a DFW nearly quit and then had a change of heart

KPR11

Right then time for a quick update, as some of you know that I have been keeping a spending diary for just over 2 months now. It really has been an eye opener and I would recommend it to any DFW! I have just reviewed my spending for the last couple of months which I have pasted below, it makes up for a very shocking read. I started off really well but the last couple of weeks have been dreadful, the spending would put anyone to shame.
ActualBudgetDifferenceTOTAL FOR FOOD£72.95£140.00£67.05TOTAL FOR DINING OUT£104.87£0.00-£104.87TOTAL FOR PHONE£15.00£30.00£15.00TOTAL FOR SAVINGS£53.40£50.00-£3.40TOTAL FOR TAKE AWAY£19.44£0.00-£19.44TOTAL FOR COFFEE£32.95£0.00-£32.95TOTAL FOR GOING OUT£85.80£0.00-£85.80TOTAL FOR DENTAL£171.50£40.00-£131.50TOTAL FOR TRAVEL£277.15£240.00-£37.15TOTAL FOR PRESENT£153.24£20.00-£133.24TOTAL FOR HAIRCUT£10.00£30.00£20.00TOTAL FOR LUNCH£16.05£0.00-£16.05TOTAL FOR CLOTHES£0.00£30.00£30.00TOTAL FOR OD INTEREST£22.00£30.00£8.00TOTAL FOR RENT & BILLS£665.00£970.00£305.00TOTAL£1,699.35£1,580.00-£119.35TOTAL FOR DEBT REPAYMENT£1,073.00£900.00-£173.00OVERSPEND-£292.35

The only reason why I have not sunk into further debt is because I got my deposit back recently which, as you guessed, i spent!!

I have had absolutely amazing support here thank you and would love to continue my DFW journey but unfortunately I really have not been able to keep up so I QUIT! Thanks for all your help.

UPDATE:

I was having a pretty !!!!!! night last night, I have just moved back to London and it seems to be that the commute and all has been taking it's toll on me. Very early starts and very late finishes.

Plus the bills just never seem to finish, I knew I have an extra dental bill of c£500 to foot in May and then just when things couldn't go wrong my work shoes decided that they had seen better times so pretty much gave up on me (can't get them repaired, the guy said the cost would be too high and I was better off investing an extra £20 and getting a new pair)

Anyhow, the decision to quit had been playing up on my mind all day so I decided to see if my situation really was as bad as it initially seemed and if I could spot a pattern in my spending behavious. So I got my spending diary out. Having re-visited my spending diary, and this is the bit I love the most, my spending since I moved to London has gone through the roof. Particularly interesting was:

Lunch spend was £9 for the last 2 weeks compared to £7 for 6 weeks prior to that (taking packed lunches is not an option for 2 reasons 1 we get a lunch allowance at work and 2 I really have not got the time - not an excuse, it's a fact. BUT I will be buying breakfast bars, snacks etc and keeping them so I don't go over my allowance)

Coffee spend for the last 2 weeks has been £28.15 compared to £4.80 for 6 weeks prior to that. There has been a drastic increase because I am busy studying at the moment and I am one of those weirdos who can't study in a lib, can't study at home cause I get distracted too easily (hint I should be studying right now but am typing this ) so works at a coffee shop. I recognise it is costly and tbh I do not mind being conned c£70 - £85 pm for the next 2.5 months if it means I pass my exams at the end of it. BUT will try to cut it down and see if I can find an alternative or a cheaper coffee shop (any ideas? currently use nero, starbucks or costa)

Dining out and take aways spend for the last 2 weeks c£100 compared to earlier c£35 for 6 weeks prior to that. I have literally been surviving on grabbing a meal or something on my way home. Am a veggie so seems things are even more expensive (thought grass was free or at least very cheap!!)

I think you get the picture.

On a positive note:

I "saved" £53 and overpaid my debts by £173 (obviously not in the last 2 weeks) so that is £226 of my "overspend" which means my "net overspend" was only £66 (including dental of c£170 and a hefty present of c£150 - 2 tickets for a comedy gig and a pressie for my brother ) Plus a lot of other places where I didn't really spend my entire budget!

Anyway, as the title suggests I nearly quit but have decided to continue my journey for various reasons:

1. Situation aint as bad as I initially thought
2. I am actually very proud of dealing with my debts.
3. What exactly am I going to do if I don't deal with them when they are manageable? Wait till it's too late?
4. I quite like the fact that I am dealing with my debts and have made some progress, ok there was a minor blip but hey no one said the journey would be smooth. Plus the right path is never an easy path.
5. I can't let you guys down and most importantly myself down.
6. Finally, I aint a loser and as far as I can remember winners never quit (yes I know quitters are never winners but I would rather be a winner who never quits).

Thanks for your support and making sure I got my act together.

jinky67

NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO QUIT

Stay and sort yourself out, work out why you get into trouble and deal with it

But certainly dont leave

KPR11

Just seems an absolute nightmare, just when I think I am making progress something or the other sets me back! It is just very very annoying!

jinky67

Thats what happen though, but if you just give up you will end up in even deeper shoite:cool:

Afraid you just need to keep plugging away and you WILL get there eventually:D

gwen80

Jinky's right. Nobody is allowed to quit...this is a one way street, the only option is to carry on.

Unexpected expenses do come up, but then you have to look at ways to work them into your budget so that you're not caught out again. Area's where you seem to have overspent the most are eating out, presents, going out and dental. I'm sure you could find ways of cutting down the first three, whilst still having a life. The last one is tricky, necessary and expensive. What about dental insurance? Might be worth looking at to avoid expensive bills like that?

LeeSouthEast

Unless you want every single person who has ever been admitted into the Roll of Honour to descend on your house and pound your head in with a laminated budget sheet made from cast iron until you scream "ONCE A DFW ALWAYS A DFW!", you will NOT quit.

!!!!!! happens. Deal with it. Budget for it. Keep at it. Enjoy it when it's over.

moo2moo

Once you're done berating yourself take a step back and look at the last line:

Overspend £292.35

You had an unexpected but one off dental bill of £171.50 which was considerably more than you'd budgeted for but isn't the sort of thing to be repeated next month.

You've put in excess of £50 into savings - most would agree that this does not count in your monthly expenditure as savings can always be used to pay off your debt or get you out of a hole. Saving is what you do with the surplus money when you have a surplus.

You spent £326.55 entertaining yourself and eating out and being a person who lunches and pays for coffee. If you'd halved that you'd have come in pretty much on budget even with the dental expenses.

Being a DFW does not mean living the life of a hermit it means having the ability to say I can't afford that this month but I can next because its budgeted for.

Give it another go. You really have nothing more to lose.

tealady

Hi KPR
This is just a glitch. Being a DFW is not always a straight road but once you are on that road no one is allowed to quit. You have had a set back thats all but please dont give in, because by taking on this challenge you will have setbacks but you will also have days where you can see real progress (and meet some wonderful people)

jinky67

I expect to see you back in here today, with a new resolve to carry on, do you hear me?

KPR11

Right then, first of A MASSIVE THANK YOU VERY MUCH for all the support (am going to sound like some attention seeker now). As you can well imagine I have changed my mind as the title suggests!

I was having a pretty !!!!!! night last night, I have just moved back to London and it seems to be that the commute and all has been taking it's toll on me. Very early starts and very late finishes.

Plus the bills just never seem to finish, I knew I have an extra dental bill of c£500 to foot in May and then just when things couldn't go wrong my work shoes decided that they had seen better times so pretty much gave up on me (can't get them repaired, the guy said the cost would be too high and I was better off investing an extra £20 and getting a new pair)

Anyhow, the decision to quit had been playing up on my mind all day so I decided to see if my situation really was as bad as it initially seemed and if I could spot a pattern in my spending behavious. So I got my spending diary out. Having re-visited my spending diary, and this is the bit I love the most, my spending since I moved to London has gone through the roof. Particularly interesting was:

Lunch spend was £9 for the last 2 weeks compared to £7 for 6 weeks prior to that (taking packed lunches is not an option for 2 reasons 1 we get a lunch allowance at work and 2 I really have not got the time - not an excuse, it's a fact. BUT I will be buying breakfast bars, snacks etc and keeping them so I don't go over my allowance)

Coffee spend for the last 2 weeks has been £28.15 compared to £4.80 for 6 weeks prior to that. There has been a drastic increase because I am busy studying at the moment and I am one of those weirdos who can't study in a lib, can't study at home cause I get distracted too easily (hint I should be studying right now but am typing this ) so works at a coffee shop. I recognise it is costly and tbh I do not mind being conned c£70 - £85 pm for the next 2.5 months if it means I pass my exams at the end of it. BUT will try to cut it down and see if I can find an alternative or a cheaper coffee shop (any ideas? currently use nero, starbucks or costa)

Dining out and take aways spend for the last 2 weeks c£100 compared to earlier c£35 for 6 weeks prior to that. I have literally been surviving on grabbing a meal or something on my way home. Am a veggie so seems things are even more expensive (thought grass was free or at least very cheap!!)

I think you get the picture.

On a positive note:

I "saved" £53 and overpaid my debts by £173 (obviously not in the last 2 weeks) so that is £226 of my "overspend" which means my "net overspend" was only £66 (including dental of c£170 and a hefty present of c£150 - 2 tickets for a comedy gig and a pressie for my brother ) Plus a lot of other places where I didn't really spend my entire budget!

Anyway, as the title suggests I nearly quit but have decided to continue my journey for various reasons:

1. Situation aint as bad as I initially thought
2. I am actually very proud of dealing with my debts.
3. What exactly am I going to do if I don't deal with them when they are manageable? Wait till it's too late?
4. I quite like the fact that I am dealing with my debts and have made some progress, ok there was a minor blip but hey no one said the journey would be smooth. Plus the right path is never an easy path.
5. I can't let you guys down and most importantly myself down.
6. Finally, I aint a loser and as far as I can remember winners never quit (yes I know quitters are never winners but I would rather be a winner who never quits).

Thanks for your support and making sure I got my act together.

KPR11

gwen80 wrote: »

What about dental insurance? Might be worth looking at to avoid expensive bills like that?

Considered it, didn't really find anything that gave me the kind of cover I need. Am in the process of re-considering it particularly because I spend a little fortune at the dentist! Thanks for the suggestion