Crunchy pays it down....£20k...the final chapter

Scottishmummy · 24 January 2016 at 12:07AM

I've just read your whole diary and I am very impressed. I wish I could get my food budget down to £100 a week but DH is at home during the day and does lots of top up shops which invariably mean milk and bread also has biscuits, cakes and sweets added. If he didn't get paid in cash it would be so much easier to tell him there isn't enough money in the account so he can't spend it but he drives taxis at night so always has cash on him.

I like but also don't like the idea of adding up all our monthly spends to get an annual figure. I think it would be too scary.

crunch_time · 27 January 2016 at 10:36AM

Hi scottishmummy! Wow thanks for reading all of it and then commenting too!! I think my husband secretly wishes our fridge was a deli so expects a constant array of wonderful foods to eat. I try and buy him stuff then he works away all week so it goes off. He has to learn to be boring with food at home!! My hook is 'well if you want a dog and to move to a bigger house' and that seems to be working at the moment.

So, morning all fellow debt free wannabes!!

Working week done. DD is having a nap. DS is at preschool. My feet are up and I am enjoying a coffee (and a lemsip). First load of washing is in. House looks like it is crying out for some tlc on this miserable day so will crack on with the cleaning and tidying later.

Its husbands payday tomorrow! He has received another payrise too which is great news but he wants to save up to buy a new suit so I cant use it for my goals just let but will do in a few months. Its best that he saves up for one too rather than 'credit cards' then pays it back.

Speaking of credit cards, he has applied for a 0% balance transfer with his bank and has been accepted so will be transferring the balance this week. I will be able to manage it better for him if it is on screen with all his other accounts. At the moment I keep a line in our spreadsheet for the minimum £60-£70 a month out of his pay but have decided to keep all his expenses payments in one of his savings accounts and then use that to pay the minimum amount so effectively it is out of the mileage payments. Eventually once all our debt on it is paid off, we should be able to get out of the interest payment cycle by doing this but we shall see. They only pay expenses every 2 weeks so at the moment he needs to work on making sure he submits every 2 weeks.

Not much else to report moneywise except I still haven't managed to get anything on ebay. Will do that now.

Enjoy your day everyone!

Crunchy xx

crunch_time · 28 January 2016 at 8:03AM

Morning diary!!

Husbands pay day today! All money moved into the correct places. Budget drawn up for the month. Loan payment will go out on Monday but I have updated the signature now as I wont have time on Monday.

We are now just in the £16,xxx and the loan is in the £13,xxx. Very pleased with that!!

My pay day is in about 3 weeks where we can pay the rest of the car deposit and maybe shave a few more hundred off the credit cards..

I cant to buy a steam cleaner as well so shall start shopping around.

Plan to day is meal plan, ds swimming lesson, food shopping and then chilling out this afternoon.

On another plus note - MIL has given us another 4 bottles of wine so that's our February quota and then some! They don't drink anymore and keep getting given it. Happy days!!!

Crunchy xx

sugarcube84 · 28 January 2016 at 10:40AM

I totally get the comment about your husband and the deli fridge, mine is similar I buy NICE food for lunches he doesn't take it, then I don't and he moans there is nothing in. I cant win!! He sorts himself out now so he can buy what he fancies and it comes out of his own spends money so he knows he cant afford to go and buy ready made each day. Win/Win really.

On the steam mop I've got this and it's been brilliant, very good with dog hair for future doggy!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vax-S86-SF-CC-Steam-Classic-Handheld/dp/B00KPT6AOG/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen-appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1453973787&sr=1-2

crunch_time · 31 January 2016 at 5:33PM

Thanks Sugarcube!! Ill check it out when I start researching.

I checked through my February budget today as I couldn't get online on Friday as the bank was down, and after all is accounted for there is £31 left. So, I have rounded down my credit card from £1431 to £1400. Every little helps!!!

In my budget I have allocated £20 per week as 'weekend' i.e. wine, parking, coffee etc. We haven't spent any of the £20 this weekend!! But I am going to use that to buy some much needed photos and photo frames. We haven't got any photos up of DD and she is 15 months old!!!

Sad the weekend is coming to end. Back to work tomorrow. I love my actual job but don't like where I ma doing it at the moment. There are 41 working days left for me until the end of the school year so I think I am going to start counting them down to keep me motivated.....

Hope everyone is well!

Crunchy xx

t2rry · 31 January 2016 at 7:54PM

Little tip re: photos, Crunchy. Have you heard of free prints? It's a free phone app that gives you 45 4x6 prints fre each month. You just pay the £3.99 postage (usually you can get a discount on that the first month too!)

