Wobbling my way out of debt

findingthisdifficult

Scott-Weiland wrote: »

Well i know my ex used to use that shampoo by is it the make Aussie, b and m and home bargains stocked it cheaper than Boots or Superdrug 2-3 quid a bottle cheaper

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out next time I need to buy some more shampoo, I'm well stocked up at the moment.

findingthisdifficult

It's the day before Payday in the FTD household.

We've had a whole month tracking our spends on an app and can see that one of our biggest downfalls is 'top up' shopping, need to improve our meal planning.

We had our renewal through for home insurance so I absolutely must sort this today/this evening as it's due to renew on 1st March, £723 for the year for buildings and contents :eek: I'm pretty sure I could halve this as it seems excessive!

Also need to refine the budget for March taking in to account:
car tax - will pay for a year, luckily I round up all my bills in my bills account and there is some money left over so I only have to find £25
A maintenance fee - fortunately this is about £50
My birthday - I'm going to use some vouchers for a day out, so only need to factor in fuel and a little bit of money for Mr FTD to buy me a card. I also have a discount code for a restaurant so we may do this as well.
starter for Mr FTD's birthday - need to book flights and hotel for Mr FTD's big birthday in May

I have a small amount of money in my topcashback account but I'm trying to keep it there so that it's not wasted.

I have £7.30 left in my spending account, I could:
1) leave it there and spend it in the next month
2) pay it off the credit card balance (I'm leaning towards this as it feels the most sensible option, even though the balance isn't accruing interest)
3) move it to savings account
4) put it towards one of the events above

I'll be back tomorrow with a budget update, enjoy the rest of your evening.

findingthisdifficult

So, today is pay day, I've been doing some number crunching on my spreadsheet and app.

I've sent some money to our savings account/emergency fund, this is looking nice even though it's early days.
I've sent a bit over to our holiday/weekend away fund - looks like there is enough in there to be able to put a deposit down for Mr FTD's birthday.
Paid the car tax and maintenance fee :T

Just waiting until 1st of the month to make a payment to the CC and for our loan payment to go out, then I can update my numbers on my original post.

Here's to another debt busting month ahead :beer:

findingthisdifficult

So, I'm still waiting for the 1st of the month so I can see how the land lies with quite a few bills going out and then I can get an idea of how much I can chuck at the credit card this month.

In other news I've sorted the house insurance and managed to save myself over £40 a month, this will be helpful for my new budgeting ways.

findingthisdifficult

I was talking to somebody today and it made me realise how far I've come, I've got some savings in 2 different accounts, 1 for hols/weekends away and 1 for the house (emergency fund type thing)

I'm managing to over pay Mr FTD's credit card in order to hopefully get rid before the 0% runs out then we'll close that card as no use for it.
I also have a card but with no balance on it, just there for emergencies whilst I build up my proper emergency fund.

I'll be back tomorrow to update my loan and CC numbers in my original post.

findingthisdifficult

Lovely start to the weekend seeing our loan sink below 12K for the first time ever, I'm surprised the bank haven't invited us in to offer us a review luring us with the temptation of borrowing more money.
We've got until 11th March to make the CC payment, I'm just holding off to see how much I really have to throw at it in one go. I've got a couple of bills to go out during the next week that aren't fixed amounts so want to see what they're like.

Happy weekend to you all, I'll be back with more boring musings at some point over the weekend I'm sure.

findingthisdifficult

Well what a day it has been!

We've managed to get the house straight, I've almost caught up on the laundry :T and sorted the paperwork.
We met a friend for breakfast this morning and ended up paying for him as he had no cash on him, he said this last time we went out and we still haven't seen the money, needless to say twice bitten, this won't be happening again!! :mad:

I've registered for shopandscan, I can't remember where I read about it but thought I have nothing to lose and it might earn me some points to turn in to vouchers for some 'free' shopping.

Now to stay strong for the rest of the weekend, the weather is rubbish here and usually I would look for something to do which would inevitably cost us money but we have a more costly month than usual so trying to avoid doing that. Trouble is I hate sitting around doing nothing, what do people normally do in this situation?

findingthisdifficult

Today has been a thoroughly lazy day (haven't left the house at all) I have however managed to find the bottom of the laundry bin (which is a miracle)

We'll go for a brisk walk after dinner but pleased to say it's been a NSD.

Tonight will be spent reading, watching a couple of episodes of a series that Mr FTD are in to and generally relaxing before getting back to the grind tomorrow.

findingthisdifficult

Nothing exciting going on in FTD's world at the moment, struggling to keep on the straight and narrow!

Being in debt really sucks sometimes, I feel guilty moaning on here as our situation is pretty small fry compared to others. I just can't imagine a life without debt hanging over me, I've been in some form of debt for 15 years. I genuinely think that children should be taught in secondary school about how to manage money and avoid the debt traps.

findingthisdifficult

It's been a spendy couple of days in the FTD household, with a couple of meals out and a bit of shopping, it was my birthday though and there were no lavish gifts to speak of.
Did almost get tempted by a 0% interest deal but talked it through with Mr FTD and decided if we wait until late next year we could save up for a couple of months and buy outright.
Might have to cut back during the remainder of the month in order to keep on track without dipping in to any other pots.