Tunnel Vision in 2014!

Sun_Addict

Boo to the tax bill but well done on resisting the wine! Like you I had a bottle I intended saving for the weekend bit I've been weak willed and opened it Oh well - but then I don't have work until Friday. I lost my mum in 2000 so know how you feel - I still think about her every day.

Hope your cold is better soon.

Chardonnay

Morning Sun Addict, hope you're ok today - don't blame you for opening the wine as you're not at work today! Hope you enjoyed it! :beer:

Sorry to hear about your mum too Mum's are special aren't they, you can't ever replace them. I am ok most of the time, as know she wouldn't want me to be sad (she told me often enough!) It's just sometimes when you're feeling low, it just gets to you, which I'm sure that you can relate to! Christmas is such an emotional time of year at the best of times anyway, am personally really glad it's over this year! Bah, humbug!

Cold still no better and back at work today but working from home does make it a bit more bearable! Having our Tesco delivery today so we should be ok for food for the week now, apart from probably having to go out for milk at some point and possibly a loaf of bread. Hoping for a NSD other than that. Takeaway was £2.45 less than I'd budgeted for last night, so that's something. Every penny helps!

One more day of eating what I like, then weigh in and back to WW! :eek:

Have a good day!

Chardonnay

Finally made it back on here to update... Cold got worse and felt so rough on Friday/yesterday. Worst cold I've had in years! Thankfully it seems to have really cleared today though, so looking forward to getting back to normal.

Very pleased with how the debt busting's going! Have managed to pay another £150 off the Barclaycard this last couple of days! That was made up of the paltry £50 that I budgeted for my Self Assessment, and OH also realised he'd finished paying one of his debts, so gave me back the £35 that I'd transferred to him. Got DSD1's birthday pressies for £20, by using my catalogue cash back and also they were in the sale - should have been £32! Also got Nephew a £20 Argos voucher for his birthday, using £15 of Nectar points, and just paying the fiver difference. All in all, I managed to scratch the extra £100 payment for Barclaycard, mostly out of these savings.

Had allowed us £25 pocket money for last week, and amazed to say that we actually had £3 left at the end of this week! Dad came over today and we popped for our usual coffee and cake by the (flooded!) river, but he insisted on paying, which was lovely of him. We then went to Asda, and I bought some (more!) cakes, and made lunch for us all. Only spent £3, so happy with that.

Have kept up doing my half an hour a day self employed work since 1st Jan, although I haven't always felt like it! Am determined to carry on so we've got a little bonus at the end of the month.

Starting Weight Watchers again tomorrow and so will have to weigh in - aargggh!!!! :eek: Think that will be a shock to the system! OH is also starting, I signed him up today - he wants to lose 3 stone. Can't believe how many points he's allowed! My WW membership lapses on 12th January, so I'll use his account to check on points values and keep a spreadsheet for myself - not paying for us both to subscribe!

Think I'll have an early night tonight. Feel like tomorrow is the first real day of the New Year for me! Hope to get on the exercise bike tomorrow too for half an hour, if I feel up to it. Hope everyone else is ok x

Sun_Addict

Hi Chardonnay - hope weigh in wasn't too bad! Time to get back on track for all of us now Christmas is over! We succumbed to a pizza takeaway tonight, however, it was on a buy one get one free deal which means half of it is now in the freezer for future reference. Tomorrow is the start of cutting back financially and diet-wise!

Chardonnay

Hi SA! Hope you enjoyed your pizza! You have to have treats, and buy one get one free is very MSE Hope the diet and finances are going well! Hope you're ok, will have a little catch up on your diary in a mo

Weighed in yesterday, as I promised, and had put on 4.5 lbs, not great obviously, but could have been worse and now have about a stone to lose to get to where I want to be. Considering I've lost 1st 4lbs in the last year, I do feel I can do it and am gradually getting there!

Had a lovely surprise today, as my wonderful dad has bought me a treadmill for my birthday! (It's not until next week) I was so chuffed today, as he knew I'd been wanting one for a while, but couldn't justify the expense. So dad came over and him and OH have put it together. It's a huge one too, quite gym-like actually, can't wait to use it tomorrow! I really got into running last year, starting by doing Couch 2 5k so that I could train for Race for Life in June, in honour of my mum. I was so chuffed to be able to jog all the way round and I found that running really helped me cope mentally with losing my mum. I haven't run for over a month now, because I just cannot drag myself out of the door on the dark Winter mornings! No excuses now though!

