Balance crept up ever so slowly... Now the wake up call

Didisdebtfreejourney

Hello everyone,

It's a bit scary starting the thread on here but I feel like I need a accountability.
I've managed somehow to accrue just under £1800 of credit card debt and finally smelled the coffee when the minimum payment skyrocketed overnight. 

I have gone through all my spending over the last two months, wrote down all ingoings and outgoings, cancelled what I could and set myself a budget including some sinking funds for essentials (MOT, car tax, insurance etc.). 

I think the biggest impact I can make having looked at the forums is the household and  grocery budget/cooking/reverse meal planning etc. 

So join me on this adventure (although I kind of wish that I had made smarter decisions and avoided this...), exploring my successes (and failures!) in the quest of anihilating this CC debt. 

Ps: still learning the lingo, abbreviations and such by will hopefully get there after spending time on the forum.

Pss:
First switch: using 1:1 distilled white vinegar and water with couple drops of washing up liquid as a cleaning spray. All things I already had in the house.

Estimated savings: £1 as I already had everthing
Time/energy: Didn't take long and not difficult 
Does it work: I think so. 
Where is the tip from: "My no spending year" Can't remember the author of the book. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

So yesterday thankfully was a NSD (No spend day, I think I got that right!) and no direct debits.

I was looking into Dave Ramsey stuff and I don't know whether I would be able to follow his baby steps. $1000 (or in my case £1000) seems like a big number when I am trying to get rid of a high interest debt. I do get the reasonning behind it that if anything unexpected were to happen then I wouldn't be tempted to use the card again. 

Said card is in a drawer upstairs, out of my purse at least and I don't intend to use it anymore (unless in a proper emergency until I have something to fall back on). Part of that might be getting back more seriously into cash stuffing. I dabbled in it last year and I could see the potential back then, being able to pay cash for some car repairs. So I know the system would work for me. I already have the stuff so no spending anyrhing to set it up and get the envelope system running.

I know the numbers may seem lower than others bit I'm working with a low income and not much spare. 

Finally (writing a proper novel here!), I need to pluck the courage to start using Olio. I have the app and some very active local volunteers. I also have heeps of freezer space thanks to a chest freezer in the garage that we switched off last year as we weren't using it much and would need a bit of a clean before switching it on again. I would give myself one month of it being on to see if it is worth 'recommissioning'. 

Well that is my update for today, hope you all have a good day. 

MFWannabe

Morning 
Are you able to get a 0% balance transfer card so you can stop paying high interest?
Have you checked on the eligibility calculator?

Didisdebtfreejourney

Hi @MFWannabe,

Thank you for replying 😄.

I hadn't gone as far as seeing if I was eligible because I saw mixed advice online about it.

I understand there would be a transfer charge and I don't know whether in my circumstances I would be accepted. I may well do the eligibility calculator out of curiosity though. 

I did do some overpayments after Christmas (the £1800 is after those overpayments) and the minimum direct debit has already gone down by £5! I would be putting that £5 into the credit card repayment anyway. 

Food for thought though 👍, worth looking into. 

MFWannabe

I would check the eligibility calculator on this site as there’s no hard searches left on your credit file 
Worst case scenario it’s a no and best case you get an offer 👍

Didisdebtfreejourney

MFWannabe said:

I would check the eligibility calculator on this site as there’s no hard searches left on your credit file 
Worst case scenario it’s a no and best case you get an offer 👍

👍 Will have a lok at the form.  

Didisdebtfreejourney

Didisdebtfreejourney said:

MFWannabe said:

I would check the eligibility calculator on this site as there’s no hard searches left on your credit file 
Worst case scenario it’s a no and best case you get an offer 👍

👍 Will have a lok at the form.  

*look 🙈. I can't seem to type today!

wannabedebtfreemum95

Well done for starting your diary! I had the same thought about the emergency fund - not the biggest Dave Ramsay fan anyway, but decided that most emergencies for me would be less than £500 so set that as my goal. 

Definitely have a look at the 0% cards. Yes there might be a transfer fee but £36 (2% fee) or even £54 is probably cheaper than interest you’ll pay over the few months. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

Well having done the calculator I didn't get an eligibility score on the two cards suggested. I might look again in a month or so as I have just started back in the workforce as self employed so fingers crossed I get more business in the near future. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

wannabedebtfreemum95 said:

Well done for starting your diary! I had the same thought about the emergency fund - not the biggest Dave Ramsay fan anyway, but decided that most emergencies for me would be less than £500 so set that as my goal. 

Definitely have a look at the 0% cards. Yes there might be a transfer fee but £36 (2% fee) or even £54 is probably cheaper than interest you’ll pay over the few months. 

Thank you for your advice 🙂, definitely something to look into when I become eligible. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

So yesterday was a No spend day which I was happy about. 

I made a slow cooker curry yeaterday but tweaked the recipe as it had a full 700g of chicken which looked like a lot more than we would usually have (I usually use the 300g ish precooked chicken and premade sauce). So I poached the third chicken breast instead to add to pasta in a couple days. I'm not sure whether making curry from paste is cheaper but it was tasty though. And only used half a jar rather than 3/4 so I can freeze it for another week(at least according to Google).

I've planned my meals for the next 7 days, so tedious and a habit I need to get back into. I have gone as far as a month in the past following a Tiktok trend but I didn't do the monthly shop or batch cook that goes with the process, just the usual weekly shop. 

I saw a very appetising rice and beans recipe online though, should find it again and probably try that soon!

Not sure if all this belongs on this thread, apart from the fact I am trying to save on food to put that money towards the debt. And in all honesty I am probably looking at a low buy year too (no buy is really not possible with two growing children...).

I'll sign off for the day and hope you all have a good one.