Muchin's diary of recover; becoming debt free and being happy

Munchin

Morning all

I'm back from a very windy, wet Scotland. Oh it was lovely to see my friend married but we were stood in muck to the ankles and my shoes are ruined. The wedding had a free bar and obviously food was included. As I had paid for the accommodation and flights OH paid for everything else - result:D.

I got another wedding invite for another friend but it isn't until next year so I will just start putting money aside now. I also came home and my car tax was waiting for me - it was expected and I have the money put aside but I would much rather keep the £130 in my account.

I'm not in work today so I'm going to go visit a friend in hospital and then I have a bit of volunteering to do this evening and then back to work tomorrow.

Spends w/c 7th June.

Sun - NSD
Mon - £15 hospital
Tues - £5 exercise
Wed - NSD
Thurs - NSD
Fri - £40 dinner & groceries
Sat - NSD

Total = £xx/£60

Munchin

Hi all

Scary how quickly a week skips by - I am on a weeks leave as I was knackered and wanted time out. I have lots of things I have to do but no motivation. Money front - still doing ok and my credit card debt is creeping down slowly but surely.

I've bit the bullet and made an appointment with a counsellor tomorrow about my eating disorder. I saw a counsellor before and she was lovely but didn't specialise in ED.

I also have a list of things I need to do this week which I will put down here as that will force me to do it -

• cut hedge
• strim lane
• weed garden (front & back)
• clean bathroom
  
• clean kitchen
• clean living room & hoover hall
• get spare room ready for sister visit.
  

My sister is home visiting at the weekend so I need to do all these jobs by Thurs. I will also have to pop in to see my friend who is stuck in hospital so I will do the hedge cutting and strimming tomorrow before I hit the hospital and counsellor.

Wednesday will be weeding (if rain stays away) and then Thurs will be tidying the house. Friday we are booked in for an afternoon tea:D and Sat might be a spot of shopping with sis.

Munchin

Morning all,

I had such a busy day yesterday, which was brilliant as I had thought my mojo had done a runner. I got the hedge and lane sorted and I cleared out my shed and took the carp to the dump.

I did a grocery shop and shouldn't have to go near the shops for a while.

I also went and saw an ED counsellor - I was super early so went to the shops but didn't buy anything:). I had so many conflicting thoughts in my head while I waited and was more nervous than I had thought. I think the session went well and it flew in. I feel optimistic but also a bit uncertain as yesterday was purely an assessment but I also wanted answers now!!:o. She touched on a few things I do that I wasn't even conscious of which gave me confidence that she knew what she was talking about.

• [STRIKE]cut hedge[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]strim lane[/STRIKE]
• weed garden (front & [STRIKE]back[/STRIKE])
• clean bathroom
  
• clean kitchen
• clean living room & hoover hall
• [STRIKE]get spare room ready for sister visit[/STRIKE].

It is raining outside but hopefully it will stop to let me get at the garden. We also got a notice from the electric board to say power will be of today but I don't know what time that will be. I know there is plenty I can do that doesn't require electric.

Munchin

Morning all

I am on leave today and then it's back to work tomorrow for a few days and then I'm back on leave:D.

My sister is home visiting and it has been great spending so much time with her and I will miss her when she goes but it's only a short hop over the water.

I've been looking at my budgets again - I've been falling into frittering again and it's mainly on groceries. My fridge is full of food but I have nothing to eat scenarios, so I'm pulling up my socks again and being more frugal.

I also have 2 new saving goals as I like a challenge. I would so love a new car ... well a new to me car and I would like a mini clubman but in order for me to get that car I need a pot of money. I would also like an emergency fund and I'm going to save £3000 in it. I do have savings in my credit union and 2 savings pots which don't mature for 2 & 4 years respectively but I can't touch these pots. I know I have my credit card debt but as it is 0% I will chip away at it while building my savings. I have £50 whole pounds in my Mini fund so it may be a while before I reach my goal:o.

I have my 2nd ED counselling appointment tomorrow - last week was just an assessment so hopefully we will get into the nitty gritty tomorrow.

Have a good day everyone:)

Munchin

Morning all

I survived my first day back in work but made sure my leave was signed for next week:). I spoke to DHR about my new post but with so many things uncertain because of the voluntary exit scheme they couldn't give me a specific date.

I went to my therapist last night and again it was more assessment but she hit the nail on the head with my personality traits. I like to fix things, plan, don't want to be a bother. I think what she is getting at is that I've been trying to fix me with my ED but because I can't fix it like everything else then its turning into a circle of ED behaviours and I probably don't need to fix me anyway. So next week will be less assessment and getting help. I so wanted her just to say to me that this is what is wrong and here is a lovely simple set of instructions for you to follow....guess that isn't going to happen:o. However I feel confident that I will get somewhere and this is probably the best decision I ever made:D.

