What have I been doing for the last 10 years???

MuffinTops

Good to see you back Domayne. Each year you've made better steps forward, so hopefully this year you'll find a little more focus again.

Have you ever wondered what hole the weed is actually filling? Find the source of your problems (the boredom and worthless feelings) and then you have something solid and positive to work on? That works for me.

I'm also on a small steps path, and need to keep it small so I'm not too overwhelmed with all the changes I feel I need to make.

MTx

Domayne

Hi Muffintops! Thank you for the kind words and encouragement *hugs*
I've always been incredibly hard on myself no matter what I do.
I always feel like I could have done better - That's another thing I'm trying to work on because yes, I could have done better. But I also could have gone back to square one and come back with debt
And also, This last year while I did spend too much, It was all on things that were worth it imo (Except the weed...) So I'm looking at the positive!

Today is day 24 that I haven't smoked any of the evil green! :T
I'm actually not even missing it and haven't had any cravings after the first 2-3 days. Even on weekends like this one where I didn't even leave the house except to walk the dog.

Mostly I smoked to help me sleep. I know that sounds like a stupid excuse, But I had insomnia for years and I hit a point with my Dr where he would no longer prescribe sleeping tablets for me and things like night nurse wouldn't work.
So it ended up being a really expensive sleeping tablet :rotfl:
I did smoke because I was bored too. The thing was, Even when I smoked I was still bored - Just now bored, lazy and unmotivated.

I feel great without smoking though! My head is clear (Although my skin is another story....) I'm saving money and I've lost 11Ibs in weight from not having the midnight munchies, Eating relatively healthily and going for an hour walk up a steep inclined hill in the evening after work before I go home - Which I believe is helping me sleep properly! That and I stick either Life or Africa on Netflix and the voice of David Attenborough lulls me into a deep sleep :rotfl:

I'm patiently waiting for payday now! This has been the longest month ever but I still have £13 to last until Friday and don't really need anything. After spending a bit of my own personal spends (I still give myself £400 a month) on xmas gifts, I had £293.90 to last the month.
I installed a spending tracker to see where most of my money goes and it's pretty good, You can add whatever categories you want but this is what I spent on this month:

Entertainment - £67.60 (two trips to the cinema to see star wars/the revenant, both were excellant!! and dinner with my friend at chimichangas)
Food - £43.38 - I have food at home but my parents aren't too healthy so that's mostly salad things and fruits etc
Tobacco - £36.00
Games - £29.98 - Fantasy Life for my DS
Charity - £25.00 - Sponsored one of my managers for a run she is doing this year
Sports - £18.00 - A biometric weighing scale that was on sale at Argos (Will post my stats so far since I started recording them soon!)
Hair - £16 - I shaved my head, So I actually have no hair but I started using regaine on it...Although I read after I started using it that you shouldn't use it on a shaved head, It should be ok...I have like 1 inch of hair now :rotfl: I haven't seen much growth yet but it's only been a month and apparently it can take up to 3 months to see any difference so I shall persevere with it and let you guys know!
Phone - £15
Books for my kindle - £12.31
Female things - £7.50 This was for eyebrow threading.
Savings - £6.13 - This is all change under 50p to my jar!

So...not very interesting, but at least I can see where I fritter money away now and I can add even more categories if I want to make it really specific! Better than carrying my notepad and paper everywhere :rotfl:
Although my friend gave me a £30 paperchase voucher for Xmas and I used it last weekend and got a huge notebook, an organiser, a passport cover and a pencil case! I have no excuse...

I also treated myself to the new L'Oreal Lash wings mascara (love it!) and Bourjois clear lipgloss since I had 2000 points on my boots card!