Debt support thread #2

[Nerfmother]

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

God, I hate ebay! Yes, it's the small/medium parcel that stung me too. My own fault.
Aim for £100 profit reduced to £100 pre-profit! Have an ebay column on ynab .

£427 is brilliant MissAnnersley! . I hate ebay fees though, they are such a rip off. Am determined to try bigger things on local FB selling group first, especially baby stuff as we finish with it.

Received a cheque from a client for £35 today, which combined with British Gas refund from old house of £75 (due any day) and refund of £100 coming next week from the gym (who, I have to say, were v good at quickly realising and admitting they shouldn't have taken the month's membership they've just taken by DD), means that with a bit of luck the credit card bill will be at least £200 less than expected this month even if we can't make any major spending cuts.

Possibly I literally sold everything that wasn't nailed down... it was a bit soul destroying in one way, because some stuff cost so much more than I paid for it (e.g. a brooch I paid £90 for, which went for £5) but it really did all add up (quantity over quality, haha!)

I have a small list of about 10 things to re-list/list for first time this weekend and a huge pile of crap stuff for the car boot, hoping to make £100 extra this month to hit the debt.

Thanks for the blog links - I had already found and read A Story of Debt, but haven't seen the others.

I'm not overly bothered about my Student Loan - it has very low interest, and mortgage providers don't even consider it proper debt when you apply for a loan etc - I'm looking to clear CC and car debt ,then save for a deposit.
I might tackle the student loan once we have a proper emergency fund etc.

I'm not fussed about student loan either - if we have some crazy income surge and have debts clear and an emergency fund in place before DH clears his in 2.5 years we might overpay on that one as it's currently quite a chunk out of his pay packet every month, but mine is definitely lower priority than getting a mortgage in a few years and overpaying that.

Our cc is 0% for the next 18months and I'm paying interest on the student loan, so want shot. It's also not tooo big, but hangs over me psychologically (graduated in 2001). The plan is debt free by the end of this year and then starting to overpay mortgage next year.
In very exciting news, I updated ynab and the predicted overdraft shrank from 1165 to 780. Lord knows how, and it's probably just on ynab rather than real life, but I'll feel smug/relieved for now ignores upcoming and unbudgeted for march birthdays

NSD today, packed lunches and dinner from freezer,same tomorrow and ok for bread/milk til Friday so will have budget left over this week that will go towards car

Poured over spreadsheet today to account for OD that I need to support car purchase.All things considered it hasnt added much in terms of debt repayment timeline which I'm very happy about!

Bloody harry potter outfit ruined my NSD

We did it on the cheap, with a grey jumper and homemade gryffindor badge, but even so!! It had to be the LEGO Harry potter, apparently. Anything else just wouldn't do.

Oh well! Am totally amazed we've stuck to budget this week bar that, next week is a bad week due to ds birthday, but I've tried to budget for that.

My mission for this month (should I choose to accept it) is to go from now until 3rd April using only £250 for food and fuel. Im not quite sure if it is going to be possible but if I can do that this month then i can start putting some money away for when I wont get paid over the summer holidays

Has anyone else noticed that World Book Day is becoming a behemoth of expense? It's like the Halloween of March.

Oh, and Winter, chocolate is ALWAYS allowed during Ofsted inspections. I've got some supreme cookies for the kids who behaved like stars in my obs.

Kinky I have been astonished at how much effort/expense other parents are going to this year for World Book Day! I'm sure it didn't used to be like this. Luckily for me DS1 wants to go as Where's Wally, and a friend loaned us a stripy bobble hat and he has a stripy t-shirt (red and yellow, not red and white, but I really can't bring myself to care). Job done.

I am on a mission to get a cheaper food shop in today. We have a freezer absolutely full of food, so I need things like milk/bread/fruit and some bits for my hospital bag. I am hoping to get it sub £75 tops.

