no wiser than the fool i was before-lyns' debt diary!

lynsayjane

right folks i need some advice, or rather the go ahead to get sky back...

now before you all jump up and slap me hear me out! i have received a small pay rise at work (just cause of the minimum wage rise) but still unexpected and giving me more money to play with each month, about an extra £20 or so a month. i'll now get £832.50 every four weeks (apart form the random 5 week month). my outgoings are £400 for bills, £50 for foodand £60 minimum cc payments leaving me at least £200-£250 a month extra to throw at debts.

i've been really good and cancelled damn near everything including my tv license and sky. but i'm now starting to get a bit lonely. i live on my own and don't see friends on a regular weekday type basis, so really once i leave work i don't hear another human voice apart from my own. i was thinking if i took the basic sky and tv license it would only be £25 a month giving me still £175 to make overpayments. and thats not even thinking of any quidco/ebay money i might make...

the other good thing, my friend was asking about sky just yesterday and i received a note in my skycard bill to say if i recommend a friend i get a free sky plus box, which means i don't have to worry about missing programs cause of my shifts...

what do you guys think???

ps i'd just like to say :j to an old friend who had a 6lb odds baby girl on sunday night, both doing well, she's going to make a fantastic mum, and i'm now hoping to go home this weekend to visit them both! :T

lynsayjane

hey folks, well it's been a super smashing lovely day up here, in fact yesterday was good too :j

yesterday i painted half the living room, looks much better, hoping to get the rest done next weekend finishing it off before the end of the month as planned :j

today i paid off £80 (£40 each) on my two cc's. taking the bos one to under £900, the sky one is at just over £1400, hoping to get it to less than that at next payday...

but...the best bit...i payed off my first debt today since becoming a dfw! i cleared my (only) interest chargin od!!! am soooooo happy :j i thought it wouldnt happen this month because of the problems with my wages, but i thought if i don't have it i can't spend it, i've got my money for bills and food, just means nowt extra for xmas etc, but i've got most of that sorted and still got two paydays before it.

right, off to change my sig now woot woot :j :j

lynsayjane

hi guys, have to admit to feeling a little low today, money and life wise. i got paid yesterday and did this with the money so far,

-£50 food money (to last five weeks)
-£50 party money (aunts 40th in a couple of weeks, plus start of xmas season)
-£400 into bills account
leaving
-£200 for debts

i've decided to pay the minimumish on my two cc's at the mo (bills due soon) and use the rest towards xmas. i don't have too much left to get but my next pay is 22nd of december and i just can't leave it till the last minute. it's not in my nature. i'll try and spend as little of it as possible, the rest being used towards my next cc bill. my next pay is the day before my work xmas party so i can take spends from that and if i have all my pressies sorted i can use all my extra money for debts then.

i'm working terrible hours this week. we are trying to run a reception with two staff and muggins here gets the worst (tho best from a dfw point of view) of it. i'm doing six day weeks this two weeks and extra hours on some shifts. today wa my sixth day and i'm sodding knackered. between working all hours, working out the rest and not having any play inbetween i'm scared i'm going to burn out! but i just keep reminding myself of the pittence i'll get extra once the taxman takes his cut and keeping my head down.

unfortunatly this doesnt make for good dfw conditions. yesterday i bought a pair of boots and jumper from asda on my cc i know i know i'm a horrible bad person! if it helps the jumper (been eyeing it up for ages) was down to £8 and the boots had 20% off, leather, for £32... no i know, it doesn't does it?

i know i shouldnt risk making the situation any worse but i'm spending tomorrow in town. it's my only day off and i need to spend it on myself! i;m doing no housework or gym or college work. i'm going into town, i'm going to dress nice and get tarted up, try on a hundred different fancy dresses and decide which i want for the xmas party (in a hilton hotel so posh attire required!) who knows i might even buy one? then i'll get back on the dfw and fat bustin wagon on monday.

i know i'm really bad but i just need a little r & r

Mrs_Sparkle

Oh hun we all need things so don't beat yourself up about a £40 spend on clothes. If you were doing it every week I'd tell you to pull yourself together but you've been doing so well.

I'm not surprised you're shattered- is this a temporary situation? Hope they're paying you a good overtime rate to make up for it but please don't let yourself suffer due to being run ragged- I've been there and it's not nice.

What's the theme for your party? You'll have to let us know which outfit you go for... sparkly and spangly I hope!

