New year, New me (finally)

thrifty_fifty

Morning

Well didn't that weekend go just a little bit too quickly? Today is a meeting all day 9-4 with a working lunch, how exciting I can hardly wait.

scrooge2008

Morning thrifty,

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Have a great day.

thrifty_fifty

Thanks for the instructions Scrooge, I'll get round to it in a bit.

Was very pleased with myself today. Have been looking round for a nice new baby gift for friends, but I set my budget at £5. I have been cruising town for the last two weeks to no avail. Then today I was in T K MAXX and I found a lovely little pink t-shirt with a ribbon and two birds on. Very pretty. I checked the price and it was reduced to £5-fab I thought. Looked at the tag and it's baby Dior-it just looks like a normal t-shirt from the front but the embroidered birds look nice. It's very discreet-didn't want anything with a tag emblazoned on the front. It should have cost £50!!!! So mum and dad will hopefully be pleased that their little princess has a very pretty t-shirt, and it was within my budget. Plus because it is Dior, they can flog it on ebay after she has grown out of it and it should net them a good price to buy any other new things they may need when cash is tight.

I'm donating one of my vases for a birthday pressie and buying some ribbon and flowers to make a nice arrangement. Also saw the dress that I wanted at the weekend for new year on ebay, so will get that as it is half the price again of the one in the shop-MSE and awesome. Although this month is a spendy one.

Now just need to find money for petrol and treats for come dine with me part 2 at a friends house next week, and then that's me done with spending for the month.

xx

thrifty_fifty

Ok,

So plans this month are to try and leave the switch card at home as much as possible to ward off lunchtime purchases-mostly food-i think this is to get me through the hell of being at work-time to change something me thinks

I will also apply for lots of jobs and also write to universities re phd proposals and try and get plans together for 2012 volunteer week- I could really do with going in 2011, but this is another thing that annoys me about being in debt- I can't do that because I would like to volunteer perhaps in Africa and the flight is basically the price of OH and I taking a holiday and that isn't fair if he is stuck at home and doesn't get a break.

I know this sounds silly but I tend to shop when I'm trying to cheer myself up, and at the minute everything seems to be doom and gloom. I know everyone is in the same boat, but I'll be glad when the dark veil has lifted, I'm out of this mess and I have savings.

I did stand up to one test this evening though. OH and I really fancied some wine to go with dinner. Now normally i would have jumped in the car and made the 3 mile trip down to the next village to get some, but I thought no, this time. Firstly we shouldn't drink so much and secondly this is where all those £5 and £10 go each month, which end up being £60-£100 frittered away on rubbish. Why does it work that way? You feel miserable because you are having to scrimp by, I can't remember the last time OH and I went out for a drink or a meal together, and because your denying yourself, it makes you want to spend to relieve the misery even more. Still this is the hard part-right in the thick of it. Stopped spending but haven't yet seen major results, and trying not to spend a single penny is damned hard work.

I also tried looking out for dropped pennies on the way to work this morning. Not a bean! A few dried out fag ends, that was about it. Although I am going to pick up a couple of pine cones tomorrow that I saw on the path-they'll be great for christmas decorations this year.

thrifty_fifty

Good morning all,

Today I'm going to sing the praises of the allotment. Last night OH and I were really down. Payday has passed and I still feel like there is such a long way to go with this debt. Letters seem to keep coming through about interest rate rises on this account and that, threatening to push us back debt clearing wise. Another month of refashioning one of my clear glass vases into something new with flowers added for yet more birthday presents.

Now I have to say, I don't know whether I'm being mean here but I object to work birthdays, not so much the fact that people have them, but to the fact that everyone is in this thing where they have a birthday buddy who buys the gift, but more importantly that everyone is one the birthday list. This means that there are at least 2 birthdays each month. Whilst this may seem scrooge like of me, different people have different financial situations and I think that this kind of thing puts pressure on those who are trying to cut back because they are having a hard time of it-not to mention in this climate being worried about their job.

What I object to is there being a keeper of an envelope to where the cash is donated, that has a list of peoples names on, that are only crossed off once cash has been donated, and not only that, there seems to be a set amount that each person donates £1, so it is blindingly obvious if someone has put less in than the others. Then you have the routine checking off of what cash is in the envelope based on the number of names crossed off. And when people have 'forgotten' to donate they have email and verbal reminders up until the date for last submission. This basically then leaves you in the position of explaining your full financial faux pas to your colleagues.

And to be even more miserable, having a birthday right at the end of the year usually means that I end up donating all year long, usually leave the job before my birthday comes around, or you find out that your buddy really doesn't know you atall, and instead of getting vouchers which would be really useful-we could buy food or clothes, you end up with something for your house which really isn't you atall.

Miserable, me? never!


Anyway, back to the allotment, we have a lovely lettuce that has not been eaten by the bunnies. Fab

xx

thrifty_fifty

Evening everyone

Today I have really been trying to do the cut back on spending in all areas. I have picked pine cones off the pavement today in readyness for Christmas (free decorations), I have made a gift look super expensively wrapped with tissue paper and some ribbon I had lying around. I have drawn out £30 to last me for the rest of the month, this includes getting a birthday gift (I have seen rose scented fabric hearts in Laura Ashley for £4, and also a fancy sleeping mask from John Lewis for £4, so those are both contenders. The £30 also has to buy me a small amount of petrol and some snacks for a girly evening next week. I'm determined to do this. I've even been scanning the charity shops for little gems I can turn into something magic. It's all going to be home made or bought on the cheap from now on.

