Off the boil

Sunflower27

Hello There,

I haven’t been on for a while what with Christmas being so busy etc.

My finances have seemed to of gone a bit wayward again, I was doing so well splitting my money up into weeks knowing what was spare and trying to put some of that away for rainy days. Now I have gone back to not really knowing what is what and like yesterday after visiting the dentist nervously waiting to see if my card will be accepted or declined.

I get paid tomorrow and will do my budget again and hopefully will stay in a focused mood for February.

Just wondered if anyone else was having this problem at the moment post Christmas and partying?

foxgloves

Hi,
No! Because I know Christmas comes every single year at the same time & always costs more if I'm not careful, so I was ready for it!
I wasn't always like this, though. I used to spend too much in December every year buying more expensive presents than I could really afford (tho' how would I know what I could afford seeing as I never bothered to budget?!). I also used to buy myself a new outfit or two for the parties & get togethers & go out & entertain a fair bit. Then, January would come & I'd blame Christmas......like I didn't realise it was coming & it had somehow defrauded me of all my money! February would be the worst, that feeling of expecting your cards to be declined every time you use them. Since my lightbulb moment (we're now debt-free), I budget EVERY month, inc December & stick to my mantra of 'If it has to go on a card, a loan or an overdraft, that's not my money, that's someone else's so I obviously can't afford it'. I also buy things all year round to put away for presents, which is well worth doing. No point beating yourself up about it now, just get a strict budget in place & don't make the same mistake next year. We've all done it. Next Dec when you're out partying & thinking about getting another round of drinks in or whether to go on somewhere afterwards, try & remember that horrible end of January feeling & reign it in. I can assure you that no amount of spending & partying can feel as good as finally feeling really in control of your money & being debt-free after so many years x

HeadAboveWater

Hi Sunflower27

I can actually relate to that myself! I've been very good in recent months with my weekly cash allowance etc. Christmas wasn't over budget and didn't put me into debt, but for some reason my January has totally gone to pot!

I'm (im)patiently waiting for payday next Thursday and looking forward to getting things back on track!

Will *subscribe* to see how you're doing! Hopefully we'll encourage each other along the way!

Sunflower27

Right no more excuses this is the year to get honest and straight with myself.

Yes would love to hear how you get on with the struggles as well. The first few months seem easy its keeping it up that is hard.

bt1

Hi sunflower,

I'm in exactly the same position as you. Haven't been on here for ages. Was doing so well with money etc- then it all went to pot!!

Payday is Saturday for me and my budget is all ready again! Hope I can stick to it this time round!!

X

Sunflower27

BT1 let me know how you get on.

I definitely think regularly checking into this website helps it keeps you focused and on track.

DO you or anyone else know how to put a signature on the bottom of all my posts to say how much debt I have left to pay off.

HeadAboveWater

Click 'user cp' above the thread title then you'll see 'edit signature' down the left hand side. It's a great way to see what your goal is, and how far you've left to go, whether it's debt or savings

Happy Friday!

Sunflower27

Thank you headabovewater

Happy Friday to you.

ButterflyBee

Hello Sunflower,

Yes, I too know how you feel. This has been my first month back and as I made a new year resolution and swore to it with my daughter I have no choice but to stick to it. :rotfl: Goddness but she is a scary 15yr old!

I must be honest, Foxgloves is so right and I love her statement!

'If it has to go on a card, a loan or an overdraft, that's not my money, that's someone else's so I obviously can't afford it'.

and I will remember and remind myself of this every time of irrational mind!

I also check in onto my diary often, almost daily as it keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Best of luck to you, I will subscribe and offer support and look forward to see you also fight the spending bug....be warned it is a pesty bug and hard to shake off but we can all be cured with the right frame of mind and treatment.

Sunflower27

Yes foxgloves is so right and that is the way I am going to deal with my finances from now on.

It does help that I have admitted it to myself.

No looking back now.

foxgloves

Sunflower & Butterflybee, So glad you found my spending mantra useful......how I wish I'd come up with it in my 20s & not waited till my early 40s!! We have paid off all our debts now, & I have found I really enjoy sitting & doing the budgetting every month. It really is the only way I can 'target' money at things properly whether it's paying off debts or trying to get an emergency fund or savings together. I don't want to sound too perfect though....I've joined the 'What debt-free things have you done today?' thread & I'm about to confess to a near miss on the money-wasting front! When i was a student, my Mum used to say 'You can't spend what you haven't got?' & I'd look at her witheringly & say 'But I've still got cheques left' or 'I'm not at my overdraft limit yet', but she was right & I know she can barely believe how much my attitude to money has changed. Really, it took falling in love with my partner......a man with exactly the same attitude to money as me....only worse!! The LBM came soon afterwards, as I saw how much of our (admittedly pretty reasonable) income was flying out every month just for debt repayments. My mantra works for both of us. Hope it helps you too x