I have ordered the book a girl called jack to try and get my food bill down.
We spend over £500 a month on food and it's got to stop :(
Ordered new kitchen last night
Kinky...Halloween of march. Yes! Some parents seem to have gone slightly mad

DS at nursery but didn't give into the hype...he's away in his Batman costume

Bonus announcement at work imminent. I've learned not to allocate it until I know exactly how much...in past I've been straight online for a holiday booking...but it's debt repayment all the way this year!

That's exciting fergus.
DC at nursery today, but they have gone for just 'bring your favourite book' instead of fancy dress. Phew. Resisted temptation to send them in with King Lear and Freakonomics

Food shop less than stellar - Sainsburys is so expensive! But just couldn't face walking round there and Lidl with SPD, and needed some hospital bag bits. £83.35, but £18.50 was on Lansinoh/maternity pads/juice for hospital bag, so I suppose technically £64.87 on food shopping (of which £5.80 was Gaviscon ). Too many treats within that really (nice cereal, choc biscuits, multipack of juice cartons, nicer pasta), the downside of shopping during the day with DS2 hanging off my arm begging for things!

THe main thing with food shopping is to write a list BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE
of what you need and which meals you are buying for
and be aware of which "premium" products are worth paying for
and which are an utter con

if you buy a "treat" mark down when it is to be eaten , and instead of what

Had a list, stuck to list, then lost the will to live slightly thanks to being 36 weeks pg with a whingy toddler. A couple of the treats will be useful (DH likes to give the DCs a post-swim treat snack, and he can give them one from the supermarket, which is actually cheaper) but some are completely unnecessary (juice cartons! We never have juice cartons. And wanky branded cereal at £2.79 that will taste crap and sugary). Looking at the receipt the shop could have been £7 less without treaty stuff. Lesson learned for next week.

34.19 interest added to CC1 so total of 642.27 to be repaid and account to be closed. Going back to original plan and will repay this in full by end March...next goal is then OD and building emergency fund back up which I'm intending to do both at same time-so any savings/spare cash I have will be split between them

Eeek! Just done a thing.
Had another look at the loan with Lloyd's (very recent just before the first thread) and have decided each month to pay the interest back. So I can check how much interest has gone out each month and I'm going to repay it, meaning my repayments will always be capital.
Is that a good idea?
Just paid 128 for the first three interest payments so now up to date.

I imagine that will be simultaneously encouraging (as you start paying off the capital) and disheartening (as you realise how much interest is going on to it)!

Well done on CC1 Mum. You are powering on with it.

Thanks pixie. Apparently any over payments will reduce the term of the loan and the overall interest.

Where's that baby

A spendy last few days for me buying all my start of the month things which didn't get done due to school trip. Topped up DS dinner money account (younger one has packed lunch), added £10 to my own account which is for days I forget a pack-up and it has to last the month, got ecig liquid, and a big Aldi shop, hopefully last a fortnight apart from fresh bits, plus boys had haircuts and eldest DS needed a phone top up and a school trip paying for. Half the money for the boys expenses will come back from their Dad within the week though as we do 50/50 instead of child maintenance.

NSD here today though except a little postage on a couple of things I sold on Amazon. Planning to use a Groupon for dinner tomorrow night (have had it since December) so will need to buy a couple of drinks, need to buy light bulbs forgotten in also shop, and then hopefully a no spend weekend from there.

How are other teachers handling the strike on 26th March? I usually strike and I believe we need to make a stand but losing the money will depress me, especially as I'll probably use the day to work at home

Good god. The world book day photos have gone online. I am large as a house. It's not just the debt that needs downsizing...

The loss of money will be very depressing indeed, but absolutely striking here ishe - the horror of what Gove is trying to do to us will cost far, far more in the long run. Pension contributions going up have already knocked £80 off my take home pay each month, and they are due to go up again.

Should say £80 more that I was already paying - it is substantially more than that in total. I doubt I will ever see retirement or the money they've taken.