£31k of debt to go in 18 months.

flapflop

£12.20 spent today. Bought mushrooms, bread, ham and corned beef and a cheeky lucozade which was better than the fat coke I wanted but not as good as nothing or taking my own water. I also went along to the fairshare larder. We got a lot of food for £5 and I will give some to my mum. I've sold quite a bit today so far. £113. Yay. I'll put all of that towards Paypal. Although, I have £318 to pay on Next. I wonder if I can set myself a challenge to clear that this month with what I sell or save from my food budget. That would be a good goal. I'm already down to £205. If I use the money from the sales the last few days that is another £77 off which leaves £128. That is my goal this month. To save or sell the balance of the Next account. 

remote_control

Hi Flapflop, I have just read your diary and have subscribed! You are doing so well! It won't be long at all until you just have the two loans and the two 0% cards. As you say it will be a slog but you are not spending on credit any more so it will only go downwards. 
I've been getting a lot of inspiration from frugal living blogs recently as well as decluttering. We've been decluttering in January and found a few things to sell as well as lots of bags for the clothes recycling and the charity shop. 
I do the 1% challenge as well. I have all but one debt set to minimum payment and then any extra money I can get I over pay my smallest debt via the 1% challenge. For me it is easier to think 'how can I get £39' rather than 'how can I get £3900'
Keep posting every day

flapflop

Hi @remote_control thank you so much for your kind words. Im feeling really pumped at the moment. Honestly its the most enthusiastic I've been about anything for absolutely ages. 
I like the idea of 1% at a time. I've got another £25 from a sale to put towards Next tomorrow. I would really like a NSD tomorrow, especially as I haven't had one yet. Does it seem crazy that I haven't managed to go a single day without spending any money? I'm still so much better off than I was this time last month. 

flapflop

Woke up to find I had sold another £68 on fleabay. My partner is having some guff from a buyer who rejected an item (it was sent signed for and then rejected and sent back) so I am keeping some money aside in case he needs some help as he had already spent that money. If he doesn't need it then I have an extra £120 to put somewhere but for now that isn't mine. I have £65.29 on it's way to me today from Ebay. Without the £120 that leaves £208.51 to be cleared from Next which is the little challenge I have set myself this month. I'll probably pay the extra 51p today. Pay that debt with any money I save from not spending money or pay the debt with what I sell this month. 
I'm hoping not to spend any money today. I don't think I need anything. I do need to go to the post office but they buyers have paid for all of that. 
I saw on one of these diaries that someone logs into their account each day and skims the pennies into a savings account so if the account balance is £21.21, then the 21p goes into a savings account. I'm going to start doing that. I did have Chip and it was great but I want to clear the debts before I start anything like that again. 

flapflop

Really wanted to buy a choccy bar at the Post Office but I didn't. £1 saved. Boom. 

mark55man

if you don't spend £1 a day, that's over £300 in a year

flapflop

mark55man said:

if you don't spend £1 a day, that's over £300 in a year

That is a very good way to look at it. 

anjyeah

Just thought I'd pop by and say good luck! 
Like you, I am currently feeling empowered in taking control of my spending. I try not to wallow in my regrets too long and focus on my actions. Stories like yours are what's someone like me soldiering on. 

flapflop

@anjyeah thankyou for joining me. Let's keep each other going when things start to drag.
So I set myself a target to have cleared £390 of Next debt by the end of the month with money made from selling stuff or saving money and I only have £40 to go. I can't believe it. I really cannot believe how much of a difference having financial accountability makes! I had planned to pay off Next and PayPal and Very next month but once that £40 is cleared I can start paying off extra on one of the others. AND I still have almost all our food budget left. Normally by this point I would be waiting for the next payday. Mind blown. 

puckishpixie

Just subscribed we have a similar amount of debt but my dfd is a lot further out. I use a Monzo account for spending only, I got it last year when all the shops starting asking you to not use cash so my cash envelopes weren't an option anymore and now wouldn't be without it. You can assign each transaction to a pot so you know how much you have to spent in that section. I think the best thing about it that as soon as you make that payment on your card it is showing on your account no more of the pending amount that finally shows days later.