I’m 34 and have been in debt since I was 18. It ends now!

Aspiration

Sounds like you’re getting a nice balance between life and reducing debt, which is great!

The_Lady_Sarah

Hi
interesting to read how your doing….
I wanted to mention 2 things that may help you… 
1) Facebook market place - I always list my stuff on fb marketplace before EBay…. No fees or postage costs! If after 1 week it’s not sold then eBay gets it…. 

2) clothes - bundle of clothes can be taken to the clothiers who pay per kilo I don’t know if you have any near you but it’s very worth it if they don’t sell on Facebook marketplace first…. 

Sarah

GolfR

Thanks for your posts; Sarah I did put a few things on fb marketplace and only one thing sold, all the others are people asking if they’re available and then no more replies and I got fed up of that! One thing ended on eBay earlier which should get me £10 after postage and I have one more thing worth something ending this evening and then that’s all my things to sell apart from two low value items of clothing which may not even sell but I’m not overly bothered.

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve just paid £700 off my Tesco loan taking it from £7915 to £7215!! I feel absolutely amazing and can’t believe I’ve managed to raise all this from selling things on eBay. I didn’t think my things were worth so much I have cut back a lot which has helped but 90% of that money has come from eBay and musicmagpie et al. And once next months loan payment goes out on the 25th it’ll be in the £6000’s. I feel absolutely amazing and it’s such an achievement when I think how I used to be with money. I’ve still got another £32 ish due from eBay once two items that I sent last week are confirmed as delivered (they have been delivered, I’m just waiting for eBay to catch up) and then my usual monthly wage is coming in on Monday and I’m very excited to see what extra I can pay towards my loan at the end of my pay period.

I’m back in work tonight which is always rubbish at the end of annual leave but I’m off again in a fortnight so I’m looking forward to that. Hope you’re all doing great!

GolfR

I’ve been thinking today…I have a dab clock radio in my bedroom which is quite big and I only use it for the clock. I also have an Alexa which is an older one and isn’t the one that has the time on it. I don’t know whether to get rid of the clock radio and get an Alexa with the time so that it takes up less space. My minimalistic/decluttering ways of the moment are clashing with my spend less ways! 

I sold my Nintendo DS which I never used on eBay last night and, after postage, I should get about £40 so I’m very pleased with that. I’m currently negative £47 on my account (£50 interest free overdraft) so this and my final eBay payout of £39 will take me back into the black. I need to spend about roughly about £10 on groceries this weekend so I should be £20 in credit come payday on Monday.

My electric bill has increased to £72 from £41 this month as I’m in debt on it. I’m annoyed about this but not sure of a way around it really as if I’m in debt it needs to be paid back somehow. I just don’t understand how £41 a month isn’t enough when it’s just me and the kids and I’m not home 40% of the time. I was on a key meter before which I was topping up with around £30/£35 max per month and since I changed to a credit meter my bill seems to have gone way up which I really don’t understand, it’s meant to be lower on a credit meter. And I did a comparison not too long ago and the tariff I’m on seems to be the cheapest one so goodness knows

GolfR

Feeling really great today (apart from being back in work tonight!) I decluttered the understairs last night and I found a few things to put on marketplace including some camping chairs, a full sealed 4l container of oil for my previous car and a baby/puppy playpen. The camping chairs just went and I got £20 for them, a girl in work is buying two kids camping chairs from me for £15 and I’ve got someone coming tomorrow for a dog car seat thing for £5 so that’s £40 cash I’ll have for my next food shop meaning I can put the same £40 from my current account towards my loan. 

I’ve booked another tip run in the morning straight after work for some old broken blinds that I found in the understairs and some other bits. My house is really starting to come together now and it’s looking so much tidier but I do still have quite a bit to do, namely the kids rooms. I’m still getting over the shock of how much clutter I had in my house that has earned me almost £1000. I dread to think how much I’ve actually spent over the years buying all the crap.

I think I’ve got bit of a spendy month next time so I’m not sure what I’ll be able to put towards my loan. I have £155 to pay for my years car tax and it’s my sons birthday. I’m taking my kids to the trampoline park they love for his birthday and a friend each and they want me to go on too so that’s £40 (£8 each), and a cake which will take it to £50. I’ve told him he’s got a £50 present limit so his birthday will cost me £100 ish. I don’t know if £50 is a lot for a birthday limit? I used to spend a lot more and you can’t get much for £50 nowadays with the gaming type things he’s into. I’ve already bought him a personalised minecraft mug which I think he’ll love, he’s started drinking from a mug so it’ll be nice for him to have one of his own.

I’m leaving for work in just over an hour so I’d best get ready, happy evening everyone

mark55man

With the car tax, I pay by monthly direct debit, which is really easy to set up.  Warning it is about £10 more expensive, but if the money that would have been spent is going to be used to offset an interest paying loan you might be nearly level.  It also renews automatically every year without fuss, so whilst it wasn't the hardest admin in the world I am happy paying a little "lazy tax" to be done with it

Buffythedebtslayer

GolfR said:

Thanks for your posts; Sarah I did put a few things on fb marketplace and only one thing sold, all the others are people asking if they’re available and then no more replies and I got fed up of that! One thing ended on eBay earlier which should get me £10 after postage and I have one more thing worth something ending this evening and then that’s all my things to sell apart from two low value items of clothing which may not even sell but I’m not overly bothered.

