I want to break free........

BADPENNY_2

Just updated my signature, have only managed to pay 1476 since october and that has been my loan repayments. My credit card debt has increased due to christmas. any way new start and all that.

£88.20 = thats what i have calculated that i spend per month on ciggs
£176.40 = thats what oh spends per month on ciggs
£264.60 = thats what we both spend per month on ciggs
£3175.20 =thats what we spend per year on ciggs
£15,876.00 = thats what 5 years worth of smoking costs.

NOW i understand where all of our debt has come from, unable to afford the weekly shop due to smoking = use credit card

unable to afford a holiday due to smoking = use the credit card
want a new tv = use credit card
can't pay gas bill - need cash for cigs = use credit card
need some ciggs - no money - use credit card.

had a bit of a restless night, oh tossing and turning all night, i'm sure down to the nicotine cravings. I am on day off today and am feeling confident I won't smoke but I am hoping and praying oh won't give in. should also be another nsd for me today as I don't have to go anywhere and have enough food in.

Targets for today are,

1, clean and tidy house
2, washing on airers
3, must contact united utilities regarding £48 they say I havn't paid (i have)
4, work out if I have enough money to last until next friday in current account for direct debits
5, find 5 items for e-bay and list them
6, clothes ready for work tommorrow
7, lunchs ready for work tommorrow
8, sort out 1 cupboard/drawer

thats it for now, need to get started.

BADPENNY_2

Just finished typing a long post and lost it all, so annoying.

anyway in a nutshell a quick update of todays moneysaving/tasks completed

1, not smoked and neither has oh, he updated me at lunch time
2, a no spend day
3, a nice clean up of house, not really moneysaving I know but if i have nice clean surroundings i will be less stressed and therefor won't be reaching for the cigs.
4, boiled some eggs for egg mayo sandwichs tommorrow.
5, emailed united utilities regarding missing £48, was nice but assertive

not done ebay and not going to today. If i can learn to manage the cash i have got before i generate any more i will be better off otherwise it will just get frittered away. As you can see from my calculations in my earlier post if me and my oh succeed at not smoking we have in effect given ourselves a whopping big pay rise. So for today i have done the best thing moneysaving for me and am now going to reward myself with a nice cup of coffee, a chocolate brownie and an hour or so of mse time. Life once again is good!

BADPENNY_2

So far so good, day 3 and its all going well. me and oh still both not smoking. not quite a no spend day as had to fork out 46p for some chewing gum and oh spent 20p on the daily star. thats a big turnaround for us both, normally we would of spent £10 on cigs bettween us, lunch money and coffee money would total nearly £20 bettween us per day!

money saving tasks for today.

1, no smoking
2, packed lunchs for both of us
3, no shop bought coffees
4, tea from freezer/cupboard
5, £1 into money box, 4p into change jar.

gilligansyle

WOW how focussed are you!!

Well done on the no smoking, the bit about the = use credit card made me chuckle a bit.

BADPENNY_2

Another succesful day!!!!!!!

No smoking for both of us. I am so proud of my oh, he is so determined to stay of the fags and he keeps saying that he can't belive how easy it has been and he has not really been feeling any pangs at all. I think he is really shocked at how much money he has saved as he hasn't been to the cash machine all week and has worked out he will only go overdrawn this month by about £15 as opposed to about £100 - £150, so this is what is motivating him i think.

not really a no/low spend for me today, spent £1.50 in boots at lunch time for some sweets and then £3.50 in co-op on way home for some choc/crisps for this evening - total spend £5.00 so bit naughty really.

managed to avoid my regaular take out coffee again today so another pat on the back from me to me.

took my lunch to work with me/ tea from freezer/ cupboard

not going out tonight so bit of a quiet one for me.

Gilliansyle- just noticed you have a diary so my next project is start working my way through that, starting tonight i think.

x

BADPENNY_2

Day 6 today of the non - smoking plan and its still going to plan:j not one sneaky fag has passed our lips. Its becoming a little bit easier each day, I actually didn't feel any pangs today untill about 5pm this evening. tommorrow it will be one week but can't wait until payday when we will really start to see the difference finacially.

:eek: just checked my bank account and halifax have taken £14 of me for my overdraft charges last month. OMG i can't afford this every month, I am now £9 short for direct debit due to be taken out on thursday but oh is only 44p overdrawn at the moment(the advantages of being a non smoker, he is usually about £100 at least overdrawn the week before payday) so he has agreed to lend me £10 to cover the balence. Really need to try and get this overdraft down further now. Managed £150 last month, don't know how much i'll be able to afford this month thou as just had our gas/elec bill £297 and the car needs some new front tyres £155 so think this month might be a bit tight. No council tax this month tho :j

Money saving activity for Monday.

no take out coffee this morning (macdonalds have put their coffee up by 10p) so made my own in work, tasted better!

took lunch in - just bought choc bar and packet of fruit sweets for afternoon suger rush £1.25

no bus fares today - lift there and back from oh

tea from freezer/cupboard.

think thats about it for now, counting down the days untill pay day on friday and then week off next week. can't wait.

Sun_Addict

Fantastic!!! Badpenny you and your OH are doing so well! At least now he's on board you're not going it alone! :beer: It's been so much better for me since my OH realised we're not millionaires and actually need to live within our means and not beyond.

BADPENNY_2

I have 1.87 to last me until friday:eek: of which i need to pay £1.70 bus fare on Thursday. Can I do this?????. I am off tommorrow so can easily manage a nsd but things are running a bit low (milk ect).

day 7 today of the no smoking and all is well, i am irritable too but oh is coping great, he actually seems really happy but I am having pangs even thou he was a heavier smoker than i ever was..

moneysaving activity for today - not much

transfered £10 borrowed from oh into bank acccount to cover direct debit
made coffee in work
took lunch in

thats about it -day off tommorrow, can't wait.

gilligansyle

Keep it up, you are doing really well.

On the no smoking front - what are you doing with the money you are saving? What I mean is are you just thinking "20 a day is a fiver so thats £35 a week so will save over a hundred a month" or are you actually putting the money to one side. A friend of mine who gave up used to put, a few years ago, £25 in an envelope every Monday, which was the money he would have spent on cigs. Otherwise it just disappeared into the bank account. Then he would go and pay £100 or so off a card with it and feel a sense of satisfaction. Just a thought.

Sun_Addict

Hi Badpenny - is it feasible to walk to work on Thursday? I started walking the 3 miles to work every day a couple of years ago, I stick my iPod on and away I go. It was hard at first but I wouldn't dream of catching the bus now.