Jenevieve's 'Time to Get Serious' Debt Diary

jenevieve

It's a sobering thought - pay day is next Wednesday and I have about £4!!! Luckily, I have enough petrol for work and I am having a quiet weekend in.

I start my spending diary on payday and as I have a few birthdays and social do's to go to, I am going to monitor my spending very strictly.

No drinking on nights out, no 3 course meals in order to keep my spending down......

Ah well, the quiet weekend means I can fill out lots of surveys!:rolleyes:

In_Search_Of_Me

Hi there! Found you! I would find out what te APR's are and get your credit report to see whats what and then see if you can get good balace transfer rates but you have to work out which is best and take % rates of doing a balance transfer & it may be worth you looking at a low life of balance cc but make sure you dont spend on it! What money do you have at the end of the month to chuck at ccs? When youve done the sorting then you need to pay max off highest & work your way down the list....The first bit is the toughest as you adjust to a new way of life but in my experence a happier one where you get thrills fro paying debts off, reaching targets & learning new skills. Is there someone in real life you can confide in? I was initially ashamed of my debts but am now proud to fess up to all & sundry on how much I've paid off and people buy my jam etc to make extra dosh with!! You also find out who your friends are!

Keeping_Positive

Hi Jenevieve

Just jumped over from the longhaulers thread, great advice already been given. Wasteful spending on lunches is a downfall of mine as well. Have you got the link to the online spending diary http://www.spendingdiary.com/? Just done in case you havent really easy way to use.

Have you played around with the snowball calculater? I have calculated that if I overpay by £100 a month and make a one off £1500 payment I can cut my DFD by two years.

I would try for better rates even if still not the best deals, any % points you can get lower the better.

Quidco is good as well, I have just done a paydayloan for £80 paying back £100 but getting £70 cash back. So overall £50 profit for a few minutes on the internet.

Yargo1

Hi, you sound very positive and will be reading your diary to see how you get on. A second job whether it be on the computer at home or out seems to be a good solution for you. Ive been doing a 2nd job now for about a year and it is helping a lot! Although with inflation and bills rising it feels as though at times I am no better off but I could also be a lot worse off... Good Luck..

jenevieve

Thanks guys,
I've found spending diary and am ready to go with that on Wednesday.
Late last year, I tried to move to a lower APR card but was rejected. I think because my overall debt is so high plus the credit crunch, it is pretty doubtful that I will get accepted. So I am just going to knuckle down and it may be something to reconsider once my debts start going down.

As you say, it is going to be an adjustment but I keep reminding myself that I am lucky in comparison to some. I haven't got to find money for a big mortgage, I haven't got children to feed and clothe etc and so as big as this hole is that I find myself in, it's of my own making and hopefully I can start digging myself out.
I've done a snowball and my dfd is 2013, so now the challenge is to bring that down and get stuck in!!!

jenevieve

Right! It's payday today and the start of my full-on assault of my debts.

I'm set up on the online spending diary and am raring to go.
(Well, if I'm honest, a bit stressed as I have a few birthdays, social nights planned that can't be cancelled....)
However, I am not going to drink, am not having the full 3 courses and am going to spend as little as possible.

I've already been good; I'm a sucker for magazines but when I got petrol today, I looked at the magazines, was tempted by Heat and promptly put it back. I don't need it!
I'm also implementing the save-petrol-by-driving-clever tips as I'm a bit of a girl racer and I'm keen to see what I spend on petrol.

I'm going to meal plan so that I can cut my grocery bill (a bit difficult to do with a flatmate who has NO idea of my financial mess) but we are both eating healthy and I think I need to start cooking and freezing which will save money (and improve my cooking skills hopefully).

Looking forwards (with a slightly sick feeling but nevertheless!!!!)