Third Time’s The Charm

enthusiasticsaver

Narola1976 said:

I have a couple of BT 0% deals ending in June and August, so things are going to get harder before they get better. And of course, there are no new deals being offered as banks are tightening their criteria.. the truth is, having done many BT’s, I am in no better position than I was before, in fact its worse. So maybe BT’s don’t work for everyone who is not disciplined, I.e me.  I remember reading a comment where the person stated that things got better when they stopped BT’ing. I have learned that I cannot be trusted not to spend on the “emergency credit card”, hence my situation being as bad as it is. 

I wish I could shout this from the rooftops. Debt consolidation does not work on its own. Balance transfers do not work on their own. The ONLY way to clear debt is to spend less than you earn. It is not rocket science and I have taken three positives from your initial positive post and you are definitely not boring. I found your post to be articulate and full of wisdom but maybe the issue is you start off enthusiastically then lose interest because it is tough? Not unusual if there is a lot of debt to clear. Just think though that just over 4 years is less than the term of the average personal loan and it gets easier the more you stick to it.

The three positives are
1 You have made mistakes in the past and know where you have been going wrong. This time do it differently.

2 You say you have a good and stable income

3 You have an incentive to sort this out to set an example to your DD so you are not a financial burden on her as you get older and so you can visit your mum

i look forward to seeing you succeed

Narola1976

Thank you very much for your comments. Sorry I don’t know how to multi-quote.  I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. It’s a lonely business and having people listen is really helpful. 

You hit the nail on the head Enthusiastic Saver. I always start things with great gusto but fizzle out very quickly. My diet is yet another good example of this, despite knowing how important it is to manage my health condition. It’s real character flaw. I wish I knew how to improve on this. I am hoping that seeing what my financial life could be like will keep me on the straight and narrow.

I haven’t done an SOA. I know where I need to cut, and have already done so, based on reading the advice given to other people who have posted an SOA I also know that I could cut certain things such as TV packages but the truth is we don’t eat meals out, or have takeaways, we don’t smoke or really drink, we never have nights out, or go the movies or have family days out. Life would be miserable without the TV to occupy us. We never go on holiday, even in the UK. It’s painful to see that in black and white.

I have been feeling low in mood for so long. I tried to get some St John’s Wort as apparently its good for low mood and I need a natural remedy, but it counteracts with the medication I am on, so no good. After a lengthy discussion with the pharmacist, I bought it, but when I read the leaflet I realised I forgot to mention one of my meds during the consultation and as I could not have this medication affected, off I trotted back to the pharmacist. Fortunately they gave me a refund. 

Not a NSD today as had to pay for my road tax. No more bills for a few days. 11 days to payday. Freezer is starting to run low, but the grocery budget is empty. The total grocery spend for the month is $241.32. Which is not bad because I used to spend $400. I think we have enough to see us through. It won’t be gourmet but it will fill the tummy. 

Managed to do a couple of surveys on Prolific today. It had been quiet for ages, and then they popped up. I have about $5 in the account so far. I try to cash out at $15 or $20.  Well off to have some dinner and then catch up on people’s diaries.  Always uplifting.

Narola1976

An early start this morning with a coffee and a chat with Amazon customer service. Yes they did indeed take 99p from my account, and while I was only requesting the 99p refund, they have decided to refund me the $7.99. Great result. So I save $7. Now to watch carefully that the refund does appear. Budget updated. Got a tiny Quidco payment which has gone to the birthday budget. My DD will be 18 soon and I am frantically trying to pull money together to get her a gift. 

Expecting a busy few days at work, but off on Friday. Decided to make it a long weekend with BH on Monday. I wonder if one is allowed to go to a park and just have a picnic, i.e a sandwich while sitting on a picnic blanket. I don’t have a garden I can sit in (another very long story) so I would love to just sit for a bit weather permitting. But is that even allowed now with CV-19? I would hate to get fined by the police.

Off to make some breakfast. Have a good day
Narola

Narola1976

Morning Diary Readers

A day off for me today which is great, decided to make a long weekend of it as its BH on Monday. But needing to get on with some household jobs when all I want to do is lie on the bed and do nothing. Had a disturbed night keeping an eye on DD who was frantically working on her portfolio for college.The submission deadline was without warning moved from 5 weeks to less than 48 hours. Very unfair I think. 

Popped to Costco yesterday for a few bits. OH actually gave me $40 to get bits for DD who was “working so hard” but hey I don’t care why, I took it as we needed a few bits. I did an inventory as we had enough food for 6 days’ meals, before I get paid on Friday. But as with everything in Costco, you end up spending more. DD and I are trying to eat a little healthier and get healthy snacks, so a couple of extra bits took me $15 over budget. I had to redirect some funds from other categories to cover it but was ok with that. I hate how cheap junk food is compared to the healthier stuff.

Not much on the debt busting front. Some cash back came through for a purchase made some time ago, $1.26. I managed a couple of surveys on PA so those funds were approved. My Argos minimum payment was calculated and I could the update the snowball app. It means I will be able to clear the BNPL plan entirely, but of course there will still be a massive amount on the normal credit which will take a lot longer to pay. Baby steps. Added my receipt to Zipzero, Shoppix and Receipt Hog. It’s a slow process but its free money for spends I have already made, so I am not complaining. Also, my $7.99 refund came through from Amazon so I could replace a little of the money I used for the extra Costco spend.

