Paid off £30K, about £6k more to go!

muffin74

Saturday morning and I have the morning to myself. It is freezing outside so I am not going to venture far from home today, maybe just to the local shop to get a few bits and bobs like bin bags, sugar, milk etc! It hasn't started snowing here in London yet but according to the weather forecast it will later so I might pop out in a minute. My house is a bit untidy so I am going to spend most of the day doing a good tidy up. I might go through my money paperwork/ files and shred old documents I don't need anymore. It makes me feel like I am in control and sorting things out.

I have been trying to do Christmas on a very tight budget so I am just sticking to the essentials (modest presents for closest family) and trying to avoid temptation. I did buy myself a little Christmas tree in a plant pot from M&S for £10 but that is it, I am not going to buy any other decorations, just pull out a few bits and bobs from the cupboard from previous years! The tree was my little treat to myself - sad, aren't I? I am going to hang some decorations and mini lights on it later too. I am losing the plot, honestly.

My mum has been on a short break with my aunt who is a bit of a shopaholic. I thought that my aunt could afford it but it turns out she is having to work two jobs and has a really big mortgage. She is 50 and says she doesn't know if she will be able to afford to retire. What a shame. Hearing that reminds me that if you want to make the most of your money, you just have to stop buying stuff you don't need and can't afford. It is that simple and that boring. You have to change your habits and stick to it.

I hope that by the time I am 50 I have some money put aside and if I do have a mortgage, it is a small one. I feel knackered at 36, I don't know if I will have any energy left in 10 or 20 years time! This week I trudged off in the dark, freezing night on two evenings to do private tuition. I was really tired and wished I didn't have to do it but I hope that I will be able to take it easy when I am older. However, who knows what life will have in store? When I left home 18 years ago I couldn't have imagined the ups and downs that I would experience. Whatever happens, I am going to try my hardest to get debt free and stay debt free. If I can do that, I will have made a start.

NewlySingle

muffin74 wrote: »

My house is a bit untidy so I am going to spend most of the day doing a good tidy up. I might go through my money paperwork/ files and shred old documents I don't need anymore. It makes me feel like I am in control and sorting things out.

I always feel better for a clear out too! Well done on doing something so proactive

I have been trying to do Christmas on a very tight budget so I am just sticking to the essentials (modest presents for closest family) and trying to avoid temptation. I did buy myself a little Christmas tree in a plant pot from M&S for £10 but that is it, I am not going to buy any other decorations, just pull out a few bits and bobs from the cupboard from previous years! The tree was my little treat to myself - sad, aren't I? I am going to hang some decorations and mini lights on it later too. I am losing the plot, honestly..

Me too ~ I'm finding it hard after being so over generous in other years (makes me feel "tight" but I know deep down my family would want me to get a few well thought out presents that I can afford) :A

When I left home 18 years ago I couldn't have imagined the ups and downs that I would experience. Whatever happens, I am going to try my hardest to get debt free and stay debt free. If I can do that, I will have made a start.

Keep going ~ you're doing so well and inspiring folks like me too :T
Nic xx

muffin74

Didn't spend too much this weekend as I stayed in for most of yesterday doing housework! Not sure if I will be able to make it to private tuition this week due to predicted snow but as long as I am safe that is the main thing. Hope I can get to work ok (my full time job) but am not going to take any risks, I will just take my time and if I am late, I'm late.

Hope everyone out there is staying safe in the bad weather.

peaceandfreedom

muffin74 wrote: »

My mum has been on a short break with my aunt who is a bit of a shopaholic. I thought that my aunt could afford it but it turns out she is having to work two jobs and has a really big mortgage. She is 50 and says she doesn't know if she will be able to afford to retire. What a shame. Hearing that reminds me that if you want to make the most of your money, you just have to stop buying stuff you don't need and can't afford. It is that simple and that boring. You have to change your habits and stick to it.

Good point, and scary too for someone like me who is not a million miles away from 50!

muffin74 wrote: »

This week I trudged off in the dark, freezing night on two evenings to do private tuition. I was really tired and wished I didn't have to do it but I hope that I will be able to take it easy when I am older.

My daughter goes to a tutor - and I mean exactly that -SHE goes to the tutor not the other way around. The tutor has lots of tutees and they all go to the tutor's house. Could you not arrange things that way?

muffin74

Hi Peace and freedom

the child I am tutoring is only about 8 or 9 so I think would be too young to come to my house on his own. Also, I don't have a desk or study area in my house so it is better to go to the child's family home.
I think it is standard for the agency I work for to send tutors to the homes rather than send children to the tutors. I normally don't mind going to the child's house it has just been really cold recently.

