£22248

sonyarita

Hi I have just came across your diary and have subscribed so looking forward to reading about your progress!
I am also quite new here but it really is an excellent forum for ideas and inspiration.

storybookgirl

I'm in the middle of applying for a grant to cover energy debt.  One of the criteria was that I had been in contact with a debt management company which I haven't done previously because we can cover the cost of our outgoings and it is an overspending issue.  The energy debt was from a direct debit not being set up and therefore not getting paid.  My husband has been in contact with the management company so we are just waiting on a reference number from them in order to complete the application.  It's around £700 so will be a big help towards the debt if we are eligible.

It's payday tomorrow so I've had another chat with my husband about the constant spending.  He's agreed to hand over the bankcard and will only deal with cash.  I'm going to delete the Amazon and eBay apps off of my phone as they are my issue.

We had a really lovely family day out yesterday visiting a country park and the only cost was petrol and a drink for the way home.  We took snacks with us and we had taken drinks but didn't take enough - we know better for next time but it was still a low cost day.  We're planning to do a similar outing this weekend - we're really lucky as we will in an area with lots of country parks and coastal walks and we just don't take advantage of them enough!

I really want to sort this debt.  I'm getting nervous about it being payday because that's always when the spending starts.  We're using this month to tweak our budget but we can make a bit of an over payment on one of the debts too and then hopefully I'll get a bit more from prolific and eBay if they put on a free listing weekend.

My prolific account has been sat at £11.05 for a few days, I don't know where the surveys have gone!  I'm trying to collect at £17 so that I can pay off 1% of my current challenge!

storybookgirl

My husband dyed all of our towels by washing with my boys new bedsheets....  seriously resisting a big urge to buy new towels now but they still function as towels they're just a very odd colour now!!

storybookgirl

It's pay day and the spending urge is there!!  I've bought some planned items for the month:

Car Seat £93 - the rest was money that was saved
Window blind £49.27
Pet supplies £45.58 (food and litter)
Debt over payment £33.72 + minimum payment of £16.46 (towards PayPal pushchair purchase)

We will need to get some food shopping today too and although I've ordered pet supplies we are out of cat littler today so will need to buy a bag to get us through until the delivery arrives at the end of the week.  My husband will withdraw our food shopping money for the money and then hand over the bankcard!  He's working in his supermarket today and is under strict instructions of what is okay and not okay to buy!  Wish us luck!!

storybookgirl

First unplanned purchase....  vests for my toddler....  cheap and cheerful ones only though (Asda £5 for 5).

I couldn't find elsewhere for cheaper but usually I would have gone straight to Next for them.  We had decided a while ago not to even use them anymore but he keeps taking his nappy off if he doesn't have one on!

storybookgirl

I think my husband has a spending problem...  I've just found a tin of paint that he bought as he's decided to paint our boys bedroom (£16) and a couple of pairs of washing up gloves (£2) - that one is fair enough!  But today he went out to pick up an order from M&S (maternity bits ordered with gift vouchers) and spent £8 whilst he was there on cheese scones and Percy Pigs!!!  Argh!!

I've done a few Prolific surveys today so once I've got the money through for those it will be another 1% paid off.  I've got £27.66 sat in an account that I need to contact Barclays to get a card for which can also be paid off of the debt.  I've cleared out a pile of clothes to get loaded on to eBay in wait for a free listing weekend and some books that I will put through music magpie or similar.    I have real anxiety about contacting banks...

storybookgirl

I also forgot...  there's a chance that I was paying for a cinema subscription card for 18 months after I had given my months notice to cancel.  I'm just waiting on confirmation on if this happened or not.  If it did, hopefully I'll be able to get a refund ~£350.

storybookgirl

A small amount spent on food shopping (£16.37) and a nursery bill (£37.05) are the recent spends.

I've switched internet supplier today which take it from £42 per month to £24 so I'm pleased with that!  I'm in a special interest book club and the book for August is one that I already have at home which will save me roughly £10 too.  I've sorted out some books for music magpie, just need to find something to pack them in.

Most of our debt is in my name as I was able to get 0% deals so my husband has very little in his.  He has got a very account with a similar amount to PayPal pushchair account that I'm working on paying off at the moment so we're having a little friendly competition to see who can pay theirs off first!  We don't have his and hers money, everything goes in together including debt so it's not a big deal but it might motivate him a little!  To be honest he could easily win as he plays a trading card game which he occasionally sells card from for a bit of extra money!


Things to do:
-Contact Barclays to get access to unused account
-Await response to energy debt grant
-Switch gas/elec supplier ASAP as possibly quite expensive
-List clothes on eBay ready for a free listing weekend

Tahlullah.H

You will be ok with the bank.  You have done the really hard bit, which is take control of the spending.  The bank can't scare you more than that.
Good luck, you are doing fine.  Prolific is doing great and ebay will get round to free listing soon.

storybookgirl

Just checked in to my husbands credit file and he has a new default from April this year. It’s £30 for a phone contract final bill that he ‘forgot’ to pay because he wouldn’t set up a direct debit and just paid manually every month.

6 year default for the sake of £30. I’m so sad right now.