children, cross-stitch and chocolate. Chickywiggles debt-free diary

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 1:14PM

:wave:Hi,

have been around the boards a while (mainly £365 in 365 days and cross stitch cafe but others here and there)

have just managed to secure a 5yr loan to consolidate all my other loans debts etc into one manageable lump (£15000 approx) tho also took £2000 more to cover early repayment fees on loans and a couple of big purchases we need to make - sofas and a washing machine as both are at about the end of their life.

I plan on destroying all my CC's (other then 1 which i will use in emergencies and pay off ASAP).

Me and DH have slowly racked the debt up due to moving in together straight from uni, him not being able to get a job for around 3 months. then less then a year into teaching i had to give up my job and couldn't get another.... temped on and off on low paid jobs for over a year and could barly afford the bills let alone a life. eventually getting a full time admin job in 2008.

then we got married and took a loan out to cover it but didn't get enough so had to max a credit card (or 2) which we kept up payments on but only minimum,

then fast forward to 2008 and babywiggle was born.
2011- tinywiggle is here.

have managed to get all our bills etc as low as we can and we don't waste money (i make sure of that).

so anyways here's my diary - more of a place for me to put my thoughts/ expenditure etc - and rant so the CSC don't always get the brunt of it. feel free to follow it if you like, helpfully comment if you want to but i'm not expecting anyone too.

chickywiggle

- Toiletries Challange - updated August 2012

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 1:20PM

to be updated:

useful MSE threads

Home bargains finds

cross stitch cafe

eating out the freezer/ cupboards challange

freegle funnies

free cinema tickets

£365 in 365 days

poundland

christmas planning

no more book buying

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 1:21PM

to be updated:

Survey sites & money/vouchers gained - since 14th august

c0nsumer pulse: £10 Leisure Voucher
IP0S: £10 Leisure Voucher
P1nec0ne: £3 £6
Nectar Ponts:
Consumer intel: £5

Current debt

£15,500 (on 3 credit cards and 2 loans). £17, 000 (one loan - £22,000 ish to pay back at £380 a month over 5 years)

Bills, utilities etc

£983 a month

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 1:22PM

The challange

Starting from 14th August

I can buy:

- only buy ESSENTIAL food (this is in my house: ham, cheese, milk, bread, yogurts, butter, coke/ pepsi, pizza - Mr T do a fab £1 one)
- only buy what my kids ACTUALLY need (nappies, baby milk, wipes, baby food).
- complete my list of christmas shopping needed...... I can start getting if i see at a good price.

- washing machine
- sofas (possibly)

- one takeaway/ meal out a week

I cannot buy:

- Toddlerwiggle DOES NOT need a pressie every time we go out.
- No buying cross-stitch stuff.....anything.... I DO NOT need it.
- I DO NOT need any more books nor do the kids.....so I don't need to buy any.
- Neither me, DH or the boys need new clothes they have tons so no need to buy any.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3 £184.86 (£160 Target)

Week 4 £186.60 (£130 Target)

Week 5

March better then target for esssentials..... terrible overspend tho due to holiday.

Dorastar · 13 August 2011 at 1:42PM

Just wanted to say:Tfor your happy new diary

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 1:52PM

thanks dorastar.

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 2:10PM

Meal Plan w/b 14th August
(well mine... will work out babywiggles as I go along - normally what i have or a sandwich) and DH can get his own.

All done using stuff already in freezer/ cupboards.

Sunday - tea: Sunday roast at local pub (£20)...... we don't do this every week but meeting friends.

Monday - tea: scampi, chips and peas

Tuesday - tea: pork steaks, mash, sweetcorn potato, ham, egg and cheese bake.

Wednesday - tea: pizza

Thursday -tea: turkey burgers, curly fries, baked beans

Friday- tea: sausage casserole pork steaks, mash, sweetcorn

brekkie is normally one of:
- porridge with Jam
- toast
(occasionally bacon or sausage sandwich)

Lunch is noramally one of:
- cheese/ham/ egg sandwich, crisps, carrot sticks
- cheese on toast
- spaghetti on toast
- beans on toast

Very rarely do we have dessert but there is jelly that can be made up, rice pudding, ice creams/ sorbet or yogurt/ mousse in the fridge.

