Should itsthelittlethings spend less on coffee?

itsthelittlethings

5km walk and cheap lunch with mum.

Might do a social media diet. 

liselle

Everyone on here is trying to help you - we’ve all been there too and we don’t judge each other.As others have said, it’s a long road but getting into the right mindset is a big step on that path.Can you discuss with your Mum, who sounds lovely?

itsthelittlethings

I'm doing a social media diet rather than a fast. Have deleted and blocked all social media off my phone so I have to use it more intentionally. 

Looking at my bank account I appear to have saved £100 in regular payments by cancelling things I didn't 100% need. This included things like my union payment, which I do like to have, so I may take this out again, and perhaps Netflix, once I have paid my debt off.

My "things I didn't buy" list is getting longer and longer. It's true that the things on the list no longer seem so urgent after a few days or a week. It's a good trick. One thing I may buy is a new phone. I might get one from Backmarket as someone suggested before. It seems like a much cheaper way to do it and I could buy it outright so I didn't have a monthly payment.

Off to a local town to the market today. We're also taking things into the charity shops.

Back home tomorrow. It's been a great holiday.

dawnybabes

Yes

I replaced my sons phone from CEX as they come with a 5 yr guarantee 

itsthelittlethings

I left my wallet behind and deleted the cards off my phone today when we went out. That is another trick I learned from the money course. I might keep it up as I do quite a bit of unnecessary spending on the way too and from work. If I really need anything, say for dinner, I can pop to the supermarket as there is one only five minutes away from my flat.

peacocking

If you work in care, don't cancel union membership. It can be a dicey area to work in, and union helps with legal advice if its needed. 

itsthelittlethings

peacocking said:

If you work in care, don't cancel union membership. It can be a dicey area to work in, and union helps with legal advice if its needed. 

I no longer work in care (I did used to). I work in an office job. I'll get it back when I've paid my debt off as I like to support unions.

Got paid, moved money around/ bought a couple of necessities/ bought one treat. My mum showed me that she enters spending in with an estimate of the cost before she buys stuff. She said "it helps with budgeting". I'm finding doing that useful.

Paid £200 off debt. Slowly but surely, it goes down.

itsthelittlethings

Have absolutely no idea how I've paid interest on my credit card in this month's statement. Either when I was still spending on it in November I didn't pay all the purchases off in December so they have accrued interest, or when I moved the statement date forward to avoid getting caught out by payday, and they didn't send a statement for December, they have charged me interest on that month due to no payment. I'm a bit cross if it's the latter as I didn't ask to skip a month.

itsthelittlethings

Anyway I'm turning my computer off to start my social media diet for the day. One good thing about blocking social media on my phone is that the battery is lasting much better.

Wanna_Bee_Free

Hi there, I hope you enjoyed your social media blackout day. Last time (and first for ages) I got interest I called the helpline, asked for an explanation and asked them to remove it as a one off gesture for a loyal customer. Only a few quid but it felt like a victory. It also made me so cross I didn't pay interest again (yet!). Can you set up an automatic payment on it for the full amount yet?

I love your Mum's idea of writing down spends with an estimate of the cost before she buys it. I might try that one too, thanks!