Choccy's last debt diary! Tme to stop messing and focus.

Choccygirl123

....so here it is! Last debt diary and a lovely fresh start to keep me focussed and get those outstanding accounts down to ZERO!

Debt on 31/12/17 was £16271.56 but currently stands at £10241.08 today after a lot of ups and downs. I'm about to return back to work after a really long 16months off after an accident. We've kept our bills update, kept teenagers fed, entertained and clothed whilst trying to keep getting our house into our dream home. I've discovered teenagers, houses and dogs cost cash, a lot of cash!

My mission is simple pay the debt off asap, but still have the odd treat, kids have school trips etc. It's a fine balancing act, but as a family we know it's got to be paid.

My new diary aims
-pay off £6241.08 by Christmas 2020 - that's only 13 pay days means£480.08 a month
-blitz the remaining £4000 asap in 2021 and save for a holiday
-continue selling and decluttering and raise £1000 for Christmas 2020 from selling, surveys and receipt trackers
-keep using my small saving pots for child clothing, dog, car, birthday and child activites, Have found saving a little and often really softens the blow when the cash has to be paid. Aiming to use the £137.80 child benefit to fund these
-plan and stick to NSDs
-meal plan, lose weight on SW and reduce food waste

That's it....easy! Just need to keep focussed and have found recently over summer that I need to post regularly to keep myself accountable. I find diaries very therapeutic and waffle on far too long but it's just my way to get my money thoughts out my head to stop me ruminating!

savingholmes

Congrats on starting a diary and on what you have already paid off. Sounds like you've been through the mill and come out on the other side. Hopefully the diary will motivate you to clear the debt more quickly and find hints and tips on where to save £ etc. Have fun.

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

Choccygirl123

Thank you beaielou & savingholmes

It definitely has been a challenge physical, financially and mentally, but the clouds have lifted at last. It's made us realise that a debt free life is the ultimate goal. We need to save for the future and have a rainy day fund.

I do have a previous diary, which really helped at times, but with the accident it just seemed one step back after another.

Choccygirl123

Had a busy weekend sorting more items to sell on either FB or ebay. Have sold a couple of things on FB and waiting for couple more to be collected. Currently have 36 items listed on eBay but only a handful with watchers or bids. It's my last selling push before declaring my sealed pot total for the year.

Surveys have been really slow and I'm still about £3 short of 1poll paying it. Still plodding on with the receipt trackers too RH is soooo slow!

Hoping to sort and do inventory of feeezer today. Slowly clearing odds and ends out and have started noticing more space at last. Trying to skip this week's full shop and will just buy few top up items.

Counting down to pay day again and looking forward to the debt DDs flying out and updating total paid off towards by new mission

Choccygirl123

Finally pleased to report a NSD, first in too king!

Freezer and cupboard raiding going well and will only need about £25 of top up food. Concentrating on trying to empty stocks for dinner but managed to make a lovely chicken soup yesterday which will do for lunch for us all today and tomorrow.

Dinner tonight is l/o chilli but ssssssh it's spag Bol (with kidney beans) if the youngest asks!

Cars looking ok for fuel so just food spend planned today. Spending an hour putting more clothing on eBay after huge wardrobe clear out over the last week. I've got 10 bikini to sell I've not worn in at least 7 years whilst waiting to be a size 12 again! My plan is to put cash I maje in my clothes back into my account do I can treat myself rather than the sealed pot for Christmas. 37 items currently listed...a million more to do!

Choccygirl123

A nice surprise!

I've been thinking about moving my EF to an old tsb account as it's in an account with a shocking rate of interest. Hubby and I had 3 accounts with tsb that we used to cycle our stall duty savings in before we bought our current house. I've given them a call today and there's £40 in mine, £80 in joint abd unusure in hubby's. I thought I'd emptied them 4 years ago, but it was the interest that was paid after withdrawing the cash. It's been adding up nicely so will go with hubby on Thursday to get new cards etc issued soon we can start using them ago as my EF account.

beanielou

That's great news

Choccygirl123

It's a lovely surprise beanielou I just need to get to my local branch to get account details sorted and registered for online banking. It's a rural branch so only open 4 days a week.

Nothing much happening with our cash. Sober £14 on the Barnet to stock up on fruit and veg. Freezer and cupboards still rammed but slowly reducing.

I've scanned few more receipts and need 54 points to finally get £15 out of receipt hog! Posted another eBay item item, so need to move the cash from PayPal into the sealed pot.

Only a few days until I have to declare my total for 2029 so still pushing the eBay listings. I've got 50 things live at the minute.

beanielou

Our branch is now only open one day a week & it is always heaving.

twiggy86

Brilliant news about finding that money! My dad has had 21p in an old account for about 50 years - it's never got any more than that and he's never bothered closing the account!

Do you use Shoppix as well as Receipt Hog?