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nefarious napkin posted:I don't want to turn this into a "quitting smoking" thread, but I'm down to about 3 smokes a day from 20. Not perfect, but progress. That's great progress. Keep it up!
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Sep 25, 2015 20:12
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If you want to start a thread in GWS or give more info about your boyfriend's dietary restrictions there are lots of ways you can cut your food costs to be more reasonable while still trying to eat decent and healthy food. A lot of cooking seems big and scary at first but it turns out to be pretty simple once you manage your expectationsThe trick is to figure out where your bad habits are and how to fix them. Personally I keep some quick frozen stuff at work and at home and eat that instead of eating out. But make very sure you aren't going to just eat that every day and let it make you lazy, it's for those days you wake up late and just really aren't at all in the mood for whatever leftover you have, which is what you should be having for lunch most days. I try to keep two frozen pizzas in the freezer buried under packs of cheap meat I got on sale and froze and premixed frozen veggies. Pierogi is a good one too, because you can manage portion size easily.
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Sep 25, 2015 20:22
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Hello OP, I also am recovering from a financially abusive ex and a drug problem, and a lot of debt. 2 years ago I had $23k in consumer debt with nothing to show for it, but now it's down to below $8k and I am on schedule to be debt free by November of next year. I did this by using a non profit debt counseling program. I think they are Canada-wide, thought I don't see any Quebec offices (you said you were in Quebec right?). I did all my stuff with them over the phone so even if there is no local office to you I bet you could deal with one of the offices in Ontario. Or they could refer you to a similar program in Quebec. Basically they talk to all your debtors, stop all interest from accruing, and teach you how to make and live off a drat budget. Once they stop your interest from accruing you pay them (the non profit) every month and they disperse it over all your debts until you're free of them. For me it's a 3 year plan, but they tailor it to you so yours could be different. While this plan is ongoing you do have a lousy credit rating (but WHO CARES) and your rating goes back up after your program is completed. I cannot recommend these people enough, they're super friendly and understanding and I don't think I'd be digging my way out of this hole nearly as well if I was doing this on my own.
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Sep 26, 2015 03:41
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I mentioned this blog earlier, but this specific post might be of interest to you: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/ I agree, by and very large, with his assertions here. (This is coming from someone who is paying off the last 1k of 100k in debt from a failed business this month.) My wife and I reduced our consumption to the bare minimums... called all our services (gas, insurance, water, power, cell, cable, etc) to negotiate for reduce rates. We did permit ourselves a very tiny "fun" money category, but every single dollar beyond bare minimum + tiny fun went to debt. Either way, as others here have said, you've got an awesome attitude about this whole process. When you reduce your consumption, and start to pay down your debt, I bet you'll start to realize that you didn't need most of the poo poo you were buying anyway. Cant wait to hear your updates along the way  (Also check out this too: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/09/20/google-fi-review/) Maybe could cheapen the phone bill.
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Sep 26, 2015 06:21
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I had a good weekend. I got $555 paid back to me on Friday morning. $500 went straight to my credit card (balance now $8100) and of the remaining $55 I spent about $15 on food. I'll be paying another $500 off with my paycheque this week. Yay! I also made a motivation graph where I can track my debt decreasing. Nevvy Z posted:Good food advice Also, crock pot season is here and I have some mean recipes that I never get sick of. Lots of cheap options and lower quality meat still tastes great when you cook it for ages haha. Angry Pie posted:Hello OP, I also am recovering from a financially abusive ex and a drug problem, and a lot of debt. 2 years ago I had $23k in consumer debt with nothing to show for it, but now it's down to below $8k and I am on schedule to be debt free by November of next year. I did this by using a non profit debt counseling program. I think they are Canada-wide, thought I don't see any Quebec offices (you said you were in Quebec right?). I did all my stuff with them over the phone so even if there is no local office to you I bet you could deal with one of the offices in Ontario. Or they could refer you to a similar program in Quebec. OK I always wondered about these organizations and whether or not they are scams. It's great to have a recommendation for one that is non profit! I actually spoke to a friend in the Credit Card industry, and he told me that I can just call and tell them I'm having troubles making my payments, and they will turn off interest for 3 months with no penalty. That's $400 saved that can go back to the debt. I'll give these guys a call first and see if they have any more advice! This might be a silly question but it's something I've been thinking about that your post reminded me of. Really... how important is credit? It was driven into my head to protect my credit at all costs when I was younger, and so my rating is great. Never missed a bill or payment, my only hit is that my debt to available credit ratio is high. There are these options like what Angry Pie outlined above, which is very similar to the Quebec Voluntary Deposit program, consumer proposals, etc etc. I also have friends who ended up in collections but in the end paid way less of their debt after negotiating with the creditors, which kind of makes me jealous. All of these hit your credit rating, but it's not like I'm buying a house or a car anytime soon. Is it worth it to protect my rating? As a side note, it goes to show how used to ignoring this problem I am - I saw your $23K figure and cringed and thought "holy poo poo that's rough" and then remembered mine is much higher... McPhock posted:I mentioned this blog earlier, but this specific post might be of interest to you: Ha, this was the first article I picked out and read on the site! It really spoke to me and my perspective on things. Thanks for the advice! My cell phone bill is killing me, but I'm on contract for another year. But why not call them and see. I actually don't have many bills, just cell, netflix and hydro. Cell I think is the only one with wiggle room.
