The DF journey diary of ilovelondontown

cottage_retreatist

hey ilovelondontown!

Just wanted to drop by to say hello! :beer: and I have really enjoyed reading your diary so far - especially how much of your debts you've beaten - i'm dreaming for the day my debts are below 5 grand!!

*whispers*I'm also WTTC!!!! hehe!
Like Jonesy88 I'm waiting to clear as many debts as possible before we try- although we're both of the opinion if it does happen before that time we would be happy!!!

I will continue reading your diary!
Keep on going - you're doing brilliantly!!!!:T

C-R xx

ilovelondontown

Hi C-R that's very nice of you to stop by and cheer me on! I don't really mind writing my diary and assuming that nobody is listening to my nattering but it's lovely to know people are

I think I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to TTC, if we got pregnant sooner than our time line (December) it wouldn't be a bad thing, but waiting as long as we can leaves us all the better for it. Especially if we do get to December, as we'll be pretty much DF which is entirely what I was hoping for.

Two funny money related things happened to me yesterday:

I got a pre-approved email from someone I had a loan with (now paid off) asking if I wanted to borrow £X for really low %apr. Every day since I got that loan I wished I’d said no thank you when they first offered me one, then I applied for one with them and got declined and now I’m being offered one again, I feel very smug to be able to say no thank you J

Then I got home from a long day at work and reach for the post to see an envelope that’s recognisably from the bank. I always assume a letter I’m not expecting from the bank can only be a bad thing. I hold my breath as I open it. It reads:

Dear ilovelondontown

It’s GOOD news! < This is what the actual header said. How did they know!

We’ve been looking at how you manage your credit card account and we’re giving you a credit card increase limit! An additional £700.

Yadda yadda.

Yours Sincerely

A. Bank.

Blinking ‘ek! So in 12 months I’ve gone from being declined for credit and running into over-overdrafts to being pre-approved for offers of new loans and more credit.

Needless to say I’m not going to use either invitation to spend money on credit, but it’s nice to know I’m restoring my financial reputation J and look like a good person to lend money to!

quidsy

yay on the credit limit, that is always a positive sign of improved rating. I paid off a BC cc 2 months ago (yay me) & got a letter last week saying my limit was being increased to £1500. More than double the original limit.

Now the cynic in me says, no wonder we are in a mess, those without sense or will power (i.e. me a year ago, lol) would have looked at that as a real bonus & gone on a spend up without thinking of the future but the new me, sees the increase as positive sign, extra emergency fund & better rating but has no need to spend it.

So another SE/kent girl huh? I get on the Sevenoaks line so if that's your line too then for sure there is a few MSE converts on board.

ilovelondontown

quidsy wrote: »

Now the cynic in me says, no wonder we are in a mess, those without sense or will power (i.e. me a year ago, lol) would have looked at that as a real bonus & gone on a spend up without thinking of the future but the new me, sees the increase as positive sign, extra emergency fund & better rating but has no need to spend it.

This is exactly how I saw it too, old me would have thought BRILLIANT! Now I can get x,y,z! new me thinks, ah that's good, now at least I have a bigger safety net if it is needed for an EMERGENCY and I don't need to use that money for anything as I've got it all under control.

As for the Sevenoaks line I know it well. I'm actually on the Hayes line but I'm often on the Sevenoaks line as I have friends and family on it.

quidsy

haha, I lived in Hayes for a decade & moved only last year. I think we are very close to each other.

ilovelondontown

quidsy wrote: »

haha, I lived in Hayes for a decade & moved only last year. I think we are very close to each other.

Love that, in a weird way it makes me feel like I should know you even though there must be a million people that run in the same circles/area :rotfl:

ilovelondontown

I love Friday, Friday Friday Friday. I love the sound of "Friday" I love saying "Friday" In fact such a fan as I am, I would consider calling my first born Friday. Maybe.

There is something so feel good about the weekend, even when I've been in jobs where I worked at the weekend I would always catch the Friday buzz and today is no different.

I've run off my last gym session of the week, I've had a productive, not too stressy week in the office and I have a plan-free weekend, what's not to love?

