Every single penny counts!

GaLa15

Yikes, well managed the meal planner for January and started the emergency fund.

Didn't get around to the ebay listings or budgeting for the birthday parties but will need to do this tomorrow instead.

I may well walk around the house with a cardboard box and starting putting things in that I want to sell!

Been looking at a few of the challenges and do not want to commit to too many otherwise I tend to lose track.

Spoke to hubby this eve and he's on board completely this year. We are lucky in that we are able to make all our monthly repayments but we are also completely fed up of worrying about paying bills and affording everything every single month. We want to be debt free...heck....we want to be mortgage free!

We have long term goals and have given ourselves until September 2018 to be completely debt free. We will both be 35 and this is realistic for us as a family. I imagine it will be full of highs and lows but we are determined.

So...onwards and upwards...tomorrow I will be staying in mostly and having a spend free day.

GaLa15

Good no spend day today - had friends over for a cuppa.
Sticking to my food planner too so all is going well. Found a penny on the floor so that has gone into my sealed pot challenge tin

Christmas decorations are down and ready to tackle the paperwork tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great Xmas break. We are having a quiet family New Year's Eve tomorrow but I plN on making a cheesecake as our treat!

GaLa15

Well I have major new motivation to get rid of this debt...I'm having another baby (due in August).

It hasn't quite sunk in yet and I have to say it's all being overshadowed by awful morning sickness eek...but today I have woken up and the sun is shining - I am feeling motivated

I do need to go back to the beginning again though - sort through sneaky direct debits, check my credit cards for 0% and generally stop burying my head in the sand. Isn't it terribly easy to hide from debt? to keep spending, to not be accountable. It's not ok though is it.

I would love to jump straight to the mortgage free wannabe stage (big long term goal for me). It's not going to happen though unless I start focusing on the debt. Luckily I have plenty of things to cut back on (sky, gym, cleaner etc) and I enjoy growing my own veg and cooking/baking etc.

I think I have felt so out of control and the first thing I do is buy stuff - literally 'stuff'. I want to start valuing my time with my family this year....not valuing the stuff I can give them. I want a decluttered, simpler life....so here I go again

GaLa15

Reading through my own diary I realise our initial DF goal was September 2016 and our current goal is September 2018! We are still aiming for September 2016 (although this would be a huge push) but we have until September 2018 as the last month we ever want to be in debt!!

mfmaybe

Congratulations! That's a great motivator. Best of luck.

GaLa15

Thank you mfmaybe - really excited

GaLa15

Well managed my first NSD of January! Yay me!

GaLa15

2nd day no spend - morning sickness and extreme fatigue is helping!

Taken photos of lots of clothes to sell on eBay - just need to put them all up now. It's a step though

Can't go anywhere near the kitchen at the moment because of food smells making me feel sick! Luckily hubby being amazing!

GaLa15

3rd no spend day

Made my first 1% off my debt goal too.

Have such a long way to go but at least I'm not playing ostrich!

betsycat

Well done! 3/4 NSD is a great start to the year!