£25,000 to clear. Ready...steady...GO

PinotGrigio41

Hi Banwa,

So sorry Ive been neglecting the diaries a ltitle, but am so pleased to hear that your sister is out of hospital. What a weight off of your mind that must be. Great News !

Good to see you back and posting your good things and bad things list. ( I'm so glad that you didnt listen to Small Bad Banwa over the Bumper incident, but can see it would have been tempting:p ) Really hope that work picks up for Mr B in the near future.

Hope your weekend goes well

Pinot xx

Box_of_Fluffies

Hi Banwa, glad to see you posting again. I think sometimes a break is good for us because it helps us to realize what's important to us, in our case posting on our diaries. :rotfl:

Good news about your sister.

banwa

bonnington wrote: »

Thanks for posting.

Glad you're ok.
We all have ups and downs with spending. Well I do anyway.

Feels like more downs than ups these days though:o

Beencounting wrote: »

:hello: Hey Banwa, good to see you back

Glad you're posting, whether good or bad, but tbh, your list sounds focused and positive, even on the :exclamati things!

Are there any driving jobs MrB could get at your workplace? My DH made a similar move to the one you're suggesting for MrB, despite a varied work background. Since then he's worked his way into an office job by always being ready to have a go and help out wherever it was needed. Keep trying!

We've *decided* not to have a holiday this year too, but tbh, it remains to be seen if we'll actually stick to it. We're always drawn to the travel agent window when we're having a wander in town .

Pleased about your sister, this is the BEST news!

Been

Hello Been. Mr B has tried to get driving work at my place, but those jobs are even harder to get. It's just hard to get a job at my place altogether, they are known in my hometown as paying the best wages, plus they are good to work for. When we have this debt paid off and we can afford for Mr B to take a paycut, we might try and get him in in an admin type role, right from the bottom. They recognise bright people so I'm confident he could work his way up fast.

When we are debt free we can have lovely holidays you and me Been (well not together, but we can both have holidays:rotfl:) and they will be even sweeter because we will have worked so hard for them.

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Ahhhh but I need to keep the DFW rules in place or I'll fall down again (which I've done before) .....:) I've had loads of help to get me DF so if I can in any way help anyone when they're struggling, then it's a bit of pay-back IYKWIM.

mmm to the new estate - they can have a positive effect to so see what the EA says when they come..... chin up hun xx

:happyhear

And I hope so...

banwa

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

Hi Banwa,

So sorry Ive been neglecting the diaries a ltitle, but am so pleased to hear that your sister is out of hospital. What a weight off of your mind that must be. Great News !

Good to see you back and posting your good things and bad things list. ( I'm so glad that you didnt listen to Small Bad Banwa over the Bumper incident, but can see it would have been tempting:p ) Really hope that work picks up for Mr B in the near future.

Hope your weekend goes well

Pinot xx

And ditto, Pinot, for neglecting your diary a bit, should have more time to read other people's diaries now so will be catching up properly soon

Box_of_Fluffies wrote: »

Hi Banwa, glad to see you posting again. I think sometimes a break is good for us because it helps us to realize what's important to us, in our case posting on our diaries. :rotfl:

Good news about your sister.

Thanks BOF, went to her 40th birthday party on Sunday, there had been a time when we wondered....so glad that worry has gone now:)

And yes I have made no progress on the debt whatsoever whilst I have been neglecting my diary so Must Try Harder:D

banwa

Bad Things since I last posted:exclamati

• Realise that the overall debt figure hasn't really changed since the 1st January. Not really sure why, don't feel like we have particularly overspent since Christmas. Good job that it's Bonus Month this month:D

Good Things since I last posted:D

• Work are paying for a slap-up meal for me and Mr B for some extra work I did. (when I say extra, it was within work hours so I didn't mind doing it, so this is an extra nice treat)
• Mr B had a good week last week and should have another this week
• Have done lots of car sharing in the last couple of weeks, so less money spent on fuel
• Have taken sandwiches to work so far this week.
• Saw my sister for her 40th.