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Sep 28, 2015 16:36
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nefarious napkin posted:OK I always wondered about these organizations and whether or not they are scams. It's great to have a recommendation for one that is non profit! I actually spoke to a friend in the Credit Card industry, and he told me that I can just call and tell them I'm having troubles making my payments, and they will turn off interest for 3 months with no penalty. That's $400 saved that can go back to the debt. I'll give these guys a call first and see if they have any more advice! If they can stop the interest for 3 months that would be a big help in your situation. With your current credit card balance on the interest bearing card you are probably down to $130 per month of interest. While that's not great you are in a good position to start demolishing the balance on that card as a payment of $500 per month should reduce the monthly interest by about $6 per month initially. If your credit rating is alright and you can make all the monthly payments then there's no point damaging your credit. You may be able to have the organisation negotiate on your behalf. Creditors prefer it if you approach them before you are in a disaster rather than after. The fact that you have made all your payments will be an advantage in a negotiation. The best thing is that you are in a recoverable financial position. It will be slow and tough at first but as you progress it will get easier and the debts will disappear at a faster rate.
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Sep 29, 2015 03:45
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Devian666 posted:If they can stop the interest for 3 months that would be a big help in your situation. With your current credit card balance on the interest bearing card you are probably down to $130 per month of interest. While that's not great you are in a good position to start demolishing the balance on that card as a payment of $500 per month should reduce the monthly interest by about $6 per month initially. I'm actually going to pay $1000/month to my credit cards, plus a lump $2000 payment on top of that in the next couple months. So by the end of the year, I'll have paid $5000 to bring me to a $3100 balance on the high interest credit card, plus interest accumulated during those months. $4000 if I do a $1K emergency fund. I'll still have about just under $6000 on the 0% credit card since I'm only making minimum payments for now. Tackling these cards one at a time also allows me to hit some shorter term goals, which I've learned about myself is super helpful to my motivation. Once my credit cards are gone, I just have the rest of my loan (which I'm making $530 payments each month in addition to the above), but I'll also have the extra $1000 a month I won't be using for CC payments that can go toward it. Also regarding changing my habits, I've take my credit card out of my wallet and it lives in a box in a closet with my passport, SIN etc. My debit card stays at home unless I have plans for a budget approved expense that day. I'm making a lunch every day for work and I've ate dinner at home every night except one or 2 times where my boyfriend wanted to get a quick bite out and he paid. I hope it's okay that I blather on about every financial thought that enters my head here, but I'm finding it super helpful. I don't have any real budget related updates because I haven't been paid since starting the thread. edit: I'm looking forward to creating a "what the hell do I do with all this disposable income" thread once I'm out of debt
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Sep 29, 2015 14:38
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Double post, sorry!
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Sep 29, 2015 14:42
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What does the 0% interest card jump up to once you hit April? Hows the quitting smoking going?
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Sep 29, 2015 19:37
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Adiabatic posted:What does the 0% interest card jump up to once you hit April? Also 19.99% I believe. I'll try to move the balance to a different 0% card when that happens. Quitting smoking... I haven't bought a pack, but I'm averaging 2 a day. Much better than the 20 a day before, but not perfect.
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Sep 29, 2015 20:01
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nefarious napkin posted:Also 19.99% I believe. I'll try to move the balance to a different 0% card when that happens. Well that's still a ~90% reduction in usage (and cost) so be proud and keep it up
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Sep 29, 2015 22:22
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I'm proud of your reduction! I just passed 5 years last weekend. I didn't really try to phase back, it just kind of happened with me reducing to one before work, one at lunch if I ate with my gf (90% of the time we did), and a couple after work. Tapered down to 2-3 a day and then I said gently caress it, I'm done! Keep up the good work, you'll get there! Also I like your debt reduction plan a lot. Rock on!
