Finally seeing the right track getting closer

debtfree2015_2

Wooohooo - 1 more payment!!!

Your mortgage end date isnt too far off either, with all the extra payments, that should come down a fair bit over the next few years!

Fingers crossed for your account x

MuffinTops

debtfree2015 wrote: »

Wooohooo - 1 more payment!!!

Your mortgage end date isnt too far off either, with all the extra payments, that should come down a fair bit over the next few years!

Fingers crossed for your account x

Thanks DF. It's so motivating seeing the numbers going down and down. After the next payment I should be able to start up a Mortgage Free diary which feels exciting. x

MuffinTops

Well, it's my last week day of freedom! I feel really sad that the week has flown by so fast and that I'm back to work on Monday! Changes definitely need to be made as I'm really not happy there and taking time off work just reiterates that!

I've decided that I'm not going to set a target for NSD's as the non spend days are how I save for things. I do have a lot of overbuys still in my house like toiletries etc, but there are times I need to buy certain items and I quite like "saving" for those things from my daily budget. So, I've removed the NSD updates from my signature.

A lot of things I'm running low on too. My cupboards, fridge and freezer are all close to empty so I'd like a little restock. I've written out meal plans for a week and I'll use the plans to work out what to buy to make sure I'm stocked up. My car also has no petrol in, so I'll use some days of no spend to put petrol in. I feel better with that decision as I really do only live on £10 a day for non essentials including some commute when I don't cycle so this way I can make sure I don't feel deprived.

I'm hoping to receive my bank account application today with the post. I'm not sure what time my postie generally arrives but I'll check when I go out later. I'm planning on taking a bag for cash4clothes and I have a couple of items for cash converting. Must remember ID!

I think I've done pretty well on adding things online to sell too. I have almost 30 items on ebay, have added another 15 things onto amazon and dug out the clothes and electric things to sell. Fortunately I've had some ruthless feeling days where things get ironed and pictured before that little clutter loving minx in me starts whispering in my ear telling me why I need to keep those items. I'm happy that I can ignore that voice much easier now, with part of me even thinking "what are you talking about, I don't NEED or even want this stuff anymore". Yay stronger me!!!

Bank account also checked this morning and it's all on track and balancing with my spreadsheet.

I'm freezing cold today so I'm off to find more jumpers. Those are definitely safe from the online push!!!

I also need to venture outside and get the Gas Meter reading to put online and I have a little shed that needs clearing. My neighbours are away this weekend so there will be no shouting over the garden fence asking what I'm doing. My neighbours attached to me are wonderful, I honestly couldn't ask for better neighbours, but I get really embarrassed when I'm clearing out junk I've hidden and they talk to me! CRINGE!

Right, let's get this done. Have a great day everyone. x

MuffinTops

Today I need to organise myself for getting back to work next week and maintaining that organisation.

I've sold 3 more items on eBay (have to work out how to combine shipping now as same person bid on all 3 items) and 2 more to finish tomorrow with a bid each (same person again as I tend to put stuff up in "themes"). I've been remarkably ruthless with my online uploads, even putting clothes on I've only just worn. One top really doesn't flatter me, so that's up now! I'm seeing it as creating space to buy some nice things in the future rather than holding onto all the very cheap stuff I bought for the price rather than for the item. That and a ton of cycling gear that I've upgraded.

So, organisation skills need to come into play now. I've written out my draft 1 of a weekly meal plan and have listed the ingredients I need. Snacks will be fruit and salad stuff. Mostly fruit as I can eat that until it forces it's way out of my ears whereas salad tends to feel quite blah but is a great side dish.

Clothes are much more organised too and there are spaces in the wardrobe which allow me to push hangers along and check what's in there rather than pulling out miniscule bits of material to try and work out what's there and if it's worth the battle to get it out! My cycling gear has been whittled down to 5 days worth of cold gear. I wear lots of extra layers in the cold rather than one or two heavy items so I have 5 shorts, 2 waterproof trousers, 5 thermal base layers, 5 mid layers and 2 top layers with 2 thermal tights, 2 ordinary tights and 5 pairs of sock. These all comfortably fit in two drawers of my large chest of drawers and so are easy to pull out as needed rather than having to sort out clothes the night before.

I'm off to Mr A later this morning for the weekly stock up and then I shall let the weather dictate the rest of the day's dealings.

