LBM in 2003.. What have I been doing since??!

Igamogam

beanielou wrote: »

Was it easy to draw your wall?
I quite fancy a wee wall
I am so rubbish at that type of thing:o

I just got some squared paper to draw mine Quicker than using IT IMO!!

brizzledfw

nice one Igamogam, but I wanted to mark the bricks and everything!! :rotfl:

Beanie, will PM you.

Quiet day today but feeling much more positive as some work opps came up today. As ever, if you get out and chat, then things happen. I have also made some kale crisps (seasoned with salt and paprika) and some rhubarb cobbler. Think the cobbler recipe was wrong (too much salt, and not enoug flour, even though I halved the salt, thanks Guar@ian...) but think it'll be just edible, especially with lots of cream. Yum it's the dessert, after a leftovers tea of curry and teriyaki chicken from the weekend.

Moved some money around and done a big TT. £66 odd . Some eBay sales achieved too. Just need to package them up...if I can heave myself off the sofa ....

Igamogam

brizzledfw wrote: »

I have also made some kale crisps

Ooops that reminds me ....must go an feed neighbours guinea pigs - they don't eat crisps but they do have a bag of kale every day!!

scotdebs

Love catch up with your diary Brizzle gives me hope that one day I'll get cleared of the cc debt and can start making inroads on the mortgage - not that I'm one for getting ahead of myself :rotfl:

brizzledfw

Thanks debs, very kind of you

Credit is so easy to get if you're on a decent wage. As other posters say, it's the fact that as over the years we each gained more in salary, we expected more so a £5.99 bottle of wine as a treat became £8.99 bottle of wine several times a week etc etc and we also could, as a matter of course:

- spend £800 on meals out in some months (makes me despair to say it but true)
- I could spend something similar on work clothes and shoes a few times a year
- big holidays...
- spend £650 pm average on groceries and wine..
- had things like gym membership
- went for blow out trips to London etc, paying for theatre, guests etc..
- keep no records of what we spent or what we owed
- think about remortgaging to pay off CC balances..

Well no surprise we had CC debt, is it? :eek::eek:

So whilst we still love our food and buy organic meat etc, we :

- eat in
- spend £175 max on eating out, basically one nice family meal and one lunch - it's a treat, not part of the routine
- we meal plan (we never threw food away previously but the meal planning helps every purchase have a role, bit like the YNAB adage 'every penny has its job') and work on £100 pw for food and alcohol for 4 of us
- stick to budgets agreed in YNAB religiously even though sometimes it means saying no
- holidays are planned and savoured
- roped in friends and family to being more MSE and eating at houses rather than out
- cut back on alcohol spends
- got a lodger... Hit Bay of E...

And the list goes on

Feel better for it. So crack that debt and start on the journey to being MF :T

brizzledfw

Hi folks

More positive today, just 2 more days of work too and a good weekend away planned.

Sales going well, TTs achieved. We had a fish and chip tea which was great. Really hit the spot. The meal that was planned can wait until later in the week.

Hope everyone's OK

Brizzle

MoneyMission

Drooling over the thought of a fish and chip tea. May have to work the grocery budget so that we can get one next weekend.

Can't face the thought of a brick wall of mortgage payments. Ours would be the length of the Great Wall of China!

PS. Thank you for explaining MOV's a few post back. Makes it all a lot clearer now!

brizzledfw

Great wall of China??? Maybe..

Did use it as a learning tool though. I made a point of showing it to both girls and saying that they could colour in the blocks each month (:) I am so so kind!:rotfl:) DD1 said it wasn't finishing early enough to help her with uni :eek: so how could we pay it off faster... I made a few suggestions and DD2 said liked the idea of it going down.

Home after long drive. Ugh sometimes motorways are the pits. Train tomorrow and meeting up with mate afterwards. Should be good.

In MSE matters.. A NSD :j so will update signature and TT done. TCB from train ticket purchase yest has appeared (have to say they are v prompt to register payments into the pending account). Meal from the meal plan was lush.. Griddled leeks and cherry tomatoes. Sea bass and curried fried potatoes .. Like fish and chips again All v nice.

dangers

I'll agree with you about motorways - the ones around us canbe particularly foul, can't they?

For three days running, we've been down the m-way and it was not nice today.

brizzledfw

No dissent from me on that comment dangers..they can be very quick to snarl up too.

Going to be going cross country on Friday afternoon too..right in middle of the rush hour. Wish us luck I have already decided we are taking flasks of coffee and sandwiches in the car!

Feeling much more positive today. In fact, ever since Monday. All helps.

x