A thread for people trying to pay off debt?

[moneyworries8]

Would there be any interest in this?

I'll start us off. I'm 30, a SAHM with 2DC.
Our debts are:

£4,000 loan that we've been paying off for 6 months.
£2,300 on a credit card

The debt is manageable but I've had the realisation that if something doesn't change, these figures are going to get bigger and bigger. I know it's a hard time of year to start but I don't believe in "waiting until the new year!"

We could post on here for advice/support as well as sharing our successes (and failures, but hopefully there won't be many of those) with each other. I feel like I need some people to help keep me on track.

So, is anyone interested?

Thanks talk (and others)- unanimous- that’s helpful! My brain was going round
How was the Brexit march? I really wanted to go but have PTSD and I just don’t do well in crowds. But I was supporting from afar!

twerk
The march was amazing. Politicians will still drive us over the Brexit cliff next week. But at least we shouted.

It’s such a horrifying car crash of a mess talk. I’m all out of words.

Did a top up shop at Lidl tonight (closer than Aldi) - £26 and that included a bottle of Chilean Merlot at £4 - a quid cheaper than what I would normally pay.

Got the wine because me and the daughter decided not to go to the cinema this evening as we were too tired having been (drumroll) spring cleaning all day! It started out as just a normal bit of housework and then kind of snowballed. It was a lovely 'drying' day here so I was able to get loads of washing out - bedding etc. Then it progressed to Rearranging my bedroom and ended up cleaning the house from top to bottom - washed curtains and cushion covers and thrown out junk, and gave the bathroom a mammoth 'deep clean' and although tired and aching, I am happily sitting here sipping my merlot and reflecting on a very productive day.

So £56 in Aldi last week and £26 in Lidl this week. That's a huge saving on what I would normally spend.

Also got a job in that if I start early tomorrow (Sunday) I can finish in a day and it's 350 quid. One of the good things about being self employed is you can work when it suits, and as I don't have anything else on tomorrow I might as well earn some money.

Can I ask what you all do when contemplating purchases vs paying off debt?
Eg we need a new duvet. We'll sleep under it for years. Our old one we bought more than five years ago. But it's a reasonably expensive purchase. Not quite €100 but definitely over €50.
Do you
a) just say feck it, we need it?
b) say we'll buy the duvet but not the new hand towels because the ones we have are old and tired but fit for purpose.
Or c) sleep under the old duvet that doesn't fit the bed?

We'll be paying off our debt at the current rate for 4 years. That's a long time to buy nothing new. But it's the buying stuff that got us here to start.... I'm leaning towards (b) buy the necessary things after having them on a "wish list" for a few months. Maybe scout around charity shops for Towels? But I'd buy them in primark for a similar price 🤔🤷‍♀️

frugal Well done, you're doing great!!

I've out some effort into sorting things out, but I'm really stecged quite thin, I'm really short this month but next month should be a little better.

Except, my ex is threatening court, which means solicitors fees all over again, which has the potential to tip me over the edge financially.

Most of my debt so far has come from either my ex's crazy ideas prior to seperating or from legal fees to ensure the safety in the dc's. If nothing were to change from right now, I'd have sorted out a lot if my debt problems by the end if the year and be in my way to bring able to reduce the balances.

So I'm a little annoyed at the moment

turqiose
is your old duvet worn out? five years is not long ?
If its the wrong size, that is different, but just being old is not a valid reason

towels - again. Do they dry you?
If not, move them to rags, if they do then you do not "need" you "want"
two VERY different things

I still use towels that were given to my parents as wedding presents
they were good quality and they still work fine for guests

turqouise I agree with talk - both the duvet and the hand towels sound like thing you want rather than need. Our duvets and towels are ancient but they still do the job! Those are definitely the kind of purchases you should go cold turkey on until your debt is sorted.

@DifficultwithDogs - I feel your pain. My debt is solely from legal fees to deal with abusive ex. However, recently I have started to represent myself in court, and not use solicitors at all. It means I no longer have all that expense. It took a lot of courage initially but the judges are very understanding of unrepresented people. Coram run a service where for £25 you can get 30 minutes of advice in a pre booked phone call and that has been really helpful. It has taken away my fear of never knowing when the next big legal bill will come. Ex is still a total nightmare but at least he isn’t getting me into debt anymore.

