The time has come...

thewalrussaid

Well here I am back and still plodding on, i have been reading lots of diaries but just not posting myself! I should say that I have been very lucky in that my parents were happy to write off the £4k loan - very thankful for their generosity.

Our food budget has come under control a lot more now that we generally stick to Lid1s every week with a big shop at S@insbury's once a month for the stuff we cannot get in L1d1s.

DH still has his job thank goodness - however I have realised that we have slightly relaxed money wise when we shouldn't be until his 6 month probation is over. Hence going back to L1dls.

The plan is to use our saving to repay the credit cards in December if DH passes his probation. I know in some ways there is no point as they are on a 0% interest rate but we remortgage next year so I want a breathing space of 6 months so that they show as closed off on our credit records.

Anyway onwards and downwards (with the debt):T

thewalrussaid

Well here I am back again.


I read my last post and thought guiltily of how little had changed. Once again I am thinking that we need to get food spending under control. No random takeaways because they really add up!


I have been paying down the debt and about 40% is gone.


The fly in the ointment is that DH's probation period is due to end at the start of December and his employer's have now made noises about possibly extending it. This is very frustrating and basically will put us back where we were in January 2014, although if it takes him 6 months to find a job as it did last time we might be sunk! (by sunk I mean having to sell the house). I realise they are only extending it but being a total pessimist I always assume the worst, but I must try to be much more positive for DH. It just irritates me that in 6 months they couldn't have given him an inkling one way or another. He has not been told of any issues whatsoever and now suddenly they have appeared. I just hope it isn't some underlying reason like lack of budget etc or that they want to keep him on to finish the projects he is on and then get rid of him.


However I am "hoping for the best but preparing for the worst".
I have looked at our emergency budget to see what I can shave off and if we have to live off it our savings and the money left in his company will hopefully last 6 months!


This week I meal planned and bought everything at L!dl and S@insbos on Saturday so now jut need to stick to the plan.


I have been reading lots of other diaries and think I will et my mojo back. Will try to post more here as it does seem to keep other people in check so hopefully it will also work for me!

Whitefeather8

Well done on clearing 40% of your debt under difficult circumstances. Fingers crossed for DH.

thewalrussaid

Whitefeather8 wrote: »

Well done on clearing 40% of your debt under difficult circumstances. Fingers crossed for DH.

Thanks Whitefeather

Eager_Elephant

I know how difficult it is having a DH in an unsecure job - my DH has a contract til March 2015. It should be extended but they are talking about knocking his building down and rebuilding in the next 5 years.


He is employed though which makes things slightly easier - they are very pleased with him so fingers crossed he gets to stay there as the job is good and his head has been so much better since he started there.


Have subscribed and will follow your journey.

thewalrussaid

I have been away for ages! But we have done it - we are debt free!


Ever since we had the news at the end of Nov that DH's probation was being extended everything had felt very up in the air and uncertain so the money we saved we kept in cash and I paid about £100 to each card each month and extra when it felt prudent to do so.


Anyway at the end of February we received the excellent news that DH was being taken on permanently - phew! This enabled us to use some of our savings to pay of the cards and the rest came from DH's limited company (less tax etc) which he is closing down as he is no longer self employed.


However... whilst we are now debt free I think I need to keep a serious eye on things as I think my tendency to spend and then deal with the consequences later have not gone away - I need to get to the point where I have ALL the money before I commit to spending it.


I feel somewhat ashamed to admit that we have already booked three holidays 1 for just us, 1 with DSD and 1 for a family event abroad. We have the money for all three as long as DH keeps his job. There is no reason he shouldn't keep his job but I am once again planning our spending based on "all going well" as opposed to saving up the money.


Anyway onwards and upwards apart from the holiday spending disaster the rest of the year (financially) should be about building up our savings and remortgaging in October.


Sorry to stay away for so long but I hope to stay on track now without debt.

thewalrussaid

Anyway on to everyday things.


Today we did a big shop and whilst we spent a reasonable amount we bought quite a few things in bulk - washing tablets, washing up liquid and cat food so the rest of the month's shopping should be just fresh fruit and veg and milk with some careful meal planning.


Other than that our electric toothbrush has given up the ghost but with some sh0p 7 sc@n vouchers along with a good deal on Amaz0n we should be able to get a new one for £25 instead of the £110 (the RRP - I doubt it ever sells for that much anywhere!)


Lunch for tomorrow is made and in the fridge and tomorrow's dinner is out from the freezer and defrosting so tomorrow should be a NSD. Apart from DDs from the bank account my aim is 4 NSDs in a row.


Have a good week everyone.

thewalrussaid

Well I have to say I was not ready to go back to work especially with a tedious regular meeting looming this morning. In the end the day went quite quickly and I made sure that I was out the door on the dot, I hate working late at the start of the week and try to avoid it at all costs!


My NSD didn't happen because I had to buy stamps, so that was a £3.78 outlay. Unfortunately the letter it sent will cost much more in the long run as it was a response to a speeding ticket for DH :mad: - this will increase both car's insurance premiums! It is very frustrating for me as just as I think things are under control an unexpected expense comes along!!


On the positive side though a colleague suggested lunch this week but I have put off to next week in order to ensure that I do not end up buying my lunch at all. 1 lunch out next week should be okay though.


Aside from that tonight is the planned meal and my lunch for tomorrow is ready in the fridge. I know, from reading other's diaries, that these small things make a real difference, making a plan and sticking to it avoids all kinds of unnecessary spends. I hope that by keeping this diary we should be able to stick to my proper budget this month instead of spending far more on food and takeaways etc than is required. However I always say this and then fail miserably so let's see what happens!


At least the sun is shining and the evenings are getting longer - I am ready for Spring!


Oh and I am very chuffed with my new badge!

thewalrussaid

So another NSD out the window :-/ mayonnaise at £1.10 today however by concentrating on not spending I am sure I am spending less than usual. (I'll tell myself that anyway).


Other than that a standard day at work - the highlight tomorrow is a free lunch. Ha! Not having to buy or make lunch makes it a highlight of the week


I have at least done my meal plan for next week and it shouldn't (I think) involve too much shopping or spending, seeing as we spent so much last week.


But tomorrow must be a NSD - third time's a charm!

thewalrussaid

So the third time was a charm and today is a NSD! Hurrah.


Lunch is made for tomorrow and dinner was from the meal plan so success there too!


Hopefully even tomorrow can be a NSD too. Roll on the weekend!


Looking forward to an early night tomorrow night and an early morning trip to L!dl on Saturday - the excitement never ceases in my life :j