Update

It's been a while since I last blogged. So here's the latest.

I have been seeking employment on a part time basis since October. I am finding this really difficult as I was dismissed from work on the grounds of ill health last year. Whilst my health improves weekly my chances of a suitable post do not. I have an application in the post regardless. We'll see what the post brings.

The ruling by the FDSA about non returns of excessive bank charges by the bank was announced. This was really disappointing as I had hoped to clear bank debts. I totally understand people's desire not to help out "negligent" folk, but it does not make our crippling burden any lighter. Meanwhile bonus payouts are being worked out across the city, at the expense of the taxpayer.

My sales on Ebay and other websites proved practically fruitless. It seems that people do not want what I don't want! The small profit I made went towards the bills.

My landlords want £60.00 to ensure that the monthly periodic tenancy continues. Where I am meant to find the money from I haven't a clue. I am not tempted by the ads to sell unwanted gold, as quite often their price per gram weight is incredibly low compared to those rates offered by traditional jewellers. Plus I don't have any unwanted gold.

I have had a water meter fitted as there is only myself at my pad using the stuff. I am hoping this will trim my expenses rather than reduce my debt.

Electricity on my meter remains expensive, as does operating the over night storage heaters. The coldness of my place, and its broken heaters means that I am also having to run a plug in electric heater. I'm warm but I feel each and every penny.

Christmas is approaching and I have to find a way of posting my cards to friends abroad, a birthday present to pay for and small presents for Christmas.

I have shopped in discount stores and have received some bargains- £3.00 dvds and £10.00 silk shawls. But on a limited budget it means i have to still think really carefully about where my cash actually goes. I am living of IOUs at the minute and the notes really add up.

Frozen

So it's not happening. No debt reduction other than the small amount I have to pay my debtors each fortnight.

I really needed the money i'd made from cd sales (£50.00) so it's in my current account awaiting clearance. I've not been able to reduce debt and it's aggrivating.Infact more debt has found me as my house survey for sale has come through. I think the only thing you can do is keep your head down and stick to budget.

I'm shaving the cost of my electricity and water where I can and i've hardly spent anything except on food these past few weeks. At least i wore my free shoes the other day.
..

More Arty things for sale.

My computer arrived. I am really impressed with it. It just needed a really good disk clean, defrag and deleting of a million unnnecessary programmes and now it is working really well. Still no dongle so i'm not yet online at home. Give it a couple of weeks and i will be sitting in my faux leather executive chair typing missives to the world.

I haven't blogged for sometime. This wasn't and active decision but a sign of how distracted i've been making and selling my craft products. To be honest I haven't sold one piece of jewellery yet, but the day will be arriving soon I can tell.


Still awaiting my cheque from the cd sale, it hasn't been processed yet, which is aggrevating.

I managed to sell some clothes on eBAy. These seemed to shift well, as long as the product was of a fine name, other wise it just sits and lingers unnecessary, whilst it waits to be shipped to a charity shop maybe near you!


My free dvd tarting trial of dvd store comes to a sad end this week and i still haven't managed to rent the comedy series I really wanted to see. But I did get two instore rentals included free but the dirth of good dvds in the new titles section is disappointing.

My winning shoe draw has finally resulted in a letter from the company. I have to choose my free shoes and post the details back to them. Free things- don't you love them!

Rent Money

My bank balance looks really healthy. This is because I have the exact amount of rent sitting in there waiting to be collected. The reality is I don't have money or electricity until Friday. I am into emergency credit again.

Still awaiting my cheque for the cds I sold. I also need the pennies from my eBay sales to finish soon. I have a bid on one of my items. Some smartarse bid an extra 5p onto of the 99p bid. Don't they realise they are going to be supporting my lighting fund? It's ingenious though I have to say. The life of the entrepreneur is a hard one. Cash flow issues don't you just hate it?

My free pc is available for collection. I will pick it up this afternoon from my uncles. I have to love consummerism when it's not me that's spending but benefitting from this wonderful technology! Soon I will be conquering the world. Ah bliss!

Pressure

I'm down to pennies again. I owe the boyfriend £15 quid and a meal. I can't decide whether to pay the meter or him.

I have put some more things up for sale on eBay. I have finally realised what I can sell at a profit, knowing a few good cheap shops as I do. I just need some capital for this venture. Awaiting my payment for my CDs with eagerness.

Skipped this morning's meeting, saving an extra £1 for the reduction of the overdraft. It's slow going but it may be worth it.

Today will be a no spend day and i'm delighted about this. It feels good to be free of the trappings of commerce. My mum is out spending again and I'm horrified at what unnecessary purchases she buys. Still someone else's spending is really none of my business.

More Sales, more spending.

