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[BigSkies2022]

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DD and I were visiting my parents last week (quite exhausting). They're comfortably off, no mortgage, decent pensions and savings pots so genuinely can't grasp that we're struggling! I'm not asking for money from them but just a level of understanding.
Spent on petrol to get there and back. Then money while out and about, saw friends for brunch and coffee while there. I have money from cat sitting due this week which covers that spending. Meeting friends today for lunch as one has just had a big birthday.
The credit card balances are decreasing but wish it would be quicker.
Since getting back, I've had quite a few cards for packing so that'll be a bit more. The money is crap but I can do it watching TV.
DP did some shopping on Friday but he is terrible at actually planning dinners so we have a variety of random items in the fridge which need eating.

Shopping at Morrisons £56 bought a new toaster as well included in that .
Need to look for a new oven now , ours went bang on Easter Saturday.
Had to cook the leg of lamb for the first time ever in the slow cooker and OMG it was delicious 😋 🤤.

Got accepted for a loan today which I applied for on a whim. It's a 4 year on on 10% and I think I'm going to take it and consolidate my credit card debts which are higher APR. I currently pay 3 x £150 payments to the cards a month, and new loan repayment is £383 so I won't be any worse off and at least the balances will start going down as opposed to just constantly paying off the interest.

Yet the thought of a FOUR YEAR loan fills me with dread which is silly because in 4 years the balances of the credit cards will probably still be the same as they are now since my payments only cover interest. I'm just scared of 'big' debt!

@MaryGreenhill sucks about the oven! Hope you can find a great deal.

Pennies - can you pay £450 to the loan each month? i.e. same as you are currently paying to CC, but overpaying the loan and reducing the term and interest? Is that an option on this product?

Just back from library - returning loans and getting step count up . Anyway, was congratulating myself on NSD and planned leftovers based dinner to find DS and DH at home, £2200 poorer after having to buy a new laptop. The repair to the old one would take 10 days and DS just doesn't have 10 days to spare before his deadlines. So here we are: everyone has dug into their savings and pitched in, so the pain is shared, but bloody hell.

In better frugal news, my no-book-buying year is going well, with no sense of deprivation, thanks to book group and library loans. And I've deferred the May and June deliveries of tretinoin from Dermatica, so that's £50 saved (just not using as much product). And DH has also - finally! - cleared out his CDs (we haven't got anything to play them on) and has generated £35 for them via Music Magpie.

NSD here, just pottering about in the garden again with the little one. Back to work etc tomorrow sadly. But on the plus side that does mean I spend less.
I have recently gone through my dvds and CDs @BigSkies2022 and tried to sell dvds but no one wanted the ones I was chucking so gave to charity. I hadn't tried the CDs as I got disheartened but I shall try and hopefully generate some cash like your DH. Sorry to hear about the laptop, urgh. Pain shared is pain halved they say but still.

Ah that’s annoying about the laptop @BigSkies2022 . Will you try and get the old one repaired too?

I’ve had a NSD today if I don’t count having to pay travel to get to work.

I’ve also changed the frequency of my dog’s food delivery and will be buying it more in bulk from now on. This will cut the daily price by 1/3. I think I’ve got enough freezer space to keep 2 moths worth in there!

Thank you @PenniesButton
I think you are doing the very best thing for you and four years will be gone before you know it 💐
And that's a great idea @Blueskieswell thought out 😁

Nsd about bloody time😁

@PenniesButton better to clear it all in four years than be paying interest only for four years.

Ah that is annoying about the laptop @BigSkies2022 sure DS will appreciate it!

Hope you get your oven sorted soon @MaryGreenhill

NSD although do need a very small top up in the morning. Prepped lunch for work so will be saving there at least.

If anybody uses coffee beans grind coffee have a very good offer on just ordered a kg for £17 not £30.

NSD here!!

@PenniesButton the loan sounds much better than paying off interest only on the credit cards.

@BigSkies2022 ouch! That’s such a lot of money on a laptop

@BigSkies2022 thats a kicker about the laptop. Is the resale value any good or are you trading in the current one?

@MaryGreenhill thats one silver lining to having your oven break for Easter. I wish you happy oven shopping.

