass of wine, checked all the holiday spending that in previous years I wouldn't have included (books, toiletries, suntan lotion, food for my DS (special diet), drank a little more wine and realised that our holiday has cost us £3109 against a budget of £2400 :embarasse.

Thats an overspend of £709....................Eck

Whilst on holiday I realised within a day or so that the budget was going to be blown out of the water and OH and I discussed it and agreed that having a good holiday was important and if it set us back a couple of months then so be it. So now back from holiday we've got an extra £709 to pay off the debt!

As a result I've also reviewed the holiday budget for next year when we won't quite be DF, but will be very very close :rolleyes: and have had to increase the budget to £250pm. This again makes everything else tight but still doable.

So its belt tightened and head down to head for being sub £30k at the end of the year.

Home Insurance
slight blip on this as managed to be double insurance for the last two weeks. A couple of non 0845 (see below) phone calls later and this has now been sorted out. All caused by my being in a mad panick at the end of term and slipping up I think.

Phone Calls
I've only just cottoned on to the 08 number thingy. Noticed on my recent phone bill that I've been charged £5 for 08 calls - which was my OH phoning the CC company to tell them we'd be abroad and would be using our card. A quick seach of this fantastic site (thanks :money: ) gave me the http://www.saynoto0870.com/ site gives the alternative numbers. I can't believe its taken me so long to get that but I guess you focus on what you have too at the time.

The Budget
Now the spending diary is over six months old I need to revise the budget again. I've posted earlier on this subject and its definately a job for the summer holidays. I need to budget for the items (and yes there are still a few) which aren't budgeted for and I need to figure a way to spilt up the budget account (pays all variable bills - childcare, childrens activities, med costs, haircuts, window cleaners, etc etc) to ensure that the cash flow works. Again a job for the holidays.

lucielle

Glad you had a great time. Where abouts in France did you go?
L