Stop press: my DFW diary

Pamela1705

Hmm.

It's not been going as well as I'd hoped. :mad:

Horrendous toothache meant a visit to the dentist, with a £75 bill. Just managed to avoid putting it on my credit card by rejigging a few things in my budget, but it's meant that I'm going to be left right to the wire between now and payday.

If I stick to my budget, I should avoid adding to my debt, which is obviously a start, but making headway this month and next on reducing it is going to be tough.

It's all because I'm an eejit and it seems that I do not understand the definition of false economy!!! Bloody Ryanair sent me an email a few months back with some good deals, so the other half and I are off to Madrid for a tenner :j. BUT then a few days ago I got another email from them with more deals. Booked a trip home to Ireland for £2 return. Which is fab. Until I realise that the flight is two days before I go to Madrid.

So I'm in Ireland for two days, home for a day, then in Madrid for three, which is going to cost me a ridiculous amount of money. Won't have to pay for accommodation in either of the places - family and friends have obliged there - but I feel like a numpty because of the to-ing and fro-ing from airports etc etc etc.:eek:

So it's not good really, in terms of debt busting. I've worked out my budget, and I don't think I'll be adding to the debt, but the fact that it's sitting there is doing my head in!

Sorry for the moan, just having a nightmare at the mo.

Pamela1705

Hello again,

Been really stressed out lately, don't know why. Had horrendous migraine yesterday and had to be sent home from work. Lay in bed all day feeling sorry for myself, but am feeling a lot better now. On the plus side, it meant I had to cancel plans to go out with my friend for tea. Obviously, I really wanted to go, but it did save me some money at least!

Feeling a bit better financially as managed to get some freelance work, which will be about £100 or so. Not sure when that will come in, so can't really depend on it, but when it does, I'm going to throw half of it at the debt total and the other half on some new work clothes.

Also managed to sell £40 worth of stuff on amazon. Spent about a tenner on postage already, but every little helps. That's hopefully going to fill the gap made by the two trips I've got planned next month.

Feeling a bit disheartened but I think that's more to do with my health than with debt-busting. Still, onward and upward :rolleyes:

Pamela1705

Hello all,

It's not been too bad lately, debt-busting wise. Just plodding on through, so nothing much to report.

I'm not complaining, because things are on track, at least for now, but I just wondered if anyone had any tips? Basically, my problem is that I get paid monthly, and when I get paid, I am all over the debt-busting. It's great, I get things paid off, reduced, whatever! I'm really happy about that. :T

But sometimes it can feel like ages til payday, and although I've totally changed my habits so that I am saving a lot of money on things like groceries and things like that, I sometimes get a bit impatient, willing payday on, not because I'm skint but because I want to get cracking on this debt.

I'm really pleased with how it's going, don't get me wrong, and I don't want to seem like I'm complaining, but I wondered if anyone had any tips on how to deal with that feeling - impatience?

helnag

Just to say hi,

I'm afraid I don't have any advice re: the impatience. I'm the same, hate that I feel like I'm not actually doing anything to pay it off half the time although I am lucky in that I get tax credits weekly so that eases it a bit but it's not always spare.

Anyhoo, just wanted to say you sound like you're doing really well so far, try not to get disheartened.

Helen. xx

Sun_Addict

Hi Pamela

Read your diary all the way through today and have subscribed to it to see how you are getting on.

I know exactly how you feel re being impatient to pay off debt. I never know how much I'll be able to pay off until the end of the month when I add up mine and OH's income. As OH is a self employed construction worker who hasn't got a lot of work on at the moment, I can't even begin to forecast how much money there will be in the pot at the end of the month and it is so frustrating! I get paid monthly and get the same every month so at least one stream of income is constant. I just seem to live from month end to month end and it all seems so flat in between. One thing I do do is try to save some cash each week from my grocery budget to go towards debt - it's never that much but so far this month I've managed to save £30 so it's better than nothing and at least I feel like I'm doing something in between paydays.