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve just paid £700 off my Tesco loan taking it from £7915 to £7215!! I feel absolutely amazing and can’t believe I’ve managed to raise all this from selling things on eBay. I didn’t think my things were worth so much I have cut back a lot which has helped but 90% of that money has come from eBay and musicmagpie et al. And once next months loan payment goes out on the 25th it’ll be in the £6000’s. I feel absolutely amazing and it’s such an achievement when I think how I used to be with money. I’ve still got another £32 ish due from eBay once two items that I sent last week are confirmed as delivered (they have been delivered, I’m just waiting for eBay to catch up) and then my usual monthly wage is coming in on Monday and I’m very excited to see what extra I can pay towards my loan at the end of my pay period.

I’m back in work tonight which is always rubbish at the end of annual leave but I’m off again in a fortnight so I’m looking forward to that. Hope you’re all doing great!

That is amazing! 700 pounds! Brilliant!  no wonder you feel amazing XX 

Buffythedebtslayer

GolfR said:

I’ve been thinking today…I have a dab clock radio in my bedroom which is quite big and I only use it for the clock. I also have an Alexa which is an older one and isn’t the one that has the time on it. I don’t know whether to get rid of the clock radio and get an Alexa with the time so that it takes up less space. My minimalistic/decluttering ways of the moment are clashing with my spend less ways! 

I sold my Nintendo DS which I never used on eBay last night and, after postage, I should get about £40 so I’m very pleased with that. I’m currently negative £47 on my account (£50 interest free overdraft) so this and my final eBay payout of £39 will take me back into the black. I need to spend about roughly about £10 on groceries this weekend so I should be £20 in credit come payday on Monday.

My electric bill has increased to £72 from £41 this month as I’m in debt on it. I’m annoyed about this but not sure of a way around it really as if I’m in debt it needs to be paid back somehow. I just don’t understand how £41 a month isn’t enough when it’s just me and the kids and I’m not home 40% of the time. I was on a key meter before which I was topping up with around £30/£35 max per month and since I changed to a credit meter my bill seems to have gone way up which I really don’t understand, it’s meant to be lower on a credit meter. And I did a comparison not too long ago and the tariff I’m on seems to be the cheapest one so goodness knows

Ha I do that with stuff! Could you sell the Alexa?  Use the clock radio somewhere else in the house? 

I am so impressed with your e baying! 

I would ring and ask about the electric bill. Ours is 75ish but Mum has everything on all the time so it is fair enough. 

Brie

Amazing posts!  Well done for the light bulb moment and the decluttering and the weight loss too (really jealous about that!)

You mentioned that you have a subscription for a accounting programme or something.  And quite rightly realise you can probably do the same on excel.  I wondered if you had others - you mentioned buying some bags on Amazon.  Do you have a prime subscription you need to get rid of?  Anything else??  These things tend to creep into our lives and we lose track so easily.  If you do a full statement of accounts with all of your ins and outs it may help you focus on what can be cut.

regarding having an emergency fund.....I've always wondered about these.  I think they are great if everything is ticking along ok and you can afford to put £X into an account every month.  But if putting that same £X against outstanding debt means you clear it all quicker then it may be worth thinking about prioritising that.  You say that you have a credit card I believe so that can be your safety net.  Yes the interest rate is much higher then your loans if not paid in full but it would help you through to pay day.  Just a thought.  

And your electricity - have you done a meter reading?  Or is a credit meter different to a standard one?  In any case check your bill to see that you are paying for what you use and not what they estimate.  It's great to have a standard DD going out every month year round so you can budget but you shouldn't need to build up too much credit with the electricity provider during the summer just because you'll need more electric in the winter.

Well I'll shut up for now and sit back to watch you work wonders.  Best of luck!!!

Brie

Amazing posts!  Well done for the light bulb moment and the decluttering and the weight loss too (really jealous about that!)

You mentioned that you have a subscription for a accounting programme or something.  And quite rightly realise you can probably do the same on excel.  I wondered if you had others - you mentioned buying some bags on Amazon.  Do you have a prime subscription you need to get rid of?  Anything else??  These things tend to creep into our lives and we lose track so easily.  If you do a full statement of accounts with all of your ins and outs it may help you focus on what can be cut.

regarding having an emergency fund.....I've always wondered about these.  I think they are great if everything is ticking along ok and you can afford to put £X into an account every month.  But if putting that same £X against outstanding debt means you clear it all quicker then it may be worth thinking about prioritising that.  You say that you have a credit card I believe so that can be your safety net.  Yes the interest rate is much higher then your loans if not paid in full but it would help you through to pay day.  Just a thought.  

And your electricity - have you done a meter reading?  Or is a credit meter different to a standard one?  In any case check your bill to see that you are paying for what you use and not what they estimate.  It's great to have a standard DD going out every month year round so you can budget but you shouldn't need to build up too much credit with the electricity provider during the summer just because you'll need more electric in the winter.

Well I'll shut up for now and sit back to watch you work wonders.  Best of luck!!!