Midnight's Debt Mountain

*zippy*

Midnight :hello:

Glad you have had a good few days and was able to use your extra pay, I start my second job Tuesday, I can't wait for my first pay packet. We too put all the pets onto cheaper food this week, felt a bit guilty, but needs must, as lula said they were better fed than us.

I see you plan to grow your own veg too, I was looking at the RHS website last night seeing what I could plant now, our veg plot is full of flowers at the moment....pretty, but not very money saving

Hope your evening shift went well x

LoulaBelle

HI there,

I think where you have added the remainder of your mortgage to your debts you are scaring yourself. Yes a mortgage is a debt and its a nice thought to have it paid off before its 'time' however its not worth putting yourself into an early grave working every hour god sends and then some.

How about paying the normal amount on your mortgage every month and tackling the debts (credit cards/loans etc) and once they have gone get yourself over onto the 'MFW' Mortgage free Wannabee website?

Speaking about planting veg - our generous neighbours gave us 4 little tomato plants earlier in the year - they have been wonderful - husband and son have just had an omlette and husband says they are the flavoursome tomatos in the world. We've had hundreds of tomatos of these 4 plants and so easy to keep too - a bit of water a bit of sun. Next year we are going to grow runner beans too.

All the best LoulaBelle

Midnight_Sky_2

Hi MrsPorrige - welcome to my little "home from home", otherwise know as my diary no doubt I'll be spending a lot of time here, so you are most welcome to pop in anytime! The snowball calculator can be a bit daunting the way it spews out such long term dates, but it's fab for keeping you on track. Well done on the saving on your monthly shop :T - meal planning will save you an absolute fortune, and the Old Style Board is fantastic for receipes etc if things start to get a bit repetitive. I intend to join in the payment a day challenge as of tomorrow so I'll let you know how I get on.


HI Zippy - See you're still a night owl . There seems to be more night owls on here these days (good job my second job keps me occupied at nights or I could still be sitting here as the rest of the family wander in for breakfast . Good luck for Tuesday - the second wage makes such a difference. Don't feel guilty about putting the pets on cheaper food - needs must and they just have to accept it. As for the home grown veg you will love it - the difference in taste is just unbelievable - and all for pennies!


Hi LoulaBelle and welcome!! Thanks for your very useful comments - I think you're spot on about the mortgage bit. This is debited direct from OH's bank account, so as long as we can pay it, I'll just let that take care of itself and concentrate on the actual debt that's screaming at me :rolleyes: . So glad you enjoyed your home grown tomatoes. Why not try growing potatoes and carrots in big pots - that's what I do and the flavour is absolutely out of this world!!



Well, yesterday turned out to be a NSD because I couldn't be bothered going to Asda for shopping. That forced me to check the freezer to see what I could find for tea, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I have enough food in there to feed the whole family (and probably half the familes on this forum) for the next three weeks. So, tea at my house next week!!:rotfl: Shopping is my main weakness, especially food shopping:o . But these reckless spendthrift days are over and in true MSE style I've tucked the money I had put aside for the shopping in an envelope and that will go towards paying a bill tomorrow. Actually, MrsPorrige told me about the payment a day challenge, I could use the money I saved yesterday as my first payment :T .

Off to have a quick caffeine boosting cup of tea, then take the dogs down the beach, OH is going to wash the car ready for work tomorrow. Then I seriously need to get some laundry done or I'll be turning up for work naked and believe me, Gok would have his work cut out to make me look good, so for the sake of humanity, I need to get that washing machine working overtime!!

Hope you all have a great day, speak to you later this evening!

Midnight_Sky_2

Okay, I've had the puppies down the beach for a good long walk, they've run around like crazy things and burnt off all the excess energy and now they're flaked out, which lets me get on with other things .

The washing machine has been working overtime and I now have clothes for the rest of the week, so humanity has been spared! :rotfl:The laundry is washed, dried and (some of it) ironed, and put away, so I'm ahead of myself for once.

I've just run DD to work, and I've made up the sandwiches for tomorrow's packed lunches. I'm off to have a nice long soak in the bath and an early night, although there is a programme that I recorded last night, so I might watch that first.

Monday's To Do List

Feed puppies and take them for a 30 minute walk.
Breakfast
Be in work for 8.30
Check for mystery shop
Check bank account
Pay £200 towards solicitors bill
Pay something extra towards a debt
Do a menu planner for the week
Home for 5.30, feed puppies, walk them for 45 mins, 10 mins training with each
Have Tea, do some batch cooking
Run DD to work
Look out some things to list on ebay
General tidy up etc
Bath and Bed!!!

I'll make time to come back on here and give an update. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the evening and has a great day tomorrow.

Night, night.