@PenniesButton look at a credit card repayment calculator for your current cards like this one https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/customer/repayment-calculator it might help with putting the loan into perspective. I had credit card debt and overdraft debt for years and not acknowledging it properly meant I paid back way more interest and was seriously embarrassed about having it. I was a DINK at the time on a good salary but just didn’t face up to it. Once I got serious about it I was able to clear it pretty quickly and it showed me how much I could actually save.

i finally had a NSD but it was an accident as I got the time wrong for an activity my daughter wanted to do. Guess it’s the universe telling me to stop spending.

V low spend day today, I bought chewing gum and that's all.

Consolidating sounds good if it’s a lower rate and you can afford it better. Defo look and see if you can overpay without penalty u less you need the freed up amount
boo about the laptop

Morning.

Boo to the oven going bang @MaryGreenhill. But lamb in the slow cooker is actually totally delicious, so I'm glad you've discovered that at least.

Boo to the lap top.

Ended up being a NSD yesterday as I didn't get to the shops. My life changes are happening quicker than I thought so I've messaged our financial advisor for a meet.

So today will be a LSD as I will get my wash up liquid and shower gel, plus dishwasher tablets from Aldi, which I pass on the way home.

Have a good day frugaleers 🙂

Anticipate LSD today - might buy some asparagus, as it's St George's Day and the start of the asparagus 'season' apparently. A sucker for marketing, aren't I?

With DParents this afternoon, lots of ironing to get through this morning. Rain is taking care of garden watering needs.

And for those who asked, no, alas the repair required was so fundamental that there was no trade-in or resale value for the laptop. The first Apple shop DS consulted suggested there would be, but the second one disagreed, and we just had to have a solution, fast.

@PenniesButton Make sure you close the credit cards! Many people get the loan to pay off the cards, then life happens, the cards get maxed out again putting them in double the debt. Done right, it sounds like a good option.

@BigSkies2022 What is the resell value if you fix it? Might be worth looking into to reclaim some costs. Just read it's not actually St. Georges Day today, it moves to the following Monday if Easter (Easter Monday) falls in the same week, it'll be 28th this year.

NSD yesterday, should be NSD again today. Not alot of food in, but I'm atempting making pizza, potato salad and serve with salad for dinner. The yeast looks like it's activating so should be good to go. I'm going to use today as a meal prep day to make the best of the leftovers we have.

psuedo - to fix it would cost the best part of £800, and I think it very unlikely we would recoup the costs via a sale of a 4 year old MacPro. It may be one of those situations where you just bite the bullet and move on.

Thank you @Mochi1fudge, @pistachiosanscreamand @needastrongoneagain.
Yes Lamb is definitely on the menu via the slow cooker again 😁
Spends today Morrisons £10 on stuff for Mum , paper , Magazine, Victoria Sandwich, Welsh Cakes and drinks 😁
Still looking for a new oven 😊👍

Thank you everyone for the support, I accepted the loan and paid off 3 cards today. @pistachiosanscream that calculator is incredibly helpful, thank you. I have 1 card left, so I'm going to put the £65 I'm 'saving' by paying the lower loan amount onto that.

I am afraid of closing the credit cards because life happens and I have absolutely no savings, but I'll be devastated to use them again now I've paid them off with the loan. Now I am back in work after so many years we're in a good place and on good ground but it's still scary. I've deleted all the cards off our Apple Pay and cut up the actual cards.

What to do?

Well done Pennies. You know what you need to do: build savings. The average cost of a common 'shit happens' type of event - car breakdown, pet vet treatment, dental care costs, replacement white goods, emergency laptop purchase with deadlines on the horizon (ask me how I know that one) - is apparently around £600. You can get £600 together - look at your costs, look at your spends, make a plan and do it, via a monthly standing order/direct debit into an account that is separate from your spending account.

Once you have that first £600, you'll feel much better. Then you can round it up to £1000, and you'll feel better still. Then you can double it, and so on! You've got shot of the expensive debt, and now savings can be your protection against curved balls.

Tesco today. 50 on about 3 things. Only a slight exaggeration