New and scared but so determined

freebyfifty

Hi,

This is my first post and I aim to make some sort of dairy entry every day mainly to keep myself sane and focussed although I will probably bore everyone to tears with my jumbled up ramblings. It's cathartic (sp?) to write it all down and get it all off my chest instead of it running like a train round and round my head.:eek:

I had my lightbulb moment in July. If I'm honest my dimmer switch has been slowly coming on for longer, kinda llike an energy saving bulb which takes a while but then, hey presto, you're blinded.

I took all my courage into both hands, opened an excel sheet and worked it all out. :shocked:
To cut a long story (very, very long and probably very very familiar to many) I was over £27K in debt, not including my mortgage and strugggling every day to stay within my overdraft limit.

I haven't done much since then, just the simple things really. Making sure I meet all minimum payments, scrutinising every penny I spend and logging onto and into my bank account/excel sheet every day. It's not come down much but I now get to the end of the month without getting to the end of my money :j:j and have paid £1k of my debts.

My shortish term goals are to get through Christmas without spending on credit cards or catalogues, then to get rid of two debts (Capital One CC - £1418 and Freemans -£167.72) completely by the end of 2012 or sooner if I can.:think:

Long term? Well as my user name suggests, I aim to debt free by 50 (43 now) and this will include my mortgage. :j:j

I just wanted to write it down, make my goals clear to me and have somewhere where I can talk, ramble, blether without the shame of telling people face to face

If you've read this, thank you. And I also want to add THANK YOU to everyone on here. You are my motivation, inspiration and determination. You all made me read and then sign up. I will get there and like it or not I'm bringing you all along for the ride :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

freebyfifty

Well, the postman has just been and has delivered the shot in the arm for today.

Bad news - Clydesdale CC statement - (sit down to read this) £7488.25 owing - aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh

Good news - none, zilch, nada, however he did deliver a Christmas catalogue which I immediately introduced to the bottom of my wheelie bin. This is progress - once upon a not very long time ago, it would have been opened and ordered from faster than the spped of light.

Small things.......little steps

doingitanyway

welcome

i havent been brave enough to admit that i'd like to be debt free (including mortgage) by 50 too. partly because i dont have a job :eek:

but i'll be avidly following your progress.
my diary was set up for a similar reason and i really identify with you being scared but determined. me too.

well done for starting :T

freebyfifty

Thank you Doing it Anyway for reading and then replying.

One of my main reasons for wanting to be free by fifty is because I don't want to leave my kids to sort out this horrible mess I've made with my money. I know it sounds morbid but I want to leave them a nice little pot so they can live their lives in comfort and security. I hope that I am also starting to teach them the value of money and a strong 'work for what you want' ethic. Having said that I think that they should be teaching me - they've both got more money in their bank accounts than I have!!! :eek:

I had to go out last night. I really tried to get out of it because I knew it was gonna cost me a fortune and cost a fortune it did
It's been at least 3 months since I last went out and I did have a really good time BUT today my money hangover is worse than my alcohol hangover . When did that happen???? When did I change????? I actually got to a point in the night and announced to everyone 'that's it......no more......I'm skint' when I still had another £15 and my bank card in my purse. Once upon a time it would have been drinks all round and where's the nearest cashpoint!!!!

This morning I feel soooooooo guilty for spending that cash, infact it didn't even take until this morning, I felt guilty and disappointed when I was spending it. It could have paid the vast majority of the debt I want to pay off next.
Next night out is not in the plan until December so I am gonna start a little pot and put all the £2 coins in I get so I don't have to spend as much from my actual cash in bank. Does that sound like a plan???:question:

Today I plan a NSD. The house can fall down round my ears and I'm still spending nothing There's food in the cupboards and water in the tap.......what more do we need ?

I'm off to have a weep over my bank account/purse and update my spreadsheet etc. The entry will say"entry -£35 spent on nothing but a full bladder and a headache!!!!"

freebyfifty

Severely lacking in motivation today.

Where is my get up and go???

I have done nothing on my 'list' today. Time to give myself a kick up the @r$e and get on with it.

Do we all get days like this or is it just me? I find I am obsessing about the cash I spent last night and trying to work out ways to cut back to save it back again and I am already down to the bare bones.

Done one survey and had a squint at ebay but I have nothing of any worth to sell really. I just feel blah!!!!!!!!!!!

hillside777

Hi :wave:

Welcome to the forum and well done on posting.
My debt is slightly less than yours but if you want someone to keep you company, here I am.

I won't be going anywhere quickly. I had an LBM in February and started posting and then went back to spending again. My second LBM was September.

I try and post every day and yes, I feel that I ramble. It is good to get it off your chest and put things in writing.
I feel that it does keep me motivated. I struggle sometimes with the abbreviations, but one you will see often is NSD = No Spend Day.

freebyfifty

Thank you Bonnington for taking the time to reply to my moans and groans :wave:

I've woken up this morning feeling slightly more positive than I did when I went to bed. I still feel consumed by my debts but I have to learn to realise that everyday is a step closer and I am here for the long haul. Little steps.........little victories.......win the battle.

Got two things onto ebay yesterday and two things onto Amazon. The aim is to get another two onto each today. That'll do for now as I am an ebay/amazon newbie and I'm taking it slow to start with to avoid making some huge blundering mistake!!!

Todays big decision is whether to go to Mr T or Mr A???? Mr T is about 2 minutes away and Mr A 20 minutes. It's a no brainer really because if I go to Mr A not only will I spend more on fuel but I'll spend more generally but I do love Mr A.
***sighs*** Mr T it is

No lottery win for me last night which is hardly surprising as I never put it on :rotfl:I can never decide whether it's a waste of a pound or if it's an investment, so I just don't bother. I have never ever won anything in anything, I'm the unluckiest person I know. One day I WILL have money without the aid of the lottery.

This time next year we'll be millionaires............... well it might actually take a bit longer but I'll get there and to just be in CR at the bank instead of DR will be enough for me

hillside777

As you say this time next year we'll be millionaires. Mange tout! :rotfl:

I also prefer Mr A as they are cheaper. Have you looked into home delivery? We live 20 miles from our store and they deliver. Usually by the time you have taken advantage of the deals it cancels out the delivery charge.

We have a Mr T in town but I found they seem to be more expensive.

I have never tried to sell anything on Amazon. We have a lot of ebay at the moment as it is free listing week-end and have one bid already.

Catch up with you tomorrow.

doingitanyway

hi freebyfifty

we all have up and down days. i guess if we're in it for the long haul it'll be that way for some time. as long as you dont give up youll reach your goal. (well thats what i tell myself on better days) i've walked 6 miles today to save £20 on a suitcase, maybe that released feel good chemicals because despite recent disasters and no job on the horizon i'm having a good day, although as you have experienced i may wake up tomorrow sorely peed off with this malarky.

mizmir

Welcome to the forum and well done for getting your plans in place. I've been here on and off for years and sadly am about where I was when I started - the clue is in the off bits! So now I am back and determined to get it sorted. Not sure I'll get there by 50 (less than 2 years off now :eek:) unless we sell our house (we're trying) but maybe by 55 I'll be clear of debt!

So stick at it - and stay on here - it will help when things get tough.

GreenSaints

Hi,

Just popped by to say good luck.

Having a diary is a bit addictive. It's nice to see how far you've come and the changes you've made, no matter how small