PigginSkint's DFW Diary

dawnybabes

Brilliant - results all round.

Didn't know about F &B's for Mondays - will look at that.

PigginSkint

dawnybabes wrote: »

Brilliant - results all round.

Didn't know about F &B's for Mondays - will look at that.

It was news to me as well!

PigginSkint

I took the dressing off my finger last night and as the nurse suggested I have been rubbing aqueous cream into the scar/scab and surrounding area. The skin is very tight, stiff and not unlike leather! It is going to be a while before I get the full range of movements in my finger - bending all the joints is going to be fun, particularly the top one, and getting my finger fully straight is going to be even more fun! I am taking it easy though - don't want to tear anything by being over ambitious!

PigginSkint

Hi All

It’s the 1st of the month so that means it is time for updating the spreadsheets and the signature. I have been throwing lots of extra money at various things in order to pass a few milestones! Summary as follows:

Mini Targets Achieved:
· Balance on Amex card is now under £200 (this is now so close to being cleared I can almost taste it!)
· Balance on Sainsburys card is now under £4600 (down from over £5700)
· Balance on Intelligent Finance card (now Halifax actually) now under £1400

I like these mini targets – they keep me motivated!

Now for the big boys! These are the big achievements this month:
· Total credit card debt is now under £19K
· Total credit card debt now reduced by 25%
· Total non-mortgage debt is now under £28K
· Total non-mortgage debt now reduced by just over 1/3 (since LBM in August 2006)

Also, not one that I really keep an eye on, but it nice nonetheless:
· Combined mortgage and non-mortgage debt is now under £60K

(This does not count my student loan, which I don’t count at all yet! My income will have to increase dramatically for me to even have to start paying it!)

So the actual scores on the doors are as follows:

Total Credit Card Debt
1/3/10 = £18,823.55
1/2/10 = £19,620.05
Highest = £25,104.07

LTSB Loan
1/3/10 = £3,653.82
1/2/10 = £3,815.76
Highest = £12,175.11
(This will be my next target debt once my Egg card is cleared)

Total Non-Mortgage Debt
1/3/10 = £27,553.37
1/2/10 = £28,495.81
Highest = £41,680.59

When you consider how much extra debt has been incurred over the past few years (mainly thanks to OH – ahem!) then I don’t think this is bad at all! (I don’t really dwell on how low these figures would have been without OH’s contribution – at least I think he is getting his act together a bit better these days!)

Greenbynature

Oh well done on getting under £28k Piggin :T:T

PigginSkint

Greenbynature wrote: »

Oh well done on getting under £28k Piggin :T:T

Thanks Green!

I had a good February all things considered (money wise I mean):

• no Council Tax
• Refund from Southern Electric
• OH is almost up to date with paying me his weekly money
• Being a home for much of the month (enforced because of my finger) meant I spent very little!
• 2 Avon deliveries - reasonable size too

PigginSkint

Hi All

Well, quite a big decision has been made in the PigginSkint household. Basically I am now 39 years old and feel that if I am ever going to have another baby, we are going to have to get a wriggle on as I am running out of time! This is something that OH and I have talked about lots, without coming to any firm decisions about timing etc – just that it was something we would like in the future. Do you think it’s a man thing to avoid making a firm commitment to this sort of thing?!

Anyway, yesterday I was prompted by a long conversation I had with colleague/friend at work who had her first baby ‘late’ (41 I think) and was hoping for another (she is now 44) but thinks it is probably now too late as she is no longer ovulating (she didn’t say how she knew). Her hubby is a GP so she told me some scary statistics – that you have a 7% chance of conceiving each time ….. and that’s when you are young and ‘active’! I am now getting older and OH and I are no longer as ‘active’ as we used to be!

So anyway, the decision we made – well actually I made but asked OH if he agreed (isn’t it always the way!) – was that I will finish my current supply of pills (about 2 months worth I think)and then see what happens, just let nature take its course. So we won’t be actively trying, but won’t be actively avoiding, if you see what I mean! I don’t have any illusions that anything is going to happen quickly, in fact I would be quite glad if it didn’t happen too quickly as there is a lot of stuff that needs sorting out!

