Finally Facing Up to our Debt

Lemon_Tree

First time around I didn't have a diary and just joined others, and made a few good friends, this time I'm trying out a diary. It won't be a rivetting read though. But hopefully it will keep me accountable

miss_jelly

I've just found your diary Lemon Tree and have subscribed - let's keep each other motivated shall we?

Just a quick update from me as I've been busy at work today.

Low spend today - the only thing I needed to pay for was a Special Delivery for a letter to my pension provider as I am slowly working my way through changing my name over since getting married in September. It is so blooming expensive changing your name - although I think I am on the final few now!

Haven't really had much chance to do much more today as I've been working but at least I have been earning money and not spending any (well apart from that stamp!)

Hope everyone has had a good day and managed to stay warm x

Lemon_Tree

It's been really cold hasn't it. Changing your name seems to goon forever, I've still got stuff to change and have been married 11 years

miss_jelly

Hey lovelies!

Hope everyone is having a good week? I'm working from home today which is always nice as its means a NSD for me. Although yesterday I didn't spend anything either as I took my breakfast and lunch into work. I would say I am pretty good at taking food with me for work - I love cooking and much prefer to eat something that I know exactly what is in it.

My husband on the other hand travels quite a bit for his paid job so often ends up picking things up on the go. I don't really know a way around this as he never knows where he is going to be and as he is often taking trains / public transport so it isn't always that easy for him to take food / drink with him... any suggestions would be welcome as this would be a good area to reduce our outgoings.

I've just checked in with all our accounts and so far we are on track which is good. At the moment there isn't much more I can reduce down. My phone contract is due in a couple of months and then I am going to switch onto a SIM only as I really don't get a very good deal at the moment for what we pay.

We also have a car finishing its lease at the end of the year and once that goes back we will not be replacing it which means we have an extra £200 a month to pay towards our CC's.

I've got a few extra bits to list on eBay which I am hoping to do today or if not then tomorrow. I find with eBay its a slow burner - most of my things take a little while to sell so you just have to keep at it...

I have signed up for a few survey sites but if I am honest I am not sure how they work - is there a thread anywhere that explains this?

Hope everyone is having a productive day x

Naomim

Lemon_Tree wrote: »

Well done starting to tackle the debt, I'm back here for the second time so will subscribe in the hope we can keep each other motivated

I'm back for the third but never really tackled it properly in the first place.

Welcome to the world of DFW miss_jelly. I'm just starting again to tackle our spends and credit cards. Funnily enough I'm the other way with shopping. If I'm in store I'll really overspend picking up stuff I don't need whereas if I meal plan and shop online it's much cheaper.

Good luck, I'll subscribe

Naomim

miss_jelly

Happy Monday everyone!

Hello and thanks for stopping by Naomim good luck with your journey as well. I think they key is finding what works for you. There is so much advice on here but trial and error finds the things that suit you and your lifestyle.

A pretty quiet weekend for us a we have a rather hectic week ahead with family staying with us from today until Thursday and then we are off up Norwich to visit more family for the weekend. I am hoping to not spend too much but I think we are going to notice having to cook for an extra two people this week.

I went and picked up a few bits today and impressed myself as I wrote a list and stuck to it! I walked between two different supermarkets so I could get things for the cheapest price. Who am I? Previously I would of just gone to the closest shop and picked up the things I needed (along with extras!) without even checking the price. I do feel that I am noticing myself be more conscious of our spends every day which is a real positive.

Sold a few more items on eBay over the weekend so posted those whilst I was out. I also used some money from these sales to buy another Christmas present. Having spoken to my family we have all agreed to reign it in this year on presents and are sticking to budgets.

I think being able to tell family and close friends that we are watching money at the moment has helped us reduce our spending. Whilst we haven't shared the amount our credit card debts are, just saying we are now watching our spends and reducing our outgoings means there is less pressure to keep up appearances.

I've written a list for Christmas presents this year and am keeping track of what we are spending on who so as to not go too crazy. The biggest thing I am struggling with is that our gifts don't 'look' enough. I know this is crazy but over the years you fall into the habit of buying more for your loved ones so I do feel that we are being stingy this year by just buying everyone one thing. Does anyone else feel like that?

