Debt free wife, happy life

Bluegreen143

How are you getting on @sonyarita?

sonyarita

Sorry I did not see your post @Bluegreen143!
I have been working 50+ hours a week since the end of July and have taken the weekend off to relax, budget and get organised! I have been reading through the diaries but not much has happened with my debt situation since I don't get my first full pay until next week...I'm counting down the days 😁

I started receiving mail for a loan I defaulted on for about 900 that is not on my original soa but I have negotiated a f&f settlement of 50% which I will pay in installments in October and November.

I set up payments for the defaults for SSE, BT, Santander and the small Lowell debt but I plan to clear the balances by the end of the year and hopefully by then I will have heard back from Wescot about whether the Barclaycard debt is enforceable or not. I am awaiting a response from Avant for a f&f as well.

I suspect my debt to Capital One may be unenforceable but they have not start chasing me yet so just leaving this one until they start contact.

Once I get these debts sorted I will then focus on clearing the other debts that I have. That's the plan anyway!!

I tried selling on eBay but I honestly don't have the time or inclination to make any money from it. I ended up putting sacks of clothing in to the charity shops. Even though I wasn't any better off money wise it just felt like a big weight was lifted not having all this stuff in my wardrobes.

 I did manage to make some money on Gumtree with some higher ticket items which kept the cash flow going when I wasn't earning over the summer. 

Today just going to spend time with family, we are having a baking day with the boy and going to make carrot cake and banana bread and later on going a nice walk.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

savingholmes

Well done on getting stuck into work and making progress with clearing your debts. Stick with it and you will get there...

sonyarita

Thanks savingholmes. I think by just listing everything down and using this forum it has given me a lot of motivation!

It's my boy's birthday in the next few weeks, he will be 4, so I have picked out the presents and sticking to a budget of £50. I keep having to tell myself it's not a miserly amount and 
a) I don't want him to be materialistic
b) He already has plenty of toys that he loves and none of them were particularly expensive
c) I know what family members are giving him so he will have enough
d) I want to reduce consumption 

It's funny that I am having this conversation with myself as if I need to justify it. I was reading on someone else's diary about how they are disgusted with consumerism that is ubiquitous these days and I feel the same to be honest. Why does celebrating the birth of someone need to equate to spending excesses of money- as if you need to spend loads to prove your love and to show you are a good parent ? 🙄

The wee yin doesn't even really have much concept of the cost of things so it seems mad to overspend just for the sake of it. 

That's my thoughts for the day ☺️

sonyarita

I have been reading about accounts with savings pots, unfortunately I can't upgrade my current account because of my horrendous credit rating but I have spent the morning opening a Monzo account and have opened savings pots for my new boiler and for Christmas this year.

I received a one off payment this month which I have used to re-plaster the hallway and will be buying new skirting, internal door, carpets, paint etc. It was meant for my new boiler but my hall was a disaster, really old and shabby and dirty looking, threadbare carpet etc. It has been stripped back to the bare bones and I can't wait to see the end result.

At least I am paying it all upfront, for me that is the main thing now.

savingholmes

£50 is more than enough especially in at 4. Buy clothes and not just toys. My kids got way too much when they were little

sonyarita

I haven't stuck to my budgets at all this month so I am going to have to work extra shifts in the job I get paid weekly in to get through the month.

It's my own fault really as I haven't been careful and went off on an impulse doing up the hallway. 

We also went away last weekend and ended up spending more on drinks than I had anticipated.

I had bought my boy's presents online and when the parcel came in, my partner opened them and gave them to him not realising it was to be kept for his birthday 😱....so will have to see about buying a new present now.

I have also been buying lots of takeaways recently. I had good intentions for my spending but it's all gone to pot!!

Next month should be better as I don't have anything planned, have no birthdays and will take a month off the DIY.

savingholmes

You can only start from where you are. Try again from today and go from there. 

sonyarita

Thanks, just need to try a bit harder!! I enjoy calculating the actual budget but then don't seem to stick to them.

 I think I might try keeping money in envelopes for things like petrol and shopping and see if that works.

I have some pots going on Monzo so from now on will transfer my savings in there, take out grocery money for month and keep in envelope, should really account for one (or two) takeaways as we do enjoy them.

sonyarita

Got paid yesterday and every penny has been accounted for! I was really excited to have the money to buy a carpet for the hall/stairs- I have been looking at it online for months and worried it would sell out and I would miss out on it. It's quite a unique pattern/colour combo and the only one I like that I have seen in my price range.

If I had credit available I would have went for one at £70 sq. M (ouch) but as it happens this was reduced from £39.99 sq m to £29.99 so a good saving.

I also paid off the debt to Santander so my defaulted debts now look like this:

BT...............................85....will pay 30/11
SSE...........................168....will pay 30/12
Barclaycard...............1061...awaiting cca
Capital One................2894....awaiting cca
Santander...................0....paid 30/10
MyJar.........................300...will pay off Jan/Feb 21
AvantCredit...............3792....awaiting f&f response
Creation....................651....will start paying March 21
Lowell.......................257....paying 30 a month
Lowell.....................2350
Next........................613
Total Defaulted debts.......12279

I have been skimming money off my account every few days and putting in Monzo pot for new boiler, have about £65 in there...now that hall is nearly done will put £300 a month away starting in November.

It's giving me a lot of satisfaction buying things up front, although I should probably stop spending as much now and get these debts paid as I haven't been treating them with any urgency at all.

I see my spends as an investment in my home though, a home that I will own one day...this is how I justify it!!