Keeping up appearances.......

HappyNow

Little Miss Happy has now arrived home for the holidays and it was lovely last night having all four of us in the house again. She got off the train absolutely ravenous and craving all her favourite foods, so we called at the supermarket and somehow managed to spend £34 on junk food and carbs. And so it begins!

I had a phone call from B*rclays yesterday. Back in May (yes May!) I completed a PPI form about a secured loan we had with them years ago. I've rung to check progress a couple of times but not really got anywhere and I knew it was a longshot due to being many years old so had just about forgotten it. Then yesterday they rang to say it isn't even a PPI claim, it should be a mortgage protection claim, so has been sat in the wrong queue all this time. Grr. But it is now with the right people and I should have a decision within four weeks. Please join me in crossing fingers, toes and eyes in the hope of a payout! I'm trying not to even think about it because I know it's unlikely, but a small part of me can't help hoping and praying.......

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

I have everything crossed for you :)

NewLeaf_2

i have everything crossed too!

grannyx2

Merry Xmas to the Happy household, hope its a very happy one x:xmastree:

Piquant_2

Merry Christmas Mrs H! :santa2:

PinotGrigio41

Hope you are having a wonderful Xmas Mrs H ! x

HappyNow

Thanks everyone for the good wishes. Hope you all had a good Christmas too, and I will be catching up with the diaries soon.

Today my diary (and therefore my LBM) is one year old. To mark the occasionI'm going to do a quick re-cap on progress. I did the same thing when I was three months in, and I think it helped me keep focus - something I know I need to work on.

One year on from the LBM, how does it feel? Mentally I feel stronger for having taken control, but the magnitude of the task has definitely hit home now.

Satisfied with progress? No. Only 3.5% reduction in 12 months is disappointing. But someone on another diary compared being in debt to a juggernaut hurtling along. It takes time to reduce the forward motion and halt it, then getting it into reverse is slow at first until it picks up momentum,after which it gradually increases its backward speed. I'm hoping to be flying along very soon now!

Still hoping to clear all unsecured debt by Feb 2019?Without a serious windfall it's unlikely, but six years is a long time and anything can happen. My shorter-term goal is to have the unsecured debt below £57K by this time next year. That's a 10K reduction in twelve months - ambitious!

What have been the best bits? Knowing that I'm tackling the debt head-on and that things are improving, however slowly. Seeing my budgeting skills improve and knowing that there is very little waste in our lives now.

Biggest worry? Mr Happy's old banger of a car which is still rattling along but only just. It will need money spending on it before its next MOT. Also that I haven't been able to keep up my planned savings pots. I build them up, then we have an emergency (LOTS of vet and car bills this year) and I spend them.

Still Keeping Up Appearances? Yes, although the old car is a give-away that the finances aren't great! Christmas was hard because they've always been extravagant affairs and the kids don't know anything has changed - they assume we are 'comfortable' and I want to keep it that way. I did over-spend to Keep Up Appearances, but not to the same extent as previous years. It was a budgeted overspend and it will simply mean that there is very little debt reduction for January. I'm satisfied with that, but for this year only.

Mr Happy knows I am trying to get us debt-free and is doing his bit by being careful and checking with me before spending anything. He still doesn't know the figures. If he asked me I would tell him now, but he doesn't ask. We both prefer it that way. That makes him sound irresponsible and child-like, which isn't the case at all. But we both know he is prone to stress and anxiety which would be counter-productive to the goals. He does his part by working hard and handing over all his wages to me to organise, and by never complaining when we don't have the lifestyle we used to.

What do the next few months hold? Financially I need to keep my focus and the best way of doing that is through this diary. I haven't kept up to it recently and I need to. And my other new year resolution is to eat healthily and exercise more. Same as last year's!

So, I am now going to spend an hour doing a 2013 budget. It won't be much different to last year's, but I want to go through everything to see if there is any more room for savings .

NewLeaf_2

Happy Now I think you have done well to achieve what you have done. Plus you have learned to be mindful of the money which is a huge personal success. I wish you all the best in 2013 x

[Deleted User]

Hi there Mrs Happy, have enjoyed reading the last few pages of your diary and am enjoying reading about your progress. I too need to refocus and will subscribe for inspiration if that's OK.
GLx

Boomfloom

Wow! Your journey is absolutely amazing and your attitude is so inspiring. With all the set backs you encountered, you still managed to put such a dent in your debts and you do it so cheerfully! :T I will be subscribing to your diary and cheering from the sidelines.

Happy new year!