A Thread for After Debt?

rising_from_the_ashes

A big welcome to altheavlive - congrats on being DF:j. I think having something to focus on is a must - so saving for your house deposit should keep you on the straight and narrow.

If you're tempted by something and the little voice is saying "maybe I shouldn't" then think of how much you want your own house .... and if you still want the item, then you really want it IYSWIM!


Ally Sorry you feel that way - was it the snapshots or us talking about them?

I'm quite happy to take down the snapshots if you want me to.....

However, I do feel that if someone asks about spreadsheets - it really is a lot easier to visually see something rather than just be told it's "X" or "Y" etc which is why I put them up.

In fact, seeing JGs spreadsheet has given me some new ideas for how I could keep track of my account totals (which the SoW doesn't do)...... but in a slightly different format - which I'd never have been able to work out without actually seeing how she's done it.:)

samtoby

Roo given any twinges yet?x

JulieGeorgiana

Rising Same here... visual aides are much easier to explain things. It's great news you got something out of it... if it helps anyone with an 'idea' it's what I posted them for... the SoW was the inspiration for the last snapshot

I deleted mine off... only because it was copied again below so I figured it's still there, but two posts make it a little much!

Sam Yup... non stop twinges since Sunday! Been in false labour twice in 3 weeks... driving me potty!

AlyBaly

Aww please don't delete anything. I am still at the overwhelmed stage as it is such early days for me. It is maybe me panicking thinking I need millions of speadsheets with lots of detail or I wont stay debt free. I know if I even attempted such detail I would fail before I start( I mean the keeping of speadsheets rather than remaining debt free)

I am happy to read and learn but don't want to put pressure on myself, and it is only me putting pressure on myself not anyone else in this thread.

Hope this explains it a bit better than my last post !

samtoby

Right! Times for the castor oil!x

samtoby

Where is the Castor Oil?!

samtoby

That was odd; I thought the other post didn't work! Sorry guys x

rising_from_the_ashes

AlyBaly wrote: »

Aww please don't delete anything. I am still at the overwhelmed stage as it is such early days for me. It is maybe me panicking thinking I need millions of speadsheets with lots of detail or I wont stay debt free. I know if I even attempted such detail I would fail before I start( I mean the keeping of speadsheets rather than remaining debt free)

As Sam said earlier, we're all different ..... for me, it works - I am a "shopper" at heart and when I stopped spending on things such as furniture, clothes etc, I found that I started to really overspend on the non-essential grocery side of things (maybe a bit of a comfort thing? I feel good when I'm buying nice things)

I do still have a tendancy to buy things I don't need in the grocery shop:o - so, for me, it helps if I can look back at a month's purchases and, if I can see that I've bought 6 lots of donuts, (there are already 3 on this month's!:o:o) it highlights where I'm going wrong and I can try harder the next month!

Now ..... JG hoping Baby Roo puts in an appearance soon:) - I really must head off for a wee while & go and do some RL things!:)

QueenB.

WOW page 19 this thread is really moving fast now

Welcome to all newcomers nad congrats on being DF:T
Time to catch up...........

JulieG. No Roo yet! Good luck with the sweep tomorrow and just think by this time next week Roo will be settling in to his/her home, exciting:)

Great news about your holiday, I need to plan one for my family, Ive been collecting the sun tokens should fingers crossed it will be good but cheap.

Rising how are things at work? I have to agree that the last few months have seen me thinking in a very different way about my finances. I actually look forward to checking my bank, opening the post and shopping (even if it is at a charity shop:D) At some points as a DFW I never thought this day would come.

Mustbemad well done on avoiding the spend desire and investing in P Bonds instead:T Now lets hope you win some money with them.

BIB I hope your DD had a great birthday, you certainly had an up and down day:)

Alybaly please don't be put off, I greatly admire the way so many people on here fill out their spreadsheets but I know that i am rubbish at them and just don't find them quite as exciting........sorry guys:o however I have been working on a small one for myself and it is VERY basic. As someone said it literally lists my incomings and outgoings all of which are split into 12. Even that is causing me issues but its a start at least. I am mainly making a complete record of all finance related information so that it is all in one place making changes easier. But OH was worried i was doing it because I was ill and not telling him:rotfl:Do things in your own time and in your own way :grouphug:

I agree that i really feel at home in this thread, there are so many great ones on MSE but this one is always the first i check when I log on and I always smile and come away with new ideas/tips/inspiration.

JulieG. I am loving being a SAHM. yet there is so much prejudice out there towards SAHMs. I worked in education (and will return when ready) and one day I just realised that I was spending more quality time with other peoples kids and knew more about their lives than I was with my own and that was just wrong. But I still get those looks when I say I am a SAHM and then comes the usual question of don't you get bored. As if LOL, I think i may be busier now than when I was working the main difference being that its busy doing what I want to do for myself and my family. I also know I am blessed to have a wonderful OH who works hard so that this can be our reality:). I love the simplier life that has come with the DFW journey and the lessons we have learnt (though i have always loved the simple things). The other week we decided we where all going to get up and watch the sunrise and my boys got so excited that they woke us up before the alarm and rushed out into the garden before I was even downstairs:rotfl:We are making memories now not debts:cool:

JulieGeorgiana

Aly I have been debt free for 16 months and I panic all the time. At first my spreadsheet was 10 times more complicated only because I panicked so much that I was going to slip back into debt if I didn't... truth was it got so complicated I didn't know where I was... what was happening... and slipped because of it (not into debt but overspending). Now it's more simple and I am coping much better and spending less. So I understand that doing what I do would make you more likely to slip... and you should never do anything which you find uncomfortable!

I think the most important thing is you do what's right for you in order to stay debt free. I once told Dizzy ages ago sometimes just having an in and out column is all you need...

And before you know it, you'll be giving us advice on how to keep things simple

Sam YUK!