Kate's Journey

beanielou

You can & will do it

Kate_fixing_it

Happy December everyone! And can we all please leap off our seats and do the happy dance please? I've just made a minimum payment to a 0% card and took the total CC debt down to under 6990! :j

There's still December interest to add so I know the total will pop over the 7k mark again but (here comes my big "but" again ) upon reevaluating finances and allowing for guaranteed ebay sales today, £100 for London and full retail cost of gifts still to buy I can comfortably afford to pay another £200 this month taking December's total debt repayments to £700! Eeeeeeeeek!

The tree is up, I was leapt on shortly after 7am with squeals of "Santa's been! We have a Christmas tree!" (I was up until almost 2am for that!) and the festive colour scheme has been changed from cream and gold to blue and silver with no extra cost.

My tradition of buying one new decoration (which in the past has always escalated to close to £100) will be happening but this year it will be ONE decoration. I can pinpoint the memories attached to each annual addition, this is something that's very important to me. The gifts may be forgotten by New Year but I only have to hold that glittery white reindeer as I hang it on the tree and I'm instantly transported back to December 2010 and the joy on my children's faces as they fed a real reindeer.

This year I will be popping into Harrods (on Friday!) and buying a small trinket and every year it will bring back to me the year that I finally realised what is important. I'll be witness to my friend seeing London for the first time and turning the 30th birthday she's been dreading having to spend without her beloved mum into something different. She won't miss her mum any less but hopefully she'll be able to smile. My little trinket will symbolise and bring back to me that it's about time and effort and not throwing money at people to show my love.

This Christmas is already much less stressful now I've stopped making demands on myself and next month I'll be starting a brand new year without huge CC statements dropping through the door. They'll appear with no additional extras and the knowledge that they won't even exist by Christmas 2014.

I feel like I'm giving and getting the best gift of all, happiness and peace...unless someone knocks the tree down in which case there could be bloodshed

Kate x

Kate_fixing_it

beanielou wrote: »

You can & will do it

Thank you Beanielou xxx How can I fail with this level of determination and the support of this forum?

beanielou

Great news on your new debt total :j :j

clippy_girl

Hi Kate,

Just wanted to say I gave been reading your diary and really love your positivity and your get up and go!

Good luck with your journey (not that you need it!) :T

Kate_fixing_it

Thank you both xxx I've now updated my signature. I've decided to not count down the debt on it but to count up the repayments. I've done this partly because there is interest still being added as I haven't defaulted and partly to keep me motivated on the dark/impatient/tempting days. It is also a nudge to how much I will be able to save when the debt is gone. It makes sense in my head at least so I'm going to hit the send button and wait for the magic to happen

Kate x

PS it worked!

Fortune_Smiles

Hello Kate

just de-lurking to wish you luck on your journey. How well you're doing! And what fabulous memories you're creating for your children

I had my LBM in my early twenties and sorted out the debt. Now Mr F and I are slowly edging towards mortgage freedom whilst also living life.

I have a diary but it's not a very good MS example this time of year. We always have a full social time over Christmas and the cost is shocking. However, I keep posting the full horror so that I keep within the budget and still save where possible. If you're tempted to pop in for a visit I'd suggest waiting until the New Year otherwise you'll be deafened by the collective tutting of the MS community :eek:

You're on the right track now - just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you'll get there

Fortune x

Kate_fixing_it

Thank you Fortune Smiles xxx I'll definitely have a read of that. The long term plan is for us to buy a house when the teens leave home. They are both talking about university (DD1 is talking veterinary science and that's 7 years! Can't see her wanting to come back after that and 10 years from now when she graduates our younger two will be 15 and 17 and thinking about leaving! :eek:) so in the next 5 years our household will be significantly smaller and we won't need a 4 bed house. Once the debts are paid we can start some serious saving and have a really hefty deposit to put down then work towards mortgage freedom too

Today is London day! I've had the week from hell at work but I'm hoping that means the pleasure/pain balance will be restored by a fantastic day today. The train tickets have been collected. We leave here in less than two hours and arrive in Euston shortly after 11. To make it a real day of luxury we have our champagne afternoon tea booked for 3.30pm at no cost to us (because I complained about the October visit) I've bought us a couple of cans of G&T each and some special offer posh chocolates (it's not too early for alcohol at 10am is it? ) and I have my O2 priority moments app for free chocolates from Hotel Chocolat and a half price burger before the train home. Best of all are the parts money can't buy; seeing a person I love reacting to her first ever trip to the capital and making one of her dreams come true. And the cherry on the cake, fun with my friend and a day off from the normal routine.

I've not decreased my debt total since I last updated but I haven't incresed it either. The Christmas shopping is almost done, the stockings are hung by the chimney and surrounded by a virtual forest of real holly (cut from my own garden - I have the scratches to prove it) pox-girl is making a rapid recovery and I'm feeling calm and happy.

I'm may be short on cash but I'm making my life richer. Everything is brighter with hope for the future. I'm looking forward to all my tomorrows, savouring all my todays and learning from my past.

Life is good.

Kate x

heyjude2013

Have a brilliant weekend Kate, you really deserve it!

How nice it'll be knowing you've put money aside for this and can truly enjoy it without worry about the pennies :-)

Jude x

Kate_fixing_it

WOW! What an awesome day! I'm seriously considering amputating both my legs today but it was so worth it!

The afternoon tea was fantastic! After dinner I was having what I can only describe as "cake sweats" as we got back to Oxford Street lol! I was constantly having my champagne topped up (think I was given half a bottle before I had to stop) and at that point they brought out the mulled wine! My friend had a fabulous time too and she's already planning to go back.

On the money front I had budgeted for a £60 spend originally then bumped it up to £100. I actually spent less than the original budget! I've come home with half the remaining Christmas gifts and a little something for me. I'm really proud of myself, so many opportunities to splash out but there was nothing I really wanted that much.

I even changed my mind about the Harrods Christmas decoration! Got there and decided it was too big and not in keeping with my decorations so I didn't buy it (quite proud of that too!)

All this means I have cash left, not masses but every penny helps. There's enough left to get a couple more gifts and get the list to buy down further but for now that can wait. I'm not moving off this sofa until 6pm when I'm taking my parents to my Dad's work Xmas party...not even if there's cake

Kate x