Usually at this point of the month I'm on my hands and knees when it comes to money, old me would have had a couple of payments on my account bounce and I'd owe someone a couple of £100 and be looking for a bit more to tide me over until Payday (which is next lovely Friday) and but for the first time ever there is a noticeable difference.

I certainly don't feel rich- I've managed to stretch out £130 since last week, which included going to a friends birthday bash in a pub, and I've got about ooh £20 left. My friend owes me £18 which I am promised tomorrow so that notches me up and if I can get through the weekend in my pj's and having a couple of nsd, I'll only need to get through 4 days next week. I think the biggest damage could be having to get darling hubby to step up and pay for a bit of food.

(I'm the food shopper/cook mostly because he pays more rent than me, but he's more likely to foot the bill for a dinner out or a bottle of something nice for the weekend.)

Anyway I digress. I'm actually feeling happy for once about my end of month finances, rather than feeling like I've failed miserably and maybe, hopefully this is the turning point.

After next Friday I'll be able to say the next pay day (Septembers) I will clear my biggest single debt which will be the weight of the last 11 months off my back! It's exciting stuff (for me) and while it's been a tough summer foregoing so many things we'd usually do without hesitation, I have not one teeny tiny regret or doubt that this is the best, and only way off this debt roundabout.

Happy weekend all :j

ilovelondontown

So I am now in the final rundown to payday – (on Friday) and I managed to last the weekend on having 2 nsd’s so I have still got £22 to last me, which should be a depressing revelation but it’s actually a huge deal for me!

Previously I would supplement my monthly wages with my credit card, borrowing from other people or tapping into an overdraft that is unused on another account. In fact shamefully I’ve done all three in one month before, back when I was slave to credit.

This month I’ve not used my card at all, I’ve not borrowed from everyone and I have a completely untouched overdraft!

I had breakfast and a morning coffee at home this morning, saving me from picking up cereal and milk and getting a coffee from the canteen, which would have been about £ 5 then lunch another £2.90 ish…. I’ve got a homemade sandwich and a banana for lunch and dinner will be made from the bit’s I have in the fridge- I’ve got about £4 loose change that was in the penny jar and I’ll use that for getting some yellow label shopping and bit’s like onions and carrots, which seem to go with a lot of things and I should, all being well get to Friday with some pennies still in my account.

Next week I have a week off work, we originally booked this time off to take a last minute holiday abroad but since becoming so moneysaving savvy it will be a staycation, with a lot more doing nothing, rather than doing something, can’t begrudge a week off work and in some ways this in itself is a money saver since I’m not going to be buying food for myself at work every day.

Then we are into September and another month closer to being DF. Happy days! :beer:

quidsy

Well done. It's amazing how in control you can be when you put your mind to it.

Maybe on your week off research some local nature walks & do those with a hm picnic. Cheap & fresh air. Chistlehurst & Petts Woods both have woods with some good trails. I'm sure there must be others around too. or a walking tour of Londons hidden treasures. use the presumably already paid for train pass & just spend the day visiting free museums & tourist attractions.

I have a friend who comes over from Sweden for a week every year & she does this all the time, takes train into town then just walks around finding places I never knew existed.

Have fun whatever you decied to do.

ilovelondontown

quidsy wrote: »

Well done. It's amazing how in control you can be when you put your mind to it.

Maybe on your week off research some local nature walks & do those with a hm picnic. Cheap & fresh air. Chistlehurst & Petts Woods both have woods with some good trails. I'm sure there must be others around too. or a walking tour of Londons hidden treasures. use the presumably already paid for train pass & just spend the day visiting free museums & tourist attractions.

I have a friend who comes over from Sweden for a week every year & she does this all the time, takes train into town then just walks around finding places I never knew existed.

Have fun whatever you decied to do.

Hi Quidsy

How are things? Good weekend?

Yes I definately plan to do a couple of walks, I used to do the pettswood trail as child so it's well known to me!

As for doing a London day I definately intend to do this, coming in and out of London day in day out year after year I often wonder when I'll get around to actually exploring the City I love and this will be a perfect opportunity! Will get hunting on what is free to visit!

I'm constantly surprised by new found financial willpower- and it's rubbing off in other ways- I'm more confident in saying no to another drink on a night out, I'm happier doing less and I'm making more effort in doing things that don't cost money, or cost very little.