My car now works too! I researched what I needed to do, wrote it out on a piece of paper and then went out and changed the battery. My hands were shaking I was so nervous I'd written it down wrong and would project myself down the road with my hair singed and black lines on my face looking like Doc out of Back to the Future. But I managed it! Finding the right size spanner was the toughest job of it all and I even did it without losing radio codes! I was very pleased with managing that.

Right, a quick cup of tea and a little breakfast to save me panic buying at the supermarket and then I'll be off. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. x

miggy

I haven't time to catch up properly with your diary just now but I came to say hello and noticed you have fixed your car! And without getting the frizzy hairstyle. I'm very impressed. Not sure I could have done it, and of course you have saved all those garage fees.

Well done on the Ebay sales / wardrobe clearance too. It occurs to me that as things get less squashed, you'll also save on ironing which in turn lowers your electricity bill. Okay, not a lot - but MS just the same. The real value is in having clothes that work for you, of course - but the extra cash and convenience are worth having too.

freebyfifty

Missus Muffy, I am super impressed at you changing your car battery :T I would not have a clue where to start, I know what it looks like but that's about it Bloomin' well done.

I have been reading through your posts and you really do put me to shame. You are super motivated at the moment. Well done on all those ebay sales. :T I really must get my @r$e into gear and do the same. My sales at the moment are really few and far between mainly coz I've nothing much on there

Keep going and keep staying so focused, you'll get DF in no time at all at this rate. :A

miggy

At long last I've had a 'proper catch-up' of your diary and really enjoyed it. You are making great strides with the decluttering/ebay. How did the onslaught on the shed go? DH dragged some stuff out of ours the other day including a few of my school exercise books (I see my maths has improved considerably though that's not saying much) and some old newspaper cuttings. I've thrown out some bits that I don't remember but even though the rest smells musty I'm afraid I've kept it! I know I am highly unlikely ever to need the exercise books again but the boys found it quite interesting ('You used a really complicated method to work this out' said one... That's what I thought at the time. In those days though it was the method you were taught or nothing whereas nowadays so long as it's a valid method it seems to be acceptable. Glad my mathematically-competent kids think my school work was challenging, though).

Where was I? Oh yes - keeping stuff. I'm good at that!

How nice to have an unexpected bank account! (Was there anything in it?! ) I know I have a small amount in a couple of old Post Office Accounts somewhere - it's a long way down my 'to do' lists, partly because I remember saving up and not checking on the interest in the 80's, and having the nice surprise of finding my money had doubled when I came to get it out! Those were the days, haha!

My weight really hasn't gone well this week so I don't think I'm any closer to those 'last ten pounds' we spoke of. I'm blaming hotel breakfasts and dinner in restaurants, which is a nice thing to blame but it's probably as well that it was a rare treat! Back on track now.

Well, I must stop waffling and let you get on... fabulous progress hun, keep it up. You really do inspire me to take action on the various areas of my life that need it.

MuffinTops

freebyfifty wrote: »

Missus Muffy, I am super impressed at you changing your car battery :T I would not have a clue where to start, I know what it looks like but that's about it Bloomin' well done.

I have been reading through your posts and you really do put me to shame. You are super motivated at the moment. Well done on all those ebay sales. :T I really must get my @r$e into gear and do the same. My sales at the moment are really few and far between mainly coz I've nothing much on there

Keep going and keep staying so focused, you'll get DF in no time at all at this rate. :A

Thank you Freeby, I went all glowy reading your comments on my electrocution near miss and recent organisation mission!

I think maybe we need to swap motivations sometimes though as reading your diary and your gym visits is putting me to shame, so I guess we're both just prioritising differently at the moment? But you've motivated me to add daily workouts back into my plan, thank you. I'll pop along and update myself on your diary shortly.

MuffinTops

miggy wrote: »

At long last I've had a 'proper catch-up' of your diary and really enjoyed it. You are making great strides with the decluttering/ebay. How did the onslaught on the shed go? DH dragged some stuff out of ours the other day including a few of my school exercise books (I see my maths has improved considerably though that's not saying much) and some old newspaper cuttings. I've thrown out some bits that I don't remember but even though the rest smells musty I'm afraid I've kept it! I know I am highly unlikely ever to need the exercise books again but the boys found it quite interesting ('You used a really complicated method to work this out' said one... That's what I thought at the time. In those days though it was the method you were taught or nothing whereas nowadays so long as it's a valid method it seems to be acceptable. Glad my mathematically-competent kids think my school work was challenging, though).

Where was I? Oh yes - keeping stuff. I'm good at that!

