BB's 2011 'Motivate myself' Diary!!

brummiebabe

Although I have another diary on here, have decided to start afresh in time for the New Year!!

As it currently stands, I have £2740.03 worth of debt. Admittedly it's not nearly as bad as some on here, but it'as the highest I've ever had!! It's all at 0% - £974.31 of which ends October 2011, the rest is until March 2012! So I really want to clear it asap!!

Currently my DF date is looking at being in 2013!!!!! I want it gone by the end of 2011:eek: Have done a budget to start from February, January's budget hasn't quite gone to plan due to being overdrawn when I got paid - so am hoping everything will be straight once I get paid at the end of January. have already lined up my Council Tax free months to go straight to the debt (although I think I only have one free month due to having moved house earlier this year) and will put the £53.55 water payment to it aswell (think I have a 2-3 months of no payments.)

Have joined a few challenges - £2 coin saver (I've only managed to get 1 so far) and the sealed pot challenge. £2 coin saver is going towards Christmas and the sealed pot will be bagged up when I can & paid straight off the debt!

I think we've already decided not to have a holiday this year:( - have talked about some day trips to the seaside & a possible weekend in London to 'see the sights' (kids have never been) but will need to put some money aside in my budget for this........will go back and look at this again!

May do some ebaying if I can find anything worth selling, but with 3 kids and a busy, stressful part-time job, I srtuggle to get round to it to be honest!

So need some motivation - want to clear the debt & also lose around 10lbs in weight!! I'm also really keen to start running, but again struggle with the motivation factor! Am hoping it'll be easier once the winter is behind us, but I know that's just an excuse really!!

So - wish me luck people! Any tips/advice would really be appreciated. Have got my spending/organisational diary sorted so am hoping this will prove useful!!

Will add my weight target to my signature, but am realistically not going to start until the new year - too many goodies to eat up, so I know I'd fail before I even started. There's also the little matter of my 38th birthday in a couple of days:eek::eek::eek: - I so want to be sorted financially before I hit the big 40!!!!!

BB x

brummiebabe

Have been having a think about progress made recently...no huge achievements but have not been near a shop since Christmas Eve and the £17 I had in my purse is still there 1 week later!!:jHave also been using up food bought for Christmas - lunches have been made up of crackers, nice cheeses & pate (nom nom) & I even used up some mushrooms by making a soup for DH yesterday (I HATE mushroom soup:rotfl:) I'm making a stew today which should be enough for tomorrow's meal too (kids will have something different as they don't like stew)

I have, however, had to spend more money on my car MOT & service were done yesterday but it needed a new tyre & another part - total cost £400!!!!! It cost me £1000 last month & is the major reason why I'm in debt!! It's one of those situations though where I have no choice - need my car for work and can't afford to replace it. Have decided though that if it should need further huge repairs (this is the 2nd time in 4 years it's cost me around £1000) then I'll seriously consider getting rid of it!! Luckily we put money aside for car issues..so could afford the £400 yesterday & it hasn't gone on the credit card!:money:

So today has been another NSD - not been out the house as I have my sister's kids aswell as my own!! Am going to do a top up shop tomorrow afternoon after dropping DS1 at a party right by Mr M's. Will go through the cupboards and write a list. One of the best things I've done this year is meal plan - love the fact that I don't get stressed trying to think what to cook every night!!

Am having my hair colour done tonight (not sure when I got all these grey bits coming through.....:eek:) but this is free - my Mum does it:A

It's getting foggy again here now......but prefer that over ice & snow anyday!! All the snow is almost gone - nice to see a different colour to white!!!:rotfl:

BB x

brummiebabe

Up at stupid o'clock thanks to DD!!! Feeling totally shattered:(

So, plans for today:

Meal plan/write shopping list
Check Internet banking
Pay cheque into bank
Pay off remainder of Amazon card (Xmas pressies bought on behalf of other people, so don't class as my debt!)
Try & make a PAD
Small grocery shop
General tidy up (again!!)

Should be a low spend day, which is always good! Just need to get some energy & motivation to actually get moving now......but lying on the sofa is so much more appealing at the moment:rotfl:

Kayleighpea

Hi there brummiebabe! Thought I'd come have a nosy seeing as you wrote on my diary

Don't think your debt is any less important than anyone elses as it may not be as big a number as other people's. Debt is still debt! But you seem to be getting yourself really organised and I'm sure you will have no problem clearing it this year :j Good luck!!

brummiebabe

Hi there Kayleighpea - thanks for posting!! I am really going to try to clear it by the end of 2011!! I'm very lucky that I have an excellent credit rating & have been able to get 0% deals so this will obviously help immensely.

Have been to the shops for the first time in over a week - bought myself a purse with my Christmas money (I have a weakness for purses & bags) & also got a few bits of toiletries I needed, but no unplanned spending. Came home for lunch rather than buying anything out. Am going to do a shopping list soon then go to Mr M's this afternoon.

Am kind of looking forward to going back to work next week, sad as it sounds, I like to get back into some normal routine!!! Don't seem to achieve much when I've got all day!!!:rotfl:

brummiebabe

Well Happy New Year's Eve everyone!!!

Life has a habit of throwing things at you doesn't it!!! My car broke down again last night:mad: & although it's been fixed by my garage for no extra charge, I do think the time has come for us to seriously consider getting rid of it. It's cost us a fortune & we realised last night that we've spent more on it recently than it's actually worth!!! However, it would mean taking on more debt - something I really don't want to do!!! Problem is, I can see a situation where something else will go wrong & we'll end up losing even more money & getting rid of it anyway. We really can't decide what to do for the best. I know my mom would lend us the money, but still.....

On the plus side it's my birthday!! Had breakfast in bed made by the kids & some nice gifts/money so will spend that once I get back to the shops!

Took the kids to McDonalds today for a rare treat - I just had a hot chocolate:money: we're having a takeaway tonight with family as we don't really 'do' new year.

Happy new year all - have a good one x

BB x

brummiebabe

My how things can change!!! Had the most fantastic present ....my parents have recently inherited some money from my Great Aunt.... They announced last night that they are splitting it between us all so I will have enough to clear my debts & have some left over!!!!! Can't quite believe it, my sister & I were gobsmacked!!

So this has made us consider things seriously & it's an opportunity we'll never get again!!! So we're not going to waste the money on changing the car - we're going to take time to think about what we do. One thing I am going to get us is a laptop - our PC is now 6 years old & it's SO slow!!!

What it does mean is that we can start saving!!!! Can't wait. Can also begin to save towards house improvements etc - we've lived here for almost a year & haven't been able to do much to it!!!

Don't get me wrong, the money we'll have left over is by no means a fortune, but I'm so grateful that it'll help us start 2011 on the right footing!!!!

Happy new year everyone xx

brummiebabe

So, my 2011 starts here!!! Weighed myself this morning:eek: and was 9st 13lbs!!! So 13lbs to lose....am not dieting but will be cutting out rubbish & watching portion sizes (swapping to a slightly smaller plate should help.). Am also hoping that I can start running ....

So my aims for today:

To clean/tidy the house AGAIN
Ironing
Work on budget with no debt payments:j
Write letters closing all dormant credit cards
Have my birthday cake - we forgot to do it last night with all the excitement!!
Meals as per meal plan
Have my 1st NSD of 2011
Enjoy the day:)

Will check back later as to how I got on.......

brummiebabe

So my aims for today were:

To clean/[STRIKE]tidy[/STRIKE] the house AGAIN The cleaning will have to wait til tomorrow
[STRIKE]Ironing[/STRIKE]
Work on budget with no debt payments:j
Write letters closing all dormant credit cards Not done - no ink in printer!!
Have my birthday cake - we forgot to do it last night with all the excitement!!Will take round to family tomorrow & cut it then
[STRIKE]Meals as per meal plan[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Have my 1st NSD of 2011[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Enjoy the day[/STRIKE]:)Had a lovely day all round

Have felt absolutely shattered all day but am pushing myself through!!:rotfl:Now watching Eastenders (don't know that I want to with the current storyline.....) and am going to try & have an early (ish) night! Need to pop out tomorrow to get some contact lens solution, as I've run out, but am not intending to spend anymore than that!

Hope you're all having a good evening!

choogirl

Hi Brummiebabe

Thats fantastic news on being able to clear your debts. What a great start to the New Year!

I watched Eastenders tonight as well but I couldn't bring myself to watch it last night.

brummiebabe

Hi Choogirl - I do feel very lucky!! It was totally unexpected but really couldn't have come at a better time for us! Money has always burnt a hole in our pocket, so we're both trying to be sensible this time!!

Feel a bit of a fraud now having a DF diary, but this is the board I always post on so want to stick around. I do want to set some targets for savings & this will require probably more discipline than paying off the debt!:rotfl:I also don't want to get back into debt again, so think posting on here will help to keep me on the straight and narrow!

January is a tight month for us, we will not be dipping into this money so need to stick to our budget!! For me, the best thing is just not to go near any shops!!:rotfl:

So, NSD today - here's to many more of them:beer:
BB x