A Thread for After Debt?

JulieGeorgiana

You can tell February is an easier month for all... we are all not on here as much

Rising I hope you're feeling better and you sorted out those pots!!

BiB I hope your pay comes in above you estimate... I did that this month, DH got holiday pay as it's his last pay packet and they owed him... And he got a bonus at work (which covered the passport fees! YAY!!!) I underestimated and ended up with an extra £40 for the ISA!!

Sam I hope you get to your halfway point soon xxx

So i just hit my savings goal and now have £15k saved long before April 5th

I bought some cushion covers from MrT before christmas, £20... but thanks to 'double up' I used a £10 voucher... well i washed them as per the instructions and the red poppy colour ran and the cream background went pink!! Yesterday MrT refunded me £20 onto my CC

So I went to the charity shop and bought a pair of 100% cottom cream curtains (£4) and some material dye (£4.50) and this weekend I am going to make my own cushion covers! So I am £11.50 up!

I bought 3 of the most lovely baby dresses for £3.25 and will save the rest in my 'charity shop purse'... I am so pleased... and can't wait to find more baby clothes bargins

Oh and then DH wrote a complaint to V!ners because my kitchen scissors rusted and broke... he says the joint was untreated steel... so we are getting a free replacement (they were 2.5 years old!)

And I contacted Mothercare about a refund... and they refunded me half the postage too

I love being well... this is fun getting money back and making things. I just made all my cards (birthday/anniversaries/baby births) for April - June and wrapped all my gifts so that's me done for a few months! I am in the process of transfering DH bank accounts to FD as we get a £150 incentive between us to do so.

Just need to sort out mine and Eliza's Passports... need to find someone who'll take baby photo's first...

Eliza got her 6 week check yesterday (yes she's growing fast!) and she doing just fine... she is very advanced in a lot that she does (I love to hear things like that) and she's very long

Oh and she's sleeping through the night nearly 2 weeks now (8pm - 4.30pm) I get up at 5am with DH anyway so this is just perfect... especially since she them goes back to sleep until 8am and I get loads down around the house between 5am - 8am!

My bank is suffering (at night only), but now I no longer take blood thinners I got some good drugs and I took 1 yesterday and last night was much better! So I am a happy mummy!

We are both going a baby group on fridays (50p) and I now give myself £2 a week... so i am planning a 2nd baby group on tuesdays too... and I may have a lead on a 3rd baby group for Christians... I love being so well that I can get out and about... and Eliza loves the noise and singing

I did go shopping at MrA last night and spent a bit too much on baby stuff... I was very good and just bought what I needed though (2nd sleeping bag, tights, bibs, next size dummies and a juice cup) but I really needed more comforter cloths and they'd sold out... which was the main reason I went!!

Anyway... I'd best be off... I have curtains to dye so can make cushion covers tomorrow! I haven't sewn in 14 years so this will be an experience

LealeaV

Wow JG Eliza is 6 weeks already??? Time is flying past!

Samtoby - I have the same car and L O V E it!
I loved what you said about the only good thing that came out of the debt was the Audi.... same here! lol

Well I cant tell you how much I love this thread! It just keeps me going! I may not be much of poster but I definitely am a follower!

February has been quite a good month for me! I'm pretty much within budget for everything even with some unexpected stuff cropping up!

Well hope you are all ok! Hope everyone has a nice weekend! Lealea x

SOT2011

I have to second what Lealeav said - Eliza is 6 weeks old already ?!?!?! where does the time go?????

I've been a bit awol due to an assignment being due for my OU course, but that went in on Thursday.

Now I just need to get the house straight and then review the pennies - like a few others I have seen as I have scanned through the last bit of the thread, February seems to be going ok, who knows if that will be the case when I tot the figures up properly though. Since H'fax banking moved onto the L1oyds systems everything seems to be so much slower updating, so I need to sit down with all the receipts and update the spreadsheets and make sure I've not missed anything.

Hope all are ok, and Rising I hope things are getting better for you and you have managed to break the dissatisfaction you have been feeling and have got your pots sorted.

I'm loving that the mornings and evenings are getting lighter - it seems to make such a difference to my general outlook, I haven't any bulbs planted here except a few minature dafs in a pot that are poking through at last, but everywhere I walk I see lots starting to come through which is great, daffodils are so cheery as they bob about in the spring sunshine, so heres hoping we get some.

samtoby

I think it is fair to say everyone is having a much better time. I am for sure.

I just got a dress in the British Heart Foundation Charity Shop for a few quid. Jazzing up with some lace I have in my fabric collection and off I go!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekends.....I am off to drink FREE wine tonight at an engagement party....might as well make up on the last few weeks!x

rising_from_the_ashes

Has anyone seen QueenB posting anywhere?

