trying to find some motivation

claireforest

hi, ive decided im going to try and start a diary to try and find some motivation and meet my goals and pay off some debts and get the budget back on track.

i am currently on maternity leave and not planning on going back to work (not going to work to pay nursery fees and come out with nothing myself and i had children to look after them myself) however we do have some debts. When my pay finishes we are going to be on a tight budget so i have been trying to practice and get ready as well as paying off the credit cards and overdrafts- so we dont have those fees. but i just cant help spending! the credit card was 3400 i got it down to 1500 but its now gone back upto 3000- i know what needs to be done but i just cant help it- sounds silly i know and one of my main problems is take aways i think we had 3 or 4 last week- which leads me to my other mission- im meant to be trying to lose weight i had lost 11lb but ive now only lose 2lbs and my other problem is housework and cooking- as im going to be a sahm i feel part of my job is doing all the housework and cooking as my oh works full time to bring in money- so its only fair, again i know how badly it needs doing but i just cant seem to find the motivation to do it- which is making me feel guity. so im going to try and find the motivation to check in here in the hopes writing it down might help me

goals-
1- get the budget back on track and stop wasting money
2- pay off 2 x credit cards
3- pay off 1 x overdraft
4- lose weight and exercise
5- get the house tidy and keep it tidy
6- cook meals not have take aways (which will help goal 3)

i think alot of my goals interlink if im cooking im saving money and hopefully losing weight

so day 1- paid £150 off the credit card, ive been doing well all week with diet and no take aways (even though ive been very tempted) ive sorted out the bank accounts so bills are paid and we cant waste money. Just need to a shop- i was thinking about splitting the shopping into 4 weeks and budget £30, £10 for weekly things i.e. bread, milk, salad. and then £20 for 1 week buy meat, one week buy frozen veg and pots and carrots, one week buy other foods i.e. pasta, beans, sauces, eggs, etc... and the other week buy toliet roll, washing powder, etc... i wonder if this will work?
housework job im going to do today is the clothes in the spare room i think- been needing to be done for months! ill do it when ds has his after dinner nap.

[Deleted User]

Hi Claire,

You sound a bit like me. I too was a SAHM up until recently when my youngest went to school and now I work during term time.

As for the house, I can definitely relate to that too. Have a look on the Old Style board for motivation when things get tough, I often join the flylady thread on there and it can be a blessing sometimes.

I look forward to reading your diary and wish you luck on your way.

Tea
xx

claireforest

hi tea, i plan on going to work term time when ds is at school aswell. im going to spend the day checking out all the boards- ill check out the flylady thread aswell- its amazing how more motivated i feel just reading a few posts on here.

clearmydebts

claireforest wrote: »

hi tea, i plan on going to work term time when ds is at school aswell. im going to spend the day checking out all the boards- ill check out the flylady thread aswell- its amazing how more motivated i feel just reading a few posts on here.

Hi Claire,

Just want to wish you the best on your journey. I have a DS and am due another baby in Sept. I work part-time now but will be a SAHM when the new baby is born because our tax credits have been cut.

I am also trying to cut our debt down as much as possible before my mat leave runs out next year.

claireforest

sounds like there is quite a few of us in the same boat. i didnt get chance to post yesterday so im posting now for yesterday- started off being a good day, didnt exercise but i went to my mums for dinner instead of eating in town, then we went to sell our car and didnt end up getting home till late- so oh made (well suggested) me have a take away- so i spent £20 and spoilt my diet- so not impressed. but today is another day- going to do the shopping today- hopefully we will be able to keep in budget as i really really want this debt to be gone- realistically am hoping for the 2 credit cards and one o/d to be gone. oh and today is a big tidy up day-so im hopefully going on the flyladys thread starting on monday for the cleaning

clippy_girl

hi claire, something that may be worth you digging out is a takeaway recipe book. i have seen it mentioned on quite a few dfd and people rave about it. apparently it tells you how to make a lot of your favourite takeaway dishes at home which taste the same but are much cheaper and healthier. might be mentioned on old style thread.

another thing i would recommend is when you get a chance, cook one or two things like chilli and sausage casserole. freeze it in individual takeaway containers then if you get in late or are tired, you can get two out and just heat in microwave from frozen and you just need to make mash or rice. you then have a really quick dinner which is healthier and cheaper than takeaway!

everyone deserves a treat now and again though so if you and oh like takeaways, maybe build one a month in your budget so you can look forward to it and enjoy it without feeling guilty about the cost!

claireforest

hi clippy_girl, i do bulk cook most weeks- im usually good these weeks, when i dont bulk cook im take-away queen, if i hadnt had take-aways this year i hate to think how much extra money i would have

so yesterday i was half good and half bad- no exercise but we did some tidying up, and i bulk cooked spag bol and cass for this week- ive planned all the meals so hopefully no take aways! we were a bit naughty cause we were only meant to spend £30 on food and we ended up spending £60 as we brought some other things that were cheap- but it wasnt rubbish so thats not too bad.

claireforest

no tidying yesterday just the dishwasher x2 and washing but i dont count them as i always do them- its everything else. no exercise either but i didnt have a take away even though i wanted one- so spent no money and had no takeaway so thats good todays plans are no spend, no takeaway, go for a walk or do wii and maybe do some housework- still not chance to check out flyladys thread so try and find some time to do that

claireforest

yesterday no exercise did dishwasher twice but i ate healthy- spent no money either. I did check out the flylady thread and im going to start next monday- dont want to start half way through the week- so thats made me feel better. I did pop to the shops today and went to see my mum and now im sooooooooooooo tired- can tell i dont go out much and that i had a broken nights sleep, oh well no exercise but i did resist takeaway for dinner, i have done a load of washing and the dishwasher.

claireforest

diet is still going well, budget also still going really well- although i do need to buy a chest freezer as my freezer is too small- but its my bday sunday so my mum is giving me money so ill use that. exercise- i havent done any all week :S and cleaning- none all week except washing and dishwasher- but i plan on starting that next week using the flylady thread and im actually looking forward to it. OH's pay day tomorrow so i can pay off some debts

claireforest

ive paid off £400 today so thats £550 so far but i did crumble and we had a chip shop tea- oops