Hugglemonster hits the debt hard!

hugglemonster · 31 August 2019 at 11:58AM

I'm starting a new diary as I got fed up with myself looking back on the other one and doing well, then doing terribly, doing well and then doing terribly etc. Whilst there has been progress it certainly hasn't been enough and slipping into bad habits far too easily.

I want to get rid of all the debt by Xmas 2020 it is achieveable if we knuckle down and work hard at it, we have all the tools at our fingertips to do it.

Starting today the budget has been set for food, kids pocket money and dh spending money this will be it for the week - no more giving in and buying extras. I applied for a 0% balance transfer card and then thought twice about it but what's the point of paying interest on a card if I can move it to one that doesn't so I will send back the paperwork today and close the other credit card as soon as it's done.

We can be so good at being MSE e.g. cooking from scratch, we sanded and varnished our kitchen table the other day giving it a new lease of life - nothing spent as we had everything needed in the shed, I can grow herbs and vegetables but am not doing enough - if I get the kids involved we could reduce shopping money further and enjoy lovely homegrown produce.

It's time to crack on and put it all into practice once and for all!

Current debt:
Loan 1 3000 now £2157.03 (savings to Pay In Full - £0)
Loan 2 £2200 now £2127.31
Credit card £2200 now £1950
Car - Purchased £11,518.40 now £4599.36
Overdraft £1000

Debt paid 2019 starting debt 13,111.79 current debt £11,833.70

All wise words appreciated, H x

clearmydebts · 31 August 2019 at 2:35PM

Happy new diary!

I returned to the MSE fold last week after a long spell and my only advice is post on here regularly as it helps you to keep on track and accountable!

Sounds like you are doing great and your target is very achievable

hugglemonster · 31 August 2019 at 5:27PM

Thanks clearmydebts, yes logging on here definitely helps to keep on task!

Just had a chat to the kids about the Xbox subscription they don't use it much so have cancelled it saving £5.99 a month, going through my budget to see if I can skim anything else off.

Picked some carrots from the garden, they didn't grow well as I think I planted too many in a small space never mind they'll be one portion :rotfl: I planted some onions in their place.

Tomorrow I need to spend some time on my business- planning sessions and sending invoices, also to email facility about space we can use over the winter months. I also need to do session plans for my other clubs and catch up with lots of work that needs organising.

H x

savingholmes · 31 August 2019 at 8:00PM

Good luck on your journey

Doing_it_my_way · 31 August 2019 at 8:46PM

Hello

Good luck with the debt busting, I too love to grow veg and eat it, it feels like a free pantry, I will be reading

hugglemonster · 3 September 2019 at 8:51AM

Morning all, dh inspired me to go for a run at 0600 this morning which is totally out of my comfort zone as I'm not a morning person plus I never run before food! Anyway just a short run but I was definitely ready for breakfast.

Lots of pennies gone out on regular bills over the last couple of days I always cringe at how much is gone in a flash, I have sorted business things but unfortunately no kids at the session last night I'm hoping it was just due to getting back to school. Fingers crossed I have some this evening.

I'm still owed quite a bit from work plus from the business and need to pay insurance installment today, if everything came back in the account then it would be so much healthier.

Food going well, we have plenty of leftovers in the fridge and freezer for a few days, I do need to pay for kids school dinners as they go back tomorrow although I have a prepaid credit card from a survey site to use so that will cover this week.

Today will be spent visiting parents, getting kids ready for school tomorrow, session this evening and then a meeting for work.

Have a lovely day, H x

hugglemonster · 4 September 2019 at 11:51AM

Hmm cash flow is not great, I am owed so much money from different sources I hope it's not long before it goes back into the account. I have stuck to the food budget for the week (our week starts Friday for this) I have £15 left and have the meal for tonight so just need to sort out something for tomorrow's dinner. I will need to put a bit of fuel in the car Friday but trying not to book too many meetings for next week.

I've done a few surveys and rediscovered an old one which has £11.25 balance and the payout is at £20 so hopefully can build that up quickly.

Kids have gone back to school so it's lovely and peaceful in the house, hope ds gets on ok on his first day at big school!

I need to write some emails and reports for work but can't get in the flow, might have lunch and then get cracking.

H x

clearmydebts · 4 September 2019 at 12:38PM

Aww was your DS excited going off to school? I am also enjoying the peace and being able to get things done!

Well done on keeping to budget. I find food budgeting the hardest thing to do. That and staying away from takeaways and eating out!

hugglemonster · 5 September 2019 at 12:51PM

Yes ds was very excited and came home full of beans! The house was so nice and quiet so manged to potter about at my own pace!

Despite the fact that the account looks horrendous and further outgoings included the car repairs of £90 for this month, we've actually done really well with the budgeting. I'm still waiting for expenses to be paid but we got back the mobile phone refund today and the food budget has lasted all week and actually have a £1 left. The food budget also covers toiletries and cleaning products so it's not that bad. I did a meal plan for 4 days and then the rest of the week has been leftovers plus I have brought tonight's meal. The kids and dh have been great sticking to their spending money allowance.

I've completed some surveys this morning including a study which has been ongoing for a while and now finished and will pay me £10, it should be prepaid credit card which I usually use for the kids school dinner payment but the school set it at £15 so may see if I can pay it off a debt somewhere.

I do need to pay for dd climbing lessons tonight, the term is 8 weeks long but thankfully they have split the cost over the two months so only need to pay £26 tonight.

Postman brought me some free snack bars from a local company for a project I'm doing, shame I can't eat them as they are delicious!

New meal plan tomorrow plus evening meetings and then the weekend yay! H x

hugglemonster · 7 September 2019 at 4:24PM

A busy couple of days, had a late meeting last night and didn't sleep well so I wasn't up until 0900. Yesterday I did a food shop using a 4 day menu plan and today we have bee really busy cooking and foraging. The local woodlands has apples and blackberries so we went for a walk there and pick what we could, we have made a blackberry sauce to drizzle over a sponge cake plus use for my porridge, lots of apples which have been made into a crumble for us and one for my parents. I have also made rolls for lunch and dh has made a chicken casserole in the slow cooker for tea. The house is smelling amazing!

Yesterday we had an issue where some money was taken from our account and it turned out not to be the ligitimate company so we had to phone the bank to report a fraud and cancel dh card. Luckily it wasn't much but it still makes a difference when you don't have much in the first place!

DH has opened himself a Monz* account to save his money in, he really likes the app etc. especially since he hates talking to banks. He got a £5 reward for opening too, he's slow getting there but some things I have to reign him in a bit e.g. yesterday we have beef stir-fry for tea I brought 2 bits of beef and whereas he would have brought 4, he commented that it wasn't much but with all the veg and noodles it was plenty and he saw that after everyone had eaten. Sometimes you have to let the penny drop at their own pace :rotfl:

I was finally paid July expenses yesterday so now need to wait for August pay, I have kids lunch money to send over and will need some more fuel on Monday. Child benefit comes in on Tuesday which will help the balance a bit.

Need to do some surveys this evening but first a sponge cake is calling out to be made and deliver parents apple crumble.

H x

savingholmes · 8 September 2019 at 6:20PM

Sounds like you are doing well - scrumping too - home cooking sounds really tasty. I have gammon and sausages in the oven and got OH to peel the spuds so hopefully will have a nice tea soon too.

Hugglemonster hits the debt hard!

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