The Final Furlong......well almost!!!

May2013

Not a great day, feeling the pain of every blister that I’ve picked up on my DF journey so far…..it’s all getting to me a little today .

DD has announced that she is going to be pulling her wedding date forward and will now be getting married next year….abroad :eek:!!! I had originally told them that I would help towards the costs of the day but if the wedding is next year it will mean that my contribution to the cost is going to be somewhat compromised. I posted a thread on the Families board asking for some help to get my thoughts into perspective and had the most lovely responses which have reduced me to a blubbering mess….wow being a DFW can be a real test of character at times .

Anyway the good news is that we are going to be celebrating a wedding next year so there’s lots to be looking forward to :j.

Spending in August has been really controlled and I will be coming in under budget which means that I have been able to pay an extra £100 off my M&S card. I have pledged to throw an extra £400 at my debt on the 100 day challenge so that’s the first £100 in the bag. Once this challenge is over my aim will be to save what I would have pledged for the challenge and put it towards the wedding….I will need approx £600 for my flight, hotel etc and a similar amount to put towards the cost of DD dress…I’ll be pleased if I manage just that much.

Got DGD1 staying over tonight…she went to sleep really easily which tends to mean an early wake up call in the morning….full on Nana duties in the morning

May2013

The end of the month at last .
August has been an outstanding month in terms of keeping to budget... I've not only overpaid on both the Egg and M&S cards but I've also still come under my planned spend :j.
I would normally throw the money left over at the end of the month at the M&S card but I need to start thinking weddings so will be opening a savings account to keep these extra pennies safe!!

Can't wait to start my shiny new budget sheet tomorrow....need to find a spare £100 in September if I'm going to succeed in the 100 day challenge...it's all go!!

May2013

As of today I owe less than £16k :j....ok so only by £2 but you'll not hear me complaining

May2013

Hi Diary

I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time today reworking my budget….I now have three major (planned??) expenses between now and my debt free date – Xmas ’11, Xmas ’12 and DD’s wedding.

I need to have peace of mind that without my annual bonus (which is by no means guaranteed) I can cover these costs as they are important to me. I have a budget for Christmas that’s always stretched to breaking point and beyond but nothing factored in as of yet for the wedding!!

DD is getting married abroad, if I’m going to keep to my DFD even getting there is going to be a massive financial stretch. I would love to be able to help her towards the day but it’s just not going to be possible. I would however like to buy her dress (a lightweight dress for a beach wedding thankfully…much cheaper!!) but that will be it!

I’ve shaved another £50 off my shopping budget and think that should be achievable if I get back into the habit of shopping in Lidl (I’ve slipped back into my Tesco’s ways recently). I’ll stretch my hair appointments out an extra two weeks and cut my clothes budget back by half (it’s not much as it is but clothes shopping in Tesco and Sainsbury should help). I’ve also reviewed my birthday present budget…I love buying the family special things on their birthdays but I could really cut back on this, it’s certainly crept up a little over the last 2 years since the GD’s have arrived.

By doing all of the above, and not overpaying on my debts more than I already do (other than for the 100 day challenge which ends in November), I should be able to cover the costs of 2 Xmas’s and a wedding (shouldn’t that be a name of a film?) and achieve a debt free status of January 2013 (although I still want 2012!!).

It all looks great on paper but the reality is that I’m stripping my ‘to live on’ budget back to where it was 4yrs ago…..two steps forwards one step backwards springs to mind. I’m full of trepidation about this but it has to be done...cup of ‘value’ coffee anyone??

May2013

Ok – with summer officially over I’ve decided to start planning for Christmas!
I’m not very MSE at times like this, I have very little spare time and I’m not in the slightest bit creative so making cards and gifts is a no no for me…everything is going to be shop bought but I will be sticking to a budget…which is quite a generous one. Every year I set a tight budget which gets blown, once I go over it I have a sod it attitude and just keep spending, so this year it’s realistic and I WONT GO OVER IT!!

