Strange Truths

Aimingforthegoodlife

Well done on the cooking and zumba! Best of luck at the table top sales!

twiggy86

As a fellow crafter I have to ask what do you make?! 

Strangey18

@twiggy86 I make wax melts, dog bandanas and hair scrunchies - i find making them therapeutic and gives me some down time. What do you make? 

twiggy86

I make all sorts out of crochet - currently making a blanket, a pillow, a deer and a bag! I also try anything crafty really - from clay to cross stitch! Definitely a form of therapy! 

Strangey18

Well the table top sale did not go well, was very quiet and everyone struggled. I paid £8 for the space and so only made £4.50 profit but paid that £4.50 straight to one of my my credit cards.

I am doing a couple of the challenges to keep me on track. I am doing the Pay Debts Off By Christmas and am aiming to pay £10,000 off by the end of the year. So far this month, I have paid £323.73 off my debts and will continue to pay off more throughout the rest of this month. As I have no savings at all, I am also doing the 365 day 1p challenge and to date have saved £25.75.

Not been able to do much this week as been busy with poorly dog and an injured child! Dog had sickness bug and my son injured his leg at football and is now on crutches so a full on week!!!!

Strangey18

Has a quiet weekend but other than the weekly food shop, I haven’t spend anything. Husband went to B&M for some stones and I elected to stay at home so I didn’t get tempted to spend money. 

Went for a long walk with the dogs yesterday and  did week 3 run 1 of couch to 5k today sp pleased with my exercise this weekend. 

Been doing some surveys and also playing a game via Swagbags to earn some funds.

Strangey18

Been a busy week and out round friends last night to celebrate Burns Night which was fun but did feel like the weekend had started which made getting up for work this morning tricky😂

I got paid yesterday and so tonight, I have made 3 payments to each of my credit cards, each a small amount over minimum payments and also made 2 small extra payments to my biggest credit card this month too. Did a calculation and have paid over £1,000 towards debts this month so making a small start in reducing total debts.

Definitely feel like my diary is keeping me focused and did think a lot more before spending money - onwards and upwards

Strangey18

Today I am out with friends for a meal and drinks. We have paid for the meal and some of the drinks in advance via a voucher offer and so hope not to spend too much more. We are meeting at a friends house for drinks first so that will be cheaper than going for drinks out. We only get together a couple of times a year so looking forward to catching up with everyone. 

TooMuchSnow

I hope you have a lovely time with your friends. It was smart to prepare for costs by using a voucher and having drinks at friend’s house.

Dizzycap

Here are a few of my suggestions which are similar to others' but I hope they help.

1) Your internet cost are way too high! Use MSE to check what's available cheaper and then go through a cashback website like Topcashback to get cashback on a cheaper provider.

2) Move all your High APR Credit cards to new 0% APR Credit cards and get your debt transfered over. That way all the excess APR charges that you are paying can be used to pay off the debt and then put away in your emergency fund what payments you would make to your credit cards now (excluding the APR).

3) Check your pet insurance as renewals with the same provider are often way too expensive. I have full pet insurance that costs £11.94 PM.

4) For Vet costs ask your Vet if they are a part of 'Pet Plan'. Pet Plan costs £21.99 per month and it saves a fortune on the basics for your pet(s). Fleat & Tick Treatment, worming tablets - 12 months supply (£280) 6 nail clips a year (£100), 2 full health checks with blood tests per year (£260) ALL boosters including Kennel cough (these booters have gone up to £185 a year alone!) - A total of £825 a year without the plan. The Pet Plan costs only £240 for the year! So it's a no brainer.........

5) Check your House insurance, as that too looks expensive. NEVER auto renew on anything! Use the MSE tools at the top of the page and then go through cashback websites (Topcashback) to get a cashback on your purchase(s).

 

6) If you haven't already done so, check that your in the correct CT band.

7) If a single person needs more than 2 prescription items per month, the have a look at either the 3 month prepament prescription card or yearly prepaymnt prescription card. I'm only guessing because you may have more dentristry costs than prescription?

8) If you haven't already got a water meter, think about it. We have one so for 2 adults, 1 regularly visiting grandchild and dog, and on a meter we pay £28 a month water rates in total for water & waste. I also manage to water the garden too, although I do try to recycle water where I can i.e. bath / shower water for the garden.

9) Make sure that you regularly defrost your fridge freezer unless its self regulating. This is one of the highest running cost items if not kept clean & defrosted at least twice a year! The washing machine is another, so we've managed to keep washing down to a max of 3 loads a week and all washed at 20-30% because higher temps don't actually get your washing any cleaner but cost far more!