AimeeMum's Debt-free challenge

aimeemum

Total debt paid off in March - £590 +£113 = £703

Sit-Rep

Hubby's Aqua CC - £650 - £147

My CC Vanquis - £952 - £771

CCJ (28/1/2016) - £580 - £400

Council Tax (including Arrears) 2018-19 - £1300 - £0 (paid £210 forward to 2019/20 bill)

OVO Energy (Arrears) £1336 - £1,434

Yorkshire Water (Arrears) - £220 - £164


Additional debt found and paid - £113 PAID Balance £0

Current Totals - PAID £1,865 STILL TO PAY £2,916

aimeemum

Eurgh - I am starting to get a bit irked with this....but I suppose it needs to be done. Going through yet more paper clutter and found yet more debt letters that I was unaware of.

One is hubby's and it's to the tune of £1200 but the most recent letter I have is 2017 and it's not showing on his credit files.

All the others (including the couple I want to send the F&Fs on) are less than £400 so I guess it could be worse.

abba1772

If you're unsure if whether hubby can be trusted with his new limit there's no harm it showed his credit is improving but if you don't think he can handle it I would personally decline it xx

aimeemum

We don't actually have a card (they refused to send a new one out last year when his balance was over-limit and we've never asked for a new one). It's not a trust issue, it's more of a 'I've worked so hard to get us debt free and I don't want MORE credit' issue :rotfl:

Hubby and I talked it over last night and he has accepted the new limit, but we're not going to request a new card until we are completely debt free, and then he's going to apply for a better quality card at a much lower rate (AQUA is 44.9% :eek:) to replace it - handy to have a bit of credit available as we're planning on moving house so things like van hire etc are better to put on the credit card rather than tie up cash.

aimeemum

Happy weekend folks. Nothing at all planned so enjoying a slow start to our day.

Yesterday I cut the grass so this morning I can go out and pick up any mess left by the dog and get some washing on the line It's gloriously sunny but I read it's going to rain later so we'll see.

Hubby and I started watching the Madeleine McCann doc last night....so interesting. We stayed up far too late though watching it.In much need of tea this morning, not helped by younger 2 being awake at 5.30!! Eurgh! Still, clocks go forwards tonight so may buy us a week or two of 6.30-7 wakeups before they adjust back. Eldest seems to have found his teenage sleep patterns early - he's 9 but can sleep for England!

Plan for today:
- Strip beds
- Saturday jobs with the kids - sweep and vacuum, dishes, re-boot washing
- Make a bean chilli

After I've done that we may go to the softplay after lunch if I'm feeling generous! We'll see how willing the kids are to help with the jobs.

Have a good weekend all.

UPDATE So far I have:
Stripped and re-made the boys beds (have to wait for the sheets to be dry for 2 of them, but that's all.
Cleaned the bathrooms
Done the dishes and tidied the kitchen
Rebooted the washing and put the sheets on to wash - ready to go on the line in about 30 minutes
Vacuumed and tidied the living room
Written my Dad's birthday card ready to send early next week

Just about to go and make the chilli and then I'm all done for the day and we can take the dog out for a walk before lunch. I'm feeling a bit fractious, like I want to do something of interest. The boys are currently playing on the playstation having helped quite willingly to strip their beds (older 2 did it themselves and eldest even did his clean sheet and pillowcases!) so we will see what this sunny afternoon brings for them. I have £5 of splurge money in my purse that I may have to give them as pocket money!!

UPDATE 2 - Dog walked, Chilli smells amazing, and now sausage rolls in the oven for lunch. I cannot believe how beautiful the weather is! It's making me want to get the boys summer clothes out to sort etc but I know it's far too early for that. I do need to make a list of what needs to be purchased (particularly in the ways of uniforms for eldest 2 and summer clothes for eldest as he doesn't have a 'stock' like the other two

aimeemum

Happy April - a quarter of the way through the year!!