I'm sure you probably want bigger sizes but just in case it helps. I used them to order a few larger ones for frames too as the cost was so good

crunch_time · 3 February 2016 at 7:33AM

Hey T2rry - thanks for the tip - I shall look into it!! Yes we will want bigger sizes but I will also need smaller sizes for our annual albums (which I haven't got round to doing yet!) so this is a great tip!

Working week done for me! Husband is ill and so is DD so we had a cheeky curry last night as nobody felt like cooking. That can be our weekend money spent for this weekend.

One week to go until its half term and I get paid again 2 weeks on Friday!

Lots of housework to do today and I have to complete my online shop ready for tomorrow.

Not much else to report!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Crunchy xx

reality_check · 3 February 2016 at 12:43PM

Hey Crunchy,

I've loved reading your diary over the past few days, you have achieved so much already in a short space of time! :T

I started a diary to keep me on the straight and narrow.... hope it works! I've changed strategy of how I am getting rid of this debt about 5 times in a week!

I noticed the link of the steam mop - I bought this a few weeks ago (before I committed to this lol was an impulse buy as I already have one but had read great reviews so thought why not!) Yours is a considered purchase though and not like me! but you should consider it when you go through options... I've only used for floors and handheld for tiles and my washing machine and it's fab!

Look forward to reading more and seeing your progress :j xx

crunch_time · 4 February 2016 at 3:21PM

Hey Realitycheck! Thanks for reading my diary! I change my mind about my strategy ALL the time. Too much time in between pay days to think. Will check out your diary later.

Will definitely consider the mop!! Horrible night sleep. Husband away. DD woke up several times and then screaming the house down at about 3. Would only go back to sleep upright on me so was awake for an hour while she stopped fighting it. Sigh! Currently enjoying an afternoon coffee which I never do unless a real emergency. Ha ha.

My sainsburys food shop today came to £100. Eek - must rein it in for next week otherwise we wont stay on budget!!

Only other money news is Husband has finally transferred his credit card balance. Hopefully that will clear tomorrow so he can cancel the old one.

Right I think I am going to have a lie down while DD naps and DS watches the horse whisperer (he's 3.5 going on 35!)

Nearly Friday!

Crunchy xx

crunch_time · 5 February 2016 at 3:01PM

Afternoon diary!

Better nights sleep last night. DD didn't wake up till 5.40am and only once in the night so I don't feel so awful today! Woohoo!

She went back down for a nap at 8.30am so I did my workout and felt very good afterwards. I must do this as much as I can as I feel like I achieved loads so far today!

Just got off the phone to my pet insurance company who had upped the amount from £6.35 a month to £13.45!!! I asked why and apparently its because my cat has turned 10 now. I don't think he is 10 until the end of the year (he is a rescue cat). So it looks like I put the birth date down wrong last year when I had a weeks old baby and about to move house. It was a costly mistake but I forgive myself!!! I can right my wrong by providing a letter from my vet so will add that to my list of things to do......

In other news husband car has died. Looks like its the battery so he has just popped off to the garage to get a new one. He THINKS he knows how to put it in but I'm sure if he doesn't he can find out on youtube!! Just waiting for a cost now.

So I get paid 2 weeks today and will have approx. £250 left after I have paid the remaining £500 off my credit card for the car deposit. DS will be going to pre school 3 days a week after half term so I have to pay for the extra day up until Easter. I have budgeted £25 a day and there are 5 weeks but I think that will be an overestimate as the leader says he has some money in a pot as she is not claiming for all of his hours at the moment or something like that. Anyway, anything extra can go towards debt so that's half of it gone already. I would love to get a steam cleaner as I have already mentioned but I also have a Christening to go to so I need something to wear as well as a party and a few other things to pay for. Hmmm got to get my thinking cap on. I want some change from that £125!! I could always put the steam cleaner off another month and get one at Marchs payday just in time for the Easter holidays!!

Stuff still isn't on ebay as I forgot my password and then couldn't get onto my emails to retrieve it so this may help.

I need to add that I am on a bare minimum wardrobe at the moment. I have 3 pairs of treggings that I have on cycle along side a good number of tops but nothing at all party like or Christening like.

It is good that I am thinking like this as not so long ago I would have just put it on the credit card. These are measured purchases now weighed up against paying off debt.

Lots of food for thought.

Crunchy xx

Crunchy pays it down....£20k...the final chapter

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