Changing for good...a new start!

Baldybear

Good morning

Failed on my NSD yesterