New Year, New start.....

A question about : New Year, New start.....

Hello Folks

So I've been lurking on the forums here for quite some time and finally decided to join and put my own little mark in.

So not a massive debt and I know exactly where it has come from and was very much needed spends, although could have probably done it a different way round and made better financial decissions. But we are where we are.

As it stands I have 2 CC, one with Nationwide and one MBNA. My balances are as follows:

NW Ј2788.38
MBNA Ј962.21

I'm not a hundred percent on the APRs at the moment as both cards were got on special deals through searching around for doing some home improvements, they both started at 0% and then I was offered other deals along the way.

So basically there is me, hubby and little dude (oh and a kitty). We by no means are the richest but we have enough to live on and live a fairly simple life anyway!

At the moment due to just going back to work after maternity I am paying the minimum payments on both cards, this leaves me with a DFD of somewhere near the end of 2019!! The date filled me with dread when I saw it, but then thinking about it that was with paying minimum amounts and that wont be the case once I'm settled back into work properly.

So my aim in the meantime is to de-clutter the house and through all extra money made onto the cards. The amounts above are as of today, (NW payment is yet to come out this month).

My progress so far from selling odd bits is: Ј46.77, this is made up of
E*bay Ј3.56,
Cash$Clothes Ј8.50
MusicMagpie Ј14.71
Mazuma Ј20 -

The mazuma sale is the proft I made, I sold a phone and bought a new one outright, so thats the difference in price as my new one was cheaper!!

Any extra money earned will be going onto the cards as and when it hits the bank so I don't get excited and stash it somewhere else. My aim for this year is to have paid off the MBNA card completely and got the NW card down to under Ј2000. I know it's not the biggest of targets but I know I don't have lots of disposable cash at my fingertips so will have to really stick with the selling things until I'm working properly again. I also have the Little dude, who is no doubt going to need things along the way.....

Oh I won't put up a SOA as I don't really have much to cut out on, don't have sky or landline, already shop very cheaply, compare for everything!! etc plus I would really like to use this as a motivator to get decluttered and 'earn' the extra money and kill 2 birds with 1 stone if that makes sense.

I'll try and update as often as I can and hope somebody may find this useful as I have found so many other diaries very useful!

Best answers:

