Debt support thread #2

[Nerfmother]

Here we are! Can't be bothered to think of an exciting title, sorry

Oh and I am a major capsule wardrober too - the downside is that you need to buy clothes occasionally (even if charity shop ones) as the ones in the wardrobe get physically worn out.

Kinkydorito
My opinions on pensions are often pretty unprintable.

Defined Benefit pensions like teachers, LGPS, NHS, MOD, Civil service and a few big companies are fantastic for employees and if you are in one, never leave.
For employers they ceased being affordable about 20 years ago : hence why there are so few private sector ones left.

Defined Contribution pensions like all the commercial and stakeholder and NEST ones are a nice little earner for the companies selling them and absolutely crap for everybody else.
The tax break when money goes in only pays for itself with higher rate taxpayers. The fees are offensive and the returns are insulting.

INSTEAD of Private Pensions
Pile as much money as you can into your ISA every year, once you and your other half are filling up your £11k allowance every year, make sure you put the £3k per year per child away
after that, look at other investments
only after that trust the pensions "industry" with any of your cash.

themoneyone
If you genuinely do not have many clothes then do have a look at charity shops - I'm lucky having two naice market towns near here that have a range of better charity shops.
I buy nearly new designer for under £5 an item.
For really posh I go to a dress agency and get serious stuff for 1/4 the new price
next resort is TK maxx
only once in a blue moon do I buy new - the dress in my profile pic was for a family zero birthday - but I got it on offer

Orange - yes, dd gave up drama in order for us to pay for her school trip ( three days away) which we had a year to do. Giving up clubs has also meant no parking, petrol, coffee while waiting.
The dcs have clothes, food, games, books, electronic stuff and parks and gps nearby. I don't feel the need at the moment to keep up with everything. Rugby is very cheap 15 quid a year, and the other one does dance. That's it we have dropped drama, football, everything else.

tip thanks for the pension advice. Am self-employed and pay £60 (topped up by Mr Osborne) into a private pension. Is this pointless?

The nursery spreadsheet is OK so far - I want to keep it for 6 months to reassess then how much profit I'm actually making long-term, but I made a decent profit in both Jan and Feb just didn't get paid, the swines. I'm aware there'll be some months where it costs me to work, but there'll be others that make up for this. Feast or famine is the term that springs to mind! DC1's free hours kick in this month too which will help.

As for clothes, I'm going to steal possibly's 1 item a month. And I always get stuff on sale or from our very naice charity shops. (Wearing a red pure wool jacket today, a bargain at £8).

So glad the DCs are too young for clubs...

£60 a month, I meant.

Apols for the multi posts.

I would love a PAYG nursery. I have to pay normal fees even though sometimes I don't have much work on (and then have to work evenings and weekends other months when I've got lots of work). I was turning work down as I didn't have the childcare, so putting them in nursery resolves this - it's just sometimes I need 3 hours a week, and sometimes I need 35 hours! Hey ho. The plan is to pay anyway, and then if I don't need the childcare, not send them. Sorry, sure this is fascinating reading, but writing it out helps sort things in my mind!

Clothes - e bay. I have had some gorgeous stuff from e bay for myself and the dc. Huge Bundles for the dc for £6-8!
Ds1 has to pay subs for his football team but that's it.
Ds2 will start swimming lessons soon but pils pay for that.
We just can't afford anything else. Ds1 was having guitar lessons but we stopped them as he was refusing to practise. After 2 warnings we cancelled them. Felt awful but he has to learn private lessons cost money and if the commitment isn't there it's money we can't afford to pay out.
Talk...that's my plan re the isa. I would rather save in that than take out a pension.
The works on the house have started today! we are trying to do as much as we can ourselves to cut down the cost. It's going to be a very busy few weeks! :)

Back on the Pensions front...I've had a non contributory final salary pension with work since 1998 however it stops from April this year. Their is another scheme I can go into which I pay on 5% and work will pay in 13% so total of 18% of salary paid into pension.

Would that be a better option than loading up ISA?

mum2fergus if your employer is paying in 13% GO FOR IT - that is a really good deal.
Stuff the ISA for now!

Good idea to see where you are over. 6 months themoneyone - I gave it 18 months before admitting defeat on childcare costs, which was far too long and wasted lots of money.

Talkin

Grrr, my top up Tescos shop came to £17 even using vouchers - only went in for 4 things...

