woah... are those MY finances??

Fmess

Morning,

Your dad sounds very sensible and I think you are right, if you owed you dad instead you wod be more tempted to pay on the card. I think knowing that there is interest accruing on your card is a great motivation to pay it off as quickly as possible. My card is on 0% until June so I'm determined to pay it off before I have to pay interest (I've got about £1900 on it). I'm really looking forward to paying off the ccard completely and just having my loan to focus on

Hope you have a good day, I'm just psyching myself up for another busy and stressful day. I'm sure teaching wil send me to an early grave

stewby

Hey fmess. Hope you are not too stressed just now. Can only think of one joke but it is probably in bad taste which is: If you are thinking teaching will send you into an early grave, watch out for students with shovels.


Today is probably not going to be a spend-free day. I am out with my mum all day. Dentist at 11:00, Doctors at 16:00 (nothing serious, just her annual check-up that our GP forces her to have or she would never go. spent four years in agony cause she was too scared so now he makes her have an MOT. He's really brilliant with her).


So in between, we are going over to my auntie's house.... which now involved going out for lunch.


This is gutting as I really want to reach double figures and today would be my TENTH spend free day!! So I am itching to get it.


I am not planning on touching the loan and just letting it run its course. The letter they sent me shows that they took all the interest off at the start so paying it off earlier or over-paying it won't save me anything.


Played with some minimum payments calculator last night and was pretty impressed.
* If I paid the minimum payments: It would take me 29 years and 10 months to pay off my credit card and I would pay about £4,000 in interest alone.
* If I pay £200 a month (as I was doing) then it would take me 1 year and 8 months and I would pay £407 in interest.
* If I pay £300 a month (as I plan to do) then it wil take me 1 year and 1 month!! and I would pay £264 in interest.
:j

The plan after december is simple!!
I am dropping my monthly budget to £200. I am putting £100 toward my credit card... this is to add on to the £200 my dad puts in via my main account each month.


The other £100, I plan on putting into a savings account. I take a yearly holiday with my mum, auntie and cousin and it would be nice to be prepared for it instead of asking my parents for help.
:embarasse

Oh wow... I think I just came up with a plan!!
:j

stewby

Soooooooooo... a fish ruined my spend-free day.
:eek:

Went out for lunch with mum, auntie and cousin as planned. Mum and auntie paid for it so spend-free day remained intact. Until I saw the salmon fillets they had. £5 for two beautiful cuts of salmon which I know my OH loves. As a treat I bought him the fish and a couple of bottles of sauces (one naga chilli bottle and a hickory smoked bbq sauce) which I think he will enjoy.
OH is thrilled and looking forward to trying them all... I have buyers remorse. I shouldn't be upset but it means I didn't get my tenth spend-free day.


I'm afraid I had to dash this morning as my mum was standing by the car waiting to go to the dentist.


I have been thinking a lot about THE PLAN and I suddenly remembered something... I currently have a savings account that I put £50 into every month!!

So... new plan as of January 2014 (need December's spare budget for xmas pressies).

Budget account: £400...
£200 for spending (food, petrol, etc).
£100 for credit card repayments.
£100 for savings account.

Main account (that I know of):
£200 for credit card.
£100 for parent's loan.
£50 for my savings account.

I owe my parents about £600 so within 6 months, that will be completed so I will have a spare £100 to put towards my credit card or maybe savings account.


This is actually quite therapeutic which sounds really sad. Sorry.
:embarasse

Hope everyone has had a lovely day.
Hugs.

scubaangel

Glad to see your plan is coming together and you're feeling positive about it! Nothing sad about it.

Fmess

Love that joke!! Thank you for making me laugh. Tomorrow promises to be the most stressful day yet at work but the it "should" all be over. I bought chocolate today just in case do I don't ruin tomorrow's SFD.

What a quote, a fish ruined my SFD! Don't beat yourself, you are doing really well and your plan looks excellent and very organised!!

Have a good tomorrow, thank you for your support

stewby

Think positively for tomorrow fmess. It's only ten hours and then you are free for another wee while.


When I was having a really rough time, I would pick out something and make a countdown. This meant that I could focus on it instead of work (I don't mean that in a ignore work sort of way). It doesn't have to ba a countdown to something big. Mine was chatting to the OH whilst he was away, him coming back, xmas, new year, holidays we had planned, going to a particular shop that i enjoyed, just anything. I know it is easier said than done but you can do it. Just be positive.
Hugs.

Hey scubaangel. have you spoken to that mate of yours yet?? He may tease you for a while but he will be boasting that he got the two of you together when it is successful.

Fmess

Thanks stewby. Hopefully most of the stresses will sorted by 5ish tonight and I can go back to my usual day to day work stuff. I get very stressed out by certain events at school, much more than anyone else and get myself very wound up

I had to say I laughed at your 2 suitcases of skinny clothes! How skinny are we talking? I often try clothes on the look okish at the moment but always think when I lose weight this will look great. Then I never lose the weight and get cross at the clothes for not looking nice!

I could really do with getting on a proper diet but I always break them I need to find the NSK of the diet world!

stewby

Not horrifically skinny. All of the clothes are a size 14 as I would ideally like to be a comfortable 14. (I have a full wardrobe of dresses, trousers, skirts, tops, jackets, etc. although I never really wear dresses or skirts).


So... judging by the current state of play, I would need to lose three dress sizes. Well, I might as well be honest...

Current weight = 15st 7lb.
Target weight = 10st 7lb.

I got down to 13st 2lb before and was a size 16 but then I met the OH and we started eating out, eating in, etc, etc and my dietary intake wasn't so easily managed.

But... we have a wedding in 2014 and it is in a very very very hot sunny place, right beside a beach. which means my usual outfit of combat trousers and hoodies is out the window!!
:eek:

So... going back to working out my diet plan. I go on holiday in two weeks so am waiting until after that before I start.

Diet starting the 1st December.
Original weight = 15st 7lb.
Target by june '14 = 13st 7lb.
Target by dec '14 = 12st 0lb.
Target by june '15 = 10st 7lb.

Oh wow... positive thinking here we come!!


It's 13:13 fmess!! That means your working day is almost over!!


Hugs.

Fmess

I like you diet plan. I'm going to tag along, if I may? On the honesty front,

Current weight = 10st 13lbs
Target weight = 9st 0lbs

I'm really petite in stature and currently a size 14 so I look like a little barrel. I'd like to be a size 10/12 so I can feel healthier, as I'm always out of breath and tired.

I am being a bridesmaid in Sept 2014 and August 2015 so would love to be slimmer for then. I'm aiming for 9st by next Sept. It's funny how weddings motivate people to lose weight!

My stressful day was ok, am glad it's over though . Can go back to normality tomorrow hopefully!

How was your day?

stewby

Hey fmess. Glad to hear you survived work okay and congratulations on your tutoring job.
:j

Of course you can join me on the diet plan. It will help me stick to my goals better (normally I try and then I get bored, distracted, etc). I would love the company.


Blooming weddings!!
:mad:

But yeah, I know exactly what you mean. For me, it is the idea of being in someone's pictures forever more. And whilst most times people look at the pictures once or twice then move on, people tend to look at wedding ones all the time.
:eek:

I would love to go on holiday and actually not hate the photos of me. (I do a lot of head pictures so that it avoids the rest of me then I just flinch when I see the spots, freckles, extra neck, sweat, etc). I would love some great pictures.
:embarasse