Falady's debt diary, How moneysaving can 3 cats be??

falady

Hi all,

Well I'm back at work after a weekend visiting my mum and dad (still no broadband at home!).

It was a nice weekend and went well (things haven't always been easy with them), so i'm thinking I'll go home for a few days at xmas too.

Big news on the debt free status..... I'm pleased but also not really sure what to think - my mum and dad have very kindly paid off my overdraft for me.

They also suggested that they might pay my virgin card bill in january. This is very kind of them, and they are fortunate enough to be in a position to be able to do such things. I'm obviously very grateful to them, and it eases a lot of my worries, but I also feel like i've 'cheated' as I haven't paid back the debt myself.

I was all fired up to deal with it and had sorted out my budget etc. I told them that the debt was through me being stupid with spending etc.

I guess now the way forward is to work on paying back the personal loan that OH and I share, and building up some kind of savings and making overpayments on the mortgage. I certainly don't want to get back into my old patterns of spending and end up in a silly mess again.

It will also help us to be able to have children a bit sooner.

I kind of worry that people on here will be cross (becuase i've 'cheated'), which is silly, because everyone is so kind. Anyway, any ideas on what to prioritise next would be good.

My current plan is:

1) Virigin card
2) Build up some savings of about £1000 - £1500.
3) Save up some money to pay a chunk off the loan (eg £3000?)
4) Make overpayments on the mortgage, either each month or by saving up some money then doing it in a lump sum.

Thanks,

Ali xx

falady

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well today. I'm not too bad, but very sleepy! I didn't seem to stop last night until 10pm, then it was bedtime!

Went food shopping to sainsbury's (had some money off vouchers but forgot to take my nectar card) then to tescos becuase sainsbury's didn't have everything :-( I'm just going straight to tescos next time - its closer and easier and better stocked and cheaper! Spent about £70 for 2 weeks of shopping. No going again until after next payday.

I sold some books last night - old textbooks and a couple of fiction books. Got £30, so quite pleased with that. I put £15 in my 'sealed pot challenge' pot, so hopefully that will build up nicely. I might use it as my honeymoon spending money next July.

A firend also booked a massage for next Monday (i've done a holistic therapy course so have a basic qualification). If she has an hour's treatment that will be £25 which can also go in the pot / to pay off debts. Yay!

Hope everyone has a good day,

Ali xx

falady

Hi all,

Well, I've realised that I need a new pair of shoes for work, as mine have a hole, so that will wipe out my clothes / shoes budget for this month. (half of it had already gone on paying gym membership and I needed to make a final payment before I could cancel.) Ugh!

I got my new barclaycard through and activated it yesterday (6.9% LOB) so i've transfered a lot of my virgin card debt onto that (£3636 - the max I could transfer).

Spoke to payroll yesterday, and whilst they can't tell me what my net salary will be in December, they have told me the gross amount, so i have calculated roughly what my backpay will be. Once i have been paid on 14th Dec i am going to pay of the amex and cancel it, then (hopefully) pay off the rest of the virgin card. Its quite tempting to do it now, as my overdraft will stand both the payments as its now back to approx £0, but I think i should wait till payday, and keep everything straight, or it will just get confusing!

I also have to take Dec (the biggest cat) to the vet tonight as they haven't seen him before and I can't order flea treatment till they've weighed him etc. That will probably be another £25 for the appointment, plus about £30 - £40 when i pick the treatments up for all three of them in a few days. I love but they're expensive!

Speak soon,

Ali x

falady

hello all,

I have realsied that ther eis a 'thanks' button, and I haven't ben pressing it so thank you very much to all you kind people who have given me loads of great ideas - it is much appreciated!

falady

hello all,

I have realised that there is a 'thanks' button, and I haven't been pressing it so thank you very much to all you kind people who have given me loads of great ideas and support - it is much appreciated! :T

falady

Morning everyone,

Hope all's well.

The vet bill was £37 last night and they didn't charge for the consulation, only the flea and worming medication, so not as bad as I thought.

Unfortunately Dec weighs 5.4kg which is way too much for a cat (even a big lad like him)! The vet said he should be around 4.5kg, so I have to put him on a diet - there'lll be some moneysaving there because he eats loads! :rotfl:

Feeding a multicat household is difficult - any tips would be much appreciated! I've been advised to put Dec's food down separately to Charlie and Tinker's and remove all food after a set time, so Dec can't go cleaning up the bowls of the other 2 who don't eat it all in one go. :rolleyes:

Poor Charlie is only a skinny thing thing though (he runs around loads) so I feel awful about taking the food away after a little while. The vet seems to think they'll get used to the new system in a few days, but I dread getting home to find bits of mouse and bird all over the house becuasre they're hungry and have gone hunting:eek:

Hey ho, I must be positive and think of the cat food bill reducing!


