I'm tired of having no money!!

newpennypincher

I can't think of a clever title, but this one sums up how I'm feeling today. This must be the fourth or fifth diary I've started since I first found MSE about six years ago and I'm still no closer to being debt free, in fact my debt free date is getting further away every month.

I work full time and have an Eb*y shop, I owe money on four credit cards and two store cards. I don't miss payments, but I have no money left at the end of the month. If I didn't have my Eb*y shop, I would definitely run out of money before payday.

I don't have an emergency fund, so if something breaks its not going to be replaced for a while. My tumble dryer caught fire a few months ago and we haven't bought a new one yet. It hasn't been much of a problem so far since we've had a lovely summer but its starting to feel a bit more Autumnal these last few mornings!

The house and contents insurance is due on the 1st September, the LPG gas has run out and we need to fill up on coal and logs before winter. My mortgage payment goes out tomorrow which leaves me with approximately £100 till payday.

This diary is my last ditch attempt to get my act together, I need a big kick up the you know what and hopefully some good ideas on how to feed the two of us for about £100 per month. It sounds easy in theory, but I'm having a lot of trouble with this. We don't eat a lot of takeaways (maybe one a month) and we don't eat a lot of processed foods, but I'm going wrong somewhere as we spend about £250 per month on groceries. Granted, we have my grown up children around for meals about twice a week and I have my mum over every Sunday.

Today I have two of my sons and my mum coming for dinner. I've had chicken from the freezer in the slow cooker since this morning cooking in some chicken stock I had in freezer since Christmas. I've got loads of potatoes in the fridge that need to be used and a pack of frozen peas. It smells very nice

I'm lucky to live in a nice house, but I'm not daft, I know that my money worries all stem from worrying what other people think of me and trying to keep up appearances since my divorce. I spent over 20 years with someone who never let me make any decisions about money, unsurprisingly the last four years have been spent making some of the daftest decisions ever! I am learning though!

Ok, on the plus side - I have three grown up children who are doing very well, I enjoy my job (although the money isn't great), I can pay my own mortgage, I have a lovely partner who means the world to me BUT I'm tired of worrying about money

I have to go and check on dinner now, but I aim to try and post every day and will be back later to list all debts.

If you've read this far, thank you x

aartisuk

hello! Didn't want to read and leave, good luck on your journey, it's hard but it will be worth it in the long run. I've really struggled with the keeping up appearances aspect, it's why my overdraft is so large. Will be interested in seeing how you get on.

TallulahTaboo_2

I know how you feel a little too well. I too will be starting a diary to see if I can reduce some debt so you're not alone!

I just renewed our home insurance with Aviva and done this via Quidco. Our renewal was £200 but that's because we put valuables on it which put the price up. However, if you book insurance through quidco, you get £60 cash back. Worth looking!

Good luck, x

peaceandfreedom

I feel the same as you do, to be honest.

Just wanted add a quick tip now (I'll come back later) - don't bother getting a new tumble dryer. Ours broke over 2 years ago and we've managed fine without it (household of 5). Just get organised about doing your washing and be more inventive about finding ways to dry the big things. It is perfectly possible to dry everything without one, including towels (we have lots of massive bath sheets) and bedding.

jodles16

Just wanted to say good luck!

Jodles

tibawo

You diary title caught my eye... I've just started my own as I've just finished my iva and am clueless about what to do next and basically I am fed up of having no money. I'd like to be able to go out for a tea on a whim and not always have to plan a month in advice.

Wishing you luck on your journey

shopaholicz

Some days I feel like this too. But I want to pay my mortgage off by end of 2015, so I have keep going.

I've started shopping 2 or 3 times a week instead of doing a big shop and find that this helps, as I'm actually going out spending 2-3 times a week. Only food shopping, not clothes/shoes/other things. But actually going out and spending some money helps.

I don't have any money in my purse, not anything. So if I want something I have to plan to get money out of the hole in the wall first, that gives me time to think about if I really need it. And if it's raining I'll probably save the purchase for another day, giving me even longer to think about it.

Shopping for a couple of days meals at one time, is much easier than shopping for a whole week and I'm not throwing away as much food. About 6 months ago we applied for and got a second black bin, but haven't needed to use it once since splitting my shopping up.

I agree that it's really easy to look at what others are doing. I work in a really big office and there are people going on holiday 2-3 times a year and have brand new cars every 2 years. They are usually the ones bragging about what they've got in a loud voice.

It took me a while to decide what was important to me, not them.

So this year we've only been on holiday for 1 week, in England. We haven't changed our car for about 4 years. And I'm happier this year knowing that I'm paying my mortgage off and others are not.

You can't be too cautious in this economic climate and I want to see myself in a good position if I'm ever made redundant or have to take a job with a lower wage.

Keep going newpennypincher, it's worth it and when you have a day feeling low, don't give up. You have to decide what's most important to you, keeping up with others or doing your own thing.

Thinking about money and planning ahead, being careful does not mean you're worrying about it. It means you're being honest to yourself about what you can afford and what you want to afford and giving yourself the best life that you can for the money you have.

newpennypincher

I'm back and thank you all for the lovely comments.

I've just enrolled on Quidco and will definitely look to getting my house and contents insurance through them. The cashback can go against one of my bills, so thank you for the tip.

I'm definitely going to try and do without a tumble dryer for as long as I can. We have a clothes horse and I've found that bed linen dries very quickly on the back of the sofa when the sun shines through the patio doors.

Dinner was lovely, I didn't have enough butter left to put into the mashed potatoes so I used mayonnaise instead and nobody noticed! They all said the mash was nice so I'm not telling! We also had pigs in blankets made with sausages and bacon we've had in the freezer since Christmas - I hope they were ok, well, they tasted fine anyway. All that was missing was a Magnum for pudding, but you can't have everything

I think every office has those people who go away 2-3 times a year and have the nicest cars. They're probably living on credit , they just haven't seen the light yet- I know its taken me long enough.

No Eb*y sales today yet, a few weeks ago, I could sell about six or seven items on a Sunday, but these last couple of weeks, its slowed right down which is a pain.

BF came home from work today with an invitation to go out to dinner with my old work colleagues. Its after payday so I should be able to go, but will have to watch all the pennies until then. That's what makes me fed up sometimes - I work hard and should be able to go out for a meal without agonising about it for weeks.

My short term goal is to make it till payday without putting anything else on plastic - that's eight days so I need some inspiration! I've seen threads on the OS board where you can feed a family for very little, so I have some reading to do. We have salmon fillets and prawns in the freezer so I'm thinking maybe fish pie tomorrow.

Divingmad

Hi NPP,

Have a look at the attached link, you can put in what you have in the cupboard and it gives ideas for what you could make...may be of use.

http://www.sainsburysfoodrescue.co.uk/

DM

newpennypincher

Thank you for that link, I've just had a quick look and its brilliant!

pinkgiraffe2014

Also very grateful for that link, I've saved it to try later.

I can also relate to much of your post. We have a coupe of people like that in our office. The thing is, we are all on the same salary in our office so I know what they are taking home. I generally find that the people who make a lot of noise about what they have and how much money they have are the ones that are just trying to keep up appearances. Far too bothered about people thinking they have plenty money.

I'll be following your diary for hints and tips as I'm just starting out too. I also use quidco a lot. Before I order anything online I always see if I can through them first. I've also noticed eBay has slowed down lately. I've had a few sales lately but nothing huge. Even kids nxxt clothes aren't going for as much as they normally do.