Debt Number 3 : For those who feel they are drowning and want a way out

[TalkinPeace]

This thread follows on from Nerf's incredibly useful
FIRST www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/1969188-Can-we-have-a-support-thread-for-people-who-are-massively-in-debt
and then
SECOND
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2011878-Debt-support-thread-2?
threads about realising you are in and supporting each other out of debt.

I am not in debt, any more.
Here is a link to some spreadsheets that might help
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/1987219-SPREADSHEETS-for-Debt-Control-Budgeting-Mortgages-etc

and lots of people use this
YouNeedABudget

The important thing to remember is

• yesterday is as past as the Crimean War

( we will not judge how you got into debt, but we will support you on the way out )

• this is an anonymous forum

( we will not tell your employer, family or friends of the reality of your numbers )

• this thread is about supporting people through the huge mindset changes needed to come out of debt

( feel free to offload all of the feelings that drive you to want to spend, that make it hard to save and that generally make life crap at times )

Join in, bare your soul and come out the other end.
Its worth it.
You are worth it.

That would be for (this week as an example, it does vary):

apples, pears, bananas, oranges, blueberries, strawberries; peppers, spinach, onions, carrots, spuds, spring onions, salad leaves, tomatoes, avocados, lemons, radishes, cucumber, celery, mushrooms

Meals: fruit for breakfast every day, lunch every day at work then dinners:

Mon: rocket, tomato, cucumber, pepper salad with grated carrot and walnut salad, mexican chicken on top

Tues: work dinner

Weds: spinach pesto, wholewheat pasta, roasted cumin carrots with mint

Thurs: picnic with DH - crudites (batons of celery, carrot, cucumber, radish, pepper), crackers, olives, olive tapenade, hummus, smoked mackerel fillets, strawberries and cream

Fri: (frozen) salmon fillet, homemade mushroom sauce, leftover crudites, rocket leaves

Sat: wet garlic risotto (the garlic came free with our veg!), roasted tomatoes, slices of smoked tofu

Sun: nut roast (made and frozen last week) with spuds, parsnips, carrots, peas (frozen) and any other left over veg

Wow, lots of high value added stuff : imported berries, salad leaves, avocados, rocket

if you are broke learn to live on cheaper seasonal stuff or grow your own
a 99p tray of lettuce soaked in water, divided into 8 and planed out (even in hanging baskets) will keep you in lettuce for MONTHS
anything that has been airfreighted - see if its cheaper frozen

Riverford is a luxury for those who are NOT in debt IMHO

Is there a market near you Miss? At ours, if you time it right, you can get bagfuls of stuff very cheaply. You just have to not go wanting something specific!

Your menu sounds delicious btw!

berries all UK TiP - strawbs were from local market stall at 3 for £3.

Sounds delicious mmmh! Staples here are apples, bananas, spuds, onions, carrots, cucumber, peppers, plus frozen peas and spinach. Anything else only if very cheap/ on offer/ on best before date. Lemon concentrate for anything that needs citrus. Tinned toms instead of fresh.

Sounds lovely but expensive I've cut right back, we only have strawberries in season, I usually have frozen raspberries in, but we don't eat many, Otherwise I only buy a few things fresh- carrots, onions, peppers, cucumber cherry tomatoes, leeks if they're cheap, likewise swede. The rest I buy frozen. And we love tinned peas!

I would love to grow cheap lettuce, but it never grows well- what sort do you buy and when do you pick it? !

Staples each week;

Spuds
Strawberries - in season
Nectarines - in season
Apples
Bananas
Tangerines
Tomatoes
Salad leaves, salad veg(Beetroot etc)
Carrots
Broccoli
Squash
I use frozen peas and sweetcorn

meatballs
Cold meats
Chicken goujons
Chicken

Porridge
Eggs - lots!
Bread - lots!

Baking ingredients

Biscuits and treats for dc

Cheese
Fromage frais
Butter

Pasta
Pasta sauce
Garlic bread

Apple juice
UHT milk

Ice cream
Oven chips
Fish fingers/fish

Fruit teas
Coffee

That's the basics for us for a week.
Then anything else like cleaning Products and toiletries are added onto that.

There are 4 of us. Dh and ds1 eat a LOT. Not snacking between meals or anything but a cooked/hot breakfast each morning, pack up lunch and then dinner and pud.

I am going to try aldi (again) and see if I can get my bill down.

we eat seasonally wherever possible and buy reduced stuff too, which really helps.

tip, I already have the loan on direct debit and I normally pay £200 on the credit card each month, which has been reducing the thing well given the circumstances. I was totally shocked by this month because I just didn't get the money or transfer - it's the first time ever I haven't had the money in place in time.

I am furiously listing stock online in places that I know sell (item by item at the minute because I haven't had a proper chance to take stock) - that's taking forever in itself because I just can't get a chance to rid myself of the toddler for long enough.
I'm becoming a hermit because as soon as dh gets in from work, I run upstairs to list and let him get on with everything else!
I'm putting everything in numbered boxes to nake it easy to find, which alsk means that I'm cataloguing as I go.

