Like a rubber ball !

Different_Corner

But this time I'm here to stay. Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
Had a few LBM, but figure they were like fairy lights. Been a diary lurker for a while. Been motivated and inspired by many of you . Tried blogging, but thats just a little too trackable/identifiable.

I have a total debt of £28,911.60 over 4 cards and one loan. In the past 15 months I've paid off over £7k, but it's been that figure for nearly 5 months. I've hit a rut, where emergencies have been thrown on credit cards. I say emergencies - it's just poor budgeting. You know leccy/gas bills, MOT's, etc.

I find myself a lone parent after a sad loss, have two wonderful teenage sons, and a lovely family network. I have a bit of a dead end job, and am desperately searching for something new, but as we all know, it's not that easy at the moment. But life tends to happen so I won't stop searching.

I've adopted a very positive attitude in the last year, and as things start to settle down in the emotional sense I know I've got to stick with it. No more short lived attempts at this. I have to learn how to budget.

Cash seriously burns a hole in my pocket, I have to learn new techniques.
I've been paying back tax credits over payment at £100 a month for the last 10 months, next month is the final payment. That £100 will make so much difference, but only if I keep my eye on the ball.

My efforts at a spending diary are pathetic, three days in and I'm lost under a mountain of receipts, I have old spreadsheet files from days gone by that are started in eagerness and left to their own devices, clogging up my disk drive ! I've joined many a challenge and slowly drifted away.

Self sabotage.

My goal is to be DF for Xmas 2013, a year earlier would be great, but this job thing needs dealing with.

Thanks for reading

hypno06

Hiya hun!

I think you have done remarkably well over the past year or so - so what if your debt has stayed the same for 5 months? It has not gone up, and you have had more than most of us have had to deal with, so in my book that is worthy of a huge pat on the back.

You are very definitely making strides in the right direction - and once you find the method of having your backside kicks that works for you (welcome to diaryland!) those figures will come a tumbling down!

The main thing is, as you say, you have adopted a positive attitude. Life happens, and you will deal with it. Crap happens, and you will deal with that too. But good things happen as well, and you will embrace them.

x

Different_Corner

Thanks Hypno.

Whilst walking with the my four legged friend this morning. I gotta thinking as they say.
I have an addictive nature, many things have completely overtaken my life, from alcohol, cigarettes to Sims on the PC , and bejeweled blitz on facebook !
I think it's about time I threw myself into MSE addiction.

I want/need to post everyday day. So may I apologise in advance for the lunacy you may find amongst my ramblings

hypno06

Being addicted to moneysaving is one of the more healthy ones I reckon.

I know I am addicted - it is the first thing I do when I get up in the morning.......and I get tetchy if someone else is on my laptop - but then I reckon it is this that is keeping me on the debtbusting path so well, so it can't be a bad thing, can it!

Anyway - luncay is good. We can cope with lunacy

Different_Corner

Pleased.

Because I made a decision. All by myself ! A rare thing for me to feel happy or confident about. Had to replace a fence panel in the garden, was looking very wobbly and falling to bits.

I have a dog, who is naughty, very fast and a bit of a nutter. I had a premonition the other day. When that fence takes a battering from the wind it's going to fall. I will let the dog out one cold winter morning, will realise some 10 minutes later that he hasn't come back in. All chaos will ensue when I start running around this quiet Dorset town, flapping about in my freebie nescafe dressing gown !

The price for this peace of mind ? £30. Prevention is better than cure. I must remember that.

Today I must see what I have on Amazon, can't even remember. I am attempting a NSD. Catching up with little domestic duties. Maybe a bit of hotspot clearing, and mowing my 'nice secure' garden lawn.

I have £52 left for the week. That could be a lot, if I get it right. Menu plan is started but not quite in full flow. ie I'm only up to Monday. Struggling for new ideas. The cupboards are already bare after a week of the school holidays.

My biggest downfall remains smoking. £84 a month. Thats my leccy/gas payments. If I'm totally honest I don't think I ever really include that in any budgets (smoking that is) because I always think I'll be stopping soon.