Ok time to hit the road:)

Munchin

Morning all

I must admit I'm finding it hard to get moving in any particular direction today.

It has been a very stressful/sad week and I've not been sleeping well. My best friend had a baby who unfortunately is not going to make it and my sister has had some terrible news (but not illness). I kind of feel a bit redundant as there is nothing I can do for either of them. In this modern world you just expect the hospital to be able to fix things.

On to happier stories - I dragged nephews to see Jurassic World during the week to cheer us up. I actually enjoyed it and its nice to get lost in fantasy land.

OH and I are on leave this week and we've discussed taking a few days away and hopefully we will get that organised tomorrow.

Money front - £25 left in budget until Wed:o & I'm aiming not to dip into July's budget.

Greying_Pilgrim

Hey hun!

Sorry things have been tough. I understand what you mean about expectations of modern healthcare; technological advancement has meant that we've come to expect everyday miracles.....

I just popped in to tell you I was thinking about you this evening Tilly had mentioned on my thread about being minded of each other on a daily basis as we see/hear things and we naturally think, 'oh, X off MSE would like that ' etc. Well, I was thinking of you whilst I watched a bit of Mr L Ritchie performing at Glastonbury I hope that it was aired simultaneously with you or that you have some means of getting to see it. He had 'em rocking around the pyramid stage Man, he must be fit though - he was [STRIKE]sweating[/STRIKE] perspiring buckets!

Keep on keeping on - you're doing brill!

Greying x

Munchin

Hi Greying - thank you for thinking about me - I saw him:D, I got a text from my sister to tell me he was on. In concert you couldn't really see the sweat pouring off him but he really was a sweaty boy . It brightened up my evening no end as he really is an amazing performer.

My friend's baby died yesterday and although it was expected and even though you know it is a blessed relief for the baby it is so hard for the parents. I also spoke to my sister and she seemed so much more positive and accepting of her situation (sorry can't explain). I just worry about her but that is the perogative of a big sister.

I have an appointment tomorrow with my ED therapist and last week she said that we will now start addressing my ED. The last 2 sessions were about getting my history and my reasons for my behavious and hopefully now we're getting down to the practical side. She said that we will look at everything, hormones, attitude, behaviours etc.

On the money front - I want to dip into July pay:D. I've decided that I'm going to set myself a challenge of only spending money on essentials (I know you have heard that before):o. I need a few t-shirts & a pair of shorts for my holiday but apart from that I don't need anything ....I just have a lot of wants, so my challenge will be for 100 days as it is a nice round number. I will put details on the next post.

Have a good day everyone.

Munchin

Shopping ban plan

Ok so my plan is to have a shopping ban for 100 days - so that I go cold turkey on the frittering. As I have a habit of falling on & off the MSE bandwagon I'm going to make it a bit easier in that I'm allowed to buy essentials but what I'm not allowed to buy is -

- fun beauty items ie nail varnish, new smellies (but I can buy when I run out).
- accessories (can't think why I would really need any at the moment but I do like a good handbag:D).
- clothes (except t-shirts & shorts for holiday).
- shoes.
- books, magazines or papers (free kindle books & library will do).
- & other items that I know are not essentials (coffee out, treats etc).

My challenge is from 29th June to 7th Oct.

Munchin

Morning all

I had a bad night with stomach pains and I'm sitting here with herbal tea hoping it will pass as OH and I are going to our favourite hotel today for 2 days (his treat ). I'm wondering if it is more stress related than I had thought as it has been tough this last week but I'm coming out the other side.

I saw my ED therapist yesterday and we had a good session. She gave me an eating plan which is similar to the structured eating plan I was on but she explained the reasoning behind it which clicked with me. I basically should eat at least 6 small meals a day and have slow release energy foods. Reduce stimulants (alcohol/coffee) etc. If I eat carp I just try to accept it but continue with the structured eating. I should also eat slowly and eat within 30 mins of waking. I got off to a shaky start this morning as my stomach wasn't playing ball but feeling better now.

Shopping ban - it's going well but I'm only 3 days into it which is why it is going well. I tried on my shorts yesterday and they were a tad snug - the button is in danger of taking someone's eye out:o. I'm not going to buy anything until nearer holiday time.

Money front - I have moved money and tided up my spreadsheet, so I'm starting with a new fresh month:D