Working Hard Debt Diary - Here goes

WorkingHardDFW

Wow - I'm away from the boards for a while and look what happens :T

Hypno - Yes OH was lucky to get a bonus and a pay rise this year. I certianly won't count on it for next year. However if we do get it spending it on something nice would be just lovely.............back in the real world...

Compingirl - Well done on the boot sale. I've never done on myself but I would imagine they do well especially in these times. £125 is not to be sniffed at. Sounds like you've had a great time at the weddings etc. Sometimes it just has to be done. I went to a wedding in Spain last year and it was so lovely. I was lucky that my Mum treated me to it since if not I would be working hard to pay it. You'll recover the position and to be honest what does a little blip matter here and there. Go girl.

The food budget is really bothering me. You know how I like a budget. I think I'm going to have to up it next month. When we originally started on the DFW road it was £400 and I reduced it to £300. Which I struggled with and earlier this year I put it up to £350 which again I've struggled with. I need to have a look at how I spend to try to ID what's going wrong. I cook from fresh, save leftovers (we call them an ifits meal - If Its in the freezer its for tea!!), shop at discount supermarkets as well as Mr T but I still go over. I can afford the £50 increase in budget but it will have to come from the debt fund. Better to be living within budget than not I thinks.

Well done on investigating the mortgage. Worth a look as you say. We've just gone onto our tracker (jan) so I'm not even bothering at present. I might later in the year though.

Compingirl

I had to up my food budget to £400 too. I think food is just more expensive. I love cooking and baking, and we all love our food I buy basic and value basics for cooking and I put baking in the kids pack ups now instead of biscuits and crisp which they prefer and I just about stay in budget. But I agree, better to up the budget and live within it.

If I were desperate and had to, I am sure I could do it on much less but for now I'm just grateful i've not got to.

Just found out my OH gets a cost of living pay rise tomorrow so another £100 p month coming our way (and of the debt!) yippee!

hypno06

I know that my shopping budget hasn't changed "in theory" in the two years ish that I have been DFW/MSEing......but the actual cost of the food has increased hugely.

EG when I started this lark a couple of years ago, you could get a 3kg bag of pasta from any supermarket for £1......I bought one this week and it was almost £4 for the same thing :eek: Tins of basics chopped tomatoes were 11p, now they are over 30p for the same thing - that makes a huge difference over the course of a year......with very little food actually going DOWN in price.

But of course, our income hasn't increased by the same percentage - nowhere near! No wonder we can't stick to a budget!

lucielle

Those were the days of cheap tomatoes!
L

WorkingHardDFW

You are so right both its a real challenge to stay within. I had a big Mr T shop come today and it was frigtening but it should last us for a good few weeks. Hopefully over the hols I'll have the chance to figure the budget for food out but its def going up next month.

Well done on the payrise - it all helps. Mine is funding the food budget

WorkingHardDFW

Oh I do love a cheap tin of plum toms! Tesco's unchopped value PT's are 33p a tin now

Compingirl

tee hee think we had 10 cans delivered last month! More good news for me just checked my amazon account and i've got £98 due to come to me next week bringing my April extra income total to bahbahbahhhh £862.62!!! Which nearly covers the £889 I need for the main account! I am very pleased with this total but can't help but feel a little disappointed i'm not paying it off the MBNA card. Onwards and upwards! cg x

WorkingHardDFW

WOW CG thats an incredible amount for the month. I'm not suprised you are pleased with that figure - go CG go. I wish I could generate that much extra in a month. How've you done it?

I've got cross with Scottish P again this am. I entered my meter readings which I do monthly so they don't get carried away over or under estimating our usage. Clearly my usage is going down now as the weather improves. However their system doesn't seem to see that and just see's the outstanding balance and the monthly payments.........they want to out the DD upto £178 per month (G&E). Am i cross or what. I can't decide wether to argue with them or to switch? I will ponder.....

Compingirl

Blimey that does seem an awful lot. mine started off at £130 pm we now pay £110 for G&E. Have you been with them long so have they had time to get a full years average going?

I can't quite believe my monthly extras either, this includes some carry over from March MSing too. Ive had a lot of cash from 3 MS companys nearly £300! I knew i'd been doing loads! over £150 from Amazon (sold an old games console plus lots of add ons and leappad learning books) , the car boot brought me £125 Ebay £25 and Quidco £16 Plus OH has 4 band jobs this month (hes a PT drummer!) so our totals are booming! Only thing is how am ?I going to follow that!

WorkingHardDFW

Well CG you've clearly worked hard for the extra dosh so enjoy paying it off the debt. I've picked up a couple of MS's lately but there don't seem to be quite so many about at present. Must be that time of year. I need to go through all mine in prep for the tax return....not a job I'm looking forward too. I'm sure I've still got a load of outstanding money due as well.

Had to fork out for a new lawn mower at the weekend. I spent £64 which wasn't too bad. Not a particularly good mower but it will do the job until we can sort out the old one (very expensive, noisy and impractical and bought in our Pre DFW days!!).

I was horrified to discover my DS1's school shoes had a hole in them on Friday when he finished school. He's only had them since just before Christmas - too much footie in the playground. However I can't afford to buy him expensive (fitted etc from C's) every term. So I've decided that he can have T's, A's or equivalent at half the price and if they last him a term thats grand. At present it feels like the clothes budget is really under pressure and given that we only buy for the kids when we absolulely need too...

Bit of good news I had the first Quidco payment today. £170 in the debt fund thanks very much. No sooner had it had the account than it was paid of the target card (MBNA balance now £424). I've still not taken any money out of my MB funds. I want to keep a float of cash to allow me to make the most out of my free bets. Any Quidco/TCB funds I will use and I have paid back the £45 to the Christmas fund which I borrowed to start off my MB venture. Hopefully next month I'll be able to take some funds out.