Anyone know anywhere cheap to buy lightbulbs? Mine seem to go even if I buy the energy saving ones which are all Tescos stock at at least £2 a bulb. I have silly light fittings on the lounge and need 6

Is it wrong that I am secretly pleased my son's school trip has been cancelled and I will get £40 back?

Had a bargain meal at Pizza Hut tonight with the kids. I had a child eat free with every adult voucher so that was a bit of a saving and kids drinks are included with the meal.
When the bill came I though it seemed cheap but only glanced at it. It's only now I am home I have realised they forgot to add the garlic bread (this may have been on purpose as we had to ask for it because they forgot it) and the kids ice cream factories were missing too. So we had 3 bowls of unlimited salad, unlimited soft drinks, cheesy garlic bread, a kids pizza, a kids macaroni cheese, a small adults pizza and unlimited ice cream factories for £15.39!

Up thread someone had paid for gaviscon- are you in the uk? Is so it should be on prescription and you'd be exempt from charges being pregnant.

I'm so glad I found this thread last week. I tried to confide in someone in real life but it made it so much worse as she really judges me as she thinks I should live in poverty until the debt is paid off - i.e. never going on people's birthday meals, always turning down a day trip. Maybe she has a point but it feels like I'd be punishing myself for past mistakes. As long as these things come out of my 'budget' and don't get put on the overdraft or credit card I don't see the problem - all my debt is on 2 fixed rate loans so it won't save me anything if I pay it off early (I'm best off putting any extra into savings and maybe paying a lump sum off every year).

I feel like I'm starting to win with overcoming my shopping compulsion. I saw something the other day that a few weeks ago I would have just bought but I knew I couldn't explain away another new coat so I didn't buy it. This may not seem like a big step for some but it really is for me.

Today is about going through all my stuff and deciding what can be ebayed.

My aim for this month is to finish with no more debt than I started the month with. That probably seems like a silly target, but for the last few years I've increased my debt by a good few hundred pounds each month. If I manage that this month, next month I'll aim to be less in debt which hopefully by then I'll have stopped the buying cycle.

Glad you feel like you're getting there after thought .
Lightbulbs - ikea or wilkinsons

Need to get a couple of school uniform bits today but keeping costs down where possible. It's very specific to DDs school but still some room for savings, even small ones!

Need to do list for food shop too, will do the actual shopping tomorrow though.

My ebay pile is getting quite big. I have so much stuff I've kept that I just don't need - for example a decent waterproof jacket that is old to me but in fab condition that I've kept 'for gardening'. Seeing as I'm not really into gardening in the rain it seems a bit pointless keeping it!

I'm also taking loads to charity, I think all the time I have a wardrobe rammed full of stuff I don't use, I'll just buy more to add to it - I really need to try and do a capsule wardrobe. I'd never get away with a complete capsule wardrobe as I have to have business wear for work but I'm not wearing a suit in the school holidays! I also run a Guide group so have to have stuff for our week long camp in the summer - everything has to be blue (a colour I hate). I can at least get down to the bare minimum though!

Mabel it is me paying for Gaviscon. TBH I had no idea how expensive it was! If I need more before the end I will def make a doc's appointment.

Aftertnhought I'm glad you're feeling positive and ending the month with no additional debt sounds like an excellent first step - we know our debt is going to increase for the next 3.5 months (mat leave) but my mission is to keep it as low as possible and then in July to break even before starting payback in August.

Just got paid £104 for some work I did aaaages ago (themoneyone it can be nice in some ways getting paid two months down the line, can't it? Feels like free money!), so that's going towards minimising the debt increase this month. We're away for the weekend but I'll be reconciling everything on Monday and see how we stand on the debt this month. Have had a very low spend week, which is nice (apart from DH blowing his entire month's 'pocket money' on a night out last night. He is now making sad faces as he has realised he can't so much as get a coffee in the leisure enter after swimming for the rest of the month. Mwa ha ha ha).

Talkin, your figure I'll have to come and stalk you on the 5:2 threads if that is the kind of result you get.

Possibly when is your due date? Are you feeling ready?

DH out in the garden planting seeds - more tomatoes, chillies, herbs, salads, beans, peas and some marigolds/sweet william and calendula flowers.

Hoping all this will save us cash in summer and we could even freeze things like parsley for use next winter if we get a glut.

Oh blimey, is it planting season already? Eek!!

puffy it's still early, most stuff is started in March (garlic is a bit late now though). You still have time!