• Hello there!!
  Welcome to the forum (properly! ) and happy new diary!
  I had a similar amount of debt to you when I started trying to tackle it, and I thought it was insurmountable until I saw some of the figures on here which made my blood run cold. I felt a bit silly the day I went and got on the Debt Free Roll of Honour but we are all doing the same thing, regardless of the amount we started off with. It is a lifestyle change, whether it be selling off decluttered things you don't need but used to keep just *because* or meal planning and listing items for grocery shops etc, or cutting out smoking, moving utilities and gaining cashback etc.
  I didn't do an SOA either as there were no flies on me where finding the best deal is concerned. The thing I needed to get a handle on was Ј400 of groceries a month, for 1 adult, 1 baby and another adult who was here for 3 days a week!
  I found that tax credits really helped me to manage my finances and get rid of the debt, as it was based on my maternity earnings. Are you eligible for anything like that? What are your childcare costs if any? My colleague was paying Ј840 a month when she came back full time.....
  Well done on the profit from your mobile!! and from your other little earnings. Have you got Topcashback? There is a section for 'free' cashback and I earned Ј4.30 the other day just by doing home insurance quotes through two of the comparison sites.
  Good luck!! Lilt x
• Thanks for your reply Lilt,
  I'm on Quidco and Topcashback and swagbucks just for a bit of fun... I do need to check topcashback as I'm sure I've got something to payout in there.
  To be honest I signed up to swagbucks when I started maternity (I had a weeks leave before my maternity actually started and then he decided to be a week over so had 4 weeks of nothingness to fill) but it actually paid for most of Christmas with various amazon vouchers!
  We've got our tax credits sorted so thats a big help, without those I think we would be a little bit lost and underwater by now. I'm only back at work part time at the moment so little dude is in nursery for those 2 days which totals Ј74 a week, doesn't really help parents get back into work when it costs so much!! I was quite shocked when I was looking for places and this is actually one of the best and cheapest ones we looked at, it's literally 2 mins from where I work so handy if theres ever a problem.
  I'm pretty much a scrooge in most aspects of our financial life so really have to need something to get it, hubby thinks I'm mad but he's always happy at the end of the day when the accounts are in the black.
  On a good note I've just had an email from my energy supplier and they're lowering my payments by Ј20 a month we're in credit by Ј140 after the bill has been taken. I always argue with them that the payment was too high, I'm a big believer in putting on a jumper and snuggling under a blanket while watching TV so the heating isn't on very often or is on low if it is. So pleased with that little saving.
• Updates so far...
  I've posted 2 days in a row, that's a good start. I've spent a ridiculous amount if time on here subscribing to various diaries and reading them through from the start!! Very interesting reads and lots if useful information and motivating.
  This morning I've got up, dressed and sorted little dude out. Also got a box of things ready to list on eb*y and even listed a couple of items. Mainly baby stuff at the moment, clothes and toys. He grows out of things so quickly that most of the clothes ate like nee. Even though I already bought them second hand!!
  hopefully they get some bids and make a little money. I've already bought the next size up in clothes for him from eb*y so he doesn't need anything else at the moment meaning minry can go straight to the cards.
• Good luck I'm with you on nursery fees being a killer, ours are the same as our mortgage!
• Welcome to the forums! Good luck with your journey
  October xx
• Thanks fir dropping by Jwil and October.
  nursery fees are ridiculous, I do kind of understand why they are so high but doesn't make it any easier. Little dude does love it there though, I was quite impressed that they have a chef and home cooked meals everyday! To be fair I wouldn't mind attending myself! I dropped in before he started and it happened to be lunch time, they didn't know I was coming as I wanted to see the 'real' deal and the food looked brilliant!
  anyway i'll stop getting off topic haha. So yesterday was a bit of a spendy day that wasn't really planned or budgeted in a sense but was needed.
  we bought a rug and a throw for hubbys office. He works from home now amd the carpet is starting to get marked by his chair so rug is to save carpet. Throw is for a chair we were given from parents old house. Its a little tatty so throw will make it look nic until I can dig out the sewing machine and make nice covers for it. That came to Ј30 which was a surprise really as rug was supposed to be Ј29.99 on its own and we bought a couple of cupboard foody bits as well!
  next spend was a new changing bag. Its been ordered and should be here tomorrow. Bigger than my last as I was struggling to fit everything in it and the old one is falling apart under the strain. The old one is the free boots one though so this is the first changing bag I've bought and will do as a nice bag for me after if it lasts that long! Little dude is in cloth nappies, again to save money (so I need to stop looking at pretty prints) and these take up a fair bit if room in the bag, especially now he needs snacks and toys taking round everywhere!
