22 months to work, dig, tidy and declutter my way to debt freedom

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  • peaceandfreedom
    peaceandfreedom Posts: 2,005 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    SpekySquarehead wrote: »
    You've done an astounding job so far. One thing I've realised is that this is a marathon and not a sprint. You say it in your sig, your 64.2% of the way there - amazing! Keep up the amazing work and keep the chin high. We're all here to help in anyway we can.

    Thanks so much for dropping by and for the encouraging words, Speky. I need all the support I can get :o.

    I've not had a good day, very bad night's sleep and feeling very low and anxious about just about everything. I need a good night's sleep which I am off to get very shortly.

    My debt-busting success and transformation of the way I manage my finances is almost entirely down to using YNAB. It's amazing the difference it has made to the way I think and the way I spend and budget. I've said before that I wish I adopted this mindset years ago but never mind, nothing I can do about the past now. I need to focus on the future.

    I am off to bed now because I am really in a bad way, will be back tomorrow, hopefully in better shape :).
  • in_need_of_direction
    in_need_of_direction Posts: 7,282 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Fingers crossed that today was better.
    Mortgage at 01.01.14 £119,481.83:eek: today £0 Emergency fund £5.5/5.5k & £200/200 cash.:jWeight 24/02/19 14st 7lb now 11st11lb determined to stop defining myself by my mistakes. Progress not perfection.:T100%through my 1% mortgage challenge. 40.25% through my pb challenge.
  • peaceandfreedom
    peaceandfreedom Posts: 2,005 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    in_need_of_direction wrote: »
    Fingers crossed that today was better.

    Hey INOD, good to see you :).

    Today was a bit better, thank you, but still have that horrible anxious feeling which I know is largely down to hormones. Wretched things :mad:. However, I've had a pretty good day overall and I hope tomorrow will be better again.

    Had a potter about the garden this evening and things are looking good. The yellow courgettes are fruiting and the green ones have lots of flowers but they are all male at the moment. Am considering throwing a flower into tomorrow's lunchtime salad. Most of the tomatoes in the greenhouse have fruit on now and so do the cucumbers although they are teensy tiny as yet. The taste of home-grown salad is soooo much better than shop-bought, I can't wait :j.

    Off to bed, I am trying to get to bed earlier these days, I'm a bit of a night owl but my sleep is so restless and disturbed at the moment, I really need to get as much rest as I can.

    This growing old lark isn't all that much fun - 50 is definitely NOT the new 40!!!
  • peaceandfreedom
    peaceandfreedom Posts: 2,005 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Hey people - how are things?

    I am just about recovering from the results of the EU Referendum. Never for one single minute did I imagine we would end up with Brexit - I voted Remain simply because I could not see any single reason to leave. I still can't see any good reason. I did lots of reading of all the arguments and none of the Leave arguments held any water or made any sense to me at all.

    I respect the decision of those people who voted Leave for their own well-considered reasons and deeply-held beliefs. However, I am very angry with people who voted Leave for all kinds of ridiculous reasons, the most annoying being 'I voted Leave on the clear understanding that Remain was going to win'. This defies all logic and is breathtakingly stupid.

    We also seem to be finding out very quickly that the Leave campaign was based on nothing at all - just vague promises and downright lies and people fell for it :(.

    Anyway, it's done now. Yesterday I felt panicky and very depressed by it all. Today I am feeling a bit better having spoken to some more level-headed friends and generally seeing the world-wide panic subside. I am a panicky person anyway and although I like and enjoy change, I certainly am not looking forward to this one :(.

    To counteract the doom and gloom I am going to come up with at least three positive things per day to be happy about. Today's are:
    1. The England rugby team beating the Aussies this morning to achieve an historic series whitewash :T
    2. My two girls getting fantastic results in their respective course/degree
    3. Unexpectedly receiving a nice voucher for John Lewis in the post this morning :)

    That's it for now, it's late and I should be in bed :naughty:
  • peaceandfreedom
    peaceandfreedom Posts: 2,005 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Hi all. Feeling very low and lethargic today :(. Still worried about the future of this country and the way other countries perceive us now (as if we weren't hated enough already).

    On the plus side, I am an Irish citizen and my children are therefore entitled to be Irish citizens if they so wish. We can all get Irish passports if we want to. In other words, we can all still be EU citizens in the future regardless of what eventually happens with Brexit. This has cheered me up a little bit.

    But I still wonder, what the HELL have we done????? :eek::mad::(

    I am pretty unimpressed with myself over the past couple of weeks - I have achieved very little. This is partly down to being constantly exhausted due to lack of sleep and general unwellness. I hope this sorts itself out soon. I need to get out and about more and get more exercise and generally improve my wellbeing. The weather isn't helping, it's rubbish isn't it?