@NeverTwerkNaked

Thank you for the advice, I'm a bit too scared to face this alone, just yet.

I totally get that difficult it took me 4 years to get to this point. And I still can’t sit in a room with my ex without feeling ill

Difficult
I'm involved in a court case at the moment and have a solicitor who gives me advice in blocks of 6 minutes but I do all contact with the court myself.
THe phone hearing was nerve wracking but the judges are very supportive of people going it alone who are prepared and pay attention

Difficult I've no advice but
Talk and Never thanks for the straight talk. The duvet actually is the wrong size. One of us is always poking out of it or pulling it back off the other (grrrr)
You're 100% correct about the towels if I'm truthful to myself. They are actually very nice design and not rags at all. I'm tired looking at them. Not enough of a reason to buy more.

I must be more strict / honest with "need" vs "want" and I'm going right now to online banking to transfer the cost of 4 towels to the cc debt. I need to get to the stage where taking down the cc balance is as "fulfilling" as getting new stuff.

Turquoise
If the duvet is too small then you have my sympathy.
BUT
You need to bear in mind that if you buy a duvet, then you'll end up with covers and the whole shebang ....

You might be able to save money by going German .... they do two single duvets on a king size bed - bliss for those with wiggly spouses
so if you buy a single duvet then you can use existing kids covers and tide over much longer

Well after my weekend of spring cleaning the effing vacuum cleaner has blown up.

I used it in every room without problem, daughter takes it into hers, I hear some funny noises .... and then it dies. Seems she's blown the motor. I just find it too much of a coincidence that it only blew up when she got her hands on it. It's one of those that has different settings for hard floors, short pile, long pile etc. When it started making a funny noise I shouted at her what was she doing and she was hoovering this long pile shaggy floor rug in her room. The vacuum was set to hard floors, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it. Whatever the reason it's blown up and won't even switch on.

Luckily I have a truly ancient Hoover which I use for the car etc. as back up. It's battered to hell, stuck together with tape but it still works so I didn't have the heart to throw it away, thank goodness. It's a proper Retro job, but I can still get the bags for it online so I kept it.

There's no way I can afford to splash out on a fancy new vacuum cleaner. However, I noticed they've got Henrys on offer in Tesco for 100 quid and daughter said she'd go halves with me if I want one. Does anyone know anything about them. Are they any good?

Frugal
Before you buy anything new, check to see if you can repair it.
Manuals are online - check every filter is clear
check that the fuse has not blown
if it is the motor, check if there is a mens shed in your area who could repair it
many vacuums have cutouts that stop them running for more than a few hours

Thanks Talkin.

I will definitely check the fuse, filters etc. It's so weird because it isn't that old and I'd been using it and it was fine. Literally two minutes after daughter takes it, it dies.

Just looked online and it's over 300 quid to get the same/similar one.

Talk I know well the lure of the bed linen department . We actually have two duvet covers and pillow cases in the size of the potential new duvet so it will be a solitary purchase. We don't have any single duvets/covers as we only have one infant DC.

Frugal I once broke my SILs hoover twice genuinely by doing absolutely nothing to it, just hoovering. So maybe your DD is not to blame?!

Lagoon
On that basis, a decent duvet that will last you 15 years and fit your covers is a sane thing to buy as then you both sleep better

frugal check that something like cord, hair or carpet thread hasn't got caught up in the sweeper/ brush unit especially if it's a motorized one. It happens to mine frequently, so taking sissies to it cutting and pulling it out usually gets it working again.

Frugal - if you can’t get the old one back up and running I can deffo recommend a henry. I part exes mine in for a shark recently (on tick!! Oh the shame) and almost wish I hadn’t - Henry puts up with anything and is brill for deep cleans 👍🏻

Hope everybody is drying washing out on the line now its spring - to save money and the planet

Does anyone know roughly how much a tumble dryer load costs?

Averages but a good start
www.savethestudent.org/accommodation/how-much-does-energy-cost-an-hour.html