Sass' 2008 DFW ramble thread

Sassamac

made the HM chocolate spread but Im not convinced it has worked. The recipe didnt really work so I had to make it up as I went along. It tastes ok but more like something that should go in a dessert than on toast. Its in the fridge cooling now so we shall see how it turns out consistency-wise.

DH has just informed me that theres only two hobnobs left so will no doubt be making more of those today.

Sassamac

Im really chuffed, we have just busted two debts! Used DH's newly cleared CC to pay off the mortgage arrears and the motorbike loan. So we now have just 5 debts - the same 3 CC's and and 2 OD's. The total owed is pretty much the same. There was a 2.5% fee to pay the motorbike loan off on the CC so an extra £35 odd that we hadnt accounted for, but it still saves us £150 on the life of the loan so Im happy with that.
new SOA to follow

Sassamac

Income pcm
DH pay - £967
tax credits - 103
child benefit - 130
TOTAL = £1200

Expenditure pcm
mortgage - £425 (interest only til we can afford to go back to repayment)
council tax - £103 (this is what it would cost to pay over 12 months instead of 10, based on this years figures)
water - £20 (this is what it will cost if we paid it over 12 months)
t.v. licence - £12
home / mortgage insurances - £85 (will be reviewing these)
electric - £59
gas - £42
landline and broadband - £29 + calls (was £32 total last month)
car insurance - £37 inc. 8% fee for paying monthly (just compared online and have got a quote for £165 for the year, but the interest rate to pay monthly is high, so may switch and pay on CC)
groceries - £148 for Jan, edging it down every month inc nappies, toiletries, cleaning etc.
pre-school dinners - £13
petrol - £72 last month (but we barely left the house unless necessary)
kids clothes / shoes - £17
SubTotal = £1065

Debts
HSBC CC (me) - £2497.87 (maxed) inc £300 @ 3.9% til July 08, remainder @ 7.9%. Min pay = £62.45
HSBC CC (DH) - £3736.82 (limit £9200) all @ 14.9% (purchase rate). Min pay = £93.42
Barclaycard - 2136.78 (limit £4450) @ 6.9% for LOB. Min pay = £42.74
Barclays OD - apx £1000 (OD limit £1250) @ apx 15% (costs us about £12.50 every month on average)
HSBC OD - apx £1000 (OD limit £1500) @ apx 15% (costs us about £12.50 every month on average)
SubTotal = £223.61

Total Outgoings = £1288pcm
Total Deficeit = £88pcm

Any words of wisdom greatfully received.

MoneyGypsy

Hey,

well done on those debts - gone, gone!

I'd find out about the interest and if it isn't frozen calculate what that will mean. I recently found out that about £7000 of £10000 total interest on a loan was accumulated while i wasn't making any payments. And there is nothing to fix that no matter how quick it is paid off.

Lol.

lauradora

Hi sass x looks like your doing really well. nay chance you could share that hob nob recipe???

Sassamac

Eek, MG that is a lot of interest. It soon mounts up if you arent super savvy about these things.

Laura, I found the recipe on the OS thread as everyone there raves about them. However I adapted the recipe as shown in red.

8oz sr flour
8oz sugar I use just 4oz
8oz porridge oats
8oz margarine
1tbsp golden syrup Im experimenting by adding more for chewy ones, less for crunchy ones
1tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp bic soda
mix flour, oats and sugar, melt marg, syrup and water in a pan stir in bic soda and add to dry mix, mix well, make smallish balls and put on greased tray (I used marg for my first batch and they stuck, so used oil since and it worked) and flatten slightly with a fork, 180oc for 15 mins, cool on the tray, you just want them golden in oven not brown

Sassamac

Very little to report today. I have done my weekly shop which was about £17.50 and spent a tenner buying clothes for the kids in charity shops. Managed to resist buying anything unnecessary although I nearly succombed to the reduced pain au chocolat.
Soft play was £1 which is a bargain but DD looked a bit lost without her brother to play with, and was tired from walking around town this morning, so we only stayed an hour.

Sassamac

well im feeling very virtuous this morning. I had a tea loaf in the oven before the kids had even finished breakfast this morning. Best of all theres hardly any naughty ingredients (no fat just 4oz sugar) so the kids can eat it to their hearts content.
Should be a NSD today. We're going out tonight to dinner but my parents are paying as my birthday treat. Havent decided where to go yet so not sure how petrol we will burn but we have loads of options within a 15 mile radius, and anyway I havent put petrol in the tank for a fortnight now and that was only half a tank.

My DD (17 months) is currently satisfying her love of shoes. (Oh how much is she going to cost me when she grows up). She loves all different shoes and walks around the house wearing everyone elses. She cant get her own on as theyre boots, so she has hers on her hands and her brothers on her feet. She had her eye on some jewellery in a charity shop yesterday too (got really excited about it). The girl clearly has expensive tastes! (well she would have if it wasnt a charity shop). Luckily the boy has much more simple tastes.

Sassamac

Sassamac wrote: »

Should be a NSD today. We're going out tonight to dinner but my parents are paying as my birthday treat. Havent decided where to go yet so not sure how petrol we will burn but we have loads of options within a 15 mile radius, and anyway I havent put petrol in the tank for a fortnight now and that was only half a tank.

So much for that - I had to get petrol on the way home, so just put half a tank in. In fact as DH paid for it (I didnt take my purse out) I havent got the recipt and havent yet added it to my spreadsheet.

We had a really lovely night out. I couldnt get my DFW ways out of my head though. Even though I knew there was plenty of money (Dad gave us about double what I was expecting) I couldnt help but add up the cost of the bill and make sure I chose a good value meal.

A NSD yesterday, we went to the garden centre to watch the fish for some free entertainment and I made my own birthday cake.

Just got the bumpf through in the post from tax credits. Ive had a brief read and looks as though we will be getting more money but not as much as I calculated on entitledto.co.uk So I will give them a ring, as I dont understand fully what they have done. It appears from their statement, that they have paid us some today (havent checked online banking yet) which is a bit random as the normal payments come though on a Thu. Also when DH phoned them last week he declared his annual income (which he rounded up), but didnt declare his actual income for this tax year. So because of all the time he wasnt working or was temping etc. its actually over 2k lower for this tax year. I will also ask them if they can pay us weekly, so hopefully our income will be evened out across the month.

Right best go check the spreadsheets and bank balance!

Sassamac

Have updated tax credits with the more accurate income figure and they're sending the new info in the post, so we will find out next week, what we're actually going to receive. Apparently any back payment of the shortfall will be payable at the end of the tax year when everything is verified. So it will be a little while before we can put that massive dent in our debts, but in the meantime at least we will be receiving regular payments that mean we can actually afford to live without getting deeper into debt.

Also DH phoned up Tesco clubcard last week to register himself a card. While he was there he asked them to change the address details on my card. It was registered to an address I moved out of 3 1/2 years ago. They said that as the vouchers I have accrued in that time havent been spent, that they will send them out to us. We wont receive them until May but its £69 worth which is a nice bonus (about 2 weeks worth groceries), especially as I gather they're worth 4 times as much if you use them on deals.