Midnight x

strawerry2603

hiya Midnight

I am really enjoying all your diary entries. I feel like I am cracking up and got no where to turn but you seem to be keeping sane!! How on earth do you manage??? Im keeping a very brave face on for the outside world but when I am at home I'm so stressed out. My poor daughter gets the brunt of it most of the time and then I feel guilty.

I just take each day at a time and try and get through. I've no idea what to do about Christmas as i dont want to have to tell all my friends about my situation but i also guess that if they are friends they will understand.

Anyway thanks to anyone who has read this wee rant and hope you are all having a great day

Keep up the good work Midnight and i look forward to reading more of your diary.

Sandra

*zippy*

Sandra ((hugs)) to you, sorry you are having a difficult time. Its been a few days so hope you are feeling a bit better today. With regards Christmas we bit the bullet and told people we wouldn't be buying this year, everyone was lovely and some relieved they didn't have to buy for us this year. The other thing you could do if you don't want to say anything is make some homemade gifts, there are loads of ideas on the special occassion board.

Midnight hope you are ok. Hope you don't mind me asking, but how many hours is your second job, £600 extra is very impressive :T

Midnight_Sky_2

Hi Sandra and welcome aboard!! (((hugs))) to you!! I know exactly how you feel, believe me I've been there and I'm still wearing the tee shirt!

How old is your daughter? Is she old enough to understand and have a sensible chat with, or is she still too young for that? Maybe you could post your SOA and we could have a look at it for you - it's amazing what a couple of dozen fresh pairs of eyes can see that you might not.;)

As for Christmas, like Zippy, I'm planning to tell everyone that I'm not buying presents this Christmas - to be honest, I think the credit crunch is crippling a lot of people and whether they're showing it or not I believe a lot of people are in dire straights with their finances. I'm going to explain to family and friends that because everything (ie gas, petrol, food etc) has taken such a hike in price that I'm not giving presents this year, but I'm also going to suggest instead of giving each other gifts, that we wait until summer when we can have a really nice day out somewhere - ie a day at the seaside or something. (I'm sure most of them will appreciate that more than a box of overpriced chocolates or something equally daft!) I'll let you know how I get on with that!

A good idea for grandparents, aunts etc, is a homemade photoframe with a picture of your daughter - it's far more personal and people will think more of a gift like that than a shop bought trinket.

But whatever you do, you just hang tough hun, it will get better, I promise you! Please don't worry about what friends think - as you say if they're true friends they won't judge you! Keep posting and let us know how you're doing!


Hi Zippy, My part time job is (wait for it) approx 27 hours a week - but it's three nightshifts a week so it doesn't seem so bad (as you know I'm a bit of an insomniac anyway so I might as well get paid for it:rotfl: :rotfl: ). I also work during the day (Mon - Thur...very occasionally a Friday afternoon). OH says it would just be easier to find a full time job paying the same wage as the two jobs put together, but that's easier said than done. I'm working approx 63 hours a week - it sounds horrendous but it's not as bad as it seems - I still get enough sleep (don't seem to need that much sleep) and I still have plenty of spare time to myself. As long as I need the money I have to keep going at it., I'm afraid :rolleyes: . How did you get on at your new job yesterday?

Got to dash - need to catch to post office to post a letter recorded delivery!

lunar

Hi Midnight, was just having a nosy and thought iwould pop in to your diary to say hello, and well done for your progress so far. I think most people need that lightbulb to flicker for a bit before we really truly get it, then there is no turning back. I took a second job at the start of my debt free journy and it really helped give me a kick start.

Midnight_Sky_2

Hi Lunar, thanks for that and well done on reducing your debt so much in a year! If I can do the same I'll be delighted! And good luck in 15 days time! Do you know what you're having?

Well, I'm working tonight, but don't start until 10 so I'm just sitting chilling and having a nosy through everyone's diaries - it seems that everyone is very determined to reduce their debt and it really makes me determined to stick to this and do the same.

Not much I can do this week regarding the debt - I don't get paid again until the 9th and then I'll just be paying off as much as I can. I'm going to try to get some stuff on ebay at the weekend. I've got tons and tons of stuff which is just cluttering up the house, so hopefully that should bring in a few extra pounds.

I've been keeping a spending diary and I'm shocked at how much money I'm still frittering away on a load of rubbish - so I'm determined to have at least 2 NSD's next week.

Hope everyone has a good evening!!!

*zippy*

Evening :hello:

Oh well done you :T I did look at some 27 hour jobs, but thought it might be too much, mine is 16 hours over 4 nights, it should give us an extra £250 a month, its gone ok, they are a nice crowd and its not hard work, which for a second job is perfect

I think alot of people are worried about Christmas this year and will be very relieved if someone is brave enough to suggest that they leave or cut down on the present buying. Someone I told thought Christmas wouldn't be the same, but I feel a huge weight has been lifted and we can enjoy a family Christmas without the commercialism that normally takes over...wonderful!

zippy x