  so that was another Ј20, but I have bids on a couple if eb*y listings so at least I've got a little coming back. Still not blown any budget as had lots of food in after Xmas so not touched this months budget yet. We work from the 15th as that's pay day for us so there's still time to need food shopping in the next couple of weeks.
• Nursery fees!! Urgh.. I have twins so it pretty much killed us until they were 3 and we got funding.. we still pay a silly amount per month though and get very little tax credits now.. I am living for September when they start school!
  Well done on taking control of the debt and however small the amounts may seem, it's debt and you are doing well to take control and start to clear them! Will subscribe!
• Listed a few more bits on ebay, washed up, done a wash load of nappies and done ironing and put it away. Little dude eaten his way through toast, banana, yoghurt, half my bowl of couscous and is now munching in one of the biscuits that I made yesterday! Really don't know where he puts it all. He's 14 months and on the lowest percentile on the chart and eats like a horse!!
  just need to ring mortgage company now to see how we go about making overpayments and if there are any penalties to do so. After the cards are gone I want to be able to lower the mortgage a little so we might possibly be able to move at some point in the future!
• Oh I just notices your post, nursery fees and twins! I firstly couldn't imagine twins, which actually was a huge possibility as I'm the one in line from my dads side and my mu. Also has twins on her side. Missed t ok hat joy though, phew.
  so today has been a lazy day due to poorly little boy. He's totally snuffly and i fear a tooth may be appearing. He's 14 months and only actually has his bottom 2 teeth!
  little shop this morning, had a voucher for Ј8 off a Ј40 shop so that's exactly what I did. Got a fee store cupboard Thi gs and a but of fresh and also picked up a new du cover set for little dude
• hey!
  I haven't got much in the way of debts either but it was starting to get me down, 3 weeks into the new year and I'm feeling much better about it and tackling it head on!
  I wouldn't say we live a completely frugal life as I'm sure we could save more if we did but I'm trying to cut down on the food shop, sell more on Eb@y and use top cash back where I can just to get rid of my nasty credit card as quickly as possible.
  Hope you have a lovely weekend xxx
• Hello!
  Sorry I disappeared, the end of the week melts into 3 solid working days, travel, spending time with Jellytot where I can before bed and then I have been going to bed early as she has a stinking cold!!
  Cannot imagine twins, although again I was lucky as it comes in line from both sides of my family. Phew! If I had them, there would be no way I could afford nursery. Jelly has 15 hours free as a 2 year old as my earnings for 3 days a week are not huge. What makes me both grateful and angry is that I am stuck doing 3 days whilst she is at nursery in order to keep the house running. Tax credits & co make up more than I would earn if I went back full time.
  You have my sympathy on teeth. Jelly was 14 months and 1 day old when she got her first tooth. She is still missing about 8, when (at nearly 3 years old) she should have a full set by now! We regularly get the teething cheeks, temperature, sore bottom & she goes off her food! She was always in 25th percentile from birth but has graduated to 50th in weight although still 25th for height. Midget child. She takes after her nan who is 4ft 11
  Hope you get a peaceful night!! xx
• Another night sleeping on dudes bedroom floor! To be fair its starting to get quite comfy.
  Very MSE this morning, unfortunately it was for mum and not me rang sky for her and her tv package and phone line and signed up with another company for phone as she doesn't need the tv. Saving of a massive Ј840 a year. Why she had such a ridiculous package in the first place is beyond me and I only found out. As I saw a bill she left out.
  I cant save that for myself as I dint have sky but have also switched my phone line and will save Ј130 in the next 18 months as its a free broadband deal
  yay for me. My savings will pay a chunk of the card, mums saving would nearly clear the MNBA by the end if the
• *stupid phone posted before I finished!*
  year. Also got a fee bids on eb*y listings and also did some quotes through TCB and have signed up to a free trial for more cash back, I'll cancel before I need to pay and have marked it in the diary to make sure I do cancel!
  so all in all about Ј20 cash back so far
• Well done on all the cashback and savings!! Shame it is your mums saving rather than yours for the most park but at least she will have a lot more money each month... yikes on Ј840... I don't have Sky either but relented and switched from the worlds cheapest broadband to BeeTee and got youview and sports. I'm still working through the credit from their many muck ups 7 months later
  Good job on the free cashback! I need to go and have a look today but have my super organised head on so best I get some other stuff done first!