Anyways hope everyone is having a happy and productive start to the week.

Mj x

Naomim

miss_jelly wrote: »

Happy Monday everyone!


I think being able to tell family and close friends that we are watching money at the moment has helped us reduce our spending. Whilst we haven't shared the amount our credit card debts are, just saying we are now watching our spends and reducing our outgoings means there is less pressure to keep up appearances.

I've written a list for Christmas presents this year and am keeping track of what we are spending on who so as to not go too crazy. The biggest thing I am struggling with is that our gifts don't 'look' enough. I know this is crazy but over the years you fall into the habit of buying more for your loved ones so I do feel that we are being stingy this year by just buying everyone one thing. Does anyone else feel like that?

Anyways hope everyone is having a happy and productive start to the week.

Mj x

I agree. We have told in-laws that we are budgeting. They know things are tight but have no idea of any figures and how much of a mess we are actually in. My SiL is in a terrible financial mess at the moment so we have agreed not to buy for her three children and she's not buying for our two. We cut out presents to the adults a few years ago thankfully.

Totally understand about the present piles not looking enough. MrM is terrible for this. I purchase most of the stuff and wrap it, pop it in two piles for the kids and he comes along and says "is that it? It's not much is it?" irrelevant that there could be a present that looks small but costs a small fortune!

You probably will notice more food expenditure with two extra people, but keep meal planning and it should help keep costs down

Naomim

Lemon_Tree

It is hard when you feel like gifts don't look enough, I start out really good when it comes to the kids but then think.... But that's not enough or hubby says, what about xyz. I need to stick to my guns though as the kids are at the right age that if we don't go made they won't expect it in future.

miss_jelly

Hello again!

Last week went by in a blur with all the family visits and before I knew it we were in the middle of this week. It's scary how often that happens - you blink and it feels like you've missed an entire week!

We had a really lovely week last week with all the family bits we ended up doing and truthfully it wasn't as expensive as it could of been. I cooked most nights with my Dad treating us to a takeaway on their last night staying with us. Then when we headed to Norwich to see my mum we were well fed so I like to think that the grocery spend evened itself out. We did pay for afternoon tea for the four of us as that was our belated birthday present to my mum and her partner. I plan that next year it will be a budgeted item rather than an expense that we don't plan for.... but still we are at the start of our journey and so are somewhat limited on spare cash.

In regards to our credit card debts I actually had a good chat with my Dad when he was staying and he has very kindly offered us a loan to cover our two most expensive cards. Which means we will stop battling with the high interest rates and can instead start chipping away at the debt by repaying my Dad monthly.

I am very aware how fortunate we are that our family has been able to help us consolidate our debt and I plan on ensuring that we are never in the position where we need to ask for help from family members again. My husband and I are very proud people so admitting to our loved ones that we are cutting back to help our finances hasn't been easy but I feel it's the only way for us to stop 'living up to expectations' which right now we can't afford.

Anyways - what this means is that today I paid off the full balance on both of our highest interest rate credit cards! And it feels good haha! We have set up a payment plan with my Dad and I will be setting up a standing order so as to ensure we pay him back each month.

And now I am back focussed on saving more money whilst trying to earn some more to go towards our remaining couple of credit cards.

We still have a way to go but it does feel like we have made a positive step in the right direction.

Hope everyone is well x

miss_jelly

Also how is everyone fairing with all the Black Friday sales?

I am ignoring them all but it is hard! I actually spent a good ten minutes looking at a very beautiful handbag online yesterday which had 30% off.... I then reminded myself that I definitely don't need a new bag and even with the discount it is still more than I can afford. So I came offline.

I am keeping a little bit of an eye of a few things for potential Christmas presents - there is a card game I want to buy my brother. The cheapest I have found it is on Amazon and currently it is half price however I need to spend over a certain amount to get it at the discounted price. And as I don't need anything else it means I am actually spending considerably more than the full price to get it.... I am just racking my brains to see if there are any other Christmas presents I could get from there to bring the order value up but I will definitely consider the purchases before I make them!

XX