So 2010 is going to be any eventful year and I am raring to go! Lots of things need sorting out and the sooner the better:

· I need to clear a significant amount of debt – as much as possible – particularly those that are the biggest drains on my monthly cashflow (so the LTSB loan is a major target - £182.23 a month minimum payment)
· I need to sort out my divorce (it would be nice to be free to marry OH!)
· OH needs to sort out his divorce – in his case, it should be just a case of obtaining a copy of his decree absolute as we think he is already divorced (as his Ex has announced on a public forum that she has remarried!)
· OH needs to sort out his finances (he is getting there – he just needs a little push!)
· OH really needs to significantly increase his ‘regular’ income (if I am forced to go back to work earlier than I would like, doing more hours than I would like, I shall not be amused!)
· Serious amount of de-cluttering
· Lose weight
· Start taking my folic acid in preparation

This could just be the motivation that OH needs - i.e. kick up the a*se! It could also be the motivation I need to really get stuck into some debt busting – doing all the things that I have let lapse (e.g. selling stuff, surveys etc etc)

So watch this space!

PigginSkint

Hi again!

In other news, OH is going to start learning to drive – it’s about time! His mum gave him quite a nice lump of money as a present for his 40th birthday. I know that her idea (because she told me) was to enable us to go away someone for a few days but what OH decided he wanted to do instead was to use that money to learn to drive. This is something I thoroughly approve of!

In the past, OH has lost out on work because he can’t drive – as my Dad always used to say, if you can drive you are employable. So this will definitely be a good investment.

We have been doing some research recently and OH revealed that he had a provisional licence many years ago, so I wondered whether he could just get a replacement licence instead of paying the full fee for a first provisional licence. The kind and helpful folk over on the motoring board were able to give me some good advice. We phoned the DVLA and lo and behold! OH has only got to pay for a replacement licence (OH’s surname is fairly unusual, only a handful in the country, so he must have been easy to find on their database!) which only costs £20, as opposed to the fee for a first provisional licence, which costs £50.

In addition, we had an Asda gift card from OH’s Dad for Christmas which OH took down to see what he could get – he came back with a range of goodies including a DSA CD Rom for practising for the theory test, hazard perception and also comes with an electronic version of the highway code.

I suppose at some point soon we will have to think about buying a car – I know from bitter experience (my ex never let me drive) how vital it is to keep driving once you have passed your test. I don’t want him to lose it as soon as he’s got it! So more research to do I suppose – small, cheap cars which are cheap to tax and insure for learner/new drivers!

It will be nice to have a car again – it means we won’t have to hire a car for camping! Plus it will be good to have some transport if we are going to be hearing the patter of tiny feet in the near future. I will hold off as long as I can before buying one – the reason we don’t currently have one is that the old one that I had just sucked money from my bank account! I am in 2 minds whether to wait until after he passes his test before buying one or if it would be better to buy before – obviously he is likely to pass sooner the more practice he has, so less money spent on lessons, so might not be a bad idea. Hmmmm! Decisions, decisions! I think I shall just have to play it by ear.

Hopeful1

Wow Piggin, i don't come on the forum for a few days and come back to find you busy busy busy!!

Good luck with trying for a baby. Once you start trying, lie with your legs up in the air afterwards to let gravity help with the journey! I shall say no more

Your going great guns with your debt reduction too. How's you finger now? I'm glad your on the road to recovery with it.

Right, need to dash and utilise the time whilst LO is asleep!

PigginSkint

Hi All

I am full of cold again today – like I have been for the past few days. I cope with a lot of things, cold-wise, but my sinuses are really giving me jip which is most unpleasant!

I got the scales this morning - 15st 3lbs! OMG that is bad! That is heavier than when I was full term pregnant with DS! I am definitely going to have to do something about that!

My Avon delivery arrived yesterday so yesterday evening was spent bagging all of that up and getting the books ready to go out. So tonight’s main job is to do my deliveries. I won’t have a helper tonight so I won’t be able to put books out as well – that will have to wait until tomorrow.

I really need to start looking more seriously as some debt-busting activities. I am spending far too much time on FB and particularly on Farmville. I managed to wean myself off FarmTown and Lil Farm Life at Christmas, I don’t play Caf! World as much as I used to, I am gradually weaning myself off Country Life and I am only playing !!!!! Wars to get the Hod Rod Seeder on Farmville!! (edit: now achieved!).

I think that is all the news for now!