Ali x

falady

Hi everyone,

I haven't been able to post for a while, as I can't seem to psot while at work, and my broadband at home has been down. it seems to be working again now though (albeit very slowly!) so here I am.

I have to say, i've mised being able to post and chat with people. I know i'm new to the board and many of you know each other well and have been chatting for months / years, but I really appreciate the support I've been getting.

Its good to be back!

Ali x

falady

Well, now that post has appeared (yay!) I have a few confessions to make......

I have overspent in a big way on my clothes budget.....

I had set myself a £70 budget per month for clothes and shoes.
I have spent......

£70 on shoes for work :eek: plus £8 on shoe cleaning stuff :eek: :eek:
(My old work shoes had a hole in, so i did need a new pair. In my defence I have funny shaped feet (wide feet, narrow ankles, one foot half a size bigger than the other) and the only ones that seemed to fit and were good quality were expensive.) My last pair were from clarks and only lasted about 5-6 months, though i didn't look after them very well (hence the shoe cleaning stuff). Aggggrrrhhh!

I also spent £57 on underwear. :eek: Excessive I know. My bra size has changed and my old undies were uncomfortable (I'm sure the ladies will understand me!) so i bought some new ones from debenhams, inc a v pretty set for when OH comes home from Oz.

Today (even more agggrrrhhh! :eek:) I have bought 3 new jumpers for £10 each from dorothy perkins. I feel v guilty, so might take them back tomorrow.

plus early in the month i bought a belt for £8.


So, a grand total of £175. !!!!. the jumpers are definitely going back. :-(

I also spent £26 on books for me the other day (cook books). !!!!!!!! - writing it all down has made me see i have spent £200 on me. A few days away from the forum and i get silly. I'm quite ashamed of myself now I have added it all up.

In most other areas I have underspent or stuck to the budget (tomorrow is the last day of my 'month'):
gym - spent £36 but is the last payment
lovefilm - £9. not sure how to cancel it. Any advice welcome!
nights out - I allowed £50. have spent £0
cinema - budgeted £10, spent £0
car tax and insurance, budgeted £50. Have not transfered this to another account yet
petrol - budgeted £30, spent £0
haircut and colour, budgeted £33, spent £0 but might save some for next month
puzzle book, budgeted £5, spent £1.29
eyebrows and eyelashes, budgeted £13, spent £0 but might save some for next month
taxis, budgeted £10, spent £6

lunch at work, budgeted £0, spent £11.50. Not ideal i know, but a big improvement on what i would have done before. Some of it was on cans of coke and some on a couple of days where i hadn't brought enough lunch with me / had nothing to make lunch with at home. I think i can bring this down with better planning.

meals out, budgeted £25, spent £0 (though have an xmas lunch tomorrow which will probably be about £15)

presents, budgeted £25, spent £18
cards and stationary, budgeted £5, spent £9.30
coffee / lunch out , budgeted £20, spent £17.27, inc £11 on a takeaway
clothes and shoes, budgeted £70, spent £175
books, budgeted £0, spent £26
toiletries, budgeted £5, spent £2.99
mobile phone, budgeted £37, spent £36.46.

So a total spend of ....... £363.81. I had budgeted £375 for personal spending, so this comes in slightly under, but i haven't allowed £50 for car tax and insurance in that, so it would be £413.81. :eek:

I have brought some extra cash in this month by selling a few things:

£30 - ipod
£11 - lampshades, money to JA
£30 - books
plus something else i can't remember.

So, please give me a (kind??!!) kick up the !!!!. :rolleyes: Must do better!

lunar

good news on the over draft front, i dont think it counts as cheeting and im really pleased you were able to pay it off. maybe you could keep one of the jumpers that you bought given that you were still in budget!

Are you ready for christmas? im just about done now. I also love the support I get on this site really motivates me to pay off debt.

falady

Hi all,

Well, i've been out today with a friend and her two boys - went swimming at splashworld and then out for a chinese.

lunch was £6, swimming was £7 and my friend lent me money for tea (about £14) as i had run out of cash.

I was out yesterday for a xmas meal with work, so that was £24. I've pretty much spent up on the eating out budget!

I'm going to try and have at least 4 / 5 no spend days this week, and taking back jumpers tomorrow. I've got to get some xmas cards and stamps tomorrow, but that should be it.

Wish me luck1

ali xx