A new debt free journey

Today has ended up being a really nice day. I walked a couple of miles to the neighbouring town and sat outside a coffee shop to have lunch, treated myself and spent £4. Then walked back home, so a nice bit of exercise all in all, probably walked for about 90 minutes. It was good to get out and clear my head. I went into a shop which had loads of knick knacks which I REALLY wanted to buy, but I stuck to my guns and resisted. I did get a birthday card for OH as it's his birthday soon.

My riding lesson was pretty good as well, did a little canter which I wasn't expecting as I haven't been for a few weeks, and that really boosted my mood. I wasn't looking forward to going as my last lesson was very challenging so this was really positive. Now I'm just going to chill with one of those mini bottles of wine before dinner and a bath.

Also it's getting towards the time where I need to review September's targets, so here goes:

lcc86 wrote: »

So now onto September's targets:

1. Extra PAD to my credit card. Probably just £1 a day but every little helps. - achieved this one. It has just been £1 a day, but it all adds up, especially as I haven't been able to focus on my debt as much as I'm saving for moving.

2. 15 NSD's minimum. Particularly as I don't know what's happening with the move, I just need to reign it in a bit to make sure I have funds available for anything unexpected. I've achieved this, but the problem is I've still spent all of my money! Which I think somewhat defeats the purpose of NSD's! :rotfl:

3. Sort the house !!!! out! Pretty self explanatory, just need to find out what's going on and then implement anything which I need to - well... we all know how that's going. The less said the better right now. This was probably an unrealistic target to set because it's outside of my control.

4. Keep improving my riding. This is my one hobby and I seem stuck at a certain point so I really want to keep going and push it further - based on the two lessons I've done this month, I think I've improved.

So time to think about October's targets:

1. Extra PAD to my Very account. I have about £350 on there in total and want to buy a sofa using it, so I want to make extra payments to help offset that.

2. Finish my course work. I've almost finished my professional qualification but need to have a meeting observed, which you'd think would be easy but it involves getting victims of crime and offenders round the table so it's really hard. What I need to do is finish the theory side of the course so that I can focus 100% on the practical side.

3. Start Christmas shopping. Pretty self explanatory. Need to get lists together and then have a look around for some bargains!

4. Do something for myself every weekend. This one is mainly because the last few weeks I've felt quite low. I don't mean anything expensive or any grand gestures, it could just be going for a walk and a coffee, or meeting a friend. I just need to make it happen.

5. Go back to weekly budgets. I used to split my spending each week, but stopped this a while ago as I felt I had a much better handle on my spending. Unfortunately this seems to be changing, and I'm spending the majority of my money at the start of the month, leaving me nothing at the end. I've almost finalised October's budget, it just depends what happens with the house. But I know what I have available to spend. I've allowed myself £20 a week unallocated funds to spend, so we'll see how we get on!

Right, off to open that wine and chill in front of the TV for a bit before having dinner and a bath.

End of the week at last! It's been okay overall. The bank finally sorted out the mortgage issues and have sent us our offer, which is great news. Unfortunately the buyer's solicitor are still asking for the same things over and over, things which have already been sent to them. These things are sent to test us clearly!! :mad: I really hope we can exchange next week and complete soon after, but I'm not sure with this solicitor involved, their online reviews are awful so I'm not holding my breath!

Moneywise I've been paid and have moved everything into the relevant accounts. I've gone back to using a weekly budget and will see how I go. I've transferred all other money into a savings account so that I can't use the excuse of 'accidentally' spending too much.

Work has been pretty rubbish. Endless no-shows to appointments and people letting me down. It's starting to get really frustrating. I was just telling my manager about two possible successes I'd had and then they both fell through. But that's what happens when you're working with people, they change their minds or things happen which are beyond anyone's control. Just have to keep plugging away. The worst part of the week by far has been the traffic. It's been appalling, I've probably spent 4 hours commuting each day. I'm seriously considering saving up for a scooter when I'm debt free because it's getting so bad.

Plans for the weekend are to do some packing ready for the move, to visit a friend at her house tomorrow for a catch up, horse riding as well tomorrow and then volunteering on Sunday. Tonight I plan to relax with a face pack and glass of wine in the bath

Thanks pmo2, managed to do some packing and taking down shelves to fill in holes. Horse riding was good too but still don't feel I'm making the progress I thought I might. A chilled evening tonight ready for an early start tomorrow.

Thanks ccl! Hopefully not long to go now. Definitely won't be moving again for a looooooong time after this!!

Today was good, really enjoyed my volunteering. Spent £2 in a local coffee shop on a pot of tea after with OH. Was great to just relax in there and chill out. Yes we could've had tea at home but it was a little treat.

All in all a really nice weekend. Have got the horsey bug back again for sure after volunteering and will definitely want to work towards a share horse again, perhaps in the new year.

Back to work tomorrow, it's looking like another quiet week, which on the one hand is good because my personal life is stressful atm, but I still get a little bored. Should be a low spend week, need to buy a gift for my sister's baby shower but that's about it.