The English Rose goes frugal

EnglishRoseJane

And that should read Duolingo 😂📖

TheAble

Just wondering if you know what the interest rates are on those debts? May help you to prioritize which to work on.

Irrespective of interest rates though I would always advocate paying back friends and family first, as quickly as possible. Debts can be stressful enough and you don't want to spoil your relationships in the process.

EnglishRoseJane

Hi TheAble, the highest interest rates are the catalogues. Yes I totally agree. My Uncle is being paid back first before any over payments on anything else.  My Mom doesn't want her Money back until my debts are clear. The £5k she borrowed me is to cover the cost of her funeral. She's only 57 and well thank goodness, so we don't want her going anywhere yet 😭but as the eldest she wants me to arrange her funeral if the worst was to happen. She's very old fashioned in that sense even though she's young. Once its paid back the money will stay in my savings account. 

EnglishRoseJane

Well I've brought my coffee machine and pods into work save buying coffee on my lunch break. I had a bargain with my coffee pods. They were sold off in the shop my brother in law works in for £2 a box. They are normally £6 a box. I then used my brother in laws family and friends discount so had them for £1.80 a box. Each box contains 8 latte pods. I brought 5 boxes so thats 40 lattes which work out at 23p each. There were about 20 boxes left on the shelf so other people managed to grab a bargain too. This was a few weeks ago and I'm still working my way through them. 

I've also brought my lunch into work and there's left over slow cooked gammon for Dinner, which we can have with piri piri rice and peppers that we already have in 😊

WinterWarrior

That was a bargain. Will you leave your machine at work? Am*zon do fairly good prices on coffee pods for when you run out. I have a bean to cup machine and buy my beans from there. They are so much cheaper than in the shops. 

EnglishRoseJane

Hi Winter Warrior, yes I'm definitely going to leave it at work. I mainly drink tea at home. I've got a D*lcee G*sto machine and I really like it. I will definitely check out amaz*n. I love the idea of a bean to cup machine. Maybe we could all chip in at work. All of my colleagues in my office are big coffee drinkers. It would work well to split the cost between all 6 of us, which I know they would definitely be up for. Might be something to work towards later in the year once I've paid my Uncle and reduced some of the highest interest debt  

WinterWarrior

We are big coffee drinkers at home. Our first machine was expensive at half price in a January sale, but paid for itself a hundred times over. When it started to get cronky and the chrome was peeling we got a replacement last Christmas, again in the sale and as a Christmas present to each other. It’s one of the few big purchases that really has paid for itself…..if I could also get a chocolate machine I’d be sorted 😀
Could you persuade work to buy one, it might be a tax efficient way for them to boost morale 😬

EnglishRoseJane

A hot chocolate machine sounds fab! I could ask about work paying for it I suppose. The Director does like coffee from a machine. He won't touch any instant coffee. Luckily he's not in the office very often 😂☕

EnglishRoseJane

Today I have felt so emotionally drained. I think it's the realisation of the debt I am in. It feels like a very long road ahead, but at least I have acknowledged the problem I suppose before it continued to get worse, and can start to tackle it head on. 

I was in the office alone all day today which hasn't helped. I just burst into tears for no reason. I think it's all just getting on top of me a little. Some fresh air is definitely needed tomorrow.

We should have been paid today but the accountant never came in so it's going to be Monday now. The petrol light has come on and we need a top up shop. I've got £17.50 so will see what tomorrow says and the weekend in general.

I sold an old bottle of perfume on shp*ck today which I hated the smell of. It was half used but it soon sold. £2.50 richer now 😂

WinterWarrior

I’m sorry you were feeling sad. I sometimes cry on my own, it’s a release and sometimes is just what you need. It’s really hard and feels like a long road, but the time passes anyway and think how much happier you will be when you don’t have debt hanging over you. 

Delaying pay is really unfair.
I would recommend a few things…firstly YouTube. Watching debt busting people can really help. I like Dave ramsey, A to Zen life, Acre Homestead, Mindy Mom, Rainbow Budgets, the Beauty in budgeting among others. They are mostly American, but watching people  budget, meal plan, cook, etc. is very encouraging for me. You’ll find loads. Secondly small challenges and treats. Reward yourself for being good, eg on payday if you had £5 leftover, pay £4 off debt and have a lovely chocolate bar and a coffee to celebrate. Being really strict works for some people, but not for everyone. The debt won’t be gone overnight, but if you keep heading in the right direction it will be gone in several years. I love a good spreadsheet to track everything, but some prefer paper. It doesn’t matter how you track it, but it’s really good to be able to look back and see the numbers coming down.
I hope you have a good weekend.