Reasonable weekend - not spent a lot of money. Hubby treated me to some goodies for Mother's day. Some very nice tea bags and some biccies The boys had made some cards at school too - will admit to a little tear as I wasn't expecting anything.

I did purchase some bits and pieces for the boys - I bit the bullet and sorted their summer clothes. I sewed name tapes/wrote in sharpie in all their uniform again as I am fed up of them losing jumpers! I also made a list of all the bits I need to buy and prioritised what I need to get first. I have been onto ebay and ordered socks for the eldest 2 - 6 pairs for £3.98, each. I have also bought a sun hat that was a bargain price that should fit middle DS who is the most difficult to buy for (£2.95, free post). I also had a look at potential birthday pressies for middle DS who will be 7 in May and ordered him a Build-a-Bear which I've been eyeing up since Christmas. It was £7 off, so with postage and a gift box it was still cheaper than full price!!

I hope he'll like it - he has asked for lots of Hot Wheels for his birthday so was thinking that along with the bear and the 2 cars I've already got for him, I have seen some boxes full of track for about £25 I think he would like. That's my budget of £50 on gifts. He then needs some clothes and a book or two.

Money-wise today all my DD's that I had set up went out as expected. It was nice to have healthy bank balances while it lasted, eh?! Having a restful day today as hubby is off work the rest of the week (back on Friday) and we'll be busy.

aimeemum

Happy Wednesday - half way through the week!

Yesterday was good fun. We went to see a friend's new house - they've just bought a nice little 3-bed semi so we popped round and dropped off a house-warming gift of a tea-pot and some new cups . I think they liked them

All the bills have now gone out apart from the car insurance which goes out on the 18th but I think this month is renewal month so I don't think we have a DD this month. I still have the money to cover it, but would be nice to be £40 richer this month

Bracken is going home today - so I can get back to sorting out the upstairs - my Master Bedroom looks like a bomb went off! Still haven't decided when I'm going to do this car boot sale either. We're lucky as our local one is really busy and runs in an afternoon too....not a 5am start like others I've done....but it's choosing a day when hubby is home and we have no other plans. At the moment Easter Sunday is our only day in the next few weeks so I may just have to go for it! Will be worth it to earn a bit extra after all.

Went to the Dr's for my blood test today. Should get the results on Friday - hopefully they're a bit better than last months although I'm still not feeling 100%. I would say I'm running at about 75% - 3 days out of 4 are fine but that means that at least 1 a week, if not 2, I'm feeling awful....I like that ratio to be at about 85%, so less than 1 per week but it's not been at that level since Christmas

Nothing else to report - oh I did get a new council tax bill....my bill is £6 lower for the year than expected. Woooooooooo! Don't worry, I wont spend it all at once

aimeemum

Hubby told me this morning that his credit score has increased. He's gone up by 20 points with Clearscore and has gone up from a 1/5 to a 2/5 on Noddle. I know the scores themselves are not accurate or important but it's a handy thermometer - it's the first time he's ever been a 2/5!

aimeemum

Another £52 paid towards the debts, the brake pads bought for the car and money put aside for shoes for middle DS.

New total £1,928 paid, 40% of the debt gone!!

Grocery shop done. meal plan for this week is quite basic but I'm trying to use up some stuff that we have in the freezer/cupboards but tonight it's Fajitas and quesadillas for the kids. Getting hungry already.

aimeemum

Decided on 5-point plan with Hubby.

1. Pay off all debts except Vanquis (current balance £760, paying £5 per week and 0% interest) - By 7th September 2019
2. One-month's bills in Emergency fund - Target £1,200 - By 31st December 2019
3. Save up Vanquis Balance (Whatever it may be at that point) and pay off remaining debt - By 30th June 2020
4. Save 1 year's 'extras' money - £2,080 - for Christmas, Birthdays, Holidays and car repairs as a 'buffer'. - By 31st December 2021
5. 3-month's outgoings in Emergency fund - £5,000 - By 31st December 2024

Total money required
1. £2,087
2. £1,200
3. £600 Approximately
4. £2,080
5. £3,800

Total = £9,767