I don't know what you meant by "Have you taken the tax loss and on your final tax return yet?"
I've not done my latest tax return yet and I haven't stopped being self employed, so no final return
.

loss is carried foreard every year...

yes, dh is employed so he's stuck paying the bills and now the shopping, whilst I'm concentrating cb, ctc and any of my incomings on my debts.

on the good news front - I have put myself on a spending ban and apart from postage costs, I haven't spent any money at all since I last posted

also, I got really upset because one of our chickens died a couple of weeks ago and we decided to buy 3 more because we only had one left (they are flock birds and it's really not good for them to be on their own).
well I decided we now couldn't because of thids spending thing, but dh said that her welfare is more important, so we're looking at ex-commercial hens if there are any going in the area.

talking of food - if you are buying food now that has pips and seeds, save them in packets for next year. peppers are great for this, and others.
if you already grow your own, allow some bits to go to seed and save for next year.

Blueberries : not in season in the UK for another 2 months (I grow them)
Avocados - never in season in the UK
Cucumber : not in season in the UK for another month (even in my polytunnel)
Strawbs : DD has just picked 2 kg of strawbs from the garden. "3 for £3" - 3 what - a poxy little punnet is a con .... price per kilo is king

growing from seed from food bought at supermarkets is normally the mother of all letdowns - because they use varieties that are not suited to the UK climate

Dirt cheap, debt free lettuce .....

buy a 99p pack of "cut and come again"
soak it in LOTS of water for 24 hours
lift it out of the tray and pull apart into as many groups as you can (I do 12, my Mum does 36)
and plant each of them out
water lots and you will be INUNDATED with yummy lettuce for 2 months
if you have slugs, make sleeves out of empty lemonade bottles
or use hanging baskets
or pots
fresh lettuce is wonderful

nickelbabe
keeping the business going is a good call as it can make quite astonishing losses that can be carried forwards against future income (as the banks have done)

For some bizarre reason known only to himself dh decided this year not to plant lettuce (which always does well) and plant potatoes which haven't grown much at all.
And rather than strawberries, which 3 of us love, he has played raspberries (which only he likes) because he got the plants free?...what's the point!? Gah!

I will try that TIP, thanks

Thanks TiP I'll try that. We get slugs, so I'll probably use hanging baskets.

Who's marking?

We need a support group. Day 1 today.

Goodbye the next six weeks of my life...

Each question marked is another few pence off that card.

((Kinky))
My DD's papers will be in there somewhere.
My audit season finishes in ten days ... and counting

Hello All! A very foody last few pages

I;m so busy at the moment I'm not really thinking about food too much. It's a luxury that I'm looking forward to enjoying over the summer holiday.

I don't know if any of you will remember about me saying that it looked as though my supply teaching DH would be made permanent at his current placement ... he has! It was confirmed yesterday! This means so much to us, and I feel so happy that we will be able to pay off the debt a lot more quickly ... and ... if we save we should be able to move house at the end of next year too.

Kinky I am marking English Language A Level at the moment. I have done the online standardization and had my 10 sample scripts looked at and I'm now officially cleared to mark. It's my first time and I'm finding it really stressful and hideous. Most of my marking is spot on but I was harsh with one girl in my sample which is so worrying.

I really can't imagine that I will do it again. It's taking me 40 minutes to do each paper (which my team leader - the principle examiner no less - says is normal and how long she takes!) and then I have to upload it all online, sort it into packets and post it off - all of which takes additional time.

I've worked out that I'm probably being paid about £6 an hour all told. This is the lowest figure I've ever been paid! It is good experience and it will pay off a good chunk of the overdraft. But really ...

You will get faster. We always start cautious but get into a rhythm. GCSE English used to be like that, but now it's all on-screen. Was cleared on Weds and it started officially today. I will just keep going until there's no more available. We really need the money!

I signed up for marking and was accepted earlier on in the year, then didn't hear anything (I teach a niche subject though so v likely they just didn't get the take up they expected!)
I did get a bit of moderating for a different exam board which will bring in a few extra quid though.

Fingers crossed for next year, I'd like to start marking GCSE/A level proper.

I often feel like a bit of a black sheep on this thread as I find it really, really hard to fight the attitude of "It's only a couple of quid ffs, what's the point of working at all if I can't get a coffee/DVD/avocado" etc etc. But I've realised that its 11 days until payday, I have £172 in the bank and the food cupboards are full. And, most importantly, this is mostly how it has been this year. This has been UNHEARD of in my adult life. I've always run out of money mid pay month and switched to the credit cards. Always. And somehow this year (bar March when my baby was born and the budgeting fell apart in a big way) I have managed to quietly break that habit. I still have a long way to go but I'm feeling quite proud of myself.

I'm another one who tries to grow her own veg where possible.

I've also started foraging. Nettle tops and young dandelion leaves are great substitutes for spinach. Just pick, stick in cold salted water for a few minutes, rinse and cook. Like spinach they will cook down to nothing, so you need a fair few, but it's a great feeling, getting free food!

oh, and lettuce-type things can be used in stir fries too, in case you get 'saladed out!'

Well done pixie. I bet we could all have times feeling we're different.

I feel different as I have children from a prev relationship but DH earns twice what I do. I have to be careful about trying to reign in spending as tbh he'd be financially much better off on his own.

He doesn't begrudge me (or the kids) a penny, but I'm mindful of not nagging. We're in it together and he's made huge changes but it's a marathon not a sprint.