Well another week is almost over and we're having a wonderful weekend here in London. I was back in Richmond Park for my walk/jog around the park this morning and it was full of joggers, dog walkers, family picnics, cyclist and ramblers. Here's hoping for a glorious summer this year.
I still have £2.90 in my purse for this week which is very good going. On Friday I was meeting a friend for lunch and only had £9.60 left from my £5.00 a day plan. No credit card or debt card in my purse to fall back on, just £9.60 cash for a lunch in Richmond - not easy but I did it (with change too).
I have been reading lots of blogs this week and have taken a couple off my blog roll as they had stopped posting. And am very pleased that NCN is back giving sage advise on his weekly broadcasts. Lots of good news from PF bloggers some of whom have cleared their debt which is fab news. Cynthia and her family have cleared their debt and she has renamed her blog "The Grass is Greener". Way to go Cynthia!
Saturday, 30 May 2009
Thursday, 21 May 2009
A Fiver a day keeps the debt away
I am back on the £5 a day deal, after about two weeks off it and I still have £17.09 left until Sunday. So I am back on track with with this concept, which is very pleasing as it gives me a micro budget to play around with during the week. (yes I am a very sad person I know) A micro budget is very helpful to teach you to be thoughtful with your money. I say 'thoughtful' instead of 'careful' because it you really 'think' about what your going to spend your money on you will be careful with it.
Spending only £5 a day has made me change brands (for cheaper options), made me go further a field looking for the best value for money and it has taught me that I can live without having money in my purse. If you don't have it you can't spend it.
Why did I freak out if I had nothing in my purse?
I don't mean having money to pay my bills - I pay them all by direct debt or standing order. I believe the idea of always having cash in hand (or today a credit card at hand) is a modern concept. Did it worry people 50 or 60 years ago?
Was it advertising via the media that has brainwashed us to believe we need cash/credit to hand at all times just in case we see something we really, really want?
Self control is the battle we are facing in the slogg of getting out of debt - self control is not PC now days because we live in a very self absorbed society. "Self control... (if I can remember the words from the Sunday school song) .. is just controlling my self, it's listening to my heart and doing what is smart". Out of the mouths of babes huh!
Have you tried living on a micro cash budget? Give it a go.......
(and if you haven't read it yet get a copy of Kath Kelly's book and see how she lived on only £1 a day for a whole year - Kath you are my hero!)
Spending only £5 a day has made me change brands (for cheaper options), made me go further a field looking for the best value for money and it has taught me that I can live without having money in my purse. If you don't have it you can't spend it.
Why did I freak out if I had nothing in my purse?
I don't mean having money to pay my bills - I pay them all by direct debt or standing order. I believe the idea of always having cash in hand (or today a credit card at hand) is a modern concept. Did it worry people 50 or 60 years ago?
Was it advertising via the media that has brainwashed us to believe we need cash/credit to hand at all times just in case we see something we really, really want?
Self control is the battle we are facing in the slogg of getting out of debt - self control is not PC now days because we live in a very self absorbed society. "Self control... (if I can remember the words from the Sunday school song) .. is just controlling my self, it's listening to my heart and doing what is smart". Out of the mouths of babes huh!
Have you tried living on a micro cash budget? Give it a go.......
(and if you haven't read it yet get a copy of Kath Kelly's book and see how she lived on only £1 a day for a whole year - Kath you are my hero!)
May Update
It's quite weird to see my debt balance as less than 5k, that was usually the balance owing on one credit card. What a strange journey I have been on. Okay what is happening this month?
I plan to pay a minimum of £1,100.00 off my debt - less than I had plan at the start of last month but my holiday spending was about £500 over what I had planned.
So my snowballing card which is currently at £1,812.10 will be reduced by 1k and my second card will be down £100. So total for the end of May should be £3, 754.51 not including interest changers.
My pay days are Sundays and so the cheques don't get banked until the following Monday or Tuesday so I will not be updating my figures until the monies have been cleared though my account.
In June I should clear my snowballing card and then I will only have one card left to clear before I can say I'm "debt free".
