In pursuit of happiness...for real this time! Donner_kebab's debt diary!

Sea78

oh how fabulous! Well done you!

I'm really looking forward to reading your diary and seeing how it all goes - Good Luck!

Sea xxx

donner_kebab

Right finally packed madam off to bed! She keeps on getting up to ask random stuff so she can stall going to bed, so I have told her she is going to bed early tomorrow to compensate! Ha ha! I have my friend coming for tea tomorrow, it's great when friends can come over as don't get chance for many proper girlie chats really. And she is a huge Martin fan too, so that's all good! I have just been checking out the Virgin Media site as they are the ones who provide my phone / Internet / Cable TV / mobile. They are cheeky in that they have my broadband amount on there as only £4.50 per month whereas they charge me nearly £20! That's scandelous, mentions new customers only but that just ain't fair...according to the site, standard price should be £9 so why on earth are they charging me more? Cheeky peckers! Also noticed that their Medium TV package which is like freeview kinda is free with a phone line, so I am gonna cancel the cable tv on Friday after work so that will save me £20.50 per month. The I will leave it a day or so and then call them again and ask them why they are charging me so much for my Broadband and try and get that reduced too, especially if they say standard price is £9! I don't really want to lose Virgin altogether as I get a fab deal mobile wise, 300 anytime any network minutes and 300 texts each month for £10! And as my folks live quite far away, it is great to be able to text them whenever and then call them too! I am a real chatterbox so need all those minutes! Also just remembered that it is Council Tax free months in February and March and also no Water bill to pay in March and April so they will be going off of the debt! I have been very good recently ebay wise, have been known to spend quite a bit on there and haven't brought anything for the last few weeks! I have £25 in my paypal and have listed a few bits which are at £22 so far! If they go up and everyone pays by paypal, I will have over £50 so i can transfer it to pay off of a card! Have a mega rare CD which I am gonna put on there on Friday, should do it tomorrow really with half price listing day but will have to see if I have time. Someone sold one the other week for about £25 so would be great to get the same amount as that!

lilmisskitkat

Good luck in getting debt free Donna, you're certainly in the right place for all the support and advice you'll need along the way

I saw you on tv this morning and when you mentioned the forums i thought "ooh i wonder what her username is" so i came on here to hunt you down lol (i'm usually on the O/S board). You came across so well, seemed really at ease and your hair is fab - i'm very jealous!

Take care

Kate xxx

donner_kebab

lilmisskitkat wrote: »

Good luck in getting debt free Donna, you're certainly in the right place for all the support and advice you'll need along the way

I saw you on tv this morning and when you mentioned the forums i thought "ooh i wonder what her username is" so i came on here to hunt you down lol (i'm usually on the O/S board). You came across so well, seemed really at ease and your hair is fab - i'm very jealous!

Take care

Kate xxx

Awwww! Thanks Kate! I have been on the O/S boards too...usually a lurker there...they ahve some great tips don't they? I have to start meal planning so that will hopefully bring food costs down as I know quite a lot of money gets wasted there...especially if I don't eat something and it goes out of date. That is infurating when that happens! My DD is a mare too...sometimes she tells me she likes something, then next time she hates it! Grrrr! Wish she would make her mind up!

donner_kebab

I have been looking into getting my credit files after Martin suggested this to me, so that I can check them before applying for a card for a balance transfer. I really need to check them before applying as I might still be linked to my ex and as he went bankrupt, that ain't gonna be good. Especially as know he was taking out store cards and HP on things like a new laptop etc and using my address to do so. What a nerve! Anyway, gonna sort that out tomorrow and hopefully they will come through within 7 days so I can check them over. I hope they are easy to understand? Would be interested to see what is on them! Got quite a few things to do over the next few days...better make a list on here tomorrow. I am off to bed now as today has been a long day! I have just received Martin's new book so might take that up to bed and have a quick looksie. I have a driving lesson tomorrow so need to be on the ball! I have already paid for these as I have my 2nd test booked for the 7th February...I hope I can pass this time! Last time was horrendous, failed on silly things but once they have made their decision, you are screwed! Hopefully I will get a nice man next time! If I had known back then when I started lessons exactly how much it was likely to cost I wouldn't have bothered. It is only cause I am so close that I keep going! Just want to pass cause then that is it! No more lessons!
Take care all, nighty night xxx

