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

sharronloves2spend

Oh bambywamby, just read your diary and i'm totally hooked!! We too are giving our credit cards the hev-ho. We did something which was probably quite risky and goes against advice given, but we consolidated all of our cards onto one loan and are paying it off over 2 years. The re-payments are more than our mortgage and we are s-t-r-e-t-c-e-d to the limit, but it will mean in two years we will be FREE of any debt other than the mortgage.

Was chuckling away at what you said to your husband re the jumpers and clothes, we had the same situation the other day. DH is having some old tatoos covered up with some spectactular and expensive artwork, he decided that sometime within the next 23 months that he could have 2 hours with the tatoo artist(at £60 per hour), to which i replied 'well i'll have a new pair of uggs then!!'....i don't think so matey untill 23 more payments are made you'll just have to wait!!!

Also can totally relate to your son, i have a 14 year old who is soooo selfish (and he wrestles with lions each night too lol) Sometime i just think where did i go wrong with him???? It's all about HIM, where he wants to go/do/see/eat. And it looks like i've got at least another 4 years of it!!!
I'm on weight loss too trying to shift baby weight...and she's nearly 6:eek: and i think it's harder now i'm in my thirtys, it doesn't shift so quick:mad:

Good Luck with your goals, i look forward to reading more
:T
Lots of love Sharron

Bambywamby

Cheers Sharron, nice to know you're on board. :T

I can't write as much as I would like today as I am off to work very shortly...yuk!
We actually considered a consolidation loan...pay off the cards and forget about it until the loan has finished but we really need to be debt free before we ttc. I probably will not be able to go back to work for a few years, so we are aiming for overpaying as much as possible throughout the next year.

If a consolidation loan suits you that's great, as long as you remember not to build up any debt on your now clear credit cards...I don't know if I could do that either. I am such a spender, the temptation to spend on a nice shiney, new credit card would be too much...I am hoping as we struggle and toil this year it will teach me not to be so frivilous and I learn some valuable lessons.


Yes teens are so selfish...and immature. If I ring his mobile and he is with friends, I can hear by his voice that he goes from total embarrassment to "must sound cool" in a nanosecond and says in a very exasperated voice, "Mother, must you keep ringing me, don't you have a social life or something?"
"No son, I just wanted to see what time you were coming in for your tea/have you eaten yet today?/why didn't you leave me that £20 you owed me that you promised you would etc"
Oh roll on to when he gets his own place...I can't wait.
However I have a slight concern because I didn't leave home until I was 28...I hope he doesn't take after me.:rotfl:

Typical men...spending money on tattoos...no doubt he sees that as a need, a desperate must have for the household and sod your weekly grocery bill. My O/H really, really, really, needs a leather jacket for his bike, even though he has spent £200 on a lovely waxed, waterproof, padded bike jacket last year. My O/H is that silly with money, he has three motorbikes...I think we may have to sell one to help feather our financial bed lol.

Tut, chatted too long again...I must dash to work.

Catch up with you lovely folks later

Have a good one,

Bam x x

ragstoricheswannabe

hi bamby, not planning any more babies, although if someone told me the next would def be a pink one i night reconsider...........who knows what i will feel like when both are at school all day............ not to scare you but my uncles still live with my nan and they are in their 40's!!!!!!!!!!!

sharronloves2spend

Ragstoritches, i have a little formula to get a girl..... controversal i know but after three boys i was desperate for a girl, bought a book 10 monthe later Claudia was born... Let me know if you want to know more!!

Bambywamby, ooo men eh!!!! I've got 4 to contend with!!!

Lots of Love Sharron

ragstoricheswannabe

ooh i am intrigued sharon.........

sharronloves2spend

A book called 'Choose the sex of your baby, the natural way' by Hazel Chesterman-Philips. It's all to do with the timing of ovulation and when you conceive, all backed by science. It just made so much sense.

The book has done the rounds with my family and friends and so far, so good. Off now to investigate to see if it's still in print..... catch you later

sharronloves2spend

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=choose+the+sex+of+your+baby+the+natural+way&x=13&y=20

Here it is!!!!

Bambywamby

I have put that link in my favourites too thank you Sharron, I would like a girl as I already have a boy and when we get around to ttc, it will come in very handy.

