Keeping up with the Jonesy

Jonesy88

Goooood evening, good evening, good evening (said in a St*phen Fry stylee)

Just popping on to update you on the goings on in Jonesy Land. I have been offered a job. Only slightly more money and will involve a commute. Current job is very much easy street and i'm happy there but its temporary with no prospects, however the new job has study/career opportunity and in the long run would be better despite being harder now :undecided. I am leaning towards accepting the job but i'll miss my friends. Need to speak to new employer about the finer points tomorrow.

If i go for the job i'll need a car. I havent had chance to save yet (only added it to my "to do" list last week!) so i'll more than likely have to get a loan. This will destroy my debt free plan of being clear by christmas I'll probably continue with the challenge anyway and clear the loan off in 2014.

On a positive note, we are now credit card free! We paid off OHs cc and it feels brilliant. The next focus is saving £1000 in my ISA so i've changed to that on the 100 day challenge to keep up the motivation.

As things stand:

Credit Card: £0 - 100% paid!!
Loan: £2850 - 43% paid
Savings: £250 - 25 % saved

Jonesy88

So i'm going for the new job and need a decent car. Got approved by my bank for a cheap (5.9%) loan so i'm doing the finance in the most MSE way possible. The loan also allows for overpayments and appears in my internet banking so i'm constantly [STRIKE]reminded[/STRIKE] motivated by the balance.

Getting the loan allowed me to go car shopping. I saw a lovely little (new to me) C1 and ordered it into my local branch. Drove really nicely but had several cosmetic issues. The dealer promised they would be fixed before the sale was complete and I was fine with that. However virtually as we were leaving the showroom it was pointed out the car had 3 keys - 2 operate the passenger door and ignition and the 3rd the driver side door. What a faff it would be having to carry 2 (near identical) keys for the car. It also got me thinking that the car might've been broken into at some point. Anyway, after a sleepless night, i decided to withdraw from the sale - I just couldnt shake off the feeling that there was more to the eye with the car and that it hadn't been looked after. I was gutted as i'd previously searched online for ideal cars and this C1 was the only 1 that came up .

Feeling fed up and decided to just play on the internet yesterday and before long found myself looking at cars again. To my delight another C1 was now in the area! More expensive but a lot less miles and higher spec. Same age too. Within 30 mins i'd arranged a test drive and within 90 mins i was leaving the showroom deposit paid! The car drove well (as the other one had) but just felt nicer, more respected and looked after. It also had full service history, putting my mind at ease. Even better - the showroom had a promotion where they were giving away an iPad Mini with every sale!! Super excited as this purchase has been on my list for a while but I couldnt justify it. Roll on April now - i get a new job, new car and new iPad!!

MrsOptimistic

Hey Jonesy88 :wave:

Loved reading your diary so far. You sounds soooooooo organised, unlike me!

Well done on your new job. You may have needed a new car but i'm sure with your determination you'll have paid it off sooner than you think!

Have subscribed for more happy reading x

MrsOptimistic

P.S - I am super broody too

Jonesy88

Thanks for dropping in MrsOptimistic! It's nice to know i'm not just talking to myself on here

Jonesy88

Well today is Good Friday :easter:

I intend to eat my body weight in chocolate, although not today - I'm feeling delicate. Yesterday I decided to go for a drink with friends from work and, as our usual pub was packed, we headed off up town. Returned home 7 hours later and £40 lighter :eek:

WSC is blown although i'm thinking of giving up these challenges anyway as i don't have enough time to declare spends etc. The other debt/ NSK challenges will still keep me on track.

Talking of challenges i have decided to impose a "money detox" on myself for April. It's my birthday on the 19th and so I am attempting to spend nothing until that date. No cash and no debit card transactions. I have an outing planned for the 12th and money has already been withdrawn and paid. Its only 18 days - can't be too hard can it? :rotfl:

ETA: All this talk of chocolate has made me address my desire to lose weight. As challenges seem to work for me, i've added 2 new goals:

2013: Get under 12st
2014: Get under 10st

if_at_first...

Love your idea for "dosh detox". Might try that myself to keep the spending under control.

Well done :T:T:T

Jonesy88

Its officially April, woo! April is my favourite month as it happens to be my birthday

So, scores on the doors time:

Credit Card: £0 - 100% paid!!
Loan: £2700 left - 46% paid
Car: £5500 left - 0% paid
Savings: £175 - 17.5% saved

Savings have taken a little bit of a hit as i went for a more expensive car than originally planned.

NSKs March challenge results:
#030: Food £34.32/£35 Spends £92.23/£40 SFD 24/25 Money made £216.33/£100

Need to keep those misc spends in control! Hopefully the money detox will help.

NSKs April challenge targets:
#007 Food 0/£40 Spends 0/£30 Money Made 0/£50 SFD 1/20

Money detox challenge: Day 1 complete

Mrs_Toast

Hi Jonesy88, congratulations on paying off the credit card. It must be so rewarding to say goodbye to that debt.

I've joined the NSK challenge this month and miscellaneous spends are my downfall as well. Good luck to us both then :rotfl:

Jonesy88

Hello Mrs Toast :wave:

The NSK challenges are great for keeping you focused. I'm sure those misc spends wil be under control soon!