My debt free diary...determined to do it for my girls!!

helnag

You don't have to thank me, I have now subscribed!!!

I know it is scary so well done for doing it, had looked for your diary before and then today I saw it and realised it was brand new.

I have a friend and an ex father in law who are both mechanics but now I've moved 45 minutes away it feels cheeky asking them. Plus the ex FIL has just had his hip replaced and isn't allowed under a car as yet!!!

I'll get there in the end though. To be honest I quite like not having a car cos it forces me to walk and I enjoy it once I'm doing it. If I didn't need it for work on a Friday I'd get shot but hours wise and geographically to drop both kids where they have to be and get to work on time it would be impossible without it. I wish I could get something smaller and cheaper now I have a small buggy but I'm tied into the finance and only have 15 months of a 49 month contract left, I've paid them over 10,000 already so I refuse to hand it back now lol.

Guess you'll be back on Tues, hope you have had a lovely long wknd and also hope the weather's been nice.

Helen xx

MissShoes

helnag wrote: »

You don't have to thank me, I have now subscribed!!!

I know it is scary so well done for doing it, had looked for your diary before and then today I saw it and realised it was brand new.

I have a friend and an ex father in law who are both mechanics but now I've moved 45 minutes away it feels cheeky asking them. Plus the ex FIL has just had his hip replaced and isn't allowed under a car as yet!!!

I'll get there in the end though. To be honest I quite like not having a car cos it forces me to walk and I enjoy it once I'm doing it. If I didn't need it for work on a Friday I'd get shot but hours wise and geographically to drop both kids where they have to be and get to work on time it would be impossible without it. I wish I could get something smaller and cheaper now I have a small buggy but I'm tied into the finance and only have 15 months of a 49 month contract left, I've paid them over 10,000 already so I refuse to hand it back now lol.

Guess you'll be back on Tues, hope you have had a lovely long wknd and also hope the weather's been nice.

Helen xx

Returning the favour and posting on your thread

helnag

MissShoes wrote: »

Returning the favour and posting on your thread

Thank you!! xx

helnag

Ooooh, how sad am I??

I'm at work at the moment, yes, on a bank holiday!!! It all helps.

Anyway, I've just done three months worth of spreadsheets so I know all my incomings and outgoings, it's a bit depressing really. (working really hard as you can tell, I love my job and my boss ). I haven't budgeted for any food or stuff cos I plan to just use the £50 I get child maintenance from my ex for food and general spendies. I also haven't budgeted for overpayments cos I feel I need to get to the point where I have a surplus before I start throwing extra at my debts. I need to get used to knowing exactly how much I have coming in and out before I can really plan any further on that front.

I know maybe I'm being a bit over ambitious with limiting myself to just £50 a week for food and stuff but the way my budget is I really can't afford any more, that's why I'm in this position. And as awful as this will sound, the temptation of using my debit cards is too much. I figure that over spending got me here so I kind of need to go cold turkey for a few months before I can start getting myself straight. I'm not gonna do anything as drastic as cutting up my debit card but I realise that when I just pop to Sainsburys for milk top ups I spend an extra 10, 20 on my card on stuff we don't need so I am removing them from my purse so that when I'm there I cannot grab any extras...We all know what it's like

My ex comes to see the kids on a Thursday so we've come to an agreement that he'll lend me his car for the time being for work on a Friday and sort the big one out for school. It means I can drive and stay at my Dads on a Thursday evening, drop the LO at nursery in the morning and drive back like normal on a Friday afternoon. He doesn't work on a Friday anyway so is happy to lounge at mine for the day. We're actually getting along a lot better which is great. It also means I have some time to sort out the car problem, although I haven't worked out the new job side of things but will manage for the time being, I have a few weeks of training before I start properly. My mum will be coming over to watch the kids when I'm training so I'll have her car for that.

I WILL GET THERE....

YummyMummy20

Wow you've got alot going on. Sounding very organised though!! :T
I tried doing that with my cards but my purse looked empty and it just didnt feel right so i used that as an excuse to buy a just-big-enough-for-cash-phone-keys-and-make-up bag

Grr at my laptop for not letting me post for ages... v confusing but ok now i think :rolleyes:

Going to really try and be good about money and my pre-summer diet once the Bank Holiday is out the way. I so cant wait til my mums back at work and i can re-clean all the bits that just arent right and start casually throwing things out again without her noticing

You got anything planned for the weekend?? Bummer about having to work today, bt your right, think of the money. Money =
I'm doing tonight, sat and sun nights this weekend and had to go in last night (my Boss bribed me with offers of free drinks and cash in hand).... pity me, i may not survive on 3hours sleep a night 4nights running, but Money =

YM20 x

helnag

Yeah that's the kind of thing I would have done pre MSE (buy a purse I mean). I'm good now, mind you I say that but I've got my friends lil one over tonight in exchange for having my eldest today and I've just ordered £20 worth of domino's pizza . My excuse is that it being a bank holiday Sainsburys is now closed and I promised pizza...ooops!!

nevermind, I need a life too and my money saving in ernest does not start til Tuesday when I get the £50 off my ex...3 days late but hey ho, guess it'll have to last longer that way.