I managed to make an additional £3.00 from the sale of my items. However, my dad hot footed it to the post office and paid £2.00 more for first class postage rather than parcelpost, making three items worth only 99p! I must make sure I do the postage next time.

I decided to cut into my rent money and buy chocolate last night and other provisions. I know it's foolhardy but I needed the dosh. All will be rectified by Tuesday If all goes to plan. Saved.

Yesterday

Spent £20.00
Made £3.00
Saved £1.00
944 left on overdraft until re-adjustments kick in.

eBay bids come (flooding) in.

I did it. I have managed to sell 4 books. Only one person has actually paid for their book yet, making me a total eBay profit of £1.70! It's a wonderful thing.

The books that didn't sell I scleped over to . All books are sold for £3.75, and the seller gets £3.00 but no p and p. Sadly there is a lot of competition, with other people offering the same books, so it looks like purchasing will be slow. I will sell the collection for 1 month and see what happens. I couldn't sell oversized books there as p and p would mean my profits seriously shrink.

My check from the cds sold hasn't arrived yet so I'm not doing well on the debt reduction pace.

In addition I made it out with my boyfriend and managed to spend £30.00 on a day out in Shropshire.

Spent £30.00 in Shropshire
Made £1.70 from eBay sales.
Saved £0.00.
£944.00 total until credit is received.

Trial products made.

I did a little experiment yesterday and I managed to make a couple of products I'd made that might actually sell. So I will make some more to build up my stocks so that I can sell a few at a time. Quality control is an issue with other things but I will get better as I progress. I am clueless to the cost I will have to charge but I think that £3.50/ £4.00 seems a reasonable price per item. The biggest charge is jewellery fittings, making equipment and my time.

I will also do some research on block printing equipment so that I can sell pictures, possibly framed items.

eBAy is still unprofitable. I have managed to to secure a 99p bid. I wanted to sell a couple of vinyls on eBay but a friend wants them. I am reluctant to sell them to him as I can make a greater profit on eBay. Friendship or money.... Hmmmm.

Boxed up my items that I will make around 45 quid for, as their free post labels finally arrived in the post today.

I will go to the WI soon. Hopefully it will be an invaluable networking source.

Splurge.

I need help. I decided to spend a fortune on clay products. I have a crazy idea that I will make jewellery and it will be a roaring success. Hence, I bought some shaping tools, varnish and clay. I have my eye on two book titles for sale about making stuff.

I ran out of petrol today and fed the tank again. I have hardly any cash for food next week. A trip out with the boyfriend is out of the question! Panic.

Made a decision that for thirty quid a year I would join the WI and learn some crafts and listen to lectures. Where this cash is coming from i dont know.

Am selling my mini cooker to the boyfriend.

eBay is looking slightly more optimistic. If I'm lucky I'll make three pounds on items for sale!

Reading

I have been reading India Knight's book " The Thrift Book" in the hope of getting some more thrifty ideas. Most of the advice is great. What I actually need is an emergency guide to dealing with debt or something that tells you how to live off next to nothing food wise. I keep looking at Ocado's website longingly.

I'm really delighted that I have stuck to my budget this week but I am feeling nervous about next week's expenditure. I have to pay some rent, I will have electricity, food and petrol to buy and the boyfriend is looking forward to his meal/day trip out if the weather is nice.

Dipped into the tenner yesterday, splurged unnecessarily on a box of chocolates and a tube of pringles. Damage? Five pounds and a shock to my digestive system! I am really bitter.

In order to make myself feel better I have made a real effort dressing today. I used a body scrub made of oats which exfoliated my skin and left it all soft. Pulled out an old red bag I forgot about and a red "Gucci" purse, which I bought in Turkey several years ago from a market stall. I'm coordinated and groomed.

Yesterday's Expenditure.

Spent 5.00
Made 0.00
Saved 0.00
944 debit left on overdraft until funds come in.

I make some money!

I have managed to make nearly £45.00 by selling DVDs and CDs that I no longer use. It's ingenious! You just type in the bar code, then you are offered a price for your goods (which seems paltry compared to what you actually paid for it!) They even pay the postage costs for returning the said item. I'm going to dig out my old records and see where I can flog them in a similar vein! The problem with this is that I have now sold my items I didn't want and thus have only things I really like. I think I can only trim back the collection one more time or else I would be depriving myself of things I will actually listen to.

I still have my extra tenner from my budget and the fiver that I owe the boyfriend. Sadly I had an unnecessary incident with some banana cake, magazine and a large bag of prawn cocktail crisps yesterday.