Yesterday was boiling hot and I was hoping we could see similar today but of course its wet and grey. I was hoping to go for a walk with DD to get some fresh air and clear the cobwebs away and perhaps have a “picnic” on the grass. But looks like it will just be a walk instead. When she gets up, bless her. Other jobs include:

  B/L/D from stores 
  Clean the kitchen, yet again
  Tidy lounge a bit
  Read a chapter of my book “Atomic habits”

Well that’s it for today. 

Moneywhizz

Life is hard when you have to watch your budget so carefully that you don't overspend on any category but you have to keep your goal in mind of getting rid of this debt and putting yourself in much better position financially. Being secure financially gives you much more choice in other areas of your life too and might help with the situation you find yourself in currently. It much be very frustrating for you to have to provide for your husband while you are scrimping and scraping just to afford food and a birthday present for your daughter. I am sorry that you appear to be trapped in such difficult circumstances. I hope the weather picks up and you can enjoy some time outside over the weekend. 

Narola1976

Thank you Moneywhizz, it is hard at times, but I am for sure keeping my goal in mind. In fact I rarely stop thinking about the budget, and my debt journey. I am determined that one day in 5 years or less time, I will be able to inspire others with my story. Today has been a good day for me. While we didn’t go out for that walk,  I managed to clean the lounge finally. I do find for myself at least that when I am down, every other part of my life suffers as well. I am less motivated to eat well, or do household chores. But I am pleased I managed one task. I also sold a side table on facebook for $4 so that has gone into the birthday fund. It’s not much but every little helps. I also decided to make these biscuits with 3 ingredients. I am by no means a cook or a baker and usually when I try something new it goes horribly wrong. But today, these biscuits came out so well, we all enjoyed them. I was so proud of myself. They really were so amazing. I shall have to try them again.  Well that’s it for me. I shall now go to my bed and listen to one of my favourite authors - Lee Child. I have quite a few of his books on audio, so I am re-listening  to them since I no longer buy any. I also use the online library to get audio books which are free. 

Narola1976

Taking inspiration from the thread where you see your debt free journey (DFJ) as one of 100 steps, i.e, percentages, I have decided to use this to track my DFJ. So I will highlight when each step has been reached. Here they are - the first 15 anyway...

1%       =        £351.56
2%       =        £703.13
3%       =        £1054.69
4%       =        £1406.25
5%       =        £1757.81
6%       =        £2109.38
7%       =        £2460.94
8%       =        £2812.50
9%       =        £3164.07
10%     =        £3515.63
11%     =        £3867.19
12%     =        £4218.75
13%     =        £4570.32
14%     =        £4921.88
15%     =        £5273.44

Narola1976

Reading the forums are always so helpful. This morning I read a comment where the poster said one should pay £1 above the minimum payment to avoid a minimum payment marker. I was not aware that such a thing existed and I do wonder what the implications are if you do have one. But anyway, I decided to amended my snowball app to reflect this advice. So in effect I added a measly £4 to the snowball app, £1 for each of the credit cards. And the most amazing thing happened; it shaved a month off my DFD. A whole month for £4 extra. This is so inspiring. I am going to do whatever I can to add an extra few ££ whenever I can.  

OH just gave me £40 for a few groceries. I am only going to Mr Aldee to get a few bits, not a proper shop. And I plan to walk, so can’t have too heavy a backpack. I need some salad fixings as I really must get back on the low carb diet. My sugars are way out of control. I started a new medication — had a to watch a video to learn how to self inject. Not too bad. I hope it works. 

Not much planned for today. I want to rest more as have been busy over the last 3 days. It’s back to work tomorrow and I am going to be super busy. A quick tidy of the bathroom is about all I intend to do today. And of course make meals. Happy BH everyone. 

Narola1976

Morning, just wanted to share some good news.

Late last year I had a car accident. Myself and the other driver both felt the other was at fault. The other driver wasn’t budging but I had a lot of evidence to support my case. The solicitors provided by the insurers felt I had a strong chance of winning at court. So I agreed to initiate court proceedings as I genuinely knew I was not at fault, although the thought of attending court had my stomach in knots.

Months have gone by and the solicitors have been chasing the insurers for details of their costs so this could be included in the case, with no response. I had not heard anything from the insurers either so I decided to ring them for an update - only to find out the claim had been closed at the beginning of April, with the other party finally admitting liability and my insurers got all their money back that they had paid out repairing my car. I appreciate Covid-19 has impacted on work, but never mind not telling me, they also did not tell the insurers who since the claim was closed have written at least twice to the insurers chasing info for the court case!

Despite all this delay I am just so relieved that I will not have to go to court and that the other person has finally accepted liability. I am now trying to get my excess back. In my statement, I had been clear with the solicitors that all I wanted as compensation was my excess back (there were no injuries) and had to send them proof of the excess paid. The insurers tell me the solicitors are supposed to seek this from the other driver’s insurance. I really hope I can get the money back. 

Narola1976

Oh yes, another thing I wanted to mention.

With the BOE rates coming down, my mortgage rate has also fallen. It doesn’t change my payment as I have always overpaid by £100+ every month. But the interest has gone down from about £50 to £35. I used the MSE overpayment calculator and plugged in the new monthly payment plus the difference of the overpayment amount and it tells me that I will be mortgage free at exactly the same time as my DFD...in less than 5 years instead of 9 years (originally 13, but has come down with years of overpayment).

Now I know the interest rates will eventually go up and this will change the MFD but lets celebrate today’s news. I wish I could take advantage of the low rates and pay even more, but that is not possible at the moment. Small wins. I am grateful for them