Mmmm, a mish mash of thoughts this morning.
Off to see what you are all up to.

hypno06

You have to be realistic about the smoking - even if you are intending giving it up next week, for example, this week it still forms part of your spending, so must be budgeted and accounted for.

If you are missing £84 a month out of your SOA, you will forever be "out" when you look at the actual spends, and that can be quite demotivating and frustrating because you are never able to stick to budgets, or never seem to have enough money left, even though the figures show that you should be able to do it.

So, however much you intend to stop (or not), put that in your SOA and then you will have much more chance of achieving your budgetted spends etc.

I agree with the fence panel though - for £30, piece of mind is far more important.

Good luck with the NSD today!

Fire_Fox

What support have you been offered with stopping smoking? On the NHS there is now one-to-one or group counselling to help address the habits that enable/ encourage you to smoke, and numerous different medications to stop the physical cravings. Seeking assistance is twice as effective as willpower alone. :beer:

kirstenc

The first thing I would like to say is Hi :beer:

and to let you know that if my ramblings have been anything to go by, lunacy is almost an entry test onto MSE!! I am looking forward to see how you get on, and would like to wish you all the best

I quit smoking over a year ago now, with willpower alone but it was tough and i think it would have been easier if i had some help with it. In the meantime through, I agree that you should make sure it is budgeted for so that when you stop, you have EXTRA money rather than not noticing the difference!

anyway, good luck :T

turfy6

Hi DC I too am quite new to the diary, but have been a bit of a lurker since I joined in Oct 08.
I too am now addicted to MSE this is good!!
Brillian for debtbusting, but it does has its downside too, I find the housework suffers as does the dieting. But hey ho we will all get there in the end you know and a positive attitude is what we need here.

They are a great bunch of people and offer loads of advice and support.
Welcome again and I'll pop and see you again. Glad you joined us.:T

Different_Corner

Good Morning

And thanks for the positive comments. The smoking. I know I can do this, without NRT. The physical 'addiction' is nothing, it's just the reward cycle I need to break.

Turfy. housework, ugh, I try but it's the Forth bridge scenario here. I did actually manage to get 15 yr DS to get rid of rubbish in his bedroom, rumour has it he may be taking the dyson up there today. I have to becareful though because I may not see it again, once it enters the the abyss....

Kirsten - so I pass on the lunacy entrance exam then ? Well done the stopping for the last year. Yes I should budget for the cigs, it's like a denial.

Hypno, failed on the NSD. £12.63, on bits, only essentials were under a fiver.

Burned myself out by lunchtime yesterday, cut lawns, washing, ironing, dog walking etc. By 2pm I had the house to myself and became a couch potato with a lovefilm DVD. It's a simple pleasure to be able to watch a film without the interruptions of boys demanding food, water, location of trainers/keys/phones etc.

Now on to the hard stuff. I may have mentioned this several times before in old dead threads of mine (and a few blogs). The bain of my life is my Marbles CC, don't even know who owns them now. The interest rate on this beast has just reached 38.92%. I've had it since 2000, originally at 5.5%. I owe £7137.45 on it. I can't BT anywhere I defaulted at Christmas.
This is going to be my focus.

Snowball says it will be cleared by Sept 2012. If I could clear this one by Dec 2010 I would be in a good place. So looks like I'm in for the long haul..

Right need tea and a catch up.

Different_Corner

Been thinking again ! Wakling the dog has been very productive this weekend.
Now Snowball shows minimum payment on the beastie card next month should be £268.77, thats an overpayment of £88. So breaking this whole thing down into baby steps all I have to do is find the extra £88, and I have a month to do it. Already budgeted for the actual minimum payment of £188. Obviously anything else is a bonus.

Right then, quidco is promising £3.46 at the moment, hopefully a little more will be validated by the end of the month. I should dip my toe in to the £10 a day challenge, althought I'm not too good at maintaining my status on challenges I think I may have a little look.