Time to take back control!!

Snowdonlily

Hi! I found this forum by accident last year and I've been a long term lurker and been hooked ever since!

I've never ever posted anything anywhere before but reading the encouragement and support you give each other has been a real eye opener.

I had my LBM a few days ago after months and months of telling myself if I don't think about it its not happening I told my husband about my debt. He wasn't pleased....... and the atmosphere is very frosty at home at the moment!

Tonight, after reading some advice given to someone else on the forum, I sat down and filled in an SOA.

I owe £13,013.62.............I feel really shameful about this. I have absolutely no excuse its just too much spending plain and simple. A few unpleasant things happened, so I bought into the "stick it on the plastic and pay it back later" mindset..... which makes you feel better in the short term but in the long term it just takes all your money and your problems are still there, only you're worse off!

My debt will probably seem quite small to some people on here but I want to tackle it before it gets out of control. I'm meeting all my payments at the moment, but I'm fed up of not having any money left at the end of the month.

So thats it....... I've come clean....I'm hoping this diary will give help me do two things......the most important is take control of my spending and the other is take control of my eating.

My thinking is, if I lose some weight, I'll start feeling better about myself which I hope will stop me wasting money on stupid things I don't really need.......and if you guys know what I'm doing, I won't be able to cheat!


Thanks for reading

toolittletime

Hi! Well done on starting your diary! I started mine this week and really think it's the way to go. Like you I'm hoping my diary will spur me on to not only clear my debts but lose some weight too! Will be interested to read how you're getting on - maybe we can help spur each other on.

One thing I'm going to try to do over the next few days is put together a SOA (statement of affairs). I'm sure some clever person will be along with a link - not sure how to do them.

Good luck - I look forward to reading how you're getting on!

princesscici

Hi well done on starting your diary !! look forward to reading it !!

Snowdonlily

Hi! Well done you too on starting a diary and thanks for reading mine. Any encouragement to stick to no spending and no eating junk will be brilliant!

Isnt it funny how I can tell everyone how much money I owe but I can't bring myself to tell how much I weigh!

Good luck with your SOA, I've tried to do mine but not sure how to post it.. (I'm a complete novice!).

ZiggyStardust_2

Hello Snowdonlily, and welcome! :hello:

I've recently started a diary as well and hoping it will keep me motivated!

Are you planning a budget/looking at ways to cut back?

Snowdonlily

Hi ZiggyStardust...yes, I have, the first step is stop buying clothes for me and stuff for my boys that they don't need.

Tomorrow I'm going to take my own slimming lunch into work and not spend anything in my lunchhour.

I have a day off on Sunday so hopefully I won't spend anything.

Monday is payday, and my plan is to transfer money into my (empty) ISA to cover the monthly expenses, such as car insurance, tax and birthdays etc.

My car tax and insurance are due in Sept so I won't have time to save for this years' but it will give me a headstart on next year.

Good luck with your diary!

ZiggyStardust_2

That sounds really positive...I think as soon as you start making changes it easier get easier! Mine and hubby's main problem has always been spending too much money on takeaways and eating out (really scares me to think how much we've spent!!):eek:

hypno06

Hi and welcome!

Once you take control of eating/spending it is really quite a powerful feeling! And we find that the two do often go hand in hand - self esteem has an awful lot to answer for!

Posting in your diary will really help as you can rant, laugh, cry - whatever you need to do!

Also, remember that little steps all add up - so just taking in lunch one day, is a little step......and it will save you money while you don't go and spend money on crap, so that is two little steps.

Do that every day of the working week, and you have taken 10 little steps....which is actually the same as one bloody great big leap

Snowdonlily

Good morning hypno06

Who'd have thought I'd be posting my diary BEFORE work! The positive thinking on here must be catching so thank you very much.

My home made salad is looking much nicer than the rubbish you buy at work so I hope I can keep it up.

I'd better go, have a good day everyone.

hypno06

haha - hooked already! The first thing I do EVERY morning is to log onto MSE - it is what keeps me on the straight and narrow!

Enjoy your salad - report back later to say that you spent nothing........

Snowdonlily

Well........I'm back, another day done and thankfully a day off tomorrow.

I lasted the whole day without spending anything (I even read someone else's newspaper!) until I got to my mum and dad's on the way home and forgot the local farmer always drops off a dozen fresh eggs on Saturday........so I had to spend £2 but they really are delicious!....(do eggs count?).

I've also just been to Tescos and spent £42 on petrol (maybe petrol doesn't count?).

I finally got to eat my salad at 2.40 which was lovely and healthy but I have to come clean and admit to the glass of wine in front of me......and after a mad day I can't promise it will be the last!

I've borrowed a DVD from a friend to keep me busy tonight 'cos a glass of wine can easily lead to internet shopping if I'm home alone!

Hopefully tomorrow will give me time to list some things on ebay....and have a dig around in the attic to see if I can do a car boot over the Bank Holiday.

It feels really good to be doing something, so here's to my first full day of moneysaving!