Yesterday

Spent £5.00
Made £45.00
Saved £1.00
Overdraft balance, as payments not yet received £944.00

Bank Charges claim

I'm beyond excited. The bank has written a letter back to me confirming the bank charges they have imposed since 2001. Now all I have to do is to start my claim against them to recoup my finances. I may not be offered an amount but I am going to try my damndest to reduce this dead wood of debt.

I am amazed how much money has gone to the bank in charges. I have two other accounts with other banks in a similar position. I am waiting to hear from one and have been spurred into action on the third. This may make a considerable difference to my debt and would be such a boon.

Cash machine at midnight.

I was standing outside the cash machine at 12.04 am this morning, trying desperately to get out much needed funds. All in vain. The balance of 0.22 showed in flickering green light. I went home dispirited and without my food groceries.

Having got up and realising there was no milk for my morning banana smoothie I had to hot foot it to the nearest cash machine. I withdrew my whole allowance for the week (which amounts to less than a hundred pounds) and prepared to start giving my funds away for bills, meter, petrol and food. This left me with a princely sum of £27.00. I decided to allocate the reserve as follows. £7.00 to buy clay to make jewellery, £10.00 for blank CDs and DVDs so I can download music at a fraction of the cost of buying it, as music really is an item I can traditionally spend a fortune on.

This leaves a delightful £10.00 ,which, I had managed to shave off my budget by not topping up my phone. I may have to use it to put towards taking the boyfriend out for a much promised meal.

£17.00 Spent on items to make myself.
£0.00 Saved
£0.00 Made
£944.00 left on the overdraft.

More Freebies arrive

I'm rubbing my hands in glee. Another free DVD on free trial has arrived and ironically its The Confessions of a Shopaholic. I'm looking forward to watching it again.

The second library book has arrived and ~I went to collect it today. I managed to finish Alexis Hall's In the red- a diary of a recovering shopaholic. I really enjoyed the book. I wish I had the waged income to turn over my debt like she did. Looking for part time work is a possibility for me and it's something i will have to consider shortly.

My money tin was opened again today and i took out 95p in 5p pieces. All I need to do is find 5p to make it up to another pound. My penny stash is currently at 94p so I'll have another pound soon too but then there will be a dirge of change.

I looked into the possibility of selling some of my books on amazon.co.uk, but they have higher insertion fee and rates than eBay appears to have. I would have to be selective about the books I sell there and I may have to take a bundle down to the second hand place in town to see if they can give me a valuation for the lot.

Shortly I will be able to help mum out with the cupboard as I feel marginally better this afternoon.

I have had my eye on some sushi earrings but at around 20.00 dollars plus shipping they are out of the question. Cleverly I discovered a site for making dollhouse miniatures out of polymer clay. I may consider crafting my own, now that I have found the technique for a couple of the designs. Also I have fallen in love with some Korean letter sets on www.etsy.com. I also managed to find a source closer to home that sells them cheaply. I have bookmarked the site for when I next need writing paper. God I love the Internet!

The Bank changes its mind.

This morning's post brought a surprise. The bank, with whom i have the overdraft with have ended my contract and want me to pay the full balance. I rang them an hour ago. They won't reinstate until the have another financial statement from the Citizen's Advice Bureau. This is a pain in the arse. I have a couple of months to get this information to them. Why they can't accept my word for it is beyond me. I really regret deciding to clear my debt with them first.

I'm feeling unwell today so didn't manage to get to a project i go to on a Wednesday, this has saved me £2.00 in dues and will reduce my overdraft. It's getting to be financially worth avoiding everyone. Also had to cancel the boyfriend's visit overnight this evening, which means we won't be going on the day trip we had planned to go on. There is an upside to this misery. I won't have to borrow the money for half the petrol fare on a six hour return journey. I already owe him a meal and a fiver.

Decided not to feed my electricity meter so am now living in more debt- off the £5.00 emergency debt in the machine. I bought another fiver of petrol instead. I also desperately need £15.00 to clear my payments for the next two weeks but it will have to wait a few days. Found that I had two more pounds in small change this will also go to clearing the overdraft.

There is a glimmer of hope. I received an invitation to do some market research for £40.00. I have filled in their further questionnaire. I await to hear if they want my opinions on stuff so I can make cash quick. Mum has also said she will give me a cash gift if I help her clear the junk out of her cupboards. Ebay is not yet proving very fruitful with my items- it seems no one is interested in old junk.

Yesterday's Summary

5.00 spent
0.00 saved
0.00 Made
947 left to clear my first goal



Today's Summary

5.00 spent
4.00 saved
0.00 made
944 left to clear my first financial goal.

Ebay listing begins in earnest.

I got around to photographing all my items for sale yesterday. The lighting wasn't brilliant but I snapped everything I needed. I decided not to list the clothes for sale yet, in case I had to parcel loads of things up on one day when they sold.