How nice to have an unexpected bank account! (Was there anything in it?! ) I know I have a small amount in a couple of old Post Office Accounts somewhere - it's a long way down my 'to do' lists, partly because I remember saving up and not checking on the interest in the 80's, and having the nice surprise of finding my money had doubled when I came to get it out! Those were the days, haha!

My weight really hasn't gone well this week so I don't think I'm any closer to those 'last ten pounds' we spoke of. I'm blaming hotel breakfasts and dinner in restaurants, which is a nice thing to blame but it's probably as well that it was a rare treat! Back on track now.

Well, I must stop waffling and let you get on... fabulous progress hun, keep it up. You really do inspire me to take action on the various areas of my life that need it.

Oh Miggy, I'm not surprised you kept your exercise books. Those things just can't be replaced and I still have all of my old school reports and anything else my parents kept. I think I've even got my tiny little wrist tab from the hospital. No hairs or teeth though, fortunately!

The bank account I found had nearly £100 in it!!! To be fair, when I abandoned it there was very little, but when I'd initially signed up for it there was an opening incentive and that got paid in after about a year, so that's why there was so much. What a great surprise. I've found another very old ISA too which also has almost £100 in it!!! How embarrassing! Lovely surprise though and I didn't get even slightly tempted to buy myself something with it! I'll get the old ISA paid into the tesco account and use that as an emergency buffer as it bothers me that I don't have anything put by for emergencies. I'm lucky I realised my battery was gone around pay day!!!

I've not done nearly enough to sort out my weight either and I have resigned myself to the fact that although I'm overweight and hate how I look, it's not enough. So I'm going for a different tactic now and as finances are my priority I'm going to try and work the weightloss naturally in with that. That was what pushed me to do meal plans as it's easier to decide on a healthier food when you've got it all sorted rather than looking for quick options. I currently feel as though I concentrate so much negativity on my weight that I need to hit it from a different angle.

You also had your week in London so it's really difficult being organised in what you choose to eat. With all the extra walking and air you were getting you must have been starving at every meal. It's a new week now, so we'll both be onwards and upwards! We will get there, it's just working out the right method really!

MuffinTops

Sunday afternoon already! Even for a standard weekend it's flown by. Can you hear the desperation in having to work again tomorrow?

In keeping in with my enthusiasm I got up early today, found some more clothing items which I ironed while watching catch up tv and have taken pictures of those to put online this evening. I've also removed the holiday status on Amazon so those things can start selling again now. There are a few more things I'd like to add. I'm really seeing the spaces opening up which is great. In the past I'd just fill those spaces with more newly bought clutter but these days a lot more is going out the door than coming in. I got rid of the bag of clothes and shoes I had, the telephone and the DVD player on Friday and there are bids on 3 of my items on ebay currently. Two of those end today so I'll package those up ready to send when payment comes through.

One of the things I sold last week still hasn't been paid for. I sent an invoice and then an email saying it was fine if they'd changed their mind but heard nothing back so I've had to open a dispute now so that I don't get charged by ebay for the final sale. That's a 2 week wait as well which is inconvenient but it won't do any harm as it's a summer dress so the warmer the weather the more chance I'll have of it selling legitimately.

I've written up my meal plan and added it to the kitchen cupboard door. I just need to type up a few weekly shopping lists and then I'm totally organised in that area. I think I may get a bit bored wtih my options though so I'll just print off a shopping list each week and then can mix it around as I get more confidence (and energy if I'm eating the right foods).

I was loaned a copy of Kath Kelly's "How I lived on just a pound a day". What a great book, it's so inspiring. Although she did a couple of things I wouldn't consider (hitchhiking was probably the only thing) aside from that she did amazingly well. I think she had 2 holidays on it too! Definitely a long weekend away by herself and a week in France! She didn't cheat at all and gave lots of tips on how to do things for virtually nothing. Amazing. She was 41 or 42 at the time (single with no children) working part time and it's a great read. If anyone sees that book in their library then have a read. It took me 3 days altogether as it's quite a small book. It's made me want to really challenge myself once my interest accummulating debts are paid off as a way of saving as much as possible for my mortgage ops. I'll be thinking on that one for a little while I think.

Well, that's me for today I think. I still need to shop and scan and upload the items I pictured earlier but as it's Sunday I'd prefer to wait for peak selling time after 8pm so I'll pop back then. For now I think I'd like a little read of my favourite diaries. x