Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!

elbree

Elisheba said:

Hehehehe!  Yippeee!  That's me transferred two credit cards on to a 12 month interest free balance, and set up the payments so its will be paid off within the year!  £75 a month previously paid in interest now going towards the balance.  Minus the transfer fee that's just over £800 going towards debt in the next year that otherwise would have been squandered on interest    

Now, I just need to hope that one of the cards I paid off will offer me a good balance transfer rate soon, and I can transfer the remaining 2 (that I don't share with my ex) and that will be another £50 in interest a month saved!  Hopefully that will be on the cards by next month! Although I am not sure I can pay that off in a year as well.  I'll wait until its an option and see what can be done.  

Oh, it just feels so lovely! Finally getting somewhere!

Brilliant news! Well done! It feels so good to concoct a plan and see it in motion. 
I really liked the PAD and Tilly-Tidying when chipping away at my debts, so much more satisfying when there's no interest and every penny 'counts'. 

Elisheba

@jokono I think that might have been me at peak inspiration! I should reread my diary as well to motivate myself. I don't think I've been quite so inspired or mindful since that point, although I do generally bear in mind that I need to enjoy the moment and the current tasks, rather than rushing from one peak to another. 

Elisheba

Thanks @elbree, I'll look into them. I'm. Generally using the avalanche method, but it's a bit more complicated due to some debts I'm paying off with my ex and I've been matching his payments, and certain debts have been paid off first for convenience which weren't the most expensive. 

Elisheba

Morning all, and happy weekend! 

I'm full of beans and raring to go this morning, which is rare on a Saturday! I've got a list a mile long of things I could be doing today, but I've been watching You Tube videos on making you car a camper and I'm pretty excited about it and will probably work on that most of the day.

Initially I want to see if I can do it and ideally not spend any money. If I try it and like it then I can invest in a few bits and pieces that will make it more enjoyable. Thankfully I have quite a few camping bits around still, so got a gas stove and a folding table, some pots, a kettle, plates and cutlery etc. 

However, I'm not sure if I'll manage it completely free. I don't need a frame as I have a sturdy plastic foot stool I can use to even up a sleeping surface (seats in hatchbacks don't go right down). I will need some sort of soft surface for a bed though. I can't use inflatable as I'll have my dog with me and he'll more than likely burst it. So I'll need some sort of memory foam ideally. Which there is no point in in buying unless I know I'm going to do it, and if I'm doing it there is no point in buying the cheapest as the main thing I'll need is a comfy bed. So Catch 22 at the moment! 

Anyway I'm going to spend today sorting things out as much as I can and see how I get on. 

All the credit card tweaking I did yesterday seems to have gone through, so just need to wait until the end of the month when the payments start. 

Yesterday was a no spend day which was great. Not sure if today will be or not - if I get to the library I have a fine to pay off, and if I go to the library I'm in town so might end up spending! Also I might decide to get bits for the car camper! 

If the car camper works out it opens up whole new possibilities. I can get away for 2 or 3 nights without causing undue stress to the cats, and if I do most of my own cooking that's just the cost of petrol and food. Could explore the coast, and Wales, and even make my trips to Scotland more interesting. Fingers crossed it all works out! 

missymoo81

Oooh your camping in the car sounds amazing! I’m very interested to see how you get on! Where do you intend to camp? Can you camp anywhere etc? 

Elisheba

@missymoo81 All over really, as long as I enjoy it.  There is an app which gives info for campers on where they can park up for the night for free and what facilities are there.  

Elisheba

Morning all!  happy Monday to everyone.  I overspent on the camper car project at the weekend, but it can come out the holiday pot.  Nothing unreasonable - just had to buy some products to black out the windows at night, and then I bought some dry stores I will need for being away.  
Looking forward to a quiet week, with everything just ticking over, before a crazy busy weekend.  The credit card I paid off has just added £55 in interest for last month so I will need to pay that off.  Its an unexpected expense but so worth it to get rid of that card, and know I won't be paying interest on that debt again.
Other than that, I will need milk this week but not much else.  I've got some new potatoes I need to use so there will be at least two meals this week with them and some sort of Quorn escalope and veg.  Not sure what my other two main meals will be but I have lots of food in.  Out for dinner on Friday night, so don't need to worry about that. Lunches will be soup and bread, and porridge for breakfast.I'll also need to work out what debt is left after April which I do once all the payments have cleared so sometime this week should be fine.
I'm never very good on Mondays, so house wise it'll just be getting some tidying done and getting out for a nice walk with my dog later on.  It won't be long now will all the Spring flowers fade and I do love them, so will try and get out to appreciate them as much as possible this week.

Elisheba

Morning, everyone. Hope you all have a good Tuesday. 

I ended up buying a lot of yellow sticker quorn products yesterday when I popped in to Waitrose to buy milk. Half price or more, and in the freezer now. Certainly good value and won't go to waste, but I should probably review my food budget as I going over it monthly now. I sort of feel that if I can afford it and it's all stuff I'm getting cheap that I will use then its worth it, but I also want to keep budgets working so I'll need to look at things and tweak them. 

I have a zoom meeting tonight so I'll need to finish work, feed the animals, walk my dog and gave dinner pretty quickly to fit it all in.

Food plans today are porridge, bread and hummous, and quorn escalope, broccoli and new potatoes. I'd quite like to get some dishes and hoovering done but I'm not sure I'll find the time.

Must also remember to pay off the I retest on the credit card I paid off. 

Hope everyone's day is fab! 

elbree

Yellow sticker is always such a plus, good work! Currently making dinner and lunches out of yellow sticker meat and veg. Not my usual but nice for a change. 

jokono

Finally caught up! Hello again 👋👋

I bet it feels amazing to get rid of £75 interest every month, that's a huge amount over the year. I hope your other cards offer transfer soon but as you start paying off more and more you will eventually get other card offers. Just make sure you cancel the unused ones if you don't trust yourself not to use them again. 

Right, I have questions 😅
1. How do you cook pasta off the heat, google wasn't very helpful? I think you put the pasta with the water from the beginning, bring it to boil then turn the hob off? And leave it there for how long?
2. How did the no loo roll experiment work in the end?
3. What's your recipe for washing liquid? I used to make washing powder using this one, I might go back to it after I finish this box.

Re banks - I have a spare account that I use for switching, easy money off the banks. I don't think NatWest still have the switching offer but my main account is with them and I make £3 off them every month just by logging into the mobile app and having 2 direct debits.