I then went through the process of listing nearly thirty items for sale, which took a considerable amount of time. The how to do it was easy enough and I felt a glow of satisfaction seeing my items listed next to my photography.

Today I had to put petrol in the car so that I could get to my parent's place and pick up a parcel from town. I also had to withdraw £5.75, my life savings, from the bank. This took a considerable amount of time due to bank changes. I managed to get those delightful little plastic bags for my change.

I'm slightly worried. I have £7.75 in cash, I will need to spend £2.00 on dues tomorrow, the electricity is down to pennies before i have to use emergency credit and I have a 16 mile round trip in the car, my cupboard is bare and I have a visitor on Wednesday night. How will I manage? Clearing debt is the last thing on my mind as I worry about the next few days.

My entertainment is covered. I am playing a computer game at the minute, which whiles away hours I could be mooching round for things to buy.

With eagerness I checked my Ebay account this afternoon. Not one bid on my items, nor was there anyone watching my items. My plans for world domination, through Ebay have been dashed.

Monies due.

I managed to save cash yesterday by not attending a morning meeting, saving me at least a pound. I also didn't spend anything so i'm immensely grateful. I did think about buying takeaway food on the way back from the boyfriend's but I thought better of it.

Burned the electricity though up til 4 am playing a computer game where I ironically I didn't SAVE and I died. RIP. There's a message in there somewhere.

Today I am visiting my folks. It should be today when I sort out the funds for my debts and pay off the monthly amounts. However, I just can't afford it, so it will have to wait until Friday, glorious pay day!

Yesterday's Summary.

0.00 Spent
0.00 Made
1.00 Saved
947 Pounds left til I achieve my first major goal.

Library books

I have saved money yesterday by ordering three brand new books fresh from the library. This will cost me a maximum of £3.20 and could actually be free! It just takes a little patience waiting for the titles to arrive but I think is well worth it. These books I wanted to read but didn't take the risk to buy.

My free dvds were good, i watched The Bothersome Man last night. Apparently there is a name for using all the free trials that online video companies use. It is called dvd tarting. I'm a tart- it's official.

I collected two pounds in pennies from my savings tin and it has reduced my debt very very slightly, still it's all going in the right direction.

Tomorrow i will take photos for Ebay in order to sell lots of my unwanted stuff.


Yesterday's summary

0.00 Spent
5.00 Made
2.00 In Pennies.
948 Outstanding from 1st Major goal.

Scarf

I feel like something of a cliche. I have too many scarves like the Isla Fisher character in Confessions of a Shopoholic.

Today I am taking back a scarf i purchased last week. It is a delight of riotous spots in 100 per cent pure silk. However, As i have only £5.75 in the bank and £3.00 in my purse I really need that fiver back. I get paid next Friday and i need to buy food, take a ride to a couple of places mid week and feed my hungry electric meter, which has only £2.88 of credit left on it.

I feel hugely guilty as i actually bought another scarf with it and i just can't bear to part with it. So instead i have chosen three more scarves to sell on Ebay.

I have good news too. My uncle is getting a new computer next month and will give me his old machine. My mum has promised to get me online at my flat so that I don't have to travel in order to use a computer. This will save me some pennies so I am delighted.

The Plan

Ok. So I'm in a pickle what do I do about it?

Here is my plan.

1) Continue to follow the payment plan established for me by the Citizen's Advice Bureau debt team.

2) Stick to a tight budget for once but ensure that I have some funds remaining for repayment.

3) Buy only what is extremely necessary for one month and review the situation at the end of the period.

4) Collect spare change, after buying a necessary object and use to pay off debt. This is the looking after the pennies part of the plan.

5) Blog my financial journey for a month initially.


6) Sell unwanted items on Ebay to make a bit of money.

7) Use the facility on Blogger to make money from my blog.

Realisation

Realisation hit me. I am 14 thousand pounds in debt and I am living off the near minimum income for a single person in their late thirties.

I did a calculation on a money programme that even if i was to increase my payments to 11 times more than I pay at the minute to my debtors I would only be free of debt by 2107. This simply isn't good enough. I feel a sense of resposnsibility to pay back what I owe and start living in the red again.

How I got to this position is relatively unimportant but I will outline it briefly to you. Under the direction of my then husband I remortgage my house, took out a large loan and ran up an overdraft all in my name. Technically the debt should be halved but the chances of me getting money from my ex are negligible. I have learned from this huge and costly mistake. In addition I lost my job in 2008 due to illhealth and my house was repossessed, costing me an additional 7,000 which I didn't have. I am one of those statistics you read about in the paper. I'm not bitter I just want to do something to improve my situation so I don't have the cloud of debt over my head. Why don't you follow me on my journey?