Money-wise, very quiet really. Have been sticking to the budget, not been anywhere so only spent money on top up groceries and the lottery - all budgeted for. Looking forward to getting paid. I have found that I am almost obsessing about money and getting our debt paid off now! Sometimes I think I need to take a step back and appreciate the little things, you know?! Patience has never been a strength of mine!

Sun_Addict

Hi there Chardonnay

I've got a treadmill - they're brilliant - no excuses when the weather is bad. Have you tried Motion Traxx on iTunes (on Android too I think). They have free running coaching podcasts eg Run/Walk intervals and loads of other stuff for all kinds of exercising. I've been downloading the episodes for a few years now and love them. They are very motivating. I especially like the run/walk ones as you get to run for, say, 2 minutes and then walk for 1 minute. A lot of them last just 30 minutes.

Like you I've also become obsessed with sticking to my budget - hopefully the novelty won't wear off anytime soon!

Chardonnay

Hi SA! The treadmill is fab, have been on it twice so far, the last time this morning. Managed to run for 25 minutes this morning, so pleased with that. I think it will make quite a big difference to my fitness!

Thanks for the tip about Motion Traxx - that sounds great, I will definitely have a look into that!

Weight-wise, it was weigh in day for Weight Watchers online today and I'd lost 2.5 lbs so pleased with that. I've been on the exercise bike Monday/Tuesday and running Wednesday and today, so exercise-wise I've been good. Have been sticking to WW, but it's my birthday on Monday and we have a little get together planned on Sunday, so I think I'm going to forget the points at the weekend, then get back to it on Tuesday!

Money-wise, my sister in law is hosting the get together, and we only have to take a bottle of wine and some beers, so won't be expensive. Pizza Express have kindly sent me a voucher for a free bottle of Prosecco for my birthday, so OH, DD and myself will go there for lunch on Monday and shouldn't be too costly

I'm off over to my dad's early tomorrow as he wants me to go and see brother and sister in law in their Parkrun and I thought it might inspire me to get running up to 5k again! We will just have a coffee in the cafe afterwards, so that shouldn't break the bank too much!

I've been sticking to the budget, haven't spent anything, apart from on food, which I'm under budget for. It's all going a bit too well, something has to go wrong soon! Looking forward to getting paid so I can make a nice big dent in the debt again!

Yesterday I had a very weak moment and started looking at holidays. I love my holidays abroad! But then I pulled myself together and started looking at some houses for sale instead, then started to feel really frustrated that we weren't in a position to buy yet, and it gave me the kick up the bum that I needed! So back on track with the budget now! :cool:

shinner

Wow just read your diary. You are really motivated well done on the debt and the diet. I need to re start WW and exercise lol.
Will subscribe keep up the good work enjoy your weekend.

Chardonnay

Hi Shinner, welcome to my diary, nice to see you! :wave:

Thanks, I do feel motivated at the moment, hope it lasts!

Good luck with restarting WW and the exercise, let me know how you get on, we can support each other

You have a great weekend too!

Chardonnay

So, see I haven't posted for over a week....must do better!

Positive things that have happened this week:

Had my birthday, received £25 birthday money, amongst some lovely pressies!
Had a hospital appointment but drove to the hospital and found somewhere free to park nearby. I was going to go on the bus, but we saved £8 by driving!
Have lots of birthdays coming up, so went out today and bought 10 cards for £1 - cheapskate that I am, but I begrudge paying a lot for cards and they'll last me a while! I did buy other cards for my best friend and brother, spent a few more pence on them
Had a nice birthday lunch out, we did spend more than we intended but as Pizza Express had kindly sent me a voucher for a free bottle of Prosecco, it could have been worse!
Have carried on doing my half hour of my little part time work every day, when work is available, so should have a bit extra at the end of the month
No takeaways for a week (might not sound a lot, but it's a big improvement for me! )
Have run on the treadmill 3 times in the past week, for half an hour
Have stuck to WW since Wednesday
£7.03 Quidco cashback due to go into my bank in the next few days
Haven't used credit card at all, still have enough money in the bank until we get paid, although things are getting a bit tighter now!

Negative things:

OH desperately needed some new jeans so bought some from Next, mail order - £35 + the postage fee
I also bought some ankle boots at the same time, for £35 but I did use the £25 I had for my birthday towards it :T
Had lunch out at the cafe near the hospital and also bought cakes and a few hot drinks, as there was lots of waiting around, all in all spent nearly £20
WW went completely out of the window over the weekend, with my birthday, and put on half a pound


So, birthday out of the way now and onwards and upwards! Debt busting has gone a bit quiet, haven't been able to make any extra payments, but waiting to get paid so I can pay a good chunk off again January is such a loooooong month!