2014 - the drive to be ready to pay back debt created by doing a masters

Magsnoodle

Good afternoon all,

As you can see from my thread I am not the most proficient poster in the world but I am regularly lurking. The only debt we now have is the mortgage so I think I will probably move across to there in the future. OH has now become a pensioner and we are having to adjust to a different lifestyle. So far, so good. He is quite the bargain hunter when it comes to food shopping and so is making great savings on a weekly basis. He has a little notebook which he writes in all prices so he knows where is the best place to go.

We are still using the market for fruit and veg and he goes to a little Asian shop near to where we live where tinned tomatoes, tinned beans and spices are SO much cheaper than any of the supermarkets. As we cook everything from scratch it makes a difference.

I started the emergency fund some time ago and had got it up to nearly £600!!! I was really chuffed. However, my Mum has been in hospital at home for over a fortnight and I have dashed across the water twice. That seems to have got rid of the EF quickly. I was grateful that we had it to be honest with you. :beer: It meant making the decision to go and see her was easy.....

So what else is happening? My project for the MBA has gone Pete Tong.. Was meeting all my deadlines without difficulties but it would appear that I would need to have quite a significant amount of approvals from my organisation to do it which has added an amazing amount of work to what I already need to do but will not be marked on.

I start a new job in three weeks and I am both looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. I have been at my current place for over 10 years and yet again I am terrified of leaving. It happened the last time I did this but I survived. The first year was really challenging and I expect this one to be the same.

I had a fitbit for Christmas - needing to make a big effort to loose weight as I have got to that point in life of middle aged spread and everything I eat going straight to my hips, thighs or belly. The fitbit is really good and definitely focuses me on exercise and calorie counting which has made a difference. I have now lost half a stone since Christmas and I am thrilled.

Anyway I am now gabbling. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and happy money saving y'all....

TTFN xxx

Magsnoodle

Evening all,

So how is it all going in moneysaving land? I am trying to have NSDs but not always successful. Have finished getting Easter gifts today and have bought cheap Easter eggs with other small gift in a £land gift bag which I am really pleased with. Have got some of the cute Egg cups from A$"i as well for DD as she has only recently has started to eat eggs. It has all changed since we went to pick up her prom dress which had been delivered to the shop and meet the lady altering it and guess what??? It didn't fit. :eek:
In between Christmas and the last weekend in January she had put on weight and the zip didn't connect. We were sent back home and she was told to lose half a stone. A VERY cruel lesson when you are 16 that if you eat a huge amount of junk and don't do any exercise it will increase your weight. I had made the fatal error of buying her a lot of sweet things for Easter on a theme so I am prepared to take the blame. She has since been on a health kick and is exercising and watching what she eats - although I am watching her that it has not gone to extremes. So far she has lost 10 lbs in a month and the dress does actually fit again.... Hallelujah!!!

I had a fitbit for Christmas and I have become addicted to it and making sure I meet my step goal every day. I take every opportunity to walk when in the past I would have been quite lazy if I'm honest with you. I am joining DD on her weight loss journey as middle aged spread is settling in and it is not a good look.

My moneysaving thing today is I have just booked a return ticket to London from the midlands for £8 return on a Saturday to see one of my good friends. I am so excited.

Project for my masters has fallen apart for now. Waiting for permissions to come through - pain in the bum.......:mad:

So what other things have people been doing? We are using the slow cooker more and this way we have several portions of meals ready in advance - a great help for us all.

I shall sign off for now and wish you all a happy and patient week. Thanks for stopping by.

TTFN xxx

Magsnoodle

So how has the bank holiday weekend gone for everyone?

I have a confession to make - three years ago I went as a guarantor for a friend on a loan who was in real financial difficulties and I knew that I could pay it if I really had to. There have been some hiccups along the way but nothing we haven't sorted and we still have two years to go. My only request was that if there was a problem that she let me know in advance.

Well I had a phone call the other week from the company to say that she was two months behind and not responding to phone calls or e mails or texts. I paid what was owed and tried to contact her. Took a bit of time to do this though and got some excuse about why she was out of touch but not sure I believed it.

She said she would phone me on pay day and pay half with the other half the beginning of June so I expected her to contact me on pay day... Guess what? She hasn't been in touch and I must admit I didn't contact her either. She has a huge amount on her plate and when I listen to Dave Ramsey he would say that if you give someone money or do this kind of thing, then you do it without assuming you will get your money back and treat it as a gift.... Trying to feel this gracious.

So what advice do I want? Should I contact her and remind her to pay me the money or assume that as she hasn't texted me there is an issue and I should assume the money is lost? How long do I allow this to go on for or do I just accept that I was stupid? Don't want a bad mark on my credit record...

Also you need to know that the reason for me doing this is because when I was in university if the local parish priest had not put his hand in his pocket and given me a cheque for my uni fees from his personal funds - I would never have finished my degree as we were in trouble financially as a family. :eek: I will always be grateful for his kindness and I paid him back as soon as we had the money. Without him I would not be where I am today and I often give silent thanks for his kindness and graciousness for nothing in return.....

What would you do????