donner_kebab

Hello everyone! Had a busy night tonight as had a friend over for tea...she is lovely, makes me laugh which is very important at the mo! Was really touched as I cooked the tea (and ruined it all!) but she brought over the wine and dessert so it saved me having to spend and to worry! She also left a few pounds on my table to get lunch tomorrow as she said that I always cook! I told her no, but she left it anyway! I feel a lot better now people know the extent of my debt as it makes it easier when I apologise for not going overboard with the food! I hope my spelling is ok as I have had a few to drink and this is the first drink I have had in weeks! I have had a good day today, another NSD so total for 3 days is only 86p!!! Wow! Usually I would just spend money for the hell of it, not know though eh! I have managed to print off the template letters to arrange to get my credit files so lunchtime tomorrow, I have to get the postal orders to send away too. This will enable me to check my credit history to try and apply for the Abbey card. I was gutted earlier though; I thought I had about £25 in my paypal account, so have recently listed some bits on ebay to try and make this another £25 so that I could reach £50 and transfer it to pay off of a card. I then login to check something and find that the balance is zero! I have had to pay for my driving lessons a few weeks ago and the driving school use paypal. Turns out that they first took the balance and then took the rest from the card so my £25 is gone! I was really fuming as it never mentioned this when I paid! I am gonna list a few more bits now to try and make the £50...but I was a little hacked off to say the least. So tomorrow, I must get those postal orders and send off for my credit reports. Saturday I am cancelling the cable TV and then I am gonna kick off about my broadband costs to see what happens! I also need to contact Tax Credits this weekend as have had a rise at work and this will affect my claim. According to the tax credits calculator, I will be entitled to a small amount each month, literally pounds. So this payrise doesn't really mean much until the summer, when I won't be paying out for the after school care. I also need to find out about the childcare vouchers tomorrow too. See if they can help. I can't wait for Emily to start secondary school as the childcare can stop after school and this money will help no end...she will still need cover over the half term holidays so I plan to try and use some holiday from work to cover these and to save money! I am so glad at how positive I am feeling at the mo. It is really empowering! So much to do though! I have also had an Email from Martin's peeps detailing what to do next, but will read this properly in the morning after I have got some well deserved sleep! Hope everyone is well xxx

alibambino

Wow things seem really positve for you well done you are working really hard to try to get your debt down, well done and keep it up:beer:

donner_kebab

Thank you! Yep, all good! I have been looking into the Childcare vouchers scheme. Seems like my employer do issue these...so I need to ask if her After School Club will accept them. I don't know if they will; they are rather a small group. My employer is starting a Easter Holiday and Summer Playscheme, which Emily wants to go to instead of her usual School club. Seems like I can get a discount which makes them around the same price. I might be able to get some staff discount too though, so might be better. I am gonna find out if they accept the vouchers, it would be silly if they didn't as they issue the things out!!! Emily will be at secondary school soon so she will soon only want holiday care. That would be great if I could get help with the vouchers as I would save quite a bit as it is taken out before Tax / Insurance. I also plan to use most of my holiday from work during the school holidays so I can save some more money! Yay me! I have the letters ready to send to the credit companies, but I need to amend them to ask them to add a 'notice of disassociation' to seperate me from my ex completely. I am also requesting a copy of my file too so I can check everything else, then when I receive these back, I will be applying for the Abbey card as Martin suggested. Things are looking up! :j Better go know as am at work! take care all xxx

Lewby

Hi Donna,

I haven't posted on the boards for ages but I felt I had to add to what everyone else has said and let you know how well I thought you did on GMTV. I missed the show but watched it last night on the internet.

You we're such a good ambassador for us DFW's. You were well spoken, confident and looked lovely - I'm sure lots of people have the view that if you are in debt you are generally a mess! I have struggled with my debts for years and through this site I've managed to sort so much out and feel that I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Well done you! Onwards and upwards!

Lewby x

Ps - Hello to Lenny and PAP! Don't know if you remember me but it's good to see you're still on here supporting everyone!

donner_kebab

Hiya Lewby! A HUGE thank you for that! That was a loevly thing to say! I really am so overwelmed with the amount of support I have been receiving on the forum. It truly is amazing and has left me completely gobsmacked...which is generally hard to do cause I can yap for England! It is great that we can start seeing the bigger picture after we have our LBM...so I have gone from feeling so very ill at the start of the week, to feeling on top of the world only a few days later! :T Deffo onwards and upwards...no stopping us now eh! xxx