Take care x x

lynsayjane

it will just be temporary, one of the girls is off on holiday but another has been signed off with 'issues' i think it's mostly the fact she is mentally unstable (sorry shouldnt lower myself but this girl has been trying to make my life a misery at work so i struggle to be sympathetic, don't worry i'm better than reacting to her). the weekend after i don't care if she's back or not i will not be at work!

the party doesnt have a theme, and is pretty much no longer a party either, we are having food at an aunts house then going into town. i bought black shoes with pink on them a few weeks ago (£6 from asda) and i have a black puff-ball mini skirt. i'm going to get a pair of footless tights (couple of squid) and a new black/pink top (not much either). i bought a glittery pink clutch bag from peacocks (£4) and i'm going to buy the matching belt (£4). i'll pick up earrings and a bracelet or summit in pink too, so it'll be a whole pink n black outfit. i'll need to cut/style my hair and dye it beforehand too, not been done since october at my bday, so desperate for it. that'll only cost a few pound for the dye. so it's a pretty cheap night out.

moozie_2

Oh Lyns you are not bad at all! Everyone deserves a treat and you certainly have been putting the hours in recently!

Hope the result of your hard work is a nice sum and not taken away by the tax man.

Enjoy your day out tomorrow, you absolutely deserve it. Back on the straight and narrow on Monday though. I'll be looking for you on the 'how much...' thread!

lynsayjane

moozie wrote:

Enjoy your day out tomorrow, you absolutely deserve it. Back on the straight and narrow on Monday though. I'll be looking for you on the 'how much...' thread!

i know i've not been on all week, i have been good tho honest, and trying to stick to my weekly budgets even if i havent been telling you about it!

problem is by the time i get home i go straight to bed cause i'm so tired and haven't really spent much time online recently, only checking important stuff like bank accounts etc.

i promise to try a little harder this week

lynsayjane

well today has been a naughty dfw day, but i feel so much better now than i have done recently. i forgot how good it felt coming home after spoiling yourself and your arms aching from carrying shopping up the road. now i just have to forget all over again for a while!

here's all what i got, spent, saved;

boots - picked up the health and beauty mag for the free sample thing in it, checked advantage machine and there was a voucher for a free trevor sorbie mini thingy so picked up a shampooto put in aunts hamper. i still had a £5 voucher for no7 and there was a 200 points offer on their xmas collection so i got a new nail polish.
spent £1, saved £7.59 and got 200 points too!

poundland - got a spongebob advent calender (for me!), four selection boxes (4 for £3) and a box of turkish delight (for aunts pressie)
spent £5, saved £1

woolies - picked up a box of york fruits for granda
spent £3.99

primark - picked up black vesty top for wearing to aunts bday in two weeks
spent £3

internacionale - got a candle lantern set thingy for my aunt on bogof, found red towels (it's so hard to find the right colour!) for my bathroom which i'm planning to redecorate after xmas, all on bogof, two bath sheets, two hand towels, two facecloths.
spent £25, saved £25

dorothy perkins - got the footless tights i needed for aunts bday, on 2 for £7 so got a pair of patterned hold ups too! saw a nice necklace, bracelet and earrings all at half price.
spent £16.50, saved £11.50

then i went into,
oasis - where i fell in love with...

http://www.oasis-stores.com/pws/ProductDetails.ice?ProductID=34700231

and had to have it for the works xmas party. luckily i have shoes/bag/jewelry to go with it so thats all i need....

the worst bit was you got 20% off if you had a store card....so i applied for one! i'm planning on paying it off in full and cancelling, but it's another credit search on my account. good news is,
spent £64, saved £16

then i bought myself a hot chocolate from starbucks (£2.59) for warming me up while i stood in the cold for santa and micheal barrymore to switch on the xmas lights. feels so much more like xmas time now that that is done!

i know i've been bad, but i've saved about a third on all the stuff i've bought so i don't feel guilty. and tomorrow i'm back on the good old dfw bandwagon.

(plus i got a stunning gorgeous dress to wear for the party season :j oh i wish it was december now!)

MinnieSpender

Ooh LJ - flipping gorgeous!

Consider me JEALOUS!

Mrs_Sparkle

Ooooh gorgeous dress... I am sooo jealous (despite the fact that I would look like a hippo in it anyway due to current state of figure). Just make sure you cut the card up into a million pieces and pay it all off! That's my only nag- I think you've done really well with your shopping and I'm proud of you. Wanna do some of my Christmas shopping too???