On Wednesday I went over my weekly budget, I did something I hadn't done for almost a year - yes ....... I went and had my hair cut. It was all because of a comment I read on a PF Blog or was it the Motley Fools Dealing with Debt board. It seems we female PF blogger's have the same hair do. OK it's not quite an Essex face lift, but we just brush it back and tie it with a band. Well that was me, I was conforming to some unknown standard type and I didn't even know it. How could this have happened. So it was time for some action, probably some really delayed teen aged angst and it has ended with a totally new hair do and £27.50 over budget for this week, the third week of this new year.
OK you may say what does this have to do with Reward Cards? My totally new hair do will now require a few extras that my "dwd do" didn't need ie. a ceramic hair straightener and some hair gel. I was in Boots yesterday and saw the above named items on sale (you just have to love the January sales) and I also remembered that I had almost £20.00 on my Boots advantage card. It didn't take a lot of thinking - £5.00 for a straightener and I get it for free cos I have faithfully been shopping at the same store. I love reward cards! And yes, I still have just over a tenor left on the card.
Showing posts with label Dealing with debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dealing with debt. Show all posts
Friday, 11 January 2008
Thursday, 4 October 2007
October (what happened to September?)
Well it sure has been awhile and I have been switching jobs and have been all over the UK. I didn't blog in September as I didn't have any of my paperwork to workout where I was up to. Infact I thought I had lost monies or spent way more than I was aware of because I had to pay my (reduced) payment to the Inland Revenue from my Flexiloan account. I had to reduce the payment from £1000. to £740. as my jobs have been only 6 day a week. I only own the IR about £500. now and then that is all cleared until the end of next January. But I am now budgeting to have the monies set aside each week to pay for my income tax.
The missing monies were not lost but rather I was not counting the last week of September - so all is well. I can clear the IR bill in full at the end of next week and really get my teeth into my Credit Cards and Loan accounts.
I have applied for a Northern Rock loan at 7.9% to replace my Flexiloan(14.8%) and clear one of my Credit Cards (19.9%). It seems a good deal - I can make overpayments and pay it off early if I want without paying any penalties. Well I think it is a good deal, they can only say no and I don't think my credit worthness can be any worst at the present.
Currently my total debt is under £16,000 and by the end of the month it will be just over £14,000 so I think I am doing well. In fact I haven't spent any monies for about a week now as my overdraft is at it's limit. And I feel really good about it. My problem is I have been increasing my debt without really being aware I was doing it. But hopefully I have seen the folly of my way.
I am taking up the 10-10-80 philosophy and have rewritten my budget but will have to work out a new DFD. More about that in my next post.
The missing monies were not lost but rather I was not counting the last week of September - so all is well. I can clear the IR bill in full at the end of next week and really get my teeth into my Credit Cards and Loan accounts.
I have applied for a Northern Rock loan at 7.9% to replace my Flexiloan(14.8%) and clear one of my Credit Cards (19.9%). It seems a good deal - I can make overpayments and pay it off early if I want without paying any penalties. Well I think it is a good deal, they can only say no and I don't think my credit worthness can be any worst at the present.
Currently my total debt is under £16,000 and by the end of the month it will be just over £14,000 so I think I am doing well. In fact I haven't spent any monies for about a week now as my overdraft is at it's limit. And I feel really good about it. My problem is I have been increasing my debt without really being aware I was doing it. But hopefully I have seen the folly of my way.
I am taking up the 10-10-80 philosophy and have rewritten my budget but will have to work out a new DFD. More about that in my next post.
Saturday, 18 August 2007
August Update...
(I have been having problems getting back on this site hence my delayed update)
Well, new job and new address and new monthly debit payment amount - and it is lower than June and July by about £300.00. Because of this I have had to contact the Inland Revenue and reduce the monthly payment of £1000.00 that I had arranged with them, to £740.00. This means that I don't clear my IR debt until October.
In the mean time I have applied for and receive a Barclaycard (my first) but they would only give me a credit limited of £850.00 and when I phone them and asked if I could do a balance transfer this dropped to only £775.00. As my HSBC Mastercard has shot the interest rate up to 19.9% I felt any reduction in the balance was a good thing. The Barclaycard is 0.00% for 14 months.
So to date my total debt now stands at £16768.78 aprox. This doesn't include all my payments for this month. Will have to do a final total at the end of the month.
Because of my new job I have be clocking up a debit balance on my current overdraft which is not good. It stands at about £150.00 at the present. I will really have to monitor this one.
I am looking at a DFD in late September/October, I haven't include my Tax for 07/08 which will start to become due in January 08.
Well, new job and new address and new monthly debit payment amount - and it is lower than June and July by about £300.00. Because of this I have had to contact the Inland Revenue and reduce the monthly payment of £1000.00 that I had arranged with them, to £740.00. This means that I don't clear my IR debt until October.
