Ultimate Challenge. 457 days / £16600!!!

Happytogetdebtfree

Happy wednesday just doing some forecasted financial planning because thats what lifes about planning planning and planning. Just getting an idea what mat pay would be like so when i do catch on i can calculate how much i should save to have as least financial stress as possible . If only it was as easy as abc haha I love that i am paying negative wealth off but i dislike not having any savings no house deposit saves no nothing i can start that soon enough. I have also worked out a plan that will allow me to accumulate 3 months joing salary saves by 2014 or 6 months single salary if its so ever needed just the thought of it brings comfort not that i ever want to use it but i think it takes the financial pressure off if you know what i mean.

I had a lengthy discussion with oh yesterday with regards to house moves what we planned etc etc is it a temp house move is it a long term move i think we decided that judging by our financial decisions we need a temp move that is manageable and allows us to accumulate for a later bigger bigger move, The kind of areas we like have house ranging from 220k-250k thats a SCARY budget especially when you think you need 15-30% deposit it almost seems like with all other potential saving plans etc it could take too long to get a sensible budget, you say look cheaper but of course for anyone with kids or planning kids we all know you look at the schools and are they good etc etc I WISH I KNEW THIS WHEN I WAS RAIDING MY PIGGY BANK AT 10 id of probably held on to my money that bit tighter hahaha. This is the part of the journey i struggle with it is like a battle of the mind like you ninja your having your lovely holiday for your 30th which i totally agree with but i like you would be already thinking eugh should i have put that towards negative wealth which i know is not the way to think because we are on a longterm journey but its the things like this that niggle my brain!

I had to buy a new oven! it stopped working, i bought one in the sale with my money that i had not on credit that is a positive but at the same time im thinking where could that have gone to pay down negative wealth but alas we can not live with out essential cooking facilities.

Should i lower my expectations ? I dont mean to offend but i was brought up on a council estate and did well for myself in terms of career im happy in my job, but my expectations of how many children how big my house needs to be to accomodate this the money needed for basic comforts seem far fetched when compared alongside some of my good friends who live in the same town we grew up in have as many kids as i want and earn much less money that we jointly earn and they dont seem to have the worries i think about. years ago you would have had 2 or more kids sharing rooms etc society has created these changes and values and it can be off putting when your weighing up the cost of babies and houses years ago you would have been thinking of having the baby not thinking how much it would all cost and it hasnt caused any harm to people. I think what im trying to say is i need to realise times have changed i arent going to be in my forever house till im in my mid 30s il probably finish having children in my late 30s not my late 20s like many older generation parents did. Its very difficult measuring todays needs against another generations achievements does that make sense or am i babbling rubbish ? sorry

tata for now xx

pps hope georide boy appears i look forward to an update xx

abundant1972

Hi All...

First of all - Lilt - poor you! I did laugh when I read your post - sounds like something out of a carry on film lol. Very funny about being kneed in the teeth - obviously not for you at the time - but it is kinda comical! I once did a Karate kick messing around with my then partner and did my foot in ha ha, and another time - was cropping my hair - and to make sure I'd got it all even was stood in front of a mirror - with another mirror (set in ceramic and very heavy!) behind, shaver in the other hand. Lifted it over the top and it slipped out my hand and on to my toe! Waaagh! I drove half way to Exeter to meet family before realising I'd done something bad and had to turn around lol. Ironically - all morning I'd been huffing about not *really* wanting to go out - that'll teach me!

Aaaaaaanyway!

Today = NSD number 6

Everyone is doing SUPER I had my brother on the phone lecturing me about my non-gym attendance as he is well into the swing of it. His gym is *amazing* and for the same price I get rubbish - such is the price for living in the wilds of Somerset! My brother just says it like it is... "It's like this - you've got 2 choices. You go and commit to it - or you don't. Just don't moan about your weight to me!" and later when I said I might start next month..."Why? That's 3 weeks you'll have to catch up on. Start now"... Every excuse I had in my book got blown out the water... No respect for their elders these youngens HA HA.

