Third time's a charm!

Squirrelz92

Morning Twiggy The whole 'not being allowed to balance transfer to the same group of CC's' is annoying isn't it?

Regarding your progress on not feeling as though you are making enough progress with your debt repayments, its one step at a time. I am always calculating and recalculating what I think I can throw at my debt, but then come the end of the period I never have that amount so I feel like a failure. I dont acknowledge however my consistency with making £1 daily PAD's or making a few pound here and there on Prolific at the weekend to throw to it. ANYTHING extra no matter how small is reason to be proud of yourself. You are also putting money aside for your expenses which in itself is brilliant! If only we had big enough salaries to fill all our pots in one month! You will get there! xx

twiggy86

Thanks @Squirrelz92 - you are right, I am making progress just not great big dents that I'd like! I try to budget to zero so means I don't have bits and bobs to throw at it regularly but I may consider if this still works for me! 

So I think my balance transfer did go through - well its showing as going into the card I transferred it to, but not out of the one I transferred it from! I will wait for it all to complete finalise before I then transfer it to the new card. Both transfers are fee free so its just a bit more of a faff but not costing me money to do all this re-shuffling! Of course, it would be great if I'd cleared it before the interest free period ran out! 

Once this has all completed, it will reduce the number of debts by one. I will then only be left with £500 on one card so that will be my first priority to take the debts down by another one. I'm also hoping to have my parents repaid by the end of January - that's the plan at the moment anyway! Hopefully once I'm down to 4 (!!!) debts I'll feel like I'm making more progress as I'll be able to pay bigger chunks off fewer debts, rather than spreading the same money around more cards! 

In non-money related, I made more progress on sorting out the house last night by putting some bits in the loft. This did involve me carrying little stacks of DVDs up the loft ladder as I couldn't carry the whole box and was in a determined mindset so didn't ask OH to help!! (He did offer!) I've also thought of a possible short-term solution for one of the things I want to do in the living room, although will involve a small spend. I want to replace our armchair as it's incredible grubby, a bit ripped but mainly doesn't fit the space well. But as an interim measure I may get a chair cover, which will at least make it look better until we can afford to buy a new one! Something to look into! 

twiggy86

The balance transfer has gone through! So now I need to complete stage 2 of the shuffling - which is transferring the balance from 2 different credit cards onto the new card. However I've just realised I haven't got one of the cards on me at work. Actually I think I can view the details in the banking app. I'll give it a try in a moment! The slightly complicating factor is that I'm due a refund on one of the cards, although not entirely sure of the amount (I bought some clothes which had a discount which means it's complicating to know exactly the amount owed back!). Plus the credit limit on the card means I can't transfer the entire balance of the two cards. Oh wouldn't life be simpler if I didn't get myself into this pickle!!

For full accountability I did buy some Christmas decorations last night - however I'm taking that out of my x-mas pot! I didn't however utter the words that started floating around in my head when I got home from work late and then had loads of housework to do... "shall we get a takeaway"?! So that's a bonus! Instead I made homemade burgers which were very tasty!

I did also spend £28 on a chair cover - better than the £550 chair I've decided to fall in love with! I think it will totally change the living room though and is all part of re-vamping the room! Plus it will go brilliantly with a blanket that I made last year - which I love but doesn't go with the room as it is currently! 

Right off to go and do this balance transfer - then once the refund is through and I know what is left on the card(s) I will prioritise clearing that as I really don't want to increase the number of debts I have! 

twiggy86

I'm back again trying to keep myself accountable! 

Had a bit of a fail this morning as ran out of time to make lunch - so £3 spent in Mr T for s meal deal. I also really need to go food shopping but the "food pot" is pretty much depleted! (Plus I have felt incredibly uninspired as to what to cook this week which is a big reason I haven't done a main shop as I don't seem to have the capacity to think of a meal plan!) I do have £130 left in my "personal pot" for the month but I am going out on Saturday so I will need at least some of this. 

However, I did complete stage 2 of my balance transfer re-shuffle yesterday. It isn't showing as cleared yet but fingers crossed it will tomorrow so then I'll know where I stand (except for the refund). 

Don't think there's anything else to report today - except that we lost 29:6 at netball last night... unfortunately that is an improvement on the 40:2 result from last week!!! 

twiggy86

Checking in to try keep myself on track for the last week of the month! 

So balance transfer has all been completed and I now know the amount of the refund, so I'm going to have a look at the numbers and I think I can clear the balance this month. It does mean not over-paying my parents this month however but they won't mind. I also need to figure out what else I need to pay out for this month - e.g. I'm going to need petrol and do a food shop and both those pots are currently pretty much empty! 

I didn't spend much out on Saturday night, although I do need my friend to confirm what I owe her for the taxi. But excluding that I spent £14, had a great night and got in at 2am! (I had previously paid out for the ticket for the show though.) However I was lazy on Sunday and bought a takeaway - which is absolutely ridiculous! It's done now though but even more why I need to completely keep on track for the rest of the month! 

I am going to claim a small amount from TCB - I had been waiting for more to become payable but may as well claim it and pay the £1 something off the CC! Then I get the "bonus" of making another payment when the next bit becomes payable! At some point (probably way in the future) I should get £60 from TCB for both my insurance renewals. Right what other pennies can I scrape together, womble and save this month!?!

SusieT

It will be a big boost if you can clear that card, I am sure your parents would be bappy with the lack of overpayment if they knew a card had gone. Alll the little bits are adding up for you  

twiggy86

Thanks @SusieT - actually thinking about it they're not even expecting an overpayment! I had paid them the "minimum" £100 but put another £100 aside in the hopes I could pay it to them. (There is no minimum as they always say to pay what I can afford so I set this as the minimum). 

And actually in typing this I think I've realised that it makes more sense to not clear the card and use the £100 for food shopping and petrol. The alternative is that I clear the card only to then have to rely on it! So maybe I'll be patient and then clear it entirely next month. 

twiggy86

Oh dear - I'm being a bit rubbish aren't i?! 

It was entirely because I didn't want to 'fess up to buying my OH a "Christmas present" on my CC! But there I've confessed my sins and will move on! This means that whilst I would have cleared that CC with the payment I've made, this new amount is now on there 

On the agenda today are to update my spreadsheet with this weekend's spends (please to report that it wasn't much other than the food shop) and shuffle money as OH has been paid and so paid me! 

Speaking of OH getting paid... he has decided to stay self employed working my brother until Xmas and then in the new year he will be employed with them! So I'm happy that he obviously enjoys the work enough to go employed (he's never been employed in his life!) and also it gives me the comfort of knowing where we will stand each month! I think it may have partly been down to all the wet weather we've been having as he wouldn't have been doing much building work! 

I did save myself £5ish by deciding to make my next pair of socks from a pattern I already have - even though I'd love to make a pattern I'd seen! I also made myself £5 by running OH's mum around yesterday so she gave me some petrol money. I also earned myself a favour from a friend as I babysat her daughter on Saturday night! Plus I'm nearly at the payout threshold on Shopp*x and cashed out £1.90 on TCB. Need to remember how important all these little bits and bobs are! I must also chase up some money which I'm owed from a few people before I forget! (Only little bits but again, it's all important!) 

I was pleased with myself that I put aside my full energy DD as thought that I would use the saving after the help scheme to make an extra CC payment... well good job I did as e0n have taken the full DD amount!! So currently trying to get in contact with them to understand how/when I will get it back! Also trying to contact the company I ordered the chair cover from to return it - it looks and fits awful!!! So back to the drawing board re what to do with the tatty chair! 

Not sure I have anything else *interesting* to report! 

twiggy86

Nothing major to report - which I guess after my last confession is a good thing!!! 

I did get to the payout threshold on Shopp*x so that's been claimed and waiting for it to hit my bank. Also waiting for the refund for the chair cover to come in - although it took a fight to get it back as they were being incredibly difficult! But from the email it's possible they're refunding the shipping cost too, which would be an added bonus!

I've started the pair of socks I referred to, so that's a pattern I've already got as I've made them before rather than buying a different one! I am fighting with myself to resist buying a couple of other things wooly-related that I want! I've also finished making all the pieces for the next present I'm making - just need to sew all the pieces together and then that can be gifted. I'm debating whether to continue making gifts next year as it's a lot of work and means I don't get much time for "selfish" crochet, but obviously it saves money - particularly as my friends have a lot of little ones!!

Just looking at my last post and realised I'm still owed £5 from a friend so must chase that up! 

twiggy86

Happy Monday! 

Relatively frugal weekend, although OH used my card as he couldn't find his so waiting for him to transfer me that back! (Also still waiting on that £5!) Need to update my spreadsheet to ensure I've remembered everything I spent! Friday was disco netball (great fun!) which had already been paid for. Then Saturday was spent finishing a birthday present for my friends daughter so need to get a card and then drop that over on my way home from work one day this week. Yesterday my brother invited me out for a roast with him and my nephews - and he paid! The rest of the day was spent working on a star weaving that I started last year but never finished - ended up ripping out what I'd done previously and started again as realised I didn't like it, which was the probably the reason it had been abandoned! Also finished one of the socks last night! Love a crafty weekend!  

However this week I need to book a plumber to come and look at the boiler and book my car in for a service! And no I don't have money set aside for the plumber! I had put money aside to pay a big chunk off one of the cards so I may hold off doing that and keep the money for the plumber and just pay the minimum off the card for now. Actually I think all my statements have come in now so I will make all minimum payments today so I can see what is left in the pot.