    I realise this is a very doom-and-gloom post, but that's how I'm feeling at the moment. However, I have come up with three positive things for today:
    1. I cleaned the bathrooms (my least favourite job)
    2. Ate some home-grown strawberries for breakfast and they were very tasty
    3. Have found a great new deal for my gas/electricity for the next year or so

    I intend to get my act together and get some good stuff done over the next week. I am spending too much lately and there is more stuff coming up over the next month that will cost more money. So am trying to cut back in other ways but I also need to earn more.

    Time to get back to that one-year plan and start putting it into action :).
  • peaceandfreedom
    peaceandfreedom Posts: 2,005 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Hellooooooo - anybody out there? :D

    Feeling much better today. I've decided to stop panicking over Brexit as there is nothing I can do about it anyway. Have put on a nice positive hat and will take the view that it'll all be alright in the end :).

    Pay day has arrived complete with my payrise and my little bit of backpay. Have put in a provisional set of figures into YNAB until the end of October. I know you are not meant to use it for forecasting but it helps me immensely to do so, and has done since I started using it. Due to new expenses cropping up in July, I won't clear my credit card after all until August. I suppose I could clear it by taking funds out of my savings account but I don't want to, and it's on 0% interest so there's no need to anyway.

    In fact the 'new' expenses in July aren't really that new, I just hadn't budgeted for them properly or remembered them. All taken care of now. From October I am going to be awarding myself a higher discretionary spending budget. Up to now I've cut that budget to the bone but I've decided it would be nice to just have a little bit more leeway every month. Looking forward to that and I don't *have* to spend it but at least I know I can if I need to :).

    Some positive stuff today:
    • Enjoyed some frankly delicious Madecasse Madagascar Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Cacao Nibs - ruinously expensive but oh my God, it's gorgeous
    • Found some decaff Tassimo pods in Asda - excellent to use at work, as I find I can't tolerate caffeine too well these days
    • Renewed my car insurance for a good price :j

    Not much else to report. At the moment I feel like I am trudging through life not really enjoying it, just surviving. I think that's because the future is uncertain, I'm not sure how things are going to pan out financially, career-wise or marriage-wise. For the moment, I'm just going to get through the summer and take it from there :cool:.
  • in_need_of_direction
    in_need_of_direction Posts: 7,282 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    What could you do to up the enjoyment factor?
    Mortgage at 01.01.14 £119,481.83:eek: today £0 Emergency fund £5.5/5.5k & £200/200 cash.:jWeight 24/02/19 14st 7lb now 11st11lb determined to stop defining myself by my mistakes. Progress not perfection.:T100%through my 1% mortgage challenge. 40.25% through my pb challenge.
  • Moneywhizz
    Moneywhizz Posts: 459 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    Maybe you are feeling a bit lethargic because you don't have any clear idea of what your plans are. Could you make some goals for the different areas. You obviously have your plans to be debt free but what then financially. Of course that may be tied up in what you want to do about your marriage. From reading your diary, it seems that is the area that is bringing you the greatest unhappiness. Maybe if you can work out what you would really like to happen in this area, it would help you overall. Why not envisage your ideal picture of your future and then look at ways that you can take steps to move in that direction. It's not an easy decision to make but you can't live the rest of your life in an unhappy marriage if you have the means to do something about it. if you feel that you are going to remain in the marriage, then you should put other things in place that make it more bearable and put your happiness as a priority. Wishing you all the best. X
  • jwil
    jwil Posts: 19,058 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Hey lovely,

    so nice to see you back again! I'm rubbish at posting at the moment, seem to have more time to do so when I'm at work :D

    Well done with the debt busting, you are doing really well, and congrats to your girls for getting good results! Woo hoo to payrises too!

    Sorry to hear you are feeling down, hope you start feeling better soon. If you are unhappy in your marriage then it must have a huge bearing on things generally, so I hope you can prioritise time for yourself doing stuff that you love. :)
    "If you can dream it, you can do it". Walt Disney
  • peaceandfreedom
    peaceandfreedom Posts: 2,005 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Hi fellow MSE-ers :)

    I've been absolutely rubbish at posting lately, I keep meaning to get back into the swing of things but then lose momentum. Applies to a lot of areas of my life at the moment.

    However, the excellently good news is that I NO LONGER HAVE ANY CREDIT CARD DEBT :j:beer::T:D. I paid off the last few pounds from my balance-transfer card today :D.

    I do still have a debt remaining, which is a private debt. This may end up on a balance-transfer CC before the end of the year but for now I am enjoying my credit-card free existence :).

    Work-wise things are going very well, very busy but learning loads and stashing away a lot of useful skills for the future.

    Home-wise things are a bit so-so. As I am in a bit of an emotionally fragile state at the moment, I have decided that it's best to concentrate on the more physical things around me, so it's back to decluttering and maybe a bit of decorating. Clear everything out, see if it helps clear my head out :).

    I will reply to the posts above then go and check out everyone else's diaries. See you anon.
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