oh my life...... Light Bulb moment.

MiMi66

I shall keep steering him away from spending too much on lunches, he has cut it back a bit and I need to get more organised. Thank you for the good suggestions. I like the pasta idea but I don't think he'd go do it. 17, and it's an odd age for doing something different from the norm.
I've done really well budget wise. Bare minimum spent this week. Fuel and cat food a pain but have managed it with transferring cash from savings. Haven't used the cc!!! And I was wrong about not having enough in my direct debit account for the bills!�� I redid the maths and it was fine.
Must have had a funny five minutes!
Sleep now!!! 1 week to pay day!!! Yay!!!

Verbatim

Well done on not using the cc! That's a massive win for you. And you've obviously planned well and then forgotten you have/ not believed you could have in that you did have enough in the bills account.
All looking good.

MiMi66

Hey hey hey!! Its pay day time - and my totals have gone down by about £600 on my debt and £400 on my mortgage (blasted interest!) Just over a £1000 all together! :j

I have stayed very true to my intentions with my using CC - I have used it for travel costs for work only - had to buy flight tickets a which I will get back next month in time to pay the card. I will need to use it for fuel - but again those costs come back from work. my intention is to move towards paying in cash for fuel too from next month.

SO am I pleased. My cc debt isn't under £33K - need to scrape together £107 to do that and I am just deliberating using money from my savings. Will wait a few days and see how the month is starting to pan out. I think I will put it on the Tesco card but I just need to double check my 0% rate expiry between that and the Halifax card. Which ever one comes first.

Phew.

I am trying to budget - had a little blow out in the supermarket and Boots but nothing that can't be contained.

And I am pleased with myself for having not gone off the deep end in terms of spending to make myself feel better because I have had the most awful 10 days. I have found out I need further surgery - likely in August. another longish period off work if I go ahead with it - still deciding. And my well loved chickens have been killed by a fox - I have been so sad at this - today is my first tear free day - I loved the daft birds very much. And I've been on call with work - and it was busy busy busy over the long weekend. a recipe for overspending on my part and whilst I did get my hair cut (gosh that worked to make me feel better - first cut since before Christmas) and bought some multivitamins from Boots to try and help my moody cow syndrome, Series 5 of Game of Thrones, and bought lunch twice with work and took it three times with me. So in the scheme of things not toooooo bad.
And I have about £1000 in emergency fund.

And breathe......


I hope everyone else's payday has helped them too :A

MiMi66

:A:AJust a quick note to say that all going on ok. No mishaps or falling off financial wagon. Yay!

And have lost a little bit of weight. Happy! Need to lose quite a lot more though. But like the finances. Debt and weight. Hmmmmmm. Wonder if there's a link, or maybe it's just me. I've gaf more spend free days in the last 2-3 weeks than I have ever had I think.

My cat had her final surgery yesterday to remove the last of wires holding her jaw together. Poor little one. She is so so happy today!

Grocery shopping today and taking my mum to the movies. Have a good (low expenditure) weekend everyone!:A

Verbatim

Sorry to hear you'll need more surgery Mimi. What with that, your chickens and the cat you've had a lot to cooe with.
Congratulations on the weight loss.
Have you started a saving plan for Xmas yet?!

MiMi66

Hi Verbatim

I've given a bit of thought to Christmas as it usually ends up undoing me. It will be a cash Christmas and birthday period. All of us in my family are around that time. I will start to put some money aside next month I think. In a separate bank account. I also will save Boots and Nectar points towards Christmas too.

And cut back on what I buy again. I did last year but need to be even more firm with myself.

I thought I might try to see my debt repayments as items in my home that I have bought. I suspect some of this will be quite shaming as to what I've thought was important to have at the time but none the less I will so this to have a sense of what I own and what is not yet paid for. Sadly I think there will be a significant amount of unaccounted for debt. Lessons in life.

I am optimistic though that my DFD day will come and I will achieve it.