I saw a girl a couple of weeks back with a really cool dress on. The fabric was in the style of those 1980s superhero duvet covers-i think it was wonderwoman or something like that. What a fab idea (apart from the fact that I wouldn't know where to start with making a dress), perhaps a funky bag then? Hmmm

thrifty_fifty

Evening all,

I have to say after the various emotional ups and downs this week, I have ended on a kind of high. This debt free journey is not just about paying back what I have owed for a long time, but its also about learning lessons, about money spending and myself. It is having several deep impacts, and this is is only in the nearly 5 months that I have been taking part. It has made me appreciate the things I have-materially in terms of things that won't sell for 99p, but which mean a hell of a lot more to me now (they are not buried under piles of stuff, and are in fact being used and appreciated for their beauty rather than just shoved someplace in the general clutter)

I have had time to reassess what I really want out of life-those things that are important and those that are not so much so.
I've taken up reading again spending lots of quality time enjoying those things I had temporarily forgotten I enjoyed.

I'm becoming me again, learning who the real me is, and not being ashamed to like the things I like, and have the views that I do. I feel that I'm really developing myself.

I appreciate nature much more, I don't squandor money. I now wonder why I ever needed a loan or a credit card for anything in the first place. I have never needed anything so desperately (well apart from this last loan) that I needed to use those methods to pay for something.

Saving and doing a budget is fun and a challenge (I now don't want to break into notes because they dwindle into small change)

I've become far more creative. Giving a great gift is not about how much you spend. Today I spent £2.85 on a birthday present. I donated one of my glass vases, bought a bunch of flowers for £2, cut and arranged them suitably in the vase, and then picked up some truffles from asda that were on offer for 85p, and I can tell you, my gift looked as good as any of the others on that table. Awesome

thrifty_fifty

Morning

Call me sad, but I've just spent 10 minutes staring at my other bank account (one with od and loan) because it is in a positive balance for once (albeit £20), such a nice feeling. I'm trying to keep it in a positive balance all month, but it will be £20 od from 18th-25th July. It's a lot better than previous years/months etc. Next month will not reduce it again but will stay out of the od.

If they get the idea that I have more 'disposable' cash then they might start directing it towards the loan, and at the moment that is not my priority because the interest has been paid off that and it has 1 year 2 months left on it. My targets are getting rid of those two evils Barclaycard (£1623 but higher interest), and Virgin (eek £5542).

Was talking with my brother last night about it all (he's in a similar position), he was saying that in 4 years his family will be debt free and mortgage free, and he cannot wait for that day when he owes nobody a penny and the has the control again, not them. I think this is the thing that annoys me the most. Others having control over my life, and I put myself there!

Anyhow, I have £18 left of the money I drew out to last me the rest of the month. Out of that £6 will go toward next weeks evening out £5 to friend for petrol contribution and £1 bag haribo treats- we have this hilarious thing where you have to be creative with your haribo, like making yourself look 'gangsta' with the rings they do in starmix. Very childish but lots of fun.

Anywho, that leaves £12.00.

Now I can cut everything else out, but not spending, going out or doing anything remotely exciting means that I need my junk food for comfort (weak of me I know but this is my last vice), so going to the £ shop where they do 4 pack twix, and also cheap crisps so will stock up for the next three weeks. Then I don't need to spend on anything. My target is to try and save £4 out of that £12 too!

Can you imagine? I'll hopefully get a good job one day. Me and OH will be sitting there on our £40,000 a year each, saying £1 for ketchup? Daylight robbery, get the discount brand! I'm sure this is going to stick with us for life, although I suspect in better climes the shoe collection may be added to on occasion.

thrifty_fifty

Ooh and ps

Tesco value baby bubble bath 200ml for 22p, smells nice, good to the skin. Fabulous. Also scored a free molton brown sample bubble bath yesterday too for more luxurious baths.

thrifty_fifty

Well I'm back on the DFW wagon big stylee. Went into town today and swapped to orange 5 (£5 a month, the orange wednesday thing itself makes it worth it). So just have to call up and cancel the other contract on monday and all will be well, including these next two weeks my new bill will be £7.26, and after that £5. Next month will be the last month that I pay £15 and then done and dusted. The £10 a month that I'll be saving on my mobile bill, I'm going to save towards getting our turkey and veg and other food items for Christmas £70 isn't something to be sniffed at. I'm already on the lookout for cheap pressies, and got some pinecones from down the road for decorations come the festive season.

Went into the local charity shop and bought a lovely little trinket dish for 50p, it's an oval Royal Grafton one, plain white background with little pink roses dotted here and there. The intention was that this was going to be part of mum's Christmas gift (i've decided that this year it's all going to be bought from ebay or jazzed up stuff from charity shops-they have some real little gems), only problem is that now I've cleaned it up, I've grown rather fond of it myself, and sit here imagining it sitting on a dark wood side table at the top of the stairs with a pretty lamp, in our house in the country that we don't own yet.

My more naughty treat at £7.98 this week has been an Emma Bridgewater Robin mug. I have been eyeing that one up for ages, and when it came into the sale I'm sorry but I couldn't say no.http:///www.emmabridgewater.co.uk/Seconds-Robin-12-Pint-Mug-Perfect-Price-PS1595/invt/2gbrb002

I also saw two lovely beagles today. I love beagles, and have managed to convince OH that we should have one when we get our own house.