A Valleys Adventure

starnac

I’ll start off with an apology for adding yet another diary to the many that are already on here but after a really good start to the year clearing 4 overdrafts and a credit card I’m really starting to lose motivation. I’ve started wanting the shiny things again. Things like chocolate and takeaway’s. :eek: Not a good sign. So this diary is supposedly meant to keep me on track in order to meet our targets for next year.

So what are they?? Ooh feeling nervous now as I haven’t revealed exact figures before.

Car Loan £4977.90
DH’s credit card (currently on a DMP) £5103.82
Total £10,081.42 :eek:

The starnac family consists of me, DH and DD (2yrs). We are currently living with my parents in the South Wales Valleys and do not have enough space. DD sleeps in our room which is not ideal for a good night’s sleep for any of us. We desperately need our own space so now our o/d’s are paid off we are looking to save for a deposit in order to buy our own house hopefully next summer.

I know we should be concentrating on paying off our debts but for our sanity we really need our own home and our own space. Our plan is to save for a deposit and have a lump sum to offer a f&f to DH’s cc. At the same time we hope to be able to o/p the car loan in order to reduce both the balance and the term.

How will we do that?? Well that is the BIG question. I earn a very low wage and after working a LOT of hours I bring home quite a low wage. All the bills come out of my wage as DH only has casual hours at an outdoor adventure centre but does work all the days they offer him. He does have 2 weeks of full time work in December for another company though and we are hoping that at least one week of his wages from that can go in our pot.

Let’s hope seeing everything in black and white will get me going again.

starnac

We don’t have many outgoings luckily but we don’t have many incomings either. We have really stripped back everything we can. I use cashback and survey sites and pretty much everything that isn’t nailed down has been or is ready to be listed on ebay. That is one positive side to having to pay to store all your wordly belongings. You question exactly whether or not it is worth paying for. More often or not the answer is no and a lot of stuff I have been keeping “just in case” has already gone. Still quite a bit left though so that is somewhere I really need to get going on.

I have joined the sealed pot challenge but don’t hold out much hope for the amount in there on grand opening day a less than a week away. I promise to be much better at it next year though. I have also had 10 NSD’s in October and again this month. I hope to do the same in December as my Christmas shopping is very nearly finished. Only 2 more presents to buy now and am hoping to get the one of them with my Boots points rather than cash. Very MSE.

I have also made a few pressies in order to bring the cost down. We are not spoiling DD this year as she’s still so young and won’t remember anyway so we’re buying her a few presents and will put some money in her bank account for when she’s older.

honeybear_2

Hi Starnac :wave:

Hope your diary does help to keep you on the straight & narrow.

In the meantime maybe this l'il guy will help you along

Sassers

Hiya Starnac - just wanted to say hello from just up the road (I'm in the valleys as well) and that I'll be cheering you from near Porth....lol
Love Sassers x

starnac

hi honeybear. thanks for him he will be my mascot.

hi to sassers. thanks for popping in. I LOVE the Manics too. i can't count the amount of times i've seen them live. i used to want to marry nicky wire when i was younger.

Sassers

starnac wrote: »

hi honeybear. thanks for him he will be my mascot.

hi to sassers. thanks for pooping in. I LOVE the Manics too. i can't count the amount of times i've seen them live. i used to want to marry nicky wire when i was younger.

lol- I saw them in Wolverhampton in the Summer, honestly the best gig I've ever been to...
....one of the women I work with at the weekend knows them all and their families. Funniest thing she ever said to me was " ere Sassers you know that Richey (well, not personally no but...lol) he was a bit wierd you know and he had the most biggest feet I ever saw when he was a baby...."

I mean what the bleeding hell do you say to that? lol:rotfl:
lol

starnac

Sassers wrote: »

" ere Sassers you know that Richey (well, not personally no but...lol) he was a bit wierd you know and he had the most biggest feet I ever saw when he was a baby...."

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sassers

....And there's me thinking it was rock n roll all the way! lol
(PS: Have to confess I adored Nick and Rich which I was younger but I've always fancied James and his ever-so slightly out of focus big eyes. (I think we'll forget about the balaklava and sailor suits though don't you?)

starnac

my husband thinks i'm a bit odd that i fancy a man who wears make up and a skirt on a regular basis (well nearly every time we see him anyway).

starnac

well productive day. i've got 2 big bags of clothes for the charity shop tomorrow. i've bought the free ads to list my dressmakers dummy that i no longer use and is taking up space in storage. i've also listed 10 items on misi and taken some photos of the next lot to go on ebay. they will go on tomorrow ready to finish on sunday (supposedly the best day) so i need to get them on turbo lister tonight to make it easier tomorrow. let's hope somebody wants them.

starnac

dropped 3 bags off to the charity shop this morning so feeel quite pleased with myself. i know it's not really money saving but it's good for my peace of mind.

i had a NSD yesterday which takes me to 11 for November and I put a £1 in my sealed pot as i didn't go to coffee morning due to DD not being well.

i've got 3 books on am*zon but nothing on eb*y yet so i must get onto that now.