Not Tiny, Not Courageous, but definitely in debt

tiny_courageous

It's absolutely throwing it down and freezing. I've had to put the heating on to get the last of the washing dried. It's absolutely ridiculous. It'll only be on for an hour but still.

Am going to enlist OH in doing some sorting out of the house this afternoon (might as well make the most of the bank holiday).If nothing else, if we can get the dehumidifier up and running in the spare room and get rid of some of the stuff in there that would make a great start. We have so much stuff that's never used! In fact, all the stuff in the spare room aside from the Xmas decorations that OH still hasn't put in the loft (is there any point now, it's nearly Xmas again!).

The ideal thing would be, clear the spare room of everything, get rid of the damp, re-decorate and then decide what to do with it.
Bathroom needs new flooring and wall coverings.
Bedroom needs completely gutting. New flooring, painting the walls, sort out damp (we had a leaky roof for about 6 months), sort out storage.
Landing and stairs need new wall coverings.
Kitchen needs ripping out and starting again.
Front room needs ripping out and starting again.

Unrealistic target for the day, is that spare room and bathroom will be done by Xmas. I'll not hold my breath.

tiny_courageous

It has seemed like a really long week considering we were only in work 4 days. Money wise I might have gone a bit mad on ticketmaster - but my social life for the next 6 months is sorted! I haven't spent as much as I might have - gig tickets have come down in price on average compared to what I've spent over the last few years.

Have had the dehumidifier running in the spare room and it's collecting a lot of water which suggests there is a problem in there! Will leave it going for a few weeks and see how we do. The room is definitely looking better than it was though. There's loads of stuff for the loft and the room will be practically empty after that. Which is a good start.

My aim for this week is to not go to the supermarket at all. I don't know if I will achieve this but realistically we don't really need anything so there's no reason for me to go. The freezer and cupboards are full. If I don't go to the supermarket I won't spend anything. I hope.

tiny_courageous

My goodness it's been a while. I appear to have developed an approved food addiction. On the plus side we have lots of cakes, crisps, couscous and sauces - enough to keep us going for years, no doubt!

I have resisted the urge to get an iphone. I have 5 months left on my contract so it would be silly to get one now.

The house is looking a state. Again. Ugh. I am going to do the bathroom and kitchen today and have another clear out of clothes and bedding. The washing machine seems to be on constantly at the moment.

I seem to be moaning. I am going to stop. I am in a remarkably good mood at the moment. Apart from the house.

Debt wise, I'm getting there slowly. Won't have the credit card paid off by Christmas but made good inroads so I'm happy with that. Am collecting Sainsburys gift cards from surveys to hopefully pay for Xmas shopping.

missymoo81

Hey tiny,

I've just read your diary from start to finish, you're doing so well! Keep up the good work and keep posting, I love reading.

X

tiny_courageous

Thanks Missymoo!

Busy week this week, not seen much of home or OH, so will try to chill out a bit this weekend. Planning on doing some cooking this weekend to get back on track with work lunches and make them a bit more interesting, and also to give a bit of variety with teas (as we seem to live on home made chinese, chicken fajitas or pizza, which isn't healthy or interesting). Trying to get OH to try new things, like tofu, more veggie stuff for the both of us, and things that are not reliant on cheese (which he would eat by the bucketload given the chance). Going to try to make some lentil pate as well, as OH likes pate and we have lots of ryvitas and crispbreads from approved food.

My life seems to revolve around food.

I aim to not have to go to the supermarket this week. Will have to see how that goes. Managed to get 10 days out of half a tank of petrol, so I'm hoping I can do the same again.

Have £22 in my purse so hopefully that will last the week. I can't think of much we need so it should be ok.

tiny_courageous

Winter's here isn't it! A dusting of snow, I wish there was more, I love snow. Actually, I love winter in general. I'm trying to be a bit stingy this year so I keep switching the heating off and telling OH to put another jumper on.

This weekend I will mostly be doing jobs around the house. Have been to the supermarket twice this week, which is disgraceful (admittedly, on one of the times, everything in my trolley had a yellow sticker on it, but still). I have some soya chunks from approved food that I'm going to experiment with. And some tofu. I have never had tofu before so that will be interesting.

I had forgotten that some friends owed me money which they gave me last week so I have not had to take any money out of the bank yet since payday. I wonder how long I can make it last...

Just claimed another sainsburys voucher from valued opinions. I reckon I can definitely get one more before Xmas which means that basically my Xmas shopping will be free. Am pleased with that. I think next year I'll save up the vouchers all year and then use them for Xmas presents as well as shopping.

tiny_courageous

I always fall off the debt free bandwagon towards the end of the year. I will have to do something about that. I need to have 3 sensible months to get myself back on track now.

New year resolutions? Same as ever really. Reduce the debt. Lose weight. Sort the house out.

Best crack on!

tiny_courageous

The first things I'm doing are:

Starting to count AFDs and NSDs again. They really do help.
Work lunches. Absolutely no spending out this year. Did really well until November last year.
Downloaded myfitnesspal app to my phone to monitor my diet and exercise.
Checked out the local leisure centre for swimming times. I need to get back into swimming.

tiny_courageous

AFD2 and NSD2 today. Took lunch (leftovers) into work. Used MFP to log my food intake and all exercise done (even down to walking). Have decided to park at the back of the furthest carpark at work as that means I have to walk further to the office. Every little counts!

tiny_courageous

AFD3 and NSD3 today, Took lunch to work again (cuppasoup, oh so exciting and diet friendly). Not missing alcohol at all (I know it's only three days but still, after boozing it up at Christmas... ah well). 19 days til payday. Plan is tomorrow, I'll get petrol, need to pick up some stuff from the post office (customs charges, ugh), and then off to sainsburys to spend the vouchers we didn't use over Christmas on essentials. And no booze. So that'll be a spend day tomorrow and then plan is to stay in all weekend and not spend anything!