  Hope little man gets better soon... xx
• Well I posted a lovely long post yesterday before I headed off to bed..... and it failed to post!!!
  So, after sorting Sky for mum and switching about with our phone provider on Saturday, I don't really have much MSE things to report.
  We went for a nice little family day out yesterday to the local Horse Welfare place which is free entry. Little dude loved all the horses and even managed to pet a couple! We then stopped by the cafe on the way out and had a sneeky cake and cuppa (Ј6) so not too much of an expense, plus hubby paid so....
  Then home for a nice home cooked Sunday lunch, lots of chicken left over that made my lunch today plus probably some dinner tonight!
  Also made bread in the breadmaker, and it was the best loaf so far. I may try just doing the dough in there and baking it off myself when I have a bit more time. But it's getting better with each attempt so I'm happy.
  Money things, not doing too bad, I've got a little list in the back of my diary of whats been earned so far to keep track then I can pay it off when it actually lands in the accounts. Realised today that when I've made little overpayments to MBNA card it seems to be reducing the minimum payment, so takes less, even though it says it won't affect the DD payment. Will have to remember to wait till they've taken their payment then add the extras on.
  So far this year:
  Eb*y Ј3.56
  Cash4Clothes Ј8.50
  MusicMagpie Ј14.71
  Phone Ј20
  Tbc Ј20.26
  Total = Ј67.03, not a bad start for January, so far the eb*y, cash4clothes and phone have been paid as extra payments, TCB is pending at the moment and Magpie is due to land in the bank in the next week or so.
  I've also got a stack more items to list on eb*y so hopefully they will make a bit extra.
  Rounded down my account today so just paid Ј5.32 to the MBNA (which is how I found the minimum has reduced from earlier payment)
  Enough rambling for now, off to read a few diaries
• Well Done!
  Keep going and little by little you will get there
  October xx
• Well nothing much to update today... one of the items that I sold on eb*y hasn't been paid for and they now sa they don't want it as it's the wrong model! It's a play mat for goodness sake, it clearly states which playmat and has a picture. Just waiting to her back from the last message I sent.
  Other than that I have sorted the mortgage details out so I can now easily make overpayments when I have a bit of spare cash, theres no limits so can make bits here and there. I've also been playing around with the mortgage calculator thing and once these cc are gone, if I pay the minimum payments Ive been paying for the cards to the mortgage (just short of Ј100, so will round up to Ј100) then I can reduce my mortgage by 8 years and save Ј18,300 in interest!!!
  Now that is something to seriously get my backside moving at clearing the cc, as thats a massive amount to save. I can't remember exactly but I think our mortgage was over 35 years, (we got a mortgage just after I turned 21) so would be 56 by the time we pay it off, but to potentially be mortgage free when we are 48 is quite a happy thought. Even better if we can through some extra money at it once I'm back at work properly and little dude is at school so no nursery etc......
  Off to ponder where I can scrape extra money from
• Hello HarrysMummy!
  Well done on all the overpayments piling up. I too have an MBNA card, and it states at the bottom of my statement that once the statement has been printed (or produced online) the amount it states on the DD (minimum payment) will definitely be taken even if you make a payment. So the perfect time to do it is when you receive the email about the statement. Because then they will take the DD payment anyway. HTH!!
  I am amazed at the mortgage figures! Then again when I got my mortgage, it stated that we would borrow Ј74,995, and pay back Ј147,850 over a 25 year term. Shocking!
  I never thought I would bake bread from scratch without a bread maker but it was other people on the forums giving me the courage to give it a go. Greying Pilgrim makes these amazing things called piadinas, which are halfway between a pitta bread and a naan bread. You can flavour them with anything you want really. I have made them, flavoured with rosemary and they were beautiful. I am getting more confident by the day following recipes from people like Greying, Maddiemay, Supersaver1000 & co - at the end of the day it has to be something that fits in with your life. Juggling a baby, housework & a job is a nightmare to cook around, let alone the rest!
  You're doing fab!
• Thanks lilt, I'll take a look at those diaries when I'm on the pc. And thanks for the heads up on the MBNA card, the last little payment was after the statement so hopefully that will actually be I overpaid! I'll chick the extra but that had been budgeted for the minimum payment over at some point too.
  oh and I have decided to set a Ј10 payment for the mortgage as an overpayment. Its not a huge amount but in the long run will make a difference and we will increase it when the cc are paid off. I've checked properly and we have 28 years and 1 month left to pay on the mortgage. My aim after the card is to be mortgage free by the time I am 40! I'm 28 (29 this year) so that will be quite an achievement but its a goal to aim for.