On the topic of families - Just read your post Happy, and I get what you mean. Though I won't be having children of my own, I grew up sharing a room with my brother... and we weren't well off. That said - we never wanted for the essentials - love, warmth, clothes and good food. Some of my best memories are of the late night chats we used to have together with my bro... looking out the window together for Father Christmas when we were little... playing computer games together... I wouldn't have traded those for my own single room even if I could go back. Sure we squabbled and stuff - but it taught us to share and respect each other too. It's not until now - when I'm learning to appreciate money - that I realised how hard my parents worked. My Mum had 2 jobs at one point and worked 7 days a week sometimes when we were older just so we could have a few special gifts at Christmas. It makes me sad now (partly a reason I don't celebrate Christmas) when I see how families pander to their kids buying them *everything* the media tells them they *need* (people in my own family are guilty of this). The kids are spoilt and have no appreciation for anything. It must be hard when other kids at school are getting everything - and you don't want your kids to feel 'deprived' - but seriously - it just seems values are all upside down these days!!! Rant over! Anyway - I guess I'm saying - if your kids get love and support, shelter and a stable homelife - it shouldn't matter what size house you have. Me?... I'm gonna stick with having a couple of cats!!!

So - going back to exercise... a question. As an incentive to exercise - can costs relating to gym/swimming etc *not* be counted as spends. Otherwise - if I'm going 3 times a week - that's 3 NSD's shot away. I haven't quite got the nerve to sign up for a year in case I don't go - then again - maybe I would if I knew I had to pay for it? Arrrgh. Maybe I just need to drag the Reebok Step out again and get back to watching music on YouTube haha!!!

Laters!!! :cool:

NinjaSavingKat

Anything that gets you exercising I am inclined to turn a blind eye towards..

his_missus

Morning all!

Happy - I get where you're coming from with the house thing. We've considered moving quite a lot but have recently decided to stay where we are and work on/extend the house to suit us as really the location suits us, we just feel the house is too small. We don't plan to have a family so things like schools etc aren't a concern for us but we accept that when Hubby's parents get too old to look after his 2 sisters who both have Downs, we will be the couple who will take them on and therefore we will need more space eventually. But as their network is in our area it would be wrong for us to have to move them away. You have to consider what is right for you and what are the important factors.

Abundant - I think if you have already budgetted for gym visits and put the money aside in an envelope or something, it doesn't need to be counted as a spend day.

Well, I had a breakthru last night with Hubby, he has finally seen the light. He gets what I'm going on about at last! We went out for a meal (pre-paid voucher) so I had his undivided attention - no tv footy, fifa,twitter, facebook or cats to distract him and as usual we ended up discussing money. So told him what I've been telling him all month and I saw the cogs start twirling. I told him I expected to have just under £400 left over from my wage and that I'd already paid an extra £200 off the CC on top of the £234 I'd already paid. He agrees that actually my target to be DF by June is not only possible but virtually certain - YAY!!!

oh and NSK, don't overwork yourself too much and make sure you get some time to relax xxx

abundant1972

Additional...

My 40th slipped by like a drop in the Ocean and I didn't do a thing except hibernate indoors - on my own. Was totally my choice - and have never been one to party for my Birthday - but it's kind of sad I didn't mark the occasion. That said - being an Astrology buff - 42 (Uranus opposition = mid life crisis!) is far more significant so have pushed back my celebrations until then - and am using that as my target date (November 2014) to be on track with some savings behind me. Doing this challenge gives me the structure to achieve that goal.

Maybe see your holiday as an investment in yourself. It's time away to recharge and congratulate yourself for the hard work and endless overtime you have been doing. There's this whole philosophy of paying yourself a % of your wage which makes sense to me. If it gives you time away so you can come back stronger, re-energised and even more motivated, it's money well spent.

It's exciting - something to plan for and look forward too... don't miss out on that part!!!

:T

abundant1972

Exercise plan:

Will do 'freeby' exercise this month, and re-do budget next month to incorporate the gym (which I will enjoy once I get into it I know).

Off to do some star-jumps!!!

