Sorting out my life - Part 2!

jwil

Well done on your Amazon sales! I find amazon much easier than ebay too, though you never know when anything will sell.

Long shot - do you happen to have an old mobile lying around that you could send off for cash?

The CDs/DVDs etc, do you have enough that you could flog them to Music Magpie or CEX and get £24 for them?

With some of your books - if they are popular and up to date, you could try them on Book Metropolis - you get £3 per book there (including postage) so more than you would get for a 1p book on amazon. I've sold a couple on there, though it's very slow, so I think it would be better for books that are still very popular.

copperjar

Thanks jwil - I'll look through my cds, dvds and books this weekend. Good idea! No spare mobiles hanging around though - they've long since been sold!

Just had a takeaway with the ex, meal out was cancelled so it was a cheaper evening! Bit stressed about it all, I think I become a really bad nag when we're together - no wonder she wanted out! I won't go on about it here but I'm really cross with myself

I'm hoping to have a cheap week. Meeting up with a friend on Sunday but that's all I've got planned really. Christmas shopping pretty much done, just need to get another little thing for my mum, although I'm panicking that an Amazon order dispatched on 3rd Dec hasn't arrived yet :undecided Still not feeling particularly festive, think I'll put my decs up tomorrow to try and get in the spirit of things. I'm all a bit bah humbug this year.

In terms of my 10 goal challenge, paid £8 from a reduction in my weekly spend budget and have another £3.08 from loose change/copperjar. So that's £7.46 in total in spare change. Food budget it looking a bit low but will take £8 from it tomorrow and see how I get on.

copperjar

I need some motivation and/or a rocket up my bum today! Another Saturday so far spent doing nothing; I don't half waste my weekends, but I just can't seem to get going. My head is full of should do this/need to do that and stressing about money/relationships/job/Christmas - but still I sit here seemingly unable to move!

Right, maybe a list will help (or shame me into getting into gear)

- get Xmas decs down from the loft
- put Xmas decs up!
- write Christmas cards
- wrap presents to give to my friend tomorrow
- list 5 items on ebay (lost my ebay mojo recently!)
- list 5 items on Amazon
- count up money in copper jar

That shouldn't be too difficult - but why does it feel like I've just challenged myself to climb Everest? _pale_

copperjar

I'm having the most surreal weekend :shocked:
In fact its too surreal to write about so I'll focus on the debts and to do list!

Met up with my friend for lunch which was lovely, added bonus that I really needed to get out of the house and stop moping about! Spent more than I'd have liked and have about £13 left in my purse to last until Friday. But I don't think I have anything much to buy this week so I should be able to do that. Bought the last two Christmas presents on my list so I think I'm all done now :dance:, but again spent more than I intended and have gone over the limit me and the ex set to spend, so I'm having a slight panic about that (does it count if it was on a 3 for 2 - she can have the free thing! :rotfl:)

Amazon order from 3rd still hasn't arrived and they've told me to wait until 18th to see if it comes! By then it will be too late to buy replacement pressies so I'm a bit annoyed about it. Also generally a bit annoyed that I could probably have saved £20 or so on bits and bobs I've bought people over and above what was really neccessary - haven't gone over my Xmas budget but I could have had a bit more left over to put towards my CCs. As it is I've come under budget by £17 - but it could have been more!! Grrr.

Have done quite a few of the things on my list! Christmas decs down from the loft and up - although they look a bit sad and pathetic because I haven't put a tree up. Bah humbug. I've listed some stuff on Amazon (eBay still to do, grr) and wrapped a couple of pressies. Still need to do cards which I find such a chore and I never get round to posting - determined that I will this year!

Aims for this week: packed lunch for work every day, write Christmas cards, tiny food shop for essestials only, finish my CV, go to the gym (!!!), be in bed before 11.30pm every night, be on time for work every day! Don't : stress, dwell, go on, bore people rigid!

jwil

I hate doing Christmas cards as well! I so need to get on with mine.

Hope your weekend was good (even the surreal bit!)

copperjar

I still haven't done my cards jwil How about you?

Well its been a couple of days since I've updated on here. Seem to have had a bit of a spending splurge the past couple of days, nothing too outrageous, but I do feel a bit guilty. Also went out for a lovely curry last night when I promised myself no meals out this week and I've failed miserably on the packed lunch goal - only managed once this week. Need to get back on the DFW train!

Onto more positive news, my 2 year fixed term mortgage ends this month and I'm being put on the standard base rate with Nationwide which means my monthly payment will go down by £100! I'm stressing a bit about whether to get myself another fixed rate deal, but I think I'll wait a couple of months to see how things are looking. Its also pretty depressing thinking I was paying £100 extra for 24 months, just in interest :eek: . Anyway, for now I'll chuck the £100 towards my credit cards and once they're paid off, I'll look into a new fixed rate deal.

I'm doing okay putting any spare cash towards the cards, but feel a bit guilty about some of the clothes I've bought this week. It only amounts to about £40 because most of the stuff I'm getting for Christmas, but I'm just thinking about how handy that £40 would be towards my CCs and whether I should take some of it back. Its kind of hard not to get obsessed about spending any money - I give myself a weekely budget and haven't gone over that, but I think deep down I hope I won't spend all my weekly allowance so will be able to pay more off the cards. Its like I'm trying to kid myself!

Still haven't listed on eBay, think it would be daft doing it before Christmas now and still no local FieldAgent jobs. Its all slowed down a bit unfortunately. Need another burst before the end of the month - need to find £190 extra to meet my goal of getting the CC debt below £3k by the end of Dec *gulp*

jwil

I did mine last night :j:j I'm so glad they are out of the way!

I've been very bad with taking packed lunches recently, so need to get back into that habit, it does save a lot of money!

That's good news about the mortgage payment going down, and a good idea to put the extra towards your cards.

If you NEED the clothes, then keep them as you are still within your budget. If you don't need them, then think about returning them if you are feeling bad about it, but the whole idea of you having a spending budget was so you didn't have to feel guilty about it :rotfl:

I've stopped listing on ebay at the moment, but shall do so again next week probably. All those bored people sat around over Christmas with nothing to do but browse ebay and spend money

iwantahome

Hey copperjar,
Just popping by to say good luck, and well done on spending very little. £40 on clothes is nothing (I bet is pales in comparison to what you used to spend). And well done on treating the mortgage money as debt money and not as spends.

Hope this debt free attitude lasts and you keep your chin up and plod on. It'll be over before you know it, but dont let those years pass by where you only pay debt and nothing else. The memories are what will live with you forever (memories can be free too). There are no pockets in a shroud.

iwantahome

This one is in reference to your post on my thread but...

baby steps copperjar, baby steps. They'll grow into big toddler steps, then even bigger stroppy teenager steps then huuuuge adult steps. So long as you keep slogging away at the debt clearing, it will disappear, then you can get your life back and control it rather than letting the debt and bills control it.

copperjar

Thank you iwantahome. Your first post really hit home with me, especially the good memories can be free part. Its important to me to get this debt down and gone, but I need to make sure I make time to live my life. Its easy to get a bit obsessed with it all and I'm one for beating myself up when I make a mistake (have been in angst about accidently spending £25 on some Clinique stuff today!); but if I have budgeted for "fun spends" then I should be able to spend them without feeling guilty.

Have had a lovely weekend so far, had a few drinks last night, shopping today, feeling all Christmassy at long last! I've not got a huge amount of money to get me to the end of the month and into 2011, but I reckon I can do it if I go back to basics a bit. Will do a menu plan and buy enough food (pasta!! ) to get me through.