I have had a productive couple of days on the DFW front. I have put down for eight extra shifts at work (spread out over the next two months), I have eaten for free at work for the last two days, I have put all my wages in the bank this morning and will be paying some more off a card very shortly, my Ebay items are now selling for £62 (a slow but steady increase), I am working a night shift tonight, yesterday was a NSD and today probably will be too, I am posting an Ebay parcel today (I don't count the postage as expenditure as it has already been paid for) and I will be Ebaying several more items later. :T Yay! I need to step it up even more, or I won't be on target...I wonder how much I could get for a gobby teenager?;)


It's pittling down here today and I have three lots of washing to get dry, I have decided unless its an absolute emergency, the tumble dryer is a no go zone. So the two airers will be getting used, as will the radiators and the upstairs bannister...our house will look like a Chinese laundry but needs must.

Have aleady taken the dogs out for a good walk this morning and I am walking to work tonight so unless I drag my Reebok Step out as I have been promising myself I would, that will be my exercise for the day.

Right I am off for brekky...honey on toast and a cup of tea...c u soon. x x

sharronloves2spend

Well done with ebay sales:T Last year i made over a thousand pounds on stuff that would have previously gone to the charity shop. This year we are going to spain for a week in august (paid for before we got the consolidation loan) so i am aiming to get all of our spending money from ebay sales and carboots. I also do some ironing for other people so that's all going in the same tin.

Have you tried paying for your postage through paypal?? It's really easy and you don't have to put your hand in your pocket, it just comes out straight from your paypal account. I used to find that i would have to get a tenner out of atm machine to pay for postage then what was left would just evaporate!!

Well done on all the overtime, everylittle helps and takes you a step closer to you goals!!
Bye for now Sharron

Bambywamby

Ebay is fab isn't Sharron...the fees seem a bit steep but it's better than stuff just laying around the house not getting used. Where are you going in Spain? If you're working hard getting debt free right through to August, why not treat yourselves? Life is about living too...me & the O/H may have a break in July, IF we are on target to clear the debts this year and have paid at least half off. It will be a close call I think, but it's more of an incentive to clear the debts. We shall go for a cheap cancellation, somewhere hot & sunny. Hopefully darling son will have drastically grown up by then and will be able to look after our three dogs, if not is costs us £26 a day :eek: in kennels.

Just thought I would update my diary before toddling off to work.

I have paid another £120 off our credit cards today...very pleased. That will probably be it for a week until all my Ebay sales go through and Paypal coughs up.
O/H took me out to lunch today, he thought we deserved a small treat for working all the extra hours. He used his rugby reffing pocket money to pay and he even went without his bread & butter to save 59 pence...bless him, he is getting there. He chose tikka masala and I had roast chicken with veggies.
I am glad I am working tonight, I can't stand his breath after he has had a curry, the stench of garlic fills the bedroom and makes me want to puke...yuk! :rotfl:

I am taking some oat cakes and a couple of satsumas to work as a suppertime snack, I shall also check the overtime diary again for more shifts and shall enjoy plenty of cups of free tea tonight...pity the teabags they buy are floor sweepings quality.
I didn't get around to photographing anymore Ebay things today, I ended up getting to enwrapped in tidying the house, walking the dogs and reading up on my next course. No matter how tired I am tomorrow, I shall get some more stuff on Ebay...that is a promise to myself. I find it a real pain to list stuff, it's soooo snoozeworthy BUT I must get motivated and get it done.

My O/H (who is a train driver) has brought me some magazines home that were left on the train, so I won't need to buy any tonight for work. The magazines are LOOK...love the fashion and celeb gossip, MORE...a bit young for me and position of the fortnight is laughable (I stick to two positions, my favourite being the one where I can still see the Tv) and LOVE IT...very depressing, everybody in that mag has either had a loved one murdered or has married a love rat...but it may have some competitions in it, if not I will leave it at work for the other gals to read.

I have my two litre bottle of water filled with tap water to drink during the night and my son is taking me there as it is peeing down here...yes he does occasionally do the odd nice thing...however I am giving him a few pounds petrol money as he skint at the moment...it's cheaper than a taxi and there is no night bus.

I have done my checks, clicks, mooching on Freecycle and applied for a few freebies from the Freebies Board and that's about it ma cheries...c u tomorrow. :wave:

Bams x x

P.S for those Corrie watchers...Does Steve get found out tonight or Wednesday?...I can't wait!