:j

NinjaSavingKat

Abundant you are right... its like a battery recharge and the planning that goes into this is the best part. I am a self confessed geek - simple as that! No harm in not celebrating either. My "friends" ruined what could have been a pretty fun birthday last year and so this year I have decided not to let anyone else get involved.. so will plan a dinner when I get back and invite whoever wished to come...

Happytogetdebtfree

Thanks for all the input, abundant that sounds nice sharing a bedroom i never thought what single rooming might bring kids to miss out on. Anyway things to mull over none the less. I do free excersise walking haha i dont want to drive to a gym to run or walk on a mechanical machine to then come out drive home i may aswell get the dog out for a nice walk hehe

Anyway i was watching evan almighty the other day, and there is a few lines that really caught my eye
"let me ask you something? when someone prays to god for patience, do you think god gives them patience ? or does he give them the opportunity to be patient?, if they pray for courage does god give them courage or does he give them the opportuinty to be couragess? if someone prays for there family to be closer do you think god zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings or does he give them opportunities to love each other?" Them three questions got me thinking what questions am i asking and what answers am i not always seeing or what am i misinterpreting ? Do we have any examples?
- i asked for finacial security, yesterday the oven broke and i could buy a new one i wasnt worrying about how i was going to do it. It was a nice feeling its made me think a little more about "financial security"
- when we ask for better money management, we are given opportunities everyday to show how we manage our money, ninja you have some prime examples you had best laid plans and then a few changes came, you had the opportunity to do things to manage your money.
- abundant you said you wanted to go to the gym more, you were delivered a call from your brother giving you an earful about getting to the gym and he has pepped you up so to speak.

Through self learning i have found that 90% of the time i can see the opportunity in things that happen good or bad. I have a book called "life is calling" its a daily book you just open it up and flick the pages stop where you feel drawn and it gives you a little lesson or message for the day.

Anyway happy afternoon people xx

Twiddler8_2

Good afternoon all!

Just checking in & updating myself on everyone's lives....

I just did a really MSE thing....I phoned BT & threatened to cancel as they are double what Sky have quoted for phone & net, and BT have reduced my bill by over £12 per month! I'm chuffed as punch!!

NSK....don't make yourself poorly with your hardcore diet, sometimes we need a little sugar to perk ourselves up....she says munching on a Twix..nom nom nom :rotfl:

Lilt...it must be the way you tell 'em! I literally laughed my head off reading your post about your 'accident'...I hope there's no 'knee jerk revenge action' coming in your OH's direction!

Have a great day all
Twiddler x

abundant1972

Hey All...

I'm really enjoying being a part of this thread - I really value the support and direction that I receive - and hopefully my contributions help inspire others too...

I'm posting this on all the threads I'm a part of - because I want to be totally honest - with everybody on this journey - but also with myself. I feel if I hide parts of me away - I'm giving them licence to get away with murder!!!

I've had a big blip this New Year and I'm getting back on track. However - please - I'd like to keep this personal journey (because I do go on and on!!!) separate from this thread... because a) I don't want my own personal battles to impact here and b) I need this space to help me stay positive and motivated and challenged.

If you want to have a read I'd welcome your advice and comments - or feel free to just lurk - but please PLEASE - post replies on my 'Debt Free Diary' page (Journey to The Emerald City) so we can keep this thread about debt busting!!!

You have all come to mean a lot to me and I want to be totally upfront and honest with you all.

Keep up the amazing work on meeting all your challenges... I'm not going anywhere and *WILL* end 2013 on top!!!

Hugs :grouphug:


PS. Happy - if you read my Debt Free Diary post you'll realise just how amazingly timely your post was... Not just about the gym - but about the other stuff that's going on for me. Thank you! By asking to become debt free and learn to manage my money - I am given an opportunity to face my own inner demons that have been stopping me from attaining that. By facing them and hopefully changing those patterns - my goals become attainable.

WOW! I love synchronicity!!! Thank you!

PPS. Just gone through *ALL* money spent this month and adjusted my signature accordingly, and included my amended NSD total.

Today - NSD Number 4

Feels good to be back on track - and honest with myself.

:T