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Sep 30, 2015 00:24
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Pay day!! This is for the first half of the month. Paid a bunch of things this morning: - $500 to my Visa - $615 to rent - $90 to cell Remainder budgeted out (in YNAB) - $100 to groceries - $40 to gas - $100 to entertainment - $15 to bank fees $65 left over. I'm going to hold off on budgeting it or putting it toward the CCs because I might buy vape juice to help with quitting. Debt Status - Visa: $7600 owed (it was $9000 right before I started this thread! Not bad!) - MasterCard and Loan remain the same, as they are paid on the 15th. The change in lifestyle is hard mainly because I keep thinking "I have another year of this" but then I remind myself it's not going to be this hard for the whole year. I'm in an adjustment period and soon spending this little will just feel normal. I hope I just realized I was excited for pay day so I could put money on my CC, not so I could spend a bunch of money. Progress! nefarious napkin fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Sep 30, 2015 |
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Sep 30, 2015 14:52
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nefarious napkin posted:I just realized I was excited for pay day so I could put money on my CC, not so I could spend a bunch of money. Progress! ONE OF US ONE OF US ONE OF US
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Sep 30, 2015 15:48
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nefarious napkin posted:Pay day!! This is for the first half of the month. OP you are doing great and your attitude is great and you're already using YNAB and that is great. GREAT JOB! You've got a mature grown up plan for tackling your problem and now it's just going to take the time to make it happen. Keep focusing on the goal and develop habits and tools that help you understand your progress toward that goal. I find YNAB's networth report is really helpful for perceiving extra payments on debts as real progress. As other posters have said focus on sustainable behavior and changes that you can handle over the long haul.
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Sep 30, 2015 17:34
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nefarious napkin posted:Also 19.99% I believe. I'll try to move the balance to a different 0% card when that happens.
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Sep 30, 2015 17:43
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Dwight Eisenhower posted:GREAT JOB! Thanks!! It's also nice that behind the scenes of all this, my assets are growing too. About $450 is going into my RRSPs each month deducted from my paycheques before I get them. I debated turning it off for more money to go on my CCs, but ultimately decided it's best to keep this up and find other ways to cut back. I had my eye on a $400 dining room set that I actually tried to buy a month or 2 ago but it was declined due to an address mismatch on my CC. Yesterday I found a great set on kijiji for $80 and I'm picking it up after work. My boyfriend is paying since I got the last thing for the house. No more eating off my lap on the couch! This will make cooking more enjoyable.
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Sep 30, 2015 17:46
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Saint Fu posted:I don't think this was mentioned before, but be careful with those 0% interest cards. Sometimes if they aren't paid in full before the introductory rate ends, they'll charge you for all of the interest you would have accumulated during the introductory period. Might not be the case with yours but worth double checking. I don't think this is the case for mine. The legal disclosure says: The Promotional Rate will increase following the Promotional Rate expiry or if you are late making any Minimum Payment, and any remaining balances will become subject to the applicable Standard Rate. So I think only what's left on the card will get charged the standard rate from that point forward. I'm not going to keep the balance on that card regardless - if I don't find another 0% card to put it on, I'll try to put it back on my Visa. It has a similar interest rate, but it's affiliated with my bank and I just trust them more. This card has all sorts of weird loopholes too... cash advances are 25%, rate increases by 5% if you are late on more than one payment, and the fees are crazy (over credit limit, returned payments, etc).
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Sep 30, 2015 17:53
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Hey, this is a good thread, and you're making great progress! Keep up the awesome work!
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Oct 1, 2015 15:48
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As is my standard reply to anyone who is in a province not filled with entirely flat land, check the Canadian Cell Phone thread over in Inspect Your Gadgets because there is some workaround to get in on a prairie plan that is so much better for everything than everywhere else in the dominion. Also, your progress is good, but boring. If you could find a way to buy more commemorative t-shirts, a decades old sports car or even have some vague notions to plant huge swaths of herbs in your back yard, that would really help keep things interesting. Or a horse.
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Oct 1, 2015 17:38
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Oh man, I have no idea how I missed my minimum payment on my 0% card in September (it was right when I opened this thread!) but I did. Ended up paying it today, 10 days late, but according to the promo T&C: "The Promotional Rate will increase following the Promotional Rate expiry or if you are late making any Minimum Payment, and any remaining balances will become subject to the applicable Standard Rate." Hasn't gone up yet, but probably just a matter of time. Is there any point to calling CS to see if they can help, or will that just draw attention to it? It's my understanding with this bank is they will take away the 0% as soon as they have the slightest reason to. I'm so annoyed with myself.
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Oct 17, 2015 16:18
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You don't have auto pay setup??
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Oct 17, 2015 18:20
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You mention YNAB, post your budget. Also stop missing CC payments.
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Oct 18, 2015 17:55
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