Debt and Budget (Reset) plan

shell16

Morning all

I have missed some payment posting on the PAD thread over last couple of days.  I had £9.59 left form my weekly cash budget from Grocery so sent £5 to a monthly savings challenge im completing and £4.59 to Penny savings challenge.  

Prolific is still not at cashout stage, still at £4.32 and £2.35 pending.  I didnt get chance to do any surveys at all yesterday being my 1 day in the office.  I have made a small payment today of £2.29 which I have split £2 to Lloyds CC and 29p to SPC.  

Thanks @SusieT, @LittleMissDetermined and @Keedie, I will not be putting myself into a situation where Im sending too much to paying off debt and leaving myself short.  My debt free date is just 68 days away and im so very near naturally anyway.  Another 8 days to payday and my next lot of overpayments will be made of £385 towards my debt total, which should leave the total outstanding no more than £1365 if I send nothing further between now and my payday which is unlikely.  I have £16 left in my train travel pot too, however as im away with the girls this weekend as half term, I may use that, undecided yet so will leave where it is for now.  I also have £30 in Family fun I can use whilst away, in addition to the £200 for my daughters birthday on 18th February.  We always use £100 of that total to spend on a family activity for her birthday whether that be bowling or cinema so will let her decide and the rest will likely be spent on clothes.

Its also my birthday next week, and Im planning on treating myself to some much needed clothes.  Southport is great for shopping so will be definitely hitting the shops with some cash Hubby has given me already!  Love going away in the motorhome it is surprisingly relaxing and girls get some much needed fresh air and time off their devices.  Hubby setting us up and then heading off home as he is working and I always go away with the girls at least once a year just me and them.  

Im finishing work a little earlier today to see mum.  I didnt go on Tuesday as Im finding the travel to see her 3 times a week with a 100 mile round trip each time is taking its toll on me.  Feel guilty as she hasnt been great last few times I have seen her.  She has been crying alot  which isnt helped by her Dementia and apparently there was a resident at the weekend when my sister visited saying she wanted to go home all the time.  It got mum and other residents with Dementia upset so they had to move the other resident away from them.  Its really heartbreaking to see mum cry.  Im taking the girls to see her after school, so hoping mum will be happier although I have to keep reminding her they are her grandchildren

Thats about all for now.
Shell x

shell16

Finally managed to cashout from Prolific £6.62 and sent £6 to Lloyds CC and 62p to SPC.  Since joining Prolific in August 2021 at the very start of my debt free journey I have cleared £751.88 and completed a staggering 667 surveys

My debt free app is saying I will be Debt free by May but this is not correct, final payment stated as £376.10 currently and I will be paying £385 overpayment next week when im paid so im hoping the app will correct itself!

Shell x

MissPennySave

Wow, that's a lot of surveys!!  Great effort!! I'm still waiting to be accepted to Prolific, and I must get back to doing my CC and Qmee surveys, I've been rubbish lately!!

Ooooh what app do you use???x

shell16

Hi @MissPennySave, its the Debt payoff planner.

I never included the loan in this app as it was a set amount each month and had just over 12 months to run until it was paid in Nov 22.

Shell x

MissPennySave

Oh that looks great!  Thank you will download it now!x

LittleMissDetermined

I tried that app a while ago but as I was down to just one CC without any interest being generated I didn't find it useful. I WISH I had found it 2-3 years ago though as it's really useful if you have multiple debts and some generating interest

shell16

I found this app so useful and use it every day as its visually a huge motivator.  Im only paying a very tiny amount of interest on the Lloyds card at 3.9% . When I started I had 2 years to debt freedom although I have managed to cut this back 4 months by overpayments.

I wouldnt say that was the only thing that kept me on the straight and narrow, it was this forum and the inspiring stories from others diaries.  I can say hand on heart that I will never let myself get into a position of debt again.  If I want something then I save for it, full stop.  Some say to continue using a credit card each month when debt free to pay for fuel or groceries just to show that you continue to be a good risk for credit should the need arise but as long as it is PAID IN FULL!

LittleMissDetermined

I can wholeheartedly agree with you about not getting into debt in the future.  I never again want to feel that pit of the stomach feeling when I didn’t know how I was going to pay it.

I am definitely going to keep a couple of card accounts open, not sure about doing the fuel thing yet or just for large purchase protection.  I have a fair few months to decide 😂

MissPennySave

I still use my CC for groceries, I get cashback on it as well, but as soon as I've paid for them, I clear it straight away so it always has a £0 balance.

So far I am loving the app! It's nice to have it all in my phone so I can check what's going on when I'm not near my computer and trusty spreadsheet!

I also haven't closed any accounts yet, because my balance is so high leaving the unused ones open means my total borrowing is under 50%, which is a scary thought knowing I have access to almost £100k of credit! That is just madness!!!x

joedenise

You're so very nearly there now @shell16.  Well done.

I've continued to use a CC just to get points (I used a Tesco CC) and pay off in full every month.  The points then get used towards our motorhome Eurotunnel fare.  The points this year covered the whole cost of one trip and I didn't need to pay anything at all towards it.  Usually it doesn't come out at an even amount and end up having to pay something like £12 or £13 towards it!