Today's MSE-ness scoring 8/10, for bringing sandwiches, getting a lift, having a NSD and posting in my diary.

Beencounting

banwa wrote: »

When we are debt free we can have lovely holidays you and me Been

I read this and thought, ooh Missus...

banwa wrote: »

(well not together, but we can both have holidays:rotfl:)

and then read this :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Hey, can't wait to have a lovely, relaxing, luxurious and all-paid-for-in-cash holiday

Itsadogslife_2

Ha ha :rotfl: I can just see Been and Banwa on their jollies together

Only one bad thing is great as you have much more on the good things list. Keeping this momentum going is tough and you are doing a great job - remember, we're all in it together and most of us will experience the same peaks and troughs

Keeping coming back is the secret to success! :T

banwa

Beencounting wrote: »

I read this and thought, ooh Missus...



and then read this :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Hey, can't wait to have a lovely, relaxing, luxurious and all-paid-for-in-cash holiday

Didn't mean to frighten you:D

Itsadogslife wrote: »

Ha ha :rotfl: I can just see Been and Banwa on their jollies together

Only one bad thing is great as you have much more on the good things list. Keeping this momentum going is tough and you are doing a great job - remember, we're all in it together and most of us will experience the same peaks and troughs

Keeping coming back is the secret to success! :T

Thanks Itsa, that has made me feel better. The way to succeed is to persevere and not to get disheartened if it's not going my way. Saying that I have FAILED to post for 4 days - eeek

banwa

So this week




Good Things

• Didn't buy any food from work this week.
• Awarded meal out with Mr B
• Car shared every day (first time I have managed to do it for a full week.) So got 3 lifts
• Mr B had another good week at work (phew!)
• Didn't have a takeaway curry last night, despite REALLY wanting one
• Managed to spend just £48 on groceries, alcohol etc including £16 on Mothers day card and presents (my Mum will love me all the more for being thrifty)
• Cut Mr B's hair for him instead of going to the barbers and even if I say it myself, I have done a cracking job:D
• Two items listed on ebay
• Down to just two storage heaters on, and on half heat.

Bad Things :exclamati

• Threw away some food which I just don't do. It's because I bought a load a couple of weeks ago for the step children coming, and then they didn't come, and I have let it go off. Bad Banwa

This week's MSE-ness scoring 10/10, pretty pleased with how this week has gone in a thriftiness sense.

banwa

I don't know if anyone watched Mary's Bottom Line the other night but it has really got me thinking about how 'buying cheap' has stopped us 'buying British' and how that has contributed to the decline in British manufacturing. I'd never really thought about it before. And now I have, I am going to make an effort to buy British.

Not as easy as I first thought. I am going through my favourite brands, and my heart sinks every time one of them if manufactured outside the UK (Imperial Leather, Clarks shoes). I hadn't realised I was so brand loyal until I started doing this.

So what is in? (I call it the 'phew' list)

• Fairy liquid, Aldi own brand washing capsules, Sainsbury's own brand dishwasher powder
• Source shower gel, Bronley, Soap & Glory, Boots No 7
• New Balance trainers (Cumbria)
• Coffee, chocolate and pet food from my company (I obviously already knew they were British)
• My Honda Civic (Swindon) I :heart2: my car
• Mitchum deoderant

What's out (I call it the 'nooooooooo' list)

• Clark shoes:eek: (I have barely bought anything else for YEARS - I have weird feet and nothing else ever fits right)
• Ronhill
• Imperial leather
• Radox
• Gilette
• Colgate? (not sure if that is the stuff I have right now or everything) made in Mexico

Can't tell
Comfort fabric conditioner - they are Unilever as is Domestos - it doesn't say where they are made but there is a factory in the Wirral

Electronics might be a challenge. Clothes may take a bit of thought. Think I may have to stay open minded about some things - beer and wine?