Stop being a Wimp!... DMP Journey

Ellieseleven

This month has been a nightmare so far:( Not only does my car need work but OH's van broke down and needed a new starter motor (£200) which meant that he couldn't get to the job he was working on so no wages!

I needed a filling replaced (£85) and then the day after part of another filling broke!!!!

Now the &*^*^*% TV has decided to pack in and won't come on

All our emergency money has been used up:eek: It's times like this that are hard and my usual positive outlook has taken a beating. I keep telling myself that there are a lot of people far worse off than us (not sure that I'm believing this just now?)

Thank God for bank of mum & dad who have come to our rescue. They have paid for OH's van so he can go back to work and have said that it is a gift as we are trying so hard toget ourselves straight.

I should count myself very lucky to have such a wonderful caring family and yes there are many people in far worse situations than us:o

Ellieseleven

I will be glad to see the back of this month, it's been nothing but pay out, pay out, pay out! First I had to have some dental work done, followed by my car being serviced which resulted in new brake pads and drums, followed by OHs van breaking down and having to have a new starter motor fitted, followed by my car having it's wheels tracked, followed by TV starting to pack up, followed by OH's new prescription for glasses - phew! I think that's it, there's nothing left in the rainy day fund - but hey, guess what? No credit cards therefore al paid for in cash

Ellieseleven

So, new month, let's hope that it's not as costly as October:o

Another payment to CCCS today which means that we have paid back a quarter of our debt:T Our DFD remains at March 2017 but I am hoping to bring that a little nearer at our next review.

I am managing to have about 4 NSD's each week and I am putting as much money away as I can. I stopped smoking years ago but I have started putting away what I would spend each day again and it is really adding up! The last time that I did this it paid the repayments on my car but this time my goal is a mobile home in the sun once all the debt has gone (I'm allowed to dream and this is what is keeping me focused at the moment).

I have finally completed my spreadsheet with all our debts on it - this is another thing that keeps me motivated when I update it and see the debt go down (although, sometimes I think that I am wishing my life away)

I've bought 7 christmas presents so far and got a good deal when I bought a Boots 3 for 2 last week. My OH needed new glasses which were £200:eek: but when I bought the 3for2 they also gave me a voucher for £50 off glasses so I was well chuffed!!

Keep safe DFW's
Take care
Ellie xx

Ellieseleven

I've just read back through my diary for the last couple of years and had forgotten just how low I felt at times. Two years on I don't really have very dark days any more, I have days (or weeks) where things don't go well i.e. car etc. but on the whole life is so much better and it's just, well, life:)

OH is still a pain in the a$£e but heigh ho, he's good fun sometimes too:o

I still don't regret going down the DMP route and for us it has made the difference to our lives. We can't have credit but we don't want it. We have enough money to live and we live quite well, we have everything we need and even manage a couple of treats now and again;)

For all you DFW's out there, keep up the good work and one day we will all be debt free.

Take care all
Ellie xx

Ellieseleven

Oh, just have to share! Put some boots on e-bay that my daughter gave to me and they sell for over £100:T I'm going to give the money to her but I'm well chuffed:o

Chrisblue1962

Ellieseleven wrote: »

Oh, just have to share! Put some boots on e-bay that my daughter gave to me and they sell for over £100:T I'm going to give the money to her but I'm well chuffed:o

Excellent Ellieseleven. Hope your daughter buys you something nice from the proceeds of your work .

Glad your DMP is going ok...I think thy're a bit like an old bus...they take their time but get you to where you want to be eventually

Ellieseleven

Chrisblue1962 wrote: »

Excellent Ellieseleven. Hope your daughter buys you something nice from the proceeds of your work .

Glad your DMP is going ok...I think thy're a bit like an old bus...they take their time but get you to where you want to be eventually

Hi Chrisblue,

The boots went for £110 and my daughter treated me to tea, so that was nice:)

Good description of the DMP, I'm making the most of the ride:)

Hope all is well with you

Ellie xx

Ellieseleven

Another month, another payment!

Now fully concentrating on buying Christmas presents, all budgetted for and on track.

I have been saving supermarket stamps for food so that's covered although I have been shopping at Aldo for months so will begrudge paying more for the things at the bigger supermarkets but I've decided to look on it as a treat. I've always saved and really enjoy the Christmas shop as I don't feel like I'm spending real money;)

I look forward to Christmas as a time to spend with family, look forward to having some time off work to relax and enjoy not having to worry about how much I've spent or how to pay it back afterwards:o

My spreadsheet is fully up to date so that I can see how far we have progressed since going onto the DMP and we have paid off 28% of our debt in a little over 2 years. The more we pay, the more I feel motivated to carry on. We can see an end to the debt and look forward to becoming debt free.

On the downside, I have had to have more work done on my car (cam belt) but I am hoping that this will be the last for a while. The car has used all my emergency fund so I am having to start again:(

We struggle to get through this part of the year as OH's work dries up, he mopes around the house feeling sorry for himself which annoys me as I'm a "doer" so would have to find an alternative but he just buries his head and leaves everything to me:mad: I'm past arguing with him so we just plough on regardless but I do feel very resentful sometimes especially when I'm working 11 hours a day and he is chilling out in front of the TV:mad::mad:

Anyway, positive note to end on - our debt is getting towards the 30k mark which is another boost for me and when it dips below into the twenties I will be ecstatic!!:)

Ellieseleven

After a miserable year for my OH and his business, he has finally decided to give up and try to find a job! This is bitter sweet as we have put so much into this business and really tried hard to make it work but unfortunately there has to be a point when you say "enough is enough!"

On the bright side, if he does get a job then we will be so much better off, he doesn't even need to get a job that pays well as anything is better than the nothing that he has been earning recently.

The only problem now is finding something:o

Ellieseleven

Right, that's it! I have finally stopped spending money for Christmas:eek: All presents bought and wrapped, food shop done and Turkey sitting in the kitchen ready to be cooked.

Going to be doing some baking this afternoon, making my own trifle and cakes.

I am looking forward to a new year and getting stuck into some debt busting. I've started by joining the grocery challenge thread for January 2013 with a very realistic £240 per month which I hope to cut down a little further as the months go by. I also want to aim for 12 NSD's which I think that I can achieve as I have been playing this game on my own for a few months now and winning:)

The only fly in the ointment at the moment is my car with which I am still having problems. It's now losing power and looks like it needs a valve replacing and also an MOT before the end of the year:eek:... fingers and toes crossed that this is the last as my emergency fund is down to £70 and this bill is likely to be £140:o

Merry Christmas DFW's and here's to a brighter future for all of us!:beer:

Take Care
Ellie xx