She's MIA from the NSD thread too and a bit worried about her ......

SOT2011

Good point Rising, I hadn't realised who specifically, but thought one of the regular posters on here had been very quiet, I've not seen anything else from QueenB since her last post on here. Hope she is ok and posts soon.

On the MSE front, I have managed to use the washing line successfully for the first time this year, last couple of attempts got rained off or frozen solid, and last nights home made pizza stretched from last night's tea, to a slice warmed up for breakfast, to another couple of slices to finish it off for lunch. Usually if I have pizza I eat about half, then eat the best bits of the topping on the rest and bin the base, but I am pleased I have managed not to waste it.

SOT x

Mort

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Has anyone seen QueenB posting anywhere?

She's MIA from the NSD thread too and a bit worried about her ......

Her last few posts mentioned problems with accessing the site. I guess it might be that again or else she is redesigning her spreadsheets.

SOT2011 wrote: »

last nights home made pizza stretched from last night's tea, to a slice warmed up for breakfast

That's very restrained of you, we hardly ever make pizza last overnight.

rictus123

I cant wait to join in threads like this. In 6 months i will be a regular poster as will be debt free and the stingiest of stinge in an attempt to get somewhere with saving my money instead of paying the banks first, i will pay myself first.

SOT2011

Definitely look forward to having any new members on this thread, I think it is awesome to see more and more folk stepping over that line from debt to debt-free-ness.

I certainly find we are a friendly bunch, and I really appreciate the support on here, being able to share both my triumphs, and when it has gone a bit wrong too

I do think we might all have been turned a touch strange (:D) though by the process of destroying our debts and then adapting to debt-free-ness and the combination of being almost obsessed with staying debt free, wanting to save loads for either something specific, or emergency funds, and for many of us (certainly me) dealing with the feelings of guilt associated with the loosening of the reins a little, topped off by the occasionally falling off the straight and narrow (me again!). Having said all that, I am definitely less stressed without having debt hanging over me.

SOT x

rising_from_the_ashes

Mort wrote: »

Her last few posts mentioned problems with accessing the site. I guess it might be that again or else she is redesigning her spreadsheets.

Hopefully that's all it is Mort, thanks, I'd forgotten she'd been having problems.

SOT2011 wrote: »

I do think we might all have been turned a touch strange (:D) though by the process of destroying our debts and then adapting to debt-free-ness and the combination of being almost obsessed with staying debt free, wanting to save loads for either something specific, or emergency funds, and for many of us (certainly me) dealing with the feelings of guilt associated with the loosening of the reins a little, topped off by the occasionally falling off the straight and narrow (me again!).

:rotfl:Yup, totally agree!

Well, mixed bag this week ..... finally wrote and posted the letter to close the old savings account:j - not sure how long it takes for these things to acually happen (?) and not a huge amount of money to get back but .....

Just did my latest rounding down - should've done it yesterday as looked and there was only £1.17 to move - but another small DD came off so it was up to £7.97.

Still that's £24.91 put away into the new grocery pot in the 3 weeks I've been doing it - so quite pleased

Pay day next week so have created a new spreadsheet:eek:;):o (think SOT def described me above!!!) with the amounts I need to transfer to all the pots to the end of the year. I did have it written down before but I've now stuck this on my "financial noticeboard" where it's easily seen. Hopefully things will get a lot easier as these reduce during the year .

March will be the last of the "catch up" months for the fuel budget and then I'll be in advance of this too:j so .... getting there!:T

However, I'm really worried about the "Big R" - this will sound really selfish and silly but, for the first time in many, many years, I'm just about organised with money and getting nearly getting everything paid for in the month it's spent, setting aside money (first time ever!:o) to budget for annual things and if my job does go .... it'll all be down the pan and I'll probably end up having to live off the cc and build up loads of debt again:(.

Fingers and everything else crossed it doesn't happen - I am still stock piling where I can on the grocery & toiletries front (have 2 Mr T vouchers to use tomorrow) which should hopefully help if it does happen and the budget will balance over the next few months if it doesn't & I can use all the stuff up!:)

SOT2011 wrote: »

Having said all that, I am definitely less stressed without having debt hanging over me.

Funnily enough, I'm not sleeping at all well - I know part of it will be "job worries" however, I'm putting a lot down to not having my long dog walks before & especially after work.

It may sound silly but I'm often quite wound up when I get in after work (:o) and our walk would start off with my stomping along, replaying things in my head (as I do:o) and then I'd gradually calm down and by the end, I'd have forgotten what I was wound up about and be happy and relaxed.

Yet to find another way of achiveing this and think this may be having a big impact on my ability to "switch off":(

I did visit the dog and cat home today ...... poor wee souls, I wanted to bring every dog & cat home with me. Sadly still dog-less but looking & trying hard.