Debt free diary starts today at £16,763.08

tagliatelle

AntoMac said:

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Getting on the housing ladder is quite some achievement for under 30s these days. Think how much more renting would likely cost you.
How about looking at one of the many Bank account transfer offers currently available? The 100plus pound incentives a number of Banks are paying could clear a good chunk off one of the smaller debts.

Thank you. Yes, buying our house when we did was probably the best decision I have ever made! Although I feel like I used it as an excuse to become reckless with money because the hard part was done. Now I dread the phone calls to the bank every time we have to switch our deal. Lesson certainly learnt. I am going to be doing a bank account switch to Nationwide for the £125 however I have always been a bit of a serial switcher so now I don’t qualify for most offers as I have already had accounts with the banks. I’m hoping to have cleared the £100 overdraft before the switch goes through, so the £125 will hopefully go off the Next balance. This will definitely help. 

tagliatelle

Put my camera on eBay last night. Have set a minimum amount - if I get this then I’ll pay off the finance loan for it (will free up about £17 per month) and put the rest towards my holiday balance. Not sure if I’ll get my asking price but we’ll see. 

Had a bit of a rubbish night. Sprung out of nowhere that tax and MOT is due imminently on husbands car. Even though it’s ‘his car’ I give him £120 towards the loan every month and we tend to share maintenance costs. Feels like 2 steps forward, 20 steps back but that’s the price for not having plenty of savings.

Signed up to a couple of survey sights. Any thoughts on whether this is worth it? Or any tips? 

AntoMac

Cars can unfortunately be money pits. We do our car  tax by monthly D/D, although it’s a bit more expensive that way it works for us. I also save a set amount each month towards the car insurance so that we have enough funds available when it comes to renewal. 

There can often be setbacks when trying to get your finances straight but don’t let that put you off.   Maybe start setting aside amounts for tax/mot etc going forward if you can.
I’ve had little luck with survey sites. I think I earned about a tenner in Amazon vouchers then kept getting screened out so gave up on it. That’s not to say they won’t work for you. There seems to be plenty of people on these forums that do alright from them. 

BadBookkeeper

I do yougov surveys and tend to earn £50 a year, handy for me as seems to pay out on January each year.

I pay car tax & insurance monthly it suits me better.  I also pay £20 a month into a pot for car maintenance.

Don’t be put off, think of it as taking a step forward and how you can stop it catching you out next time.  Nothing is set in stone so it may take a bit of rejigging until you find a budget & process that suits you, your finances & your goals.  You’ll discover things along the way but that’s part of getting your finances under control.  I still can’t believe how much birthdays/Christmas cost me each month!  

sunshine_raincloud

Well done on your progress so far! I'm definitely familiar with the one step forward two steps back feeling but you will get there! Is your husband aware of the situation with your debt? Might he be able to help you a bit with your share of the car costs? Just a thought! With regards to surveys I agree with the others that I haven't had much luck but I know some people really commit to them and make money. I think getting a good budget in place will be key, something I haven't achieved yet!

tagliatelle

AntoMac said:

Cars can unfortunately be money pits. We do our car  tax by monthly D/D, although it’s a bit more expensive that way it works for us. I also save a set amount each month towards the car insurance so that we have enough funds available when it comes to renewal. 

There can often be setbacks when trying to get your finances straight but don’t let that put you off.   Maybe start setting aside amounts for tax/mot etc going forward if you can.
I’ve had little luck with survey sites. I think I earned about a tenner in Amazon vouchers then kept getting screened out so gave up on it. That’s not to say they won’t work for you. There seems to be plenty of people on these forums that do alright from them. 

I didn’t even know 12 monthly was still an option when it comes to car tax. I could only see 12 month and 6 month when looking for the rates online. Monthly would definitely make life a little easier right now. I like the idea of a separate savings pot for the car. I will suggest this to my husband… 

tagliatelle

BadBookkeeper said:

I do yougov surveys and tend to earn £50 a year, handy for me as seems to pay out on January each year.

I pay car tax & insurance monthly it suits me better.  I also pay £20 a month into a pot for car maintenance.

Don’t be put off, think of it as taking a step forward and how you can stop it catching you out next time.  Nothing is set in stone so it may take a bit of rejigging until you find a budget & process that suits you, your finances & your goals.  You’ll discover things along the way but that’s part of getting your finances under control.  I still can’t believe how much birthdays/Christmas cost me each month!  

I will check out YouGov - thank you. £50 in January would be very welcomed…

I feel like I’m learning more than ever when it comes to money now that I’m actually trying to be sensible and working everything out to the penny. I wish I’d have realised sooner. 

Birthdays/Christmas is another worry. Is there such thing as having too many different savings pots?! I don’t know if this would just complicate things. But it feels like you need a pot for everything! 

tagliatelle

sunshine_raincloud said:

Well done on your progress so far! I'm definitely familiar with the one step forward two steps back feeling but you will get there! Is your husband aware of the situation with your debt? Might he be able to help you a bit with your share of the car costs? Just a thought! With regards to surveys I agree with the others that I haven't had much luck but I know some people really commit to them and make money. I think getting a good budget in place will be key, something I haven't achieved yet!

Thank you. Yes husband is aware but his income has also recently gone down (not by choice) so I feel bad asking for more help than I’m already getting. Yes budget is key I’m finding… also trying to find my feet with this. I have a feeling it will take some time.

linz

Definitely try Prolific.co for surveys, i think they're by far the best survey site. Surveys go quick though. I'm not sure if there's a waiting list at the moment though, that's the only thing.

tagliatelle

linz said:

Definitely try Prolific.co for surveys, i think they're by far the best survey site. Surveys go quick though. I'm not sure if there's a waiting list at the moment though, that's the only thing.

I have just signed up to the waiting list thank you.