Budgeting Apps are true Debt Busters...

If you haven't already... Downloading a Budgeting App is a must this season! There are so many available to choose from, and the best thing is...most of them are free!

So what exactly do they do?

These apps are a great way to track your daily spending habits. They will give you an overview of how you're spending your hard earned cash on a daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly basis. You can also select and rename categories to see what your biggest expense is.

Spoiled for choice

Simply type in 'budgeting app' into the search field and it will bring up many apps that all do the same job in different ways. You can have a quick look to see how they work before you even download it, saving you time and data.

What do the consumers say?

Most of the more established apps have been tried and tested, and come with reviews and star ratings to help make your choice easier. Some are quite lengthy and detailed, telling you how they've worked for them and whether they have had any technical issues with the app. This is exactly what helped me to make my choice.

How has it worked for me?

Since I started using my budget app I can see where I'm throwing money down the toilet. It also shows me how expensive my car is to run and how much money I have left until my next payday. In order for this to work successfully you must make an entry every time you spend money. No matter how little the purchase is. The funny thing is... Since I started using this app I've tightened up my purse strings.

Do you have a Budgeting App?

Quite frankly Tesco... I think I've helped you enough!

After I accepted my abysmal debt health I decided to do some serious number crunching. I created a spreadsheet detailing all of my expenses and realised where quite a large proportion of my wage was going.

Without realising, and for as long as I can remember I have literally been throwing money at Tesco. £250 a month. £3000 a year to be precise. Now that's a lot considering I only buy for myself, and all because I simply got into a lazy routine. Can you believe it? I mean they say 'Every little helps' but thinking about it...I'm actually helping them more than myself really.

Soooo! I decided to embark on a little market research project entitled 'How much does your weekly shop cost?' Now I know a lot of people aren't very comfy talking about money but I think it's quite healthy. I started asking single females what their weekly shop was costing them, and on average the result was about £25 per week. That's £100 a month!

So where was I going wrong? It's quite funny because they (meaning friends and collegues) turned it around and started asking me what it was costing me and why. And after some lengthy discussions, I discovered that most of them cook their meals instead of buying 'ready mades' daily like me, then bring in last nights dinner for lunch to cut their costs.

Hmm! I mean its pretty simple and easy to implement as of now i suppose. So if they can adopt that money saving attitude then so can I. And it'll save me about £150 a month, leaving more money in the penny pot to blast away my debt!

If you're not already on this band wagon I urge you to jump on this with me today and let's stop filling Tesco's pockets and start growing our own!

YES! I am in debt and I WILL blast my debt away!

Hi there! I am The Debt Busting Chick and thanks a bunch for stopping by to read my blog.

Deep down I've always known that I've had debt but never truly acknowledged it. To me debt has always been normal and a way of life. The thought to save for the things I've always wanted in life had never occurred to me.

Since the age of 18 I've had overdrafts, credit cards, car finance the lot. All of which came with interest and didn't bother me in the slightest.

Today the total debt I've managed to rack up in the past 8 years is... Wait for it... £18,062 Ergh! Yes, I  know it's a lot and the moment I calculated what I owe, I felt sick. I still do actually. But it's my own fault for being such a reckless spender. £18,062 how ridiculous is that? That's £10,962 car finance, £2000 on another car finance plan (yea, I'll explain in another post), £3500 and £1600 in credit card debt.

So there you have it. I've just aired all my dirty laundry. I know I have a problem so I've taken the first step towards dealing with it by admitting it so that I can become Debt Free! I'm absolutely terrified of taking this step because I've never had to live frugally so this really will be a true test for me. But it must be done. You'll hear all the ups and the downs.

I've decided to document this journey to financial freedom to keep me motivated, and to get through the hard times. I'm already anticipating them because I know they'll come and I'll have more chance getting through them with your support and inspirational comments along the way. Who knows? I may even inspire some of you that are sick of being in debt to make the journey of financial freedom with me. It's going to be a lonely road so the more the merrier :)

Owning my own home is a big dream of mine, and one that seems so far away but also one that I know is still achievable once this humongous debt is cleared. Hopefully you guys will still be around to join me on that quest once this debt is vanquished!