Macgirl's "Stop Procrastinating and Get on with it" Diary

macgirl

Deep Breath....

Hello :hello:

I know the MSE World does not need another diary, but I think it's my only way to stay on the straight and narrow...

My MSE journey began way back in January 2004. I was in debt to the tune of £6000, pregnant with my first child and saw Martin on TV, so signed up.
I rarely posted, but avidly switched all utilities, bank account, shopped around for insurance, kept a spending diary, bought Stardrops (and the t-shirt) and managed to knock chunks off my debt.
Along the way I spread the merry word about the wonders of Martin and converted 100's - if not 1000's to the MSE way. :money:

2 children (so 2 bouts of maternity leave = 12 months off work) PND and a house renovation later and the debts were mounting.
I wavered from the MSE path and although I still "tarted" religiously, I also did more than one "Super Balance Transfer" to repay my overdraft.
So in effect consolidated the debts (and we all know where that ends up).....not good

The lightbulb flickered on and off, but as a habitual overspender, the habit was not going to be broken overnight.
In January this year, I decided this was the year, so rejoined under a new name to reflect the new me. It still took until May to make a commitment and face up to my issues with money.

Now the lightbulb is ON and burning brightly.
Payment A Day has been both my saviour and inspiration, as have many other diairies (including the very first one started by James)

I have been scratching for a few months and playing free bingo.
I've got my act together and gathered lots of Ebayable things, cleaned and photographed them and have sorted out overpaying the mortgage.
I try to have as many NSD's as possible and always take lunch to work. I don't buy magazines anymore (or clothes ) and my meal planning is improving.

DH and i have always had separate finances, with each paying a lump sum into a joint account for household bills.
When they were just 2 of us, we split everything. He paid when we went out and I bought the shopping.
Now we are 4 and don't go out so much, I still pay for the shopping (and all stuff for the kids).
This has been adjusted from this month, so we are paying more into the joint account and taking the shopping, kids clothes and shoes and outings from that.

So I feel like I can hide no more.
DH will see exactly what is spent. He has no debt and has always been very careful with money.
If I wanted us to buy something and he'd say "We can't afford it" I would roll my eyes and say "I'll pay"
Obviously, I didn't mean me....

I know the current debts don't look bad compared to many (but heart-stoppingly so to others), but I've also paid back £14k over the last 2.5years in loans.
So the money I've borrowed and wasted is higher than my sig displays.
I am ashamed to admit of all this, but think it's the only way, otherwise I'll just push it to the back of my mind and the debts won't go away.

So now DH knows about the debt in it's entirety, I don't want to mess up again. I'm 40 in less than 12 months, so need to start acting like a grown-up.

I realise macgirl is stretching it somewhat, so it might have to be macBINT soon :rotfl: til then Mac will do.
Thanks for reading, Mac

homegrown_life

look forward to reading your diary. Hope things continue to look up for you and that light keeps burning

macgirl

Hi Homegrown-life!
Thanks and Welcome to the thread!

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Hi my i know what you mean lightbulb burns so bright i could light the street:rotfl:
Looking forward to reading more from you.
BTD:D

elantan

hey mg (ah ha did you think of that one lol) love the start but i have to say i do disagree this place needs loads of diaries ...it's through the diaries we learn and grow as mser's sharing the experiance along the way can help many other people know and feel they arnt alone ...

now the lecture is over ...can i just say i procastinate really badly as well ...you have a partner in that with me ...so what can we do about it ? any help and advice greatly appreciated

cheers el

hypno06

I'm 40 next year too......:eek::rotfl:

**starts looking out for half price jaffa cakes for joint mac/hyp birthday party**

macgirl

:j:j:j
Thanks guys - (didn't think I get any replies )

BEAT THE DEBT - might need to borrow a bulb once in a while

Elantan - I try to think in the words of Nike (and Flylady for that matter) "Just Do It" - though I'm yet to master that one :rolleyes:

Hypno - hope we can afford more than Jaffa cakes when the big day dawns!

hypno06

macgirl wrote: »

Hypno - hope we can afford more than Jaffa cakes when the big day dawns!

Do you mean we might be able to afford cheese straws as well! My, we are in for some paaaarty _party_

macgirl

Well, in the vain of "Getting on with it" I phoned the mortgage co. regarding a new deal.
They've got a few on offer, but also mentioned the SVR is currently 4%. We're usually always on a fix as we've had high childcare fees for the last 5 years. Currently manageable but have been almost £900 a month :eek:
Now little DD gets Pre-school funding, we'll get back £150 per month, which I want to throw straight at the mortgage - as in my wisdom/stupidity, I also signed up for the MFiT challenge :eek::eek::eek:

Oh and managed to successfully withdraw my £20 free bingo winnings plus won another £25 with the bonus! :j:j:j (though have a feeling this lucky streak will not last)

macgirl

hypno06 wrote: »

Do you mean we might be able to afford cheese straws as well! My, we are in for some paaaarty _party_

Yep and maybe a few bubbles too! :beer:

PurpleJellyFish

Hey Mac,

Saw that you've started a diary so you have another subscribee (if that's even a word).

I too am a master at procrastinating and I'm always surprised at how little time the jobs take when I actually get round to doing them.

Well here's to your journey and I raise my mug of tea to you!:coffee: