Clearing debts, keeping well and sorting myself out...

Emzilla

Thanks for clicking through to my new diary. I'm Emz, 31 years old, self-employed and live with my OH.

Money-wise, my debts currently stand at just over £42k. I really need to start making a dent in this in 2013. For the rest of 2012, I need to concentrate on Christmas, as I've hardly got anything and am in a slight panic about it now.

Health-wise, I have cystic fibrosis. It's not too bad - I'm not in and out of hospital loads anyway. As long as I do all my treatments and take my medication, I stay relatively well. I also need to put on some weight (around half a stone).

I know it's a bit early for goals and resolutions, but there are some things I would like to achieve in 2013:

• Finally get my teeth sorted - I know this will cost money and will delay repaying my debts slightly, but it would give me so much confidence to have nice looking teeth. I'm not talking about a perfect Hollywood smile, just something that I can look in the mirror and be happy with. I've got an appointment booked for early January to have an initial consultation and get an idea of what needs doing and how much it will cost.
• Get my debt to sub £30k. Challenging, but I think it can be done and would be a great start to 2014.
• Catch up with my bills, keep on top of them once caught up and create a budget that I can stick to.
• Start saving for Christmas 2013 so I'm not in such a mess next year. My mum saves money for some of her friends and family in a savings account, so I've decided that I'll give her any wins from the free game on JPJ and any money I earn from cash surveys.
• Create a home office. I've got a desk and a broken chair stuck in the corner of our bedroom at the moment. It's very uninspiring and I don't tend to use them much (especially the broken chair!!) OH and I have agreed that we're going to get rid of our 'dining room' (part of the living room, which is separate from the main part) so I can create a home office. I've asked for some Argos vouchers for Christmas to help with that.
• Make it a habit to post on here everyday, even if it's just to say hello and nothing is happening today.

Think that's it for now. Thanks for reading my long waffling post

Emz xx

beanielou

Happy shiney new diary :j
Take care xx

beanielou

I think the most important thing that you can do in 2013 is have a realistic budget & go from there really.

Emzilla

beanielou wrote: »

I think the most important thing that you can do in 2013 is have a realistic budget & go from there really.

Hi Lou

Definitely a priority. I need to get my bills up to date and sort the budget out within the first couple of months.

Emz xx

MuffinTops

Hello Emz,
I do love a shiny new diary. Nice - subscribed.

Your list looks very effective. I hope you get sorted on Christmas things so that you can start 2013 feeling really positive and on track.

x

StressedSteph

Good luck Emz, I have just started my diary too and have a frugal 2013 to look forward to :eek:.

Keep it going xxx

gothrockchic1

Happy Shiny New Diary :j:j:j

I saved all of my Amazon vouchers for Xmas and then got a bonus and ended up getting myself some Doc Martens

Still have some left for Xmas tho

Emzilla

MuffinTops wrote: »

Hello Emz,
I do love a shiny new diary. Nice - subscribed.

Your list looks very effective. I hope you get sorted on Christmas things so that you can start 2013 feeling really positive and on track.

x

Hi MT

Thanks, I hope I can get Christmas sorted too :xmassmile

Emz xx

Emzilla

StressedSteph wrote: »

Good luck Emz, I have just starte my diary too and have a frugal 2013 to look forward to :eek:.

Keep it going xxx

Hi Steph

I'll pop over to your diary in a bit to say hello.

Emz xx

Emzilla

gothrockchic1 wrote: »

Happy Shiny New Diary :j:j:j

I saved all of my Amazon vouchers for Xmas and then got a bonus and ended up getting myself some Doc Martens

Still have some left for Xmas tho

Hi GRC

Well done on getting organised for Christmas. Wish I had done the same.

Emz xx

Emzilla

Evening everyone

We went to OH's parents today in Somerset. It was only a day trip, so I didn't have to stay over. Got a free meal out of it too.

On the Christmas front, I'm going all out to get it sorted in the next fortnight. OH is at his mate's tonight, so I'm blitzing the surveys for Amazon vouchers.

I've also received a cheque for £32 today so can spend that on some presents.

Emz xx