Catriona's Credit Card Countdown

catriona79

Right, so in order to help me track my expenses, I've decided to put £250 (-28.18 already spent) in my spare FD account towards going out, clothes, cosmetics etc., and £200 towards food (minus £45.30 spent) in a dormant Nationwide account, which I had to open to get a good deal on the mortgage.
The two cards are now in my purse and I will make sure that I track all spends; it will be easy to check that way too, if I forget to count it. YNAB is great but pretty useless if you want to go from pay check to pay check and are not paid on the 1st of every month. For now, this is what I'm going to do and I think it will work.

Nice home made dinner (organic chicken things and drumsticks, from Aldi, so good quality meat but cheap cuts and from a cheap source) is in the oven. I'd been marinating it since Wednesday, so it should be delish! And cheap! Loads of it, so might freeze some for midweek lunches. I'm determined to stay within my food shopping allowance! Though it's never the work lunches that are the problem (I always bring in my own food), but the addiction to buying new/interesting ingredients and overstocking the cupboards! Need to reign that in.

Oh it's so cold!

catriona79

Still in bed! Shocking!

So, I have the intention of going to a supermarket at about 2.30-3pm to get some bargain meat for the week. Going to try a big Sainsbobs or the local Waitrose - undecided. Maybe one this week, and the other, next weekend.

Also, going to get some sleeping pills today at Boots. I woke up at 1.30 am Saturday early morning and didn't go back to sleep, and slept from 1am till 6 am last night, so need to get a good few hours. Studying is pretty impossible with all this going on too.

But I am feeling so positive about the upcoming debt freedom. I have been in debt since late 2010, and for the first time in forever am now able to be calm about any possible redundancies at work (there will be redundancies next year I am sure). It's all thanks to coming back to this forum and rambling on about my worries and planning for a future.

Had a date last night and have to say that it went better than expected. Very intense conversation, and got very personal, too personal. But through that, I feel closer to him, and I can't forever keep my distance from the men I am meeting, just because I am afraid. It's made me think a lot!

We shall see where that goes.

bellevie

And so you should feel positive Catriona, you have come so far!

Glad the date went well, its natural to keep up some barriers and anyone who is worth it will take the time to knock them down. Well that's my view anyway!

I keep dithering about dating. Sometimes I feel like I'm ready, but then the expense of it, or what I'd wear, where we'd go, or how I'd explain my long term singledon just freaks me out. I haven't been on a date in almost 10 years:eek:

catriona79

bellevie wrote: »

And so you should feel positive Catriona, you have come so far!

Glad the date went well, its natural to keep up some barriers and anyone who is worth it will take the time to knock them down. Well that's my view anyway!

I keep dithering about dating. Sometimes I feel like I'm ready, but then the expense of it, or what I'd wear, where we'd go, or how I'd explain my long term singledon just freaks me out. I haven't been on a date in almost 10 years:eek:

Thanks Bellevie.

Dating is so strange. I think, more than anything, it makes you learn about yourself.
It's like everything though, you get more confident the more you do it. If you feel the time is right, go for it. I use tinder, match and eHarm@ny, and have to say that all my decent dates have been from Tinder, which is completely free. There are some chancers there, but all my recent dates have been good guys, wanting a relationship, and all from there.
I think you have a very good excuse for not having dated - you have been rather busy! And the good men I've met all had a longish break too. They are the best people - the ones who get themselves right first instead of running into someone's arms straightaway after a breakup. So, chin up Bellevie. You've done well for yourself and there are loads of men out there who'd feel lucky to have you.

catriona79

Good news, non-spend day today and tomorrow looks like one too!

Not so good news, work cleaners cleaned the fridge last Friday evening and chucked everything, including my two unopened 500ml yoghurt tubs, and one only just opened. Annoying.
Also, I think I narrowly escaped a mugging this evening. Got to start leaving work earlier.

But, ladies, a non-spend day is the headline for today! Yippe!

1 March tomorrow, all the bills go out and regular savers collect. Then it's only a matter of not overspending on food and going out! And not wishing my life away

catriona79

Update from me today.

Firstly, it's an NSD, though I'm contemplating driving to Sainsbobs on a YS hunt. Probably 8.45 pm. Not sure what I'll be able to buy, but they've got big Skyr yoghurts for £1, so it will be worth it even if there's not much of anything else. I want to see those 19p bargains with my own eyes;)

Secondly, I reported the loitering man from yesterday to the police, who seemed very interested. I'm relieved.

I moved £8.36 from my food acc to my mortgage - first overpayment, just a tiny fraction, to round down the figure slightly. More OCD than saving.

Think I'm still on track with food and other spends. Date no4 tomorrow and it's my turn to pay. It's only a cheap snack, like the one last Sunday which he paid for. £20 I reckon.

Time to update sig!

bellevie

Im glad to see you've reported Catriona. Were you walking through a busy place? Anyone else you can leave work with that heads in the same direction?

How annoying about your yogurts!

I'm loving your sig

beanielou

Glad that you reported to the police.
Take care.

catriona79

Hello ladies,

Re the incident, I left work at 6.30 and it was dark. Not many people around, I work in a smallish town. I only park a couple of minutes' walk away from the office (there are no closer car parks). So when I left, as I was walking I noticed that a man who had been walking towards me, suddenly hesitated, slowed down and changed direction to go where I was heading. He was about 15 yards ahead of me and walking, suddenly, slowly and without a purpose. All very strange, in the middle of nowhere. When I turned a corner, I saw him standing/hiding in a doorway. That's when I turned around, went to a well lit part of the street, hoping that soon someone from work would turn up and I'd walk with them. But nobody was coming and after waiting 10 minutes, and the guy waiting too (he had crossed the road, and hid behind the corner of a building!) - I just went back inside my office building. There I waited for a further 10 minutes and he came closer and waited in a doorway of an employment agency (closed by then) opposite my work. All very unnerving. Then a colleague came and offered me a lift in her car to the car park.
It was really disturbing. I am now going to make sure that I never walk alone.

The police were brilliant about it, it was a woman who rang me after I'd emailed with the details. She didn't trivialise it and reassured me. Said she'd send a patrol to the area and said that the area was covered by CCTV.


When I talked to a colleague, it turned out that she had seen him loiter in the gate 40 minutes earlier. That can't be a coincidence. Also, last week I think him and a friend of his were around and up to the same tricks. You know when someone suddenly, without a reason slows down and starts to stroll as if without a purpose?

Another colleague who was walking with her at the time didn't even notice it - and I do think you can sometimes be oblivious to those things! So it's better to have reported it.

catriona79

So, it was definitely an NSD yesterday, and today I'm going to go and do a shop for the rest of the week.
I paid my uni fees, which added to the debt, but that's alright. Education, and budgeted for!

Day off today and I think I'm going to go to the supermarket now, early, and then when I get back, the lodgers will have gone.

Studying for me today, Going to start my essay! Whoop whoop !