I plan to pay a minimum of £1,100.00 off my debt - less than I had plan at the start of last month but my holiday spending was about £500 over what I had planned.
So my snowballing card which is currently at £1,812.10 will be reduced by 1k and my second card will be down £100. So total for the end of May should be £3, 754.51 not including interest changers.
My pay days are Sundays and so the cheques don't get banked until the following Monday or Tuesday so I will not be updating my figures until the monies have been cleared though my account.
In June I should clear my snowballing card and then I will only have one card left to clear before I can say I'm "debt free".
One unexpected expense for June is my helping out some friend move house which will include me taking some time off work and probably hiring a car for a couple of days. I will have to see how much it is all going to cost me and try and keep it all to a minimum. (Try really, really hard to do that!)
In the end of July I have my next Tax payment of 2k due but I am not including that in my debt balance because it will be a new debt and not an old one.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Taking A Break
I have just come back from a weeks break in Icmeler, Turkey - where I completed my Open Water Scuba Diving course along with my godson Joel. He did beat me in the final exam by miles but I have dived off a boat and have also dived deeper than him so there!!
Poor Joel - he only just scraped in on completing his diving as the day before the final exam and the big dive off the boat he injured himself and we had to rush him into a medical clinic for stitches (no swimming for at least ten days) and if that wasn't enough he then broke his arm and spent a few hours on Monday morning having his arm reset and getting it plastered (no swimming, fencing etc. for the next six weeks at least).
Other than that it was a great holiday - really the sun shone, the water was warm and it was a very laid back holiday. I can't say enough for the medical treatment Joel received, he was in and out with his broken in less than 2 hours. The NHS could never get even close to that on it's very best day. Even when I broke my arm as a kid it took all afternoon to get the x-ray, have my arm reset and then get it plastered.
Now I have to wait for the insurance to repay me for all the cost - I haven't included it on my debt, as I hoped to have it all sorted by the end of the month. If it is not I will include the costs in a separate listing in June but really hope that, that doesn't have to happen.
Poor Joel - he only just scraped in on completing his diving as the day before the final exam and the big dive off the boat he injured himself and we had to rush him into a medical clinic for stitches (no swimming for at least ten days) and if that wasn't enough he then broke his arm and spent a few hours on Monday morning having his arm reset and getting it plastered (no swimming, fencing etc. for the next six weeks at least).
Other than that it was a great holiday - really the sun shone, the water was warm and it was a very laid back holiday. I can't say enough for the medical treatment Joel received, he was in and out with his broken in less than 2 hours. The NHS could never get even close to that on it's very best day. Even when I broke my arm as a kid it took all afternoon to get the x-ray, have my arm reset and then get it plastered.
Now I have to wait for the insurance to repay me for all the cost - I haven't included it on my debt, as I hoped to have it all sorted by the end of the month. If it is not I will include the costs in a separate listing in June but really hope that, that doesn't have to happen.
Friday, 1 May 2009
What's My Score??
I have just checked out my credit score with Creditexpert.co.uk and yaaa-me!!
I have gone from 696 "Poor" in 2007, to 818 "Good" in 2008, to 969 "Excellent" in 2009.
So my credit rating is now (according to the site) above average - 71% of people have a score lower than Excellent. Wow that puts little ol' me in with the other 29%. I am well chuffed!!
According to my report I am not perfect yet as; I
I have gone from 696 "Poor" in 2007, to 818 "Good" in 2008, to 969 "Excellent" in 2009.
So my credit rating is now (according to the site) above average - 71% of people have a score lower than Excellent. Wow that puts little ol' me in with the other 29%. I am well chuffed!!
According to my report I am not perfect yet as; I
"have several credit agreements and outstanding balance is high"
But as you all know (and are all doing yourselves) I am working on it give me a little more time.
The report needs a little up dating as it still shows my total debt as £6,673.00 - so really I wonder what my score would be if they took into account my current debt?
Any way I am pleased as punch and will treat myself to a further credit score when I reach my DFD and see what they have on me then.
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