I've even tried forgetting about it and just trying to live normally for the rest of the month but it's on my mind all the time. I've got my own diary and I'm trying to only update it weekly now as I'm spending far too much time updating daily when nothing worth reporting has happened. I feel like I'm becoming obsessed!

Well done on what you've achieved so far! :T

Pamela1705

Hurrah for pay-day!!! :j

Dead pleased today. Not going on a big debt-busting bender this month because I have a few big expenditures, but I have just paid off a credit card I've had since I was a student! It's only £100 and there's plenty more debts to get cracking on, but it's actually a really nice feeling :j

I've not been feeling great lately, so this has been such a boost to me. It seems now that every pay-day I get quite a bit done - last month I cleared my Zopa, and this month it is a credit card. Am just about to go and get the scissors and cut it up! Honestly though, I feel like doing a jig! :rotfl:

Pamela1705

OOOOH, I just went to update my signature to show how much I'd paid off, when I realised it's now nearly £1,000. Very pleased with self!:beer:

Sun_Addict

Well done Pamela! :T

I had three credit cards this time last year and have managed to get it down to just one. It's a great feeling - now if I could only get rid of this one! :rolleyes: I won't be able to pay a lot off my debt this month as holiday savings have to come first as we go 6 weeks tomorrow but I keep telling myself no matter how small the payment it all helps. Hoping to apply this philosophy to saving when the debt has gone!

Pamela1705

Day off today... was supposed to be having a lie-in but our landlord decided he wanted to bring the builders in, so I am up and I am VERY grumpy :eek:

Have been thinking a lot about my DFW journey and just wanted to see if anyone else felt the same. Since I started the DFW stuff I've had an unbelievable amount of success -paid off a lot of debt, though there is still quite a bit to go - but more importantly, I've changed the way I view debt and the way I think about money. That has been imperative and it is totally down to this board, I think, because it has helped me to stop and think about what I'm spending and why.

It's just that sometimes I feel ecstatic about my progress and want to jump around telling people how wonderful I am, and others I feel really impatient and annoyed with myself because it's taking so long. From reading other people's threads, I know this is a common feeling, but I wondered if anyone had worked out what triggers certain feelings.

For example, about this time next year (hopefully!!) I'll be debt free. It's just that sometimes I think - I'll be debt-free in a year, hurrah!! :j and other times I think, it's going to take a WHOLE year, humph :mad:.

I'm generally a very positive person, and the grumpy moments are usually rare, but I'm just trying to work out what triggers them and wondered if anyone else had a similar thing going on? x

Sun_Addict

Hi Pamela

I'm up early too to say I'm also off work today (have had the whole of this week off actually).

I know exactly how you feel about having the odd grumpy moment. I'm usually very positive but now and again I start to think about my situation and it gets me down. I should also be DF this time next year but it frustrates me that although my debt is very small I can only pay it off in small quantities due to OH's job being hit by the recession. It should have been cleared by now if things were normal. But as we are around £1000 a month worse off than we were this time last year it's a bonus to be not adding to the debt never mind paying it off! I have the odd rant on my own diary from time to time and I find it makes me feel better. This time next year seems so near yet so far so I know how you feel. If one good thing has come out of all this it's that I will never waste money again like I used to.

Sometimes it gets me down when I can't buy the things I used to be able to - every penny we spend has to be thought about - even just going for a coffee, but I know that things have got to improve soon we can't stay in this recession for ever. However, when OH's work picks up we MUST start saving more and learn a lesson from this situation. I feel at the moment we are just existing not really living and just waiting for things to change.

Just think how fast a year goes by. This time next year you will look back on today and it won't seem like five minutes ago.:) All you've got to think is at least your debt is getting smaller step by step.

Hope you cheer up soon and enjoy your day off - it's supposed to be warm and sunny this afternoon!