I am having a challenging time health wise. Hence the weight loss kick as I think it I have surgery is rather be lighter than I am. And it's likely to be two ops, one this year and one maybe next year. Sigh. So I weigh 72.3kgs and want to get to 58kgs - am trying the blood sugar diet, not because I am pre-diabetic but I really don't want to be! And I am that typical carry weight around your middle shaped late 40's woman. So forgive me if I misuse my thread to talk a bit about that at times. Cutting back all around!! I think it will help me spend less to if I talk about it because I think I suffer with wanting to cheer myself up with 'stuff' syndrome.

Things I want that don't cost money:

My waistline back again
A lovely summer holiday at home with the children
A lovely man to love and love me - have been single for a very long time
Spare time
To finish some projects at home, garage painting, knitting winter cardigan, sewing a dress.
To start writing again
Success with the huge task I've got at work.

Hmmm. Food for thought there.

Keep content and happy in my heart.

pennystretcher

Hi MiMi,

Just stopped by to see how you are doing.

Have you had your surgery? If so, I hope it went well and that you have recovered well after it.

I was sorry to hear about fox getting one of your chickens

x

MiMi66

Well a long absence and evidence that no news does not mean good news....sigh.

I have been away from the site for a year - sadly debt busting has had to take a back seat to health issues and not one but two surgeries in the last four months - I had an unexpected diagnosis of a rare condition in March which meant surgery in May to remove multiple tumours in my leg - only 10 cases a year in the UK, which meant my planned surgery for revision of surgical error in 2015 had to wait - and I had that two weeks ago in London - hospital for 5 days and it has been very grim.

I am on the mend and hopeful of better health to come - I do need to have two yearly MRI's now and there is a significant chance of further surgery next year - but in the moment living going on here and I do feel that I can start to refocus my energy a bit - and guess what - my debt has not gone away - the ratbag!

My mortgage has happily decreased down - thank heavens for repayment mortgages - it is £89297 now - yay! but the Bl..... Bas.... CCs have grown. Eye completely off the ball there. See irresponsible totals below.

Ever the optimist - something about health issues made real is that perspective alters and I am in that space. I have sat with my spreadsheets and statements and pondered options and a way forward. No great wonders that it comes down to consistent payments....

I have looked at two phone apps to help - one for daily budgeting and one for debt management - hoping that being on my phone will make those more present in the day.

I have listed a few things for sale on Amazon....lego bits and will put the money away for Christmas budget. A few books too and more to do.

Oh and good news is I have lost 9kgs - 1 stone 6 pounds! Very pleased at that - I'd like to lose another 9 kgs as well - so will keep going.

Next steps in a happier life:
Love my children wholly and excessively! Hugs and time and talking.
Declutter and sell
Save
Pay debt
Lose weight and get fitness up
Plan a house move for 2018
Knit, read, garden and help out where I can.

Please note - no inclination to sort out that vacancy I have in my life - that makes my head hurt! And anyway - who would want a broke and stressed NHS worker - what a prize I am!! :-)

I have no right to be feeling perky with my debt issues and poor habits - but funnily enough being on the right side of surgery has made me a bit more irreverent than I was before and grateful for the good - I won't ignore my issues but I will do my utmost not to get dragged down by them. There are always options. In an almost trite happening I was on Facebook earlier and stumbled across an image of a near death starving infant - I feel very sad for those children and the refugees and the people struggling against drought in Africa - I did snap to as such and realised that there is an immense difference in feeling pressured and stressed or truly having no options and no power to alter your life. I have choices and the ability to change things, and there are people who have far far more to deal with - and even then - some of those people do make it through to better circumstances.

Options and choice are very important to dealing with all manner of things including high debt.

Good wishes to all on their on pathway with this.

Skinnylatte

welcome back and glad you're on the right side of surgery x

MiMi66

Skinnylatte wrote: »

welcome back and glad you're on the right side of surgery x

Thanks Skinnylatte- what a year it's been. I am ridiculously excited about making my first payments on this debt on Friday - looking to take £1100 off the balance of cc/loan/mortgage total. Also paying off in full my using credit card £1822. Will clear out my savings but it's that or add to debt pile and I can't keep doing that. So my balance will come down to around 37500 for the unsecured debt. A step in the right direction.

Surgery is yuck. Recovery is mixed and have been very up and down. Definitely over emotional. Even driving myself crackers. 👻:eek: