Keeping up with the Jonesy

Chrysalis1976

Well done on the weight loss, 7lb so far is nothing to be sniffed at !

C x

Jonesy88

Thanks Chrysalis! I dont think the losses are sustainable, i think i'll probably drop off a bit, but i'm happy to make progress

(Well... progress would have been furthered had I not had a "normal" shop sandwich, fizzy drink AND a bar of chocolate today . I was having an uber manic day and felt weary so popped to the shop - naughty me!)

I have decided to be super strict as it looks like i need to be with myself. As long as i'm a good girl for the next 4 weeks, i'm allowed out for my christmas meal guilt free!

:xmastree:

Jonesy88

Well Fat Club update - its closed down! Ho hum, what to do now... hmm.

Debt wise, we're still on track to clear the loan by Christmas/New Year, it'll be so nice to enter 2014 with just the car to pay off. I feel like i'm making headway.

This is turn has lead to be dreaming about life after debt - i want a family house and family! Argh i'm so broody and keep finding myself on r!ghtmove. I'll must be strong and use this as motivation to clear to rest of the debt.

See you on the 1st..

Jonesy88

Apologies for the lateness, here is my [STRIKE]1st[/STRIKE] 2nd of the month post. In the immortal words of Noddy Holder - "It's CHRISSSTTMMASSSSS!". Well, nearly. But as it's December festivity is not only allowed, it should positively be encouraged. Cue Christmas jumper...

:rudolf:

The loan is finally starting to come to an end , only £500 left to pay, and i'm still hoping this will be achieved by Christmas/NYE. It is not welcome in 2014!

Talking of 2014, moneywise the last couple of days i've been trying to get organised. I've joined the sealed pot challenge (SPC 7) and this is my pot for anyone interested: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pot-Of-Dreams-Baby-Fund/dp/B004AJO328. I'm going to put all my £1/£2 coins in there and only open it when the "need" arises! It's a very pretty pot as i thought it might be there for some time :rotfl:. I've also joined the virtual version of this challenge to prepare for Christmas 2014 - nothing like getting ahead! I was starting to round down my accounts in this way anyway so having a challenge/thread for it will provide extra motivation.

Christmas was the culprit for me not posting yesterday . I used a jedi mind trick on myself and OH as its tradition we put up the decorations on the 1st weekend of December (something we both love). Knowing this i decreed that nothing was to come down from the loft until the spare room was tidied. It worked - we now have a tidy room and Christmassy house. I put up the tree with a hot drink on the table and Christmas songs on the TV, lovely.

:snow_grin Scores on the festive Doors: :snow_laug

Loan: £500 - 90% paid
Car: £3600 - 28% paid

Virtual Piggy Bank :xmassmile: £0.41 - now the Virtual Sealed Challenge "pot"
Sealed Pot: Who Knows

My total debt repayment now stands at £5,900/£10,000, I'm aiming to hit £6,500 repaid by year end, fingers crossed as this would be an amazing achievement for me

Anyway enough rambling, :xmassign:

Jonesy88

How festive conversations go in my family:

*Dad rings me*

Dad: "What shoe size is your mum?"
Me: "5, why?"
Dad: "I want to get her some boots, you know, the fashion ones, uggies? What are they called?"
Me: "Uggs?"
Dad: "You know, the fashiony ones"
Me: "Uggs!" *rolls eyes*

repeat x 2

Dad: "Yes, Uggs"
Me: "I don't think Mum would want some, she wants a coat"
Dad: "Well i'll get her these anyway and some vouchers for the coat"
Me: "Are you sure? I think she'd rather the coat"
Dad: "Yes i want to. I was going to get you some too"
Me: "OK, I'm a 5 too"

Conversation finished. Damn, my dad knows that the offer of shoes will shut me up.

Jonesy88

Well hello Diary!

I am firmly on a Christmas countdown I doing a 4 day week this week (always good) as on Friday i'm off to the local panto with my mummy. We did it last year and really enjoyed ourselves so hoping it'll become a bit of a tradition

Yesterday was a bit pants as Th0mas C00k fiiinnnalllly got back to me regarding our delay claim - they've turned it down as they claim the delay was due to a "technical nature". I've checked on the delay threads and this is apparently a common attempt to avoid paying out as most technical faults still fall under the compensation rules - so i've sent an email asking them to give details of the fault. We shall see but i won't hold my breath...

On a more positive debt-free note, i've decided attempt to make next year cost neutral on clothes (there will be exclusions for underwear and basic work clothes). Basically if i want to buy any clothes i need to make the money first - probably through e3ay (and perhaps £co). I have scanned the house for things to list and have managed 1 99p item :rotfl:. This may be harder than anticipated! I will try though, as i think it will make me question if i really need that new top etc, and any savings will be a good thing

I'm continuing to pot £1 coins into my pot (haven't had a £2 coin in ages) and the virtual pot is starting to build nicely - it's currently at £10.50 . I've gone a bit 2014 challenge crazy and also joined a £365 in 365 days thread - i hope my signature isn't going to get too cluttered lol. The purpose of this challange is to save for hubbys 30th birthday surprise next December. Part of the surprise is already booked and i'm itching to tell him! Only 363 days to go :rotfl:

It's been a RED week on my weekly spending challenge mainly due to three takeways and a cheeky little e3ay purchase! Naughty Jonesy. I promise to try harder next week and make it green at the very least.

PS. in relation to my earlier post, Dad did indeed buy the boots. 3 pairs to be exact - for me, my mum and a family friend. All 3 pairs (including my own) are now in my living room waiting to be wrapped as Dad doesn't like wrapping! (As in he's useless at it so avoids at all costs!)

PPS. A big hello to everyone reading my random ramblings :wave:

PPPS. It went dark whilst i wrote this, how wintery :snow_grin

:xmassign:

Jonesy88

Note to self -join "Baby Fund Challenge" when the car is fully paid off to start saving for a family

ETA: my car payment has gone out so i'm currently at £6050/£10000 - woo hoo over 60%

Jonesy88

Jonesy88 wrote: »

On a more positive debt-free note, i've decided attempt to make next year cost neutral on clothes (there will be exclusions for underwear and basic work clothes). Basically if i want to buy any clothes i need to make the money first

I am already being tested! Can my willpower last to 2014? :rotfl:

Watched dress on e3ay: £7.98
My item currently selling on e3ay: £3.22

Still £4.76 to find...


ETA (19/12/13):

My item sold for a profit of £5.67 after fees and I completed a pinec0ne survey for £3! So i bought the dress and sent the remaining 69p to my round-down VSC account

Jonesy88

I've arranged to pay the early settlement figure on our joint loan . This'll push me into my overdraft by £250 so it won't be properly gone until that's cleared but it feels so good psychologically to say the loan's paid off. The £250 will hopefully be cleared next week as i'm still aiming to have 65% of my total debt paid off by NYE.

Just the car to go now :j

:xmassign:

Jonesy88

Christmas is now over (Boo!), New Years Eve is fast approaching and 2013 is drawing to a close. I've decided to do an appraisal of my goals and targets to help me focus for 2014:

Jonesy88 wrote: »

2013
[STRIKE]Pay off my CC[/STRIKE] Achieved - woohoo!
[STRIKE]Pay off DH CC[/STRIKE] Will need to check again with DH
[STRIKE]Pay off our Loan[/STRIKE] Achieved - sort of, £50 in OD from this but should be paid off this week
Save £1000 in ISA Failed! Will Move to 2014
[STRIKE]Buy an ipad mini [/STRIKE]Yay!
[STRIKE]Get a permanent job[/STRIKE] Job change done
Get under 12st *runs to scales*... 12st 6. Not quite there but still means i've lost a stone in 2013 and under 10 stone is a doable 2014 goal

2014
Pay off £5000 car loan Now at £3450 so extra 2013 progress made!
Save £1000 for emergencies savings pot Must do this
Save £1000 in ISA (from 2013)
Save £4000 for baby fund Still very broody!
Start saving for a bigger house. Feel like we're ready to move now
Get under 10st Bring it on!

Jonesy88 wrote: »

Long Running Challenges

DF by Xmas 2013: #146 £6500/£10000 65% paid Really pleased to have paid off £6.5k in 2013
Crazy Clothes Challenge 2013: #55 £175/£120 Boo! Failed! This is however a major reduction from my previous spends.

Saving Challenges

Sealed Pot Challenge 7 #2110: ??? The beginnings of the baby fund
Virtual Sealed Pot 2014 #105: £16.53 For Christmas 2014
£365 in 365 Days #14: £0 To start in 2014, for OHs 30th

So overall i'd give myself a B+. I have achieved the majority of my goals and made a serious dent in my debt :beer:

So what do i intend to do in 2014?

As mentioned in my goals, this year i want to become debt free and start saving. I now only have the car left to pay off before we start the next chapter of our lives which will involve saving for a family and family home. 1% of my debt is now £35 which seems like a manageable chunk to keep ploughing away at.

I've gone a bit challenge crazy and will be using the Sealed Pot as the start of the baby fund, the Virtual Sealed Pot as a Christmas Fund (or emergency fund perhaps?) and the £365 in 365 days for OHs birthday surprise.

Other personal goals include getting under 10 stone (I'm starting a diet class on the 8th) and attempting to be clothes cost neutral. I think i'll find the clothes challenge the hardest as i'm running out of things to e3ay!

See you on the 1st for a numbers update, my 1st diary post of 2014!