Jwil's sorting the debt, the body, the house, the garden and everything else diary!

jwil

Ooh, I also found £5 yesterday which was very pleasing!

My friend posted me £5 to give to another friend as sponsorship money. When I passed it on, I thought I had put it in my purse, so just handed over the £5. Then yesterday I was looking through some paperwork and found it there. Yay!

Glad I didn't just recycle it though!

jwil

Do you know, I really look forward to the day when I can just finish work, go home and put my feet up. I've realised today, that I'm probably not giving 100% to anything as I'm always in the back of my mind thinking what else needs to be done, how I'm going to pay this, how to raise some more cash etc. etc.

All day today, I've been thinking about how much I've got to complete this week at work before we are off next week, then also, it's how much I'd like to get done next week at home. Then it's thinking about all the ebay packing I've got to get done tonight, how again I can't be bothered to cook, so what will be quick and easy, then how am I going to get enough money for next month, then I must do bingoport as I'm very close to a voucher, then, I must sort through those books and pull them off ebay, and so on.

I know that's a bit long and ranty, but that's what my head is like all the time! I've got so much going on, and I don't seem to achieve anything. I'm not clearing debt as fast as I would like (or can!), I'm not clearing the house as fast as I would like, by the time I get home I'm exhausted, and just cannot see where to start. I'm not losing weight because I never seem to have enough time to get organised which is my biggest problem. For the last few weeks, I have purchased lunch EVERY day bar one or two - a ridiculous waste of money!

I need to try and come up with a way of focussing a bit more.:think:

jwil

Well I've got enough points for an amazon voucher now on BP so happy with that! I've also managed to redeem some of my points this month for the sweepstakes as I couldn't resist trying for the kindle - because I don't already have one of course :rolleyes:

peaceandfreedom

jwil wrote: »

DH's sales went far better than expected, and yes it's more stuff out of the house :j He was umming and ah-ing about listing one item as he wasn't sure he wanted to sell it. Others had sold for about £14 so he figured he'd put it on at £15 and if it didn't sell, he wasn't too bothered. It sold for £48.55 :eek::T. Another item he listed for £9.99 and it went for £51 :T. I wish my sales did so well

Hee hee, great results for your DH, Jwil. :T

Good idea about the books as well.

peaceandfreedom

jwil wrote: »

I know that's a bit long and ranty, but that's what my head is like all the time! I've got so much going on, and I don't seem to achieve anything. I'm not clearing debt as fast as I would like (or can!), I'm not clearing the house as fast as I would like, by the time I get home I'm exhausted, and just cannot see where to start. I'm not losing weight because I never seem to have enough time to get organised which is my biggest problem. For the last few weeks, I have purchased lunch EVERY day bar one or two - a ridiculous waste of money!

I need to try and come up with a way of focussing a bit more.:think:

I know how you feel, Jwil, it's hard to focus totally on any one thing because you have so many things to do and think about.

Have you considered writing everything down in one gigantic list somewhere on your computer, get it all out of your head? Sort it out into different projects then decide what the next task is for each of those projects, or shelve some projects for a while. Sometimes just writing it all down helps sort it out in your head a bit.

And maybe every evening, do a list of the things you intend to get done the next day. Don't make it too ambitious, just maybe 3 things.

I'm no expert on getting organised myself, some days I seem to get very little done. I am also not clearing the debt fast enough, not decluttering the house fast enough, not doing enough work in the garden, not doing enough work in the house ........this is why I find it hard to imagine how people can come home from work and have nothing to do. How does this happen?

You've hit the nail on the head with the word 'focus' - certainly focus and discipline is what I lack. Let us know if you come up with any ingenious ways of getting things done!

DedicatedDFW

jwil wrote: »

Do you know, I really look forward to the day when I can just finish work, go home and put my feet up. I've realised today, that I'm probably not giving 100% to anything as I'm always in the back of my mind thinking what else needs to be done, how I'm going to pay this, how to raise some more cash etc. etc.

All day today, I've been thinking about how much I've got to complete this week at work before we are off next week, then also, it's how much I'd like to get done next week at home. Then it's thinking about all the ebay packing I've got to get done tonight, how again I can't be bothered to cook, so what will be quick and easy, then how am I going to get enough money for next month, then I must do bingoport as I'm very close to a voucher, then, I must sort through those books and pull them off ebay, and so on.

