Ding- there goes the bulb!!

firesidemaid

lol i had my car towed away years ago ?1992 in bristol - it was on a single yellow line:rolleyes:, but i had only just passed my test! i thought it had been stolen, so i rang the police;). it cost me over £100 16 years ago. likewise i also spent a few years living in london and built up debts then, including a few store cards.

i'll look forward to your new soa. i revisit mine regularly. am just about to switch my bolier/central heating care (it's the only way i can get a plumber to do my annual service, believe me) to eon as bgas wouldn't budge on their price increases - will save even £3 a month on what i pay now, let alone the increases plus gain £25 cashback.

have a good night x

firesidemaid

just a quick reply if you haven't already been to asda.

don't use the coinstar machine as they take at least 7.5% of you, do as another poster on this forum suggested and use up the money to pay for your shopping either at the normal tills or at the self-serve one x

firesidemaid

hello!

well done on psoting your soa again and also on analysing your spending so well. i'll just add a few thoughts if you dont mind.....

landline £20 plus you said your quarterly bill was really high. take some time one day next week to have a look at the phones board/sticky/tutorial. you should not have to pay much above your landline for calls. i use primus and also 18185 (plus bt too) - there may be others now, but your entire landline bill need not be more than £20/month. likewise, internet - you should be able to get that for much less than £20.

again, revisit your mobile tariff at some point, there are probably better deals available now + cashback.

drycleaning - pay for this at johnsons using tesco clubcard deals. i don't do much shopping there but i take advantage of both online and instore extra points deals to quadruple into deals for drycleaning and magazine subs.

are you making the most of your a+l overdraft/account. what is your free limit? even with the £5 max interest a month account with a £2500 limit, this only works out at an annual 2.4% rate - it is worth going overdrawn for to pay off the dearer debts.

re. the order of payments of your debts. after vanquis, is it worth hitting the cap one card a bit harder as when that is clear you can see if they will offer you a 0%/better deal to move some of the other debt too.

yo might not like this but, how have you spent so much money in DP?! i love DP as i get such fab things in the sale - recently jeans reduced from £25 to 7, shoes for £9 that i had coveted for ages but refused to buy them at £16 even with 20% off. and jewellery for £1. with clothes think about how long the look might last, and if you see something you think you have to have, leave it a few days. get to like primark instead;).

you can see from all your debt repayment that when it is all paid off you will have so much money that you can then budget what to do with - it will only take a bit of short term pain for long term gain.

you can do it! x

Keeping_Motivated

Hi Missshoes would it help to have a bank account that lets you have lots of 'pots'. I know that is what Benben does on her thread. So for instance you could use internet banking and transfer some into each 'pot' as soon as you are paid. Maybe have one pot for debt repayments, one for food allowance, one for 'contingency' incase your car breaks down again so even though you have debt maybe still may X amount into this to prevent future borrowing. Another pot for presents fund, one for general bills then whatever is left in your main account is 'yours'.

firesidemaid

MissShoes wrote: »

Hi,

I love your posts Firesidemaid- to the point!

I love that you're keeping an eye on me! It helps me stay on the straight and narrow! :beer:

sorry! i have been with mse too long now! i may be a bit older now but some of my 1.9% LOB debt is still hanging over from my london days and going to the sydney olympics etc (1999/2000) - so i'm not an angel:rolleyes:! but it's my cheapest debt, so i overpay on the mortgage first. plus i've moved around a bit with my job, and even with moving expenses there are always mega-costs involved the last of which i am determined to pay off by july next year.

i am lucky in that my debt is at 0% and 1.9% and meanwhile i'm stoozing around 25k into making money for me (£110/month off the mortgage).

i've learnt so much since arriving at this site and i know it sounds corny, but i really cannot seem to remember how i used to live my financial life beforehand.

as martin says, everytime you go to spend money, think 'can i afford it?', 'do i need it?', 'can i get it cheaper anywhere else?';)

have a good day and remember the ebay (i listed 35 items this week - have you tried turbo lister, much quicker) x

Keeping_Motivated

Hi MissShoes

I know you had the expensive blip with the car but it must be a mice feeling knowing you didn't need to put it on a credit card and that its interest free from friends and also that it sounds like you can pay it back fairly quickly. I guess if you weren't a DFW then you would have gone into more 'debt' to get it fixed? So thats a bog positive.

Your list is quite long I hope you mange to get it done, makes me feel guilty that I should be doing more

I have some stuff I want to put on ebay but I can't find my lead to upload my photos :mad: Also would like to do a little decluttering (I hate clutter) which I do usually often but really can't be bothered today Infact I'm pants aren't I I need to pull my finger out.

KM x

SamanthaA

Have read the thread from start to finish tonight, and am impressed with your determination.

One thing that hasn`t been mentioned, unless I missed it, is an Emergency Fund.
I KNOW how focused you are on the debt side of things, but as we householders know even the most loved & cared for car/ hover/ washing machine can break down without warning!
I think i may be an idea to put a small amount away each month & if its not used & gets to a `limit` (mines £1000,) put half if it onto the debts and start again with the saving.

elsie52

:THi,

I have just read your thread and couldn't just pass by without saying hello. You are doing great and just think what situation you would have been in if you hadn't taken control of your finances..... Well done, and keep thinking positive, and to be honest at 26 you have a lot more years to sort your finances out. I am 30 years older than you and have less time before retirement, but the only way is up... Well done and keep posting. :T:T

Piquant_2

Miss Shoes, you've done so well so far. Please don't let it get you down, it's a bad patch, you can get through this. Know that you have lots of virtual friends here to give you a hug when you need one.

Use the anger, don't get even get zero!!

love Piq

Flower08

Hi - i have just read your thread from start to end.

I think you are doing brilliantly, i know you are feeling down at the minute but just think not only have you been paying off debts, you have also not been adding to your CCs.

Keep smiling - you will get through this and you WILL be debt free!

xx