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 3:49PM

what it WILL BE once the loan goes in.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2

Monthly Income Details
Total monthly income.................... 2203

Monthly Expense Details
Total monthly expenses.................. 983
Unsecured Debts
1 loan of £17, 000
Paying back at £380 a month
APR: 12.4
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income. £2,203
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). £983
Monthly unsecured debt repayments £380
Amount left after debt repayments £840

Travel............................ £40 a month tram pass (DH, tho I use it when he isn't)
£20 a month for my travel when pass in use (we don't own a car)

DH 'personal money' (pub etc ) - £160 (£40 a week)
My 'personal money' (books, cross stitch etc) - £100

Groceries other shopping etc: £150 (£50 a week working on 4 week rolling programme)
Nappies/ baby milk/ baby food: £70 (£17.50 a week working on 4 week rolling programme)
Misc (clothing, medical, haircut etc: £60 (£15 a week working on 4 week rolling programme)
Savings (can be used for holidays*, saving for house deposit): £100
Entertainment (going out, takeaway) £100 (£25 a week working on 4 week rolling programme)

Total 'extra' - £800

Left over: £40

*no big holidays - normally one 2/3 night travelodge stay for visiting both parents (so 2 a year) - normally booked in sales for £20 a night.
train tickets to see mine are around £150 (thats booking when first released on slowest trains).
train tickets to hubby's around £60.
then spends.
All paid for already tho for this year apart from 1 lot of tickets i am getting this week. (so need around 500 a year)

hubby actually gets paid every 4 weeks not monthly so in theory thats another £870 a year straight into emergency fund.

Flat_Eric · 13 August 2011 at 7:24PM

What a great thread chicky :T I was only thinking the other day that I need to reduce my spending because every month I go overdrawn yet I still find myself spending lots on my favourite hobby!!! and ama$zon - well I don't know why I don't just get my salary paid direct to them - oh and setting up a standing order to sew n so too while i'm at it! I'm overdue for my eye test (March) but have been putting it off because if they say its new glasses, well I'm not sure where the money is going to come from. I'm on holiday next month but have no money saved for it

and I know come the holiday, I'll begrudge being on holiday - daft as that sounds because you feel like you need to make the most of it - but everything is so expensive. (£4.90 in a pub for two lemonades on my last holiday springs to mind)

I might revisit a challenge I attempted last year....which was simply that I was allowed no spends on unnecessary items for around 100 days - I think I started the challenge in late August and it was meant to last until xmas. I failed miserably of course and have started similar challenges since - all of which have failed. Thanks for the inspiration. :beer: I'm going to have a think and start something - Thanks to a small loan from my better half of a few hundred pounds, my Credit Card is paid off but I have to pay it back (rightly so) but this month I am going to be so overdrawn mainly because everytime I go on my computer, I find something to buy even when I don't really need it.... hmmm

ps the only credit card that I use - well I froze it in a block of ice in the freezer. Works kind of - i.e. doesn't help when certain sites remember your details....

sweetcarer · 13 August 2011 at 7:33PM

You are an inspiration to us all Chicky - thank you.

We try so hard (with only my wage - no way we can get benefit - hubby doesn't have enought national insurance paid in and I earn just too much for tax credits) to save most months ending up with just £5 to last us but we survive. All important debits come out just after my wages go in so sometimes at end of month we don't have much and its beans and toast to survive.

Kind wishes

sweetcarer

chickywiggle · 13 August 2011 at 7:46PM

thanks guys.

I know sc - if i didn't have the cc's we'd be living on beans on toast 20 days a month....and drinking squash. Hopefully..... this plan will work and we shall be poor no more.

FE - I'd really recommend giving this a go it's really helped me to see things - and stopped me having 300 bdocuments saved to the computer.

Don't remind me of web sites remembering details. I hadn't used one of my CC's since 2007.... every statement came back £0.00 FAB. Till one day it came thro £7.99 the audiable trial i had signed up for (and was convinced i had cancelled) had charged to the card.........HOW I would love to know as I coulda sworn i never used the details online. Thank god it did tho or i wouldn't have noticed if it had appeared on a normal card.

Am with you on the challanges I always fail miserably but am determined to succeed now... I WILL.... I need a house before I'm old and grey (tho the way the boys are going that'll be next week).

I've not had my eyes tested since **whistles** 2007 **whistles** cause i KNOW it'll be new glasses.

children, cross-stitch and chocolate. Chickywiggles debt-free diary

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