I know that's a bit long and ranty, but that's what my head is like all the time! I've got so much going on, and I don't seem to achieve anything. I'm not clearing debt as fast as I would like (or can!), I'm not clearing the house as fast as I would like, by the time I get home I'm exhausted, and just cannot see where to start. I'm not losing weight because I never seem to have enough time to get organised which is my biggest problem. For the last few weeks, I have purchased lunch EVERY day bar one or two - a ridiculous waste of money!

I need to try and come up with a way of focussing a bit more.:think:

Hi Jwil and peace and freedom - i was hoping to multi-quote but only got this one on :doh:Jwil i think we all feel like this - i certainly do. I am conscious that my main thoughts centre around money :o:o how to make more / spend less, how can i get the balances to reduce faster, will i ever be able to go out for a meal and not be limited to the cheapest option on the menu and once the debts are gone how can i reduce the mortgage... And regarding people coming home and having nothing to do :eek: Before the debt i'd always be occupied with cooking, a book, meeting up with friends etc. etc. Becoming focused on the one thing at that time is what i want to achieve too - certainly when the debts gone that should get easier.

I also have been wasting money on the quick and easy meal

:idea:Why don't we all pool ideas of what we find fast to cook or what we batch cook so its easy to lift out of the freezer the day before ? What works well for me and can work out quite cheap per portion for me (especially when i can get the meat reduced price) is chilli - cook it in the slow cooker, country chicken stew - will try and think of some more recipes i use If you want me to put recipes on or post them out to you let me know or PM me

peaceandfreedom - those are some brilliant suggestions - i spent alot of saturday starting the whole organisation process Certainly feel better for it, the house looks better and i decluttered a couple of things along the way - which doesn'y include the binbag full of rubbish :eek::o

.NoMoney.

I know exactly how you feel - as you read my diary I am sure you know all about my little rants.

Now with my wife working long shifts I find it even harder to sit down and relax, and generally when I do it is normally too late to do anything, so your instant reaction is to throw money at it. When my wife works (especially now it's the holidays) the kids are at the grandparents, so by the time I finish work, pick them up and get home it's almost their bed time (7pm) and with the wife not getting home till 8.30 I don't have time to cook, especially as she won't be wanting to eat at 9.

On day's like that we usually get Fresh pasta from one of the supermarkets, it's a little pricey (around £5 for 2 packs and some sauce) but it only takes 5 minutes to cook from scratch. So that can be made as she gets out of the bath, and ready by the time she gets down the stairs.

As for not having time to do things, I am a lists freak so don't have problems there, I generally write a list of all things that need to be done for the week on a Sunday, and pin it to the noticeboard in the kitchen - as and when we do something it get crossed off - if something needs adding it gets added.

The one thing we are struggling with though is decluttering, unable to find a bootfair anywhere!

jwil

Thanks for the replies everyone - I keep thinking about writing lists, and then they get so big in my head that they scare me! I maybe will have a go though, it will probably help.

.No Money - I don't like eating late at night either, so the later we eat, the more likely it is to be something quick (and therefore expensive!).

I do like the idea of sharing recipes though - quick and easy ones, and also ones that can be frozen. I'd like your chicken stew recipe DDFW if you don't mind!

I'll have a think about what recipes I can add to the collection. I think I'm also looking for ideas for hotter days too - I can make stews and cottage pies etc til the cows come home, but don't fancy eating them when the sun is shining.

I have just bought a sack of potatoes though, and was thinking of making home made frozen chips - SW style. I don't eat chips, but DH pretty much thinks a meal isn't a meal without them , so I reckon that could save us quite a bit too.

jwil

No Money - have you checked out car boot junction http://www.carbootjunction.co.uk/? I don't find these sites brilliant as so often they are not updated, but it's a good start.

We have a few decent boot sales around here, though saying that, the one we visit most often is over 30 miles away, so we do travel for it. The other regular one we do is probably 20 odd miles away too. There are a couple in town, but the most popular one is a pain to get out of. Usually on a Sunday morning we get up 5.30 and go to the one 30 miles away, then stop at the one in town on the way home

There is an afternoon one as well which is over 20 miles away in the other direction and we have been known to come home from the other two, pack the car and then go and sell at that one!:eek:

peaceandfreedom

jwil wrote: »

Thanks for the replies everyone - I keep thinking about writing lists, and then they get so big in my head that they scare me! I maybe will have a go though, it will probably help.

The idea of writing the list is that you can get the list out of your head and onto paper, thus freeing up the space in your head for other things.

That's not to say that once it's on the list, you can forget about it, but you can stop nagging yourself about it, to some extent, and know that there's a plan/intention there to get it done at some time in the future.