My Debt Free, Lose Weight & Be Super Frugal Diary 2009

Bambywamby

Thank you Rags I am so pleased to have a job again, it really takes the worry away.

I might well pick your brains about nursing, thank you again. x x From what I gather though, I am probably too late for the September 2009 intake but I will know by the end of next week - if so there is always Sept 2010, so I will spend the next year getting those debts down. I would hate to be still heavily in debt with only a small bursary coming in.

ragstoricheswannabe

my intake was march.....................

Lemon_Tree

well done on the new job and hope the crb check arrives quickly. At least you're not round here cos i think it's taking quite a while down here at the moment.

Bambywamby

Well it has been quite a while since I last posted in my debt free diary. Over the past three years I have managed to lose four stone in weight (discovering the delights of a lowish carb diet) and I have had a beautiful little baby girl last August...however the debts are still here.:mad: We have paid off quite a bit (from £14'000 to £8037) but not as much as we hoped for and I hate to think of the interest we have paid in the process. So I am back using my diary to help keep me focused. This time I am a full time SAHM, studying O/U to finish my degree and aiming to pay off our remaining £8037 in outstanding debts as quickly as possible.
So "super frugal, super savvy, super Ebayer" is my new treble barrelled middle name.

Bambywamby

Up nice and early with the LO (5.15am:eek:) so after we had breakfast and a play I photographed a few of her dresses for Ebay and shall list them this evening.
I also stripped the last of a rubber chicken for lunch and put a wash on the line...I am very hopeful here as the sky is very grey but it's windy too so fingers crossed.
Today should see me obtaining a few pounds towards the CCs as I am selling a few of Bub's bits that she has outgrown to a friend. That will net me £24 towards debts...and of course it should be a NSD...the first of many. :TBam x

brummiebabe

Hi Bam - just caught up with your diary. Well done on the weightloss & the birth of your DD. how did you achieve the weight loss - did you cut out carbs altogether or just reduce them? Being nosy I know, but am wanting to lose a few pounds myself & am looking for tips:rotfl:

Good luck with your debt busting!! At least it's heading in the right direction:T

Bambywamby

Hiya Brummie Babe

Thank you.

Weightloss is thanks to three things...

1) Cutting back on carbs. I don't do Atkins etc as I refuse to cut back on fruit and veg but I did knock wheat, rice, sugar etc on the head. I did have the odd potato but in general my diet was meat, cheese, fish, nuts, seeds, eggs, plenty of fruit and veggies, mayo, pork scratchings and the odd bowel of fruit with double cream. After a week of eating like this I lost all my sugar cravings and the weight just seemed to drop off. (Four stone since December 1st 2011.)
I reached target about three weeks ago and now have two slices of toast a day for brekky and the rest of my meals are as above and I have still lost another pound. I find this quite liveable now and shall eat like this for good. My heartburn has totally cleared up and I have loads of energy...I love eat lowish carb.
2)30 - 45 minutes walk every day. That is all the exercise I do apart from chasing around after a 9 month old.
3)I didn't eat after 7pm as I had heartburn at bedtime. Stopping eating at 7pm was good for me as that used to be my snack time so it cut out those "binging" hours.

Eating low carb can intially be expensive but once you start stripping chickens into 4/5 meals, whisking eggs loads so your omelettes are big and fluffy then adding a small amount of grated cheese, making one tin of tuna into two salads (adding seeds for bulk) etc and when the urge to snack goes because your blood sugar levels are more balanced it is all very doable.

Good luck with your weightloss. xXXX

Bambywamby

Had a good money saving/making day today:

O/H had an extra day's paid leave due to a mess up at work, I sold four books on Ebay totalling £10 profit, stocked up on 47p baby wipes at Mr Ms (they are for sensitive skin and are paraben free) and superior to Pampers and Huggies imo, washed and dried a wash load on the line before the rain came and my Aunt said would like me to clean her house later this week for a few extra quid (straight to the CC debts .)
Walked to Mr Ms and back and took the dogs for a nice long walk so plenty of free exercise today too...(hoping to tone up after my 4 stone post baby weight loss.)

Off to watch England beat France on TV...:D

Bams x x

Bambywamby

I forgot to add I also added £2.89 to my online Mr A's account by using the AsdaPriceGuarenteethingymajig. Every little helps...wrong shop but still apt. x x

Ugnaught

I was using Google to search MSE about a 24 hour ban.
"24 hour ban" site:moneysavingexpert.com
then found your post...

Bambywamby wrote: »

Talking of money matters, my son keeps going out and leaving his lap top on. We have told him over and over to ensure that he turns his bedroom light off and his lap top off when they are not in use. But it goes in one ear and out of the other...so today, we have removed the power cable. I shall start with a 24 hour ban off the net and take it from there. I am just hoping he doesn't get withdrawl symptoms. :rotfl:
I know I would.

None of you lot have suggested a solution which doesn't require such stress.

Have you not tried setting the screen saver settings so that his laptop automatically switches off after say half an hour?

It's what I do, cos I just don't know when I might come back to my laptop.