I don't mind working on a bank holiday. I only work Fridays cos of my now distance from work so I kind of can't not go in. It's nice cos my boss isn't there on bank holidays as he plays golf so doesn't keep side tracking me with odds and sods that he feels are vital but aren't. I can go in and just get through what I need to do. Which today involved mucho tidying and filing, which also means I then have loads of work to bring home with me which = more hours, which then = more money !! The office has become a bit of a state since I cut my hours so it's nice to give it half a blitz!!

Shame you're working all weekend I'd be hopeless working at nights cos I cannot function on less than 7 hours). Dreading what I'll be like when I start my 2nd job, I've done it on and off over the last 5 years so I know I'll be exhausted, maybe I'll have to become less house proud? Just trying to imagine how happy I'll be when I'm debt free and my money's mine....sigh....one day.

Oh well don't work too hard, can your mum or dad not take over with the LO so you can catch up during the day? Or are you like me and even if they did would you not be able to sleep anyway. I hate that, I'm always shattered but offer me a nap and I just can't do it lol.

xx

helnag

Oooooh, I've just banked another £64.50 out of my sealed jar. VERY satisfying!!!

I'm starting to scare myself, I just walked over to Sainsburys cos I have a chronic ear ache and wanted to see if I could get anything from the chemist ( I couldn't... ). Anyway cos of the weather and the fact I don't put the heating on anymore I had a quick look at clothes airers, there was one for £9.99 but I just couldn't part with my money. It felt strange that I just couldn't bare the thought of spending £9.99, can only be a good thing.

Happy Saturday all.

MissShoes

helnag wrote: »

Oooooh, I've just banked another £64.50 out of my sealed jar. VERY satisfying!!!

I'm starting to scare myself, I just walked over to Sainsburys cos I have a chronic ear ache and wanted to see if I could get anything from the chemist ( I couldn't... ). Anyway cos of the weather and the fact I don't put the heating on anymore I had a quick look at clothes airers, there was one for £9.99 but I just couldn't part with my money. It felt strange that I just couldn't bare the thought of spending £9.99, can only be a good thing.

Happy Saturday all.

Afternoon Helnag- 64.50 from your sealed jar? I think I need to do this- what;s it all about??

xx

YummyMummy20

I have to nap if/when he does, it's turning into a bit of a battle to get him to nap somedays even though hes tired though. I don't get on with my mum and I don't like the affect she has on him, she doesn't look after him if I do have to leave him with her, just shouts at him when hes doing something she doesn't like or being too loud. She works in childcare and still can't cope with him. He's getting an attitude problem at when shes around and comes out with things like 'your doing my head in' and 'I cant be bothered with you' which I can only assume he's learnt from her and the stupidly-fringed council woman still won't be remotely helpful in getting us out of here. All shes bothered about is telling me about all the sponging grants I could apply when i've got somewhere, I don't want anything off the social fund thing...I just want a roof over our heads that I can afford to keep there. Sorry, rant over!

Got in rather late/early last night/this morning, walking home from work, we were thinking it was rather foggy, turned round the corner and there was loads of smoke right near my friends house, round the corner from mine. He decided we had to run which i really wasn't impressed about. Turns out some idiot set fire to the old old folks home, don't the scum around here have better things to do at half 3 in the morning?? The firemen were too busy putting up gazebos and presentation-type charts rather than putting the fire out and they wouldn't let us walk the normal home and made us fence hop through peoples gardens, again i wasn't impressed. So i'm extra tired today

Had an NSD yesterday - v proud. Have to go food shopping today though and will probably need to get a taxi home from work later so won't today.

Your right about the pizza thing, theres no point depriving yourself of everything, it would be so hard to keep up.

Hows it going with cigs? Still smoke-free?

YM20 x

helnag

MissShoes wrote: »

Afternoon Helnag- 64.50 from your sealed jar? I think I need to do this- what;s it all about??

xx

Hi, it's one of the challenges on here...will post a link but whether it works is anyone's guess...I'm hopeless with computers...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1327603

Basically I just use a couple of old jars and tape them up, I have one for my home learning college and one for christmas and one for holiday savings.

When they get a bit full I cash them up and they go in various savings accs.

I do put quite a lot in because I reason I'd rather it was in there than being spent on rubbish and I've had my parents putting the odd £5 or even £20 note which obviously helps. I think I started mine on 9th March and I've already cashed up £119.50. I did have another £30 in 20ps and smaller but wasn't in the mood to faff so just put them back in the jar.

I think there's a specific date that we're all meant to open them and total up but not sure when.

xx