Ironic that yesterday I posted about getting to work ok. An hour or two after I wrote that, my boiler broke down leaving me with no heating or hot water. I have had to take the day off today to wait in for the engineer. He has just come in and told me they will fix it Wednesday morning which means another morning off work. I will be very unpopular with my colleagues. Annoying. I rent from a housing association and they are rubbish at maintaining and repairing the properties. I hope that one day I will have enough money to move to a better property.

peaceandfreedom

muffin74 wrote: »

Hi Peace and freedom

the child I am tutoring is only about 8 or 9 so I think would be too young to come to my house on his own. Also, I don't have a desk or study area in my house so it is better to go to the child's family home.
I think it is standard for the agency I work for to send tutors to the homes rather than send children to the tutors. I normally don't mind going to the child's house it has just been really cold recently.

Ironic that yesterday I posted about getting to work ok. An hour or two after I wrote that, my boiler broke down leaving me with no heating or hot water. I have had to take the day off today to wait in for the engineer. He has just come in and told me they will fix it Wednesday morning which means another morning off work. I will be very unpopular with my colleagues. Annoying. I rent from a housing association and they are rubbish at maintaining and repairing the properties. I hope that one day I will have enough money to move to a better property.

I see about the tutoring. My daughter is 17 and I think most of the tutees are secondary school age at least.

Bad luck about the boiler, how annoying, you must be very cold. I know the temperature didn't get above freezing today here (Somerset) and it felt VERY cold when I went outside. Nice log fire blazing in the sitting-room now.

muffin74

I was typing up a message but I think it has vanished so I am going to try again. I'm off to bed soon but before I go, I just wanted to say this. I have been letting the stresses of life get me down and I sometimes feel like a boring middle aged woman who is stuck in a rut and whose life is dominated by money worries. Does anyone else out there ever feel like that??

However, I was watching some old videos of my favourite singer (he has been my favourite since I was 13) on youtube earlier and they really cheered me up. They reminded me that I don't have to be a boring, middle aged woman who is stuck in the rat race and has nothing to look forward to. I don't have to be defined by my job, financial or marital status. I can just be me. I can sort out my finances but still have time to enjoy music and the creative side of life. My life does not all have to be doom and gloom and boring work and paying the bills. I can do all that but still make time to do things I enjoy. I must never give up hope and must never forget the young, enthusiastic person I used to be. I can be enthusiastic about life again, I can and I will.

I would really recommend it. Go onto youtube and look at your favourite old videos or dig out those old CDs or records you used to love. If you are anything like me, it will take your mind off your worries and remind you of a time when your life was not dominated by debt and work but when it was about something a lot more meaningful and enjoyable. Maybe it will give you a bit of inspiration too.

muffin74

Freezing cold day but managed to get to work and back safely and on time. The boiler won't be fixed until Thursday! I have an electric heater but it obv isn't as good as central heating and I can't have a bath. Oh dear. Let's hope it is sorted out soon.

Bought a couple more Christmas presents after work, nearly finished. Feeling a lot more optimistic today. I must keep plugging away, not long to go until I have some time off for Christmas.

Choc-addict

Hey Muffin,

How strange you write the post about feeling stuck in a rut, life not being fun etc. I'm having the same thoughts - maybe time of year or maybe that it is coming to the end of another year that we are reflecting on things perhaps more so than we would normally?

Having debt is a huge battle and I sometimes think it's hard for those with out the stresses and strains of it to really know what it is like. I've had it all my life as my parents struggled, got divorced, mum struggled we lived on nothing for most of our lives and I sometimes wonder if this fueled my spending sprees and loans etc - who knows?

Anyhow, i'm with you in that it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom and about paying the bills. We can make life fun, it doesn't always have to be expensive (although money does help! ) so lets say onwards and upwards to a bit more of an optomistic view on life before we all look back and it's too late!

Choc x

muffin74

Hi Choc

Maybe the end of the year and bad weather is making us introspective. I also am a bit worried about getting older. I am now 36 and thought I would have more security by this age. However, I know there are a lot of 36 year olds a lot worse off than me. At least I have my health, a job and somewhere to live!

However, I think it is healthy to actually face up to feelings and accept them. One of the reasons I used to buy stuff was to distract me from unpleasant feelings or to as I used to put it "cheer myself up". However, that doesn't work in the long term if you are living beyond your means, it will just cause a bigger headache.

I know that living within my means is the best thing to do (however boring it seems in the short term) and will lead to better times in the future. At least in the future when I buy stuff or go on holiday I will be able to really enjoy it because I will know I can afford it.

I should be debt free in about six months and then I can move on with my life and start planning new adventures and experiences. Looking forward to it!