I’ve checked through my cupboards and found loads of jars of unopened pickles from last year dated best before mid 2012 so that gets me off to a good start. Also checked my booze cupboard and found loads of stash in there….12 bottles of wine, several bottles of champagne, a bottle of Baileys, Sherry, Martini, Malibu and lots of WKD, I like to have a bit of everything to offer visitors both young and old so with the exception of whisky, vodka, brandy, beer and soft drinks I think I’ve got that pretty much covered….lots of booze I know but we always have a house full from Christmas Eve right through to New Year….and I wouldn’t have it any other way

I noticed yesterday that the tubs of Quality Street etc are out on the shelves in Tesco’s at £5, I’ve resisted buying just yet as they will be stored in the loft and I need to be sure that the warm weather has passed before I subject them to the furnace that the loft can be on a sunny day. I’ve printed off a list of all the non perishables that I’ll need and will buy these as they go on offer in the run in to Xmas.

Presents are the big problem, I have loads of people to buy for and this is where the budget usually gets blown. I tend to end up walking aimlessly round the shops in December with no idea of what to get and spending way too much just to get the job done. My family are rubbish at writing a Christmas wish list so I’ve written a down everyone’s interests and will keep my eye open for anything that might fit the bill and my budget over the coming weeks…..haha …after nearly 30 years of Christmas shopping I seem to have some deluded idea that I’m going to crack it this year….I wish

May2013

Not much to report here today…other than the fact that it’s Monday, but the good news is that it’s nearly Tuesday, which means we are almost at the mid point of the week, so surely that means the weekend must be just around the corner….huh, wishful thinking!!

This week is about as few unplanned spends as possible so that I can throw a bit more at the 100 day challenge, today unfortunately hasn’t been a NSD but the damage was only £5.95 so could have been worse.

millionaire_in_training

:jto a nice sunny wedding next year :j. A friend of mine has just flown off to St Lucia to get married next week. It was all very exciting. We will have a nice big reception when she comes back.

i love Christmas but the smae as you I always spend a fortune.I have already written my list of people to buy for and will start soon. I might do some hampers this year again. I did them 3 years ago and they went down a storm with everyone. Because they look so good you can get away with spending a bit less than normal .

When this girl finished up in work we got her a big fancy box and filled it with all lovely wee bits and bobs for her. There were chocs, bride slippers ( said just married on the soles ) loads of bits and pieces for on the plane, but the nice thing was that it was for her and not her hubby to be. That might be a nice idea to do for your girl. I will absolutely be doing it for mine when the time comes.

Choc-addict

Just thought i'd pop in and say hello after your post on my diary. I've really enjoyed reading your diary, you are so motivated - even on the down days!

Well done on the weight loss and the amazing strides taken to getting your debt down, nearly at the . My next milestone is to be 30k or less...literally can not wait for that day and shouldn't be too long.

You must be very excited about your daughters wedding. You shouldn't feel bad about not being able to contribute towards it, I think buying her dress is a really special thing to do and i'm sure she'll love it and I am sure she wouldn't have cared if you couldnt have done that.....we love our mums We didn't expect anything from our parents and very much started with the attitude of we'll be paying for everything ourselves and now consider ourselves lucky in what our parents are doing for us.

Right best get myselt started at work, have yourself a good day x

May2013

Soooo excited......the snowball calculator is telling me that my DFD is now Jan 2013.....got this sneaky little feeling that 2012 could well be achievable :j

May2013

Haven’t posted for a while so thought it’s about time I checked in!

It looks like the wedding’s going to be put back to 2013 after all….my daughter has gone all MSE and wants to save the full cost of the day up front…bravo to her I say!!!

So debt busting once again takes the top spot on my list of priorities… the penultimate payment on my £12k bank loan came out of the bank today…next month that little critter will be a thing of the past after 6 long years.

I’m hoping to throw an extra £100 at the M&S card at the end of the month, my budget looks to be pretty robust so I may be able to stretch to even more.

The fly in today’s ointment is my insatiable appetite that seems to have taken hold…I’ll be gutted if I start piling on the pounds again...focus, focus, focus!!!