In the mean time I have applied for and receive a Barclaycard (my first) but they would only give me a credit limited of £850.00 and when I phone them and asked if I could do a balance transfer this dropped to only £775.00. As my HSBC Mastercard has shot the interest rate up to 19.9% I felt any reduction in the balance was a good thing. The Barclaycard is 0.00% for 14 months.
So to date my total debt now stands at £16768.78 aprox. This doesn't include all my payments for this month. Will have to do a final total at the end of the month.
Because of my new job I have be clocking up a debit balance on my current overdraft which is not good. It stands at about £150.00 at the present. I will really have to monitor this one.
I am looking at a DFD in late September/October, I haven't include my Tax for 07/08 which will start to become due in January 08.
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Start date...
It's June and summer is sometimes almost here!
And after ten years in debt - I have decide to take the bull by the horns and get my finances in order.
Yep, ten years in debt and I have a little pile of cash books to prove it. The problem is the debt have been hovering for years just below the ten thousand pound mark but has jumped recently to just below the twenty thousand pound mark. That was quite a shock I can tell you - and to think that I could get that much credit is madness.
So this is probably the tenth time I have have really tried to get my finances into order but hopefully the time that I do.
Of my debt about £3500.00 is Taxes which I need to get cleared up asap, the taxman is not a nice guy to owe monies too, so I am hoping to make payments of between £700-£1000.00 monthly payments until it is gone. And then use that money to start clearing my two credit cards and then hit my two loans.
I am self employed and so it can be a little iffy with just how much I will be earning each month but am hoping to clear at lest £1500.00 (remember that is before tax). I am working on the principal that once I have cleared my debts I can set monies aside to pay my Taxes as soon as they become due.
My credit cards are gone - yes I have cut them up a few weeks ago telling myself that there was really no reason for them to take up space in my purse if I was not planning to use them again. It is funny how attracted you can get to something that is bad for you - it is called habitual behaviour and I had to end the relationship with my credit cards. They have left me with £6000.00 in debt.
The other culprits are my loan's - yes not one but two, and the second is a Flexiloan. How much fun is that!!!! Together they make the other half of my total debt being £4000.00 and £6000.00 respectfully.
Unlike many I don't have a mortgage and all my debt is unsecured - well I don't have anything you could secure it too. I have been basically homeless for the last seven years and stay with friends when I am not working. When working my job provides me with accommodation and meals, so it is aways pointless to share a flat and anyway I have always be trying to clear me debts.
Sorry if this is getting a bit long in the tooth now and the spelling is probably terrible (sorry dyslexic) but this the background of me - and what I want to be is debt free by October 2008.....................................
watch this space and I will try and keep you up to date with getting into the BLACK............
And after ten years in debt - I have decide to take the bull by the horns and get my finances in order.
Yep, ten years in debt and I have a little pile of cash books to prove it. The problem is the debt have been hovering for years just below the ten thousand pound mark but has jumped recently to just below the twenty thousand pound mark. That was quite a shock I can tell you - and to think that I could get that much credit is madness.
So this is probably the tenth time I have have really tried to get my finances into order but hopefully the time that I do.
Of my debt about £3500.00 is Taxes which I need to get cleared up asap, the taxman is not a nice guy to owe monies too, so I am hoping to make payments of between £700-£1000.00 monthly payments until it is gone. And then use that money to start clearing my two credit cards and then hit my two loans.
I am self employed and so it can be a little iffy with just how much I will be earning each month but am hoping to clear at lest £1500.00 (remember that is before tax). I am working on the principal that once I have cleared my debts I can set monies aside to pay my Taxes as soon as they become due.
My credit cards are gone - yes I have cut them up a few weeks ago telling myself that there was really no reason for them to take up space in my purse if I was not planning to use them again. It is funny how attracted you can get to something that is bad for you - it is called habitual behaviour and I had to end the relationship with my credit cards. They have left me with £6000.00 in debt.
The other culprits are my loan's - yes not one but two, and the second is a Flexiloan. How much fun is that!!!! Together they make the other half of my total debt being £4000.00 and £6000.00 respectfully.
Unlike many I don't have a mortgage and all my debt is unsecured - well I don't have anything you could secure it too. I have been basically homeless for the last seven years and stay with friends when I am not working. When working my job provides me with accommodation and meals, so it is aways pointless to share a flat and anyway I have always be trying to clear me debts.
Sorry if this is getting a bit long in the tooth now and the spelling is probably terrible (sorry dyslexic) but this the background of me - and what I want to be is debt free by October 2008.....................................
watch this space and I will try and keep you up to date with getting into the BLACK............
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