Putting it down on paper...and making a plan (arrrghh!!)

skyvicky123

Think I got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning...then again I seem to have felt like that for a while now.

I'm bad tempered, no motivation and hate myself for taking it out on my daughter and OH. I have got to snap out of this and start focusing.

Every time I slip on the spending I feel totally useless and to be honest I think the fact that I know I'm "not allowed" to go shopping is partly what's making me so miserable. That's sad isn't it.

Last night was another "slip" which has left me feeling like a failure (especially seen as it was day 1 of the meal plan) I came home to find dog has chewed carpet and filter from fridge has leaked all over the hall carpet. Carpet needs replacing now. Anyway this put me in such a bad mood that all my resolve to eat the unappealing sausage casserole from the freezer went out the window and I gave into my OH's whispered suggestion of a kebab. Not only money down the drain but not exactly great in the weight loss stakes either.

Normally when I feel like this I wait for myself to feel the motivation again...but I have been waiting a while now and I still don't feel any better. How can I turn it back on again?

skyvicky123

Well, i'm feeling a little less sorry for myself today and am gearing up to get going again on the whole DFW journey.

I think perhaps it's harder to get together the motivation to cut out treats when debt is still at a manageable level, rather than when it has reached a point where it can't be ignored or avoided. I guess at the back of my mind i'm telling myself "well, it's not like we can't pay it back...do we need to be so strict?" but I do know that's the only way we will get debt free in the next 10 years!

So we cooked dinner last night and got a free lunch at work today, plus will cook again tonight so that helps.

Had to shell out for cleaner and dog walker (I know these aren't essentials but for me they're things that are not going to be cut out because they give me such peace of mind - plus the cleaner lets the dog out and is cheaper than the dog walker coming 3 days a week)

Also had to pay out for daughters tumbletots, as well as a few beers for OH from the shop and snacks:( from the garage this morning. I know that sort of thing will have to go and I am trying.

Plus the dog has eaten the carpet in the hall and pulled it all up, plus our filter from the fridge has leaked all over it so £200 I would have had left over this month will go on laying tiles on Saturday.

In my mind I will start the envelope system again on payday and that's D-Day for the money saving. Hoping for another month with £500 off the cards.

My plan is to get up earlier from D-Day on, meaning dog stays clean overnight cos he gets let out earlier, I can take him for a walk first thing and have brekkie at home before leaving. Means a 6am start though which will be hard for me.

Lemon_Tree

you have my sympathy with mornings as i hate them and usually end up taking some breakfast into work.

i think we all have to remember it's not all going to be flowers and sunshine every day we're on this road. I think we all hit highs and lows, i just try and make sure any damage done during the lows does not outweigh the targets acheived during the highs.

skyvicky123

Hi Lemontree, thanks for popping in. I do love to see that people are reading (I know it's not the most interesting of diaries!)

I do feel more positive because nothing new has gone on the cards since the holiday and we have had some big bills like car tax, hotel room at airport, car parking etc which normally would have been whacked on the card.

Today's a lovely day so I am going to try and enjoy it. I have all the windows open so the house is nice and fresh. OH finishes work a bit earlier today so we will be going shopping for tiles.

On the tiles front we have worked out that we can use next week's grocery budget and manage with what we already have in so that means no debt on the card. We have to do it because the carpet has been damaged in the hall way. Combination of naughty Barneylabradoodle and a leak from the filter on our fridge!

Lemon_Tree

i find that my CC is still my anchilles heel, i pay it off in full each month but it sneaks up on me and if i didn't spend so much on it then i would have more to pay off the debt.
happy tile hunting

skyvicky123

Right well it looks like I am over my overdraft limit by £3. That's what happens when you spend without thinking.

D-Day is payday on Wednesday and I WILL control our spending better from then.

I hate that I have so little willpower. I must force myself to stick to the budget this time.

skyvicky123

Right well today is D-Day. Meal planning tonight, and shopping.

The plan is to have around £390 extra to pay off the cards this month.

skyvicky123

Well...apart from Saturday night on the town this weekend has been a very low spender which is great for a bank holiday...(although i did spend quite a bit on Saturday I am convinced I can make up the difference in this week's budget)

Beef stew in the slow cooker
Chicken/Mush Pies in freezer x 4
Washing done x 3 (2 more to go)
Clothes put away
Kitchen cleaned
Upstairs bathroom swished a bit
Daughters wardrobe organised
Dishwasher been on twice and is full again!

I should add that OH has done a great job on the tiling and is not fixing the chewed stair carpet (the labradoodle has a lot to answer for...he's currently asleep on the sofa bless him!)

I haved also setup all our financial stuff in MS Money so I can track stuff on a day to day basis:A

I am in slob mode tho and haven't got out of my pj's...worse I haven't got DD dressed either...bad mother. Seems pointles now as would just be creating more washing!

Jobs for later

Ironing
Late trip to tesco to look for bargains!!

Lemon_Tree

well done for surviving the bank holiday without spending too much, wish i'd managed the same. Sometimes having a PJ day is a good thing, don't worry about it.

skyvicky123

Hi Lemontree, thanks for popping in. Despite the pj's it has been a productive day with the house mostly in order now.

Well I did have to get dressed in the end to take the dog for a walk...and then got so muddy on our trek I had to change to go to Asda! Plus he rolled in fox poo...lovely!

On top of the basic bits I needed I got

pack of walls sausages 10p
quiche 10p
chicken curry 10p
sub rolls 10p
2 slices of gammon 20p
pack of cakes 15p

I love bank holiday shopping at the supermarket!