Debt free wife, happy life

sonyarita

Had a nsd today- met my friend at a country park with her 2 and my wee one, was organised for a change and had snacks/water in my bag rather than spending money at the tea room. Was so good to get out in the fresh air- I tend not to be too physically active in the summer months because I am a sweaty Betty! But I desperately need to lose weight and walking seems to be the cheapest/easiest way for me.

I even ventured out with the dog on my own later in the afternoon for a 45 min walk along the beach. I was drenched in sweat and my muscles ached but felt very pleased with myself for doing it.

Dinner was pork chops that were in the freezer and broccoli, carrots and fried onions on the side.

I also noticed I have about 6 tins of chick peas in the cupboard, I went through a phase of buying them every time I went shopping but never actually using them! Will need to look out some recipes as I am none too excited at the prospect of a chick pea curry 🙄

I have spent a bit of time today reading through some of the other diaries. I think I must be nosey by nature as I love the snapshot to other peoples'  lives and having a glimpse of other posters' financials....maybe it is because I wouldn't normally have as candid a conversation about money in real life- it is very much not the done thing where I am from.

Bluegreen143

Have subscribed to your diary! I love reading diaries too 🙂 like you say, I feel like with real life friends it’s all shrouded in mystery. I was really surprised having a conversation with a friend recently. She lives in one of the most expensive postcode in our city and has just committed to sending her two to private school & she said they normally have no savings and live month by month. They have a high income to afford it all but it just made me think, I always assumed from looking at their lifestyle that they would be rolling in it with lots of savings. Made me realise that not having savings is more common that you think! We also don’t have much saved and get by month by month, but have a low income for a family of four. Drove home to me that waiting for a higher income won’t automatically change our situation if we continue to spend everything each month!

sonyarita

@Bluegreen thanks for subscribing :-) it just goes to show that appearances can be deceptive/ grass isn't always greener. I've read a good point on here a few times that the more money you have, the higher the debts so it's all relative really.

Well I have had another 2 nsd and know how much my final pay from last employer is. If my sums are correct I have 127.91 to budget for our groceries for the next month from the 23rd July.

I have a huge box of weetabix and bag of oats so that's breakfasts sorted at least. We usually have eggs for breakfast but we can have for lunch instead and then I only need to think about dinners and fruit/yoghurts/nuts etc.

Today I was thinking about how I can generate income so have listed a few items on gumtree. I have stacks of clothes that have never been worn so will just spend a bit of time over the next week listing them.

I usually just put excess clothes in to charity shops so I do feel guilty selling them. I just need to keep telling myself it is to keep this family afloat for the next 8 weeks or so until our income improves.

I also noticed on my Lidl receipts that if you complete an online survey you get put in to a draw to win 100 quid shopping vouchers. I never win anything lol but suppose you have to be in it to win it!

I wanted to ask anyone who might be reading this if they have ever wrote love letters to their favourite brands/shops etc? I seen it as a suggestion on mse to receive freebies/vouchers but was wondering how successful it would be 🤔🧐

sonyarita

Today was a nice wee day, took the wee fella to a garden party at my friend's house. This is a huuuuge garden, he was having so much fun running about, picking up twigs to make a bonfire and picking apples (way too early to eat lol). He was fascinated to learn apples grow on trees ☺️

Finally managed to get him to sleep just now, he refuses to sleep in his bed and will only sleep on the floor. He seems to hate sleeping, last night he was up watching TV at 3am, he must have got up and switched it on himself wee menace 😁

Well I did have to spend money today, spent 30 on a present. In the past I have struggled to stick to present budgets, I need to find cheaper gift ideas really but today I had left it to the last minute to buy something. 

On the plus side I sold something on gumtree for a tenner which I am putting in the pot to pay the milk woman so I don't need to take out anymore cash for now! I am excited to get selling on gumtree and declutter and make some hard cash! 

sonyarita

I feel so cold today, got soaked walking the dog this morning and have never really warmed up again, I am tempted to put the heating on but think I will just sit under my duvet for a while with a nice cup of tea!

I feel like I was ripped off by SSE for gas and elec, I am loathe to pay them back but as they haven't defaulted me I decided to sort this out this week. They have referred me to Moorcroft so I set up a payment plan for £10 for the SSE debt and £10 for the debt I owe BT which is at Moorcroft as well.

I didn't want to offer anymore because my income is so variable right now, but I don't want to risk any more defaults.

I see that Creation haven't actually defaulted me as yet so they are next on my hit list. I had letters from a company called Pastdue Credit Solutions for this debt but their offices are closed at the moment; I have emailed them to make contact when they re-open.

Another step I have made this week is I have ordered a SIM card for a mobile company my partner uses for £5 a month- he will get £10 for referring me.

For years I have been upgrading my phone every 2 years and paying for a new phone. I lost my last phone and was shocked to see the phone was costing me £700! 

a) It seems crazy now that I was buying these phones and not even being aware of the phone cost
b) I am not in to gadgets and tech so use half the features
c) I would never go in to a shop and pick out a phone at that cost.

From these realisations I have decided I won't be taking on expensive upgrades in future. I didn't have insurance for my phone so I got a 2nd hand phone from a friend to use and it is wonderful!

It makes me feel sick thinking about the money I have frittered over the years, I suppose a positive way of looking at it is at least I was contributing to the economy 🤭🙄

yummymummy2012

Hi, I have subscribed too, sounds like you are in the right headspace for doing this.  Have you downloaded Shoppix app (if you have a phone after losing it) as you just scan any receipts to get points that you can then get vouchers for amazon etc for.  So free money, may be handy for buying presents etc in the future?  Also depending on what time you have, Prolific is a good survey site, where you can cash out above £5, and the surveys dont take too long on you phone or PC.  These may be some ways to give you a boost over the next 8 weeks?

sonyarita

Hi @yummymummy2012 thanks for subscribing. It's nice to know people are reading!

I have never heard of shoppix but it sounds interesting; will be looking in to this later.

I will also look at Prolific, seen it mentioned a few times on here. I remember trying to do surveys a few years back and getting bored and fed up with looking for surveys to do and not being eligible for any! My circumstances are different now right enough. 

I signed up to AngelFish but looks like I need a webcam for a lot of the stuff and I don't have one....

storybookgirl

Hi!  I like prolific for a little bit of extra money.  It's not going to earn big bucks but I've got £12 in 3 days just from having it open on my laptop in the evenings to spot surveys when they pop up!  I'm in the 1% challenge so I'm just using it as income towards that!

sonyarita

Feels like I haven't updated my diary for ages but has only been 9 days- it seems like so much time has passed!

I started one of my new jobs this week so been busy with that. I have never worked in care before but it has went well and the clients I have supported this week seem to have taken to me alright so hopefully will have some shifts on my own next week. My plan is to work all the hours God sends until my course starts on 5th October!

I must say it is terrible what working in sedentary jobs has done to my fitness and body. I have been on my feet all day today and walked loads of steps, I am shattered and back and feet need a good seeing to haha!!

Money wise I have had a few albeit smart spends in the past week. We had a problem with a leak under the bath so the lino tiles were ruined. I managed to procure 4 boxes of Porcelanosa tiles on Gumtree for £40 which was a massive saving. 

In the past I got in to debt because I would buy expensive and brand new...it would never occur to me to look on sites like Gumtree or Freecycle but now they are my go to if I need to procure something.

I also needed a repair to my car but fortunately we have a great garage locally who are very cheap so can't really complain.

I have took a few steps in tackling my debt- I am now making monthly payments to the Santander, BT, SSE and smallest Lowell debt and paid £10 to each debt to start off with.

I had listed loads of stuff on Gumtree but not had any interest so going to list on eBay. I had listed a skirt on eBay and it sold today so maybe my other stuff will sell there. My plan is to save any eBay money on the PayPal account and then use it for Christmas presents in December.

Well that's me for now, I'm away to see if I can get a foot massage lol 🤭

ceremony

I'm glad the new job went well! You'll find the fitness comes back quick!

If you're not in a rush to sell things, subscribe to ebay's mailing list and keep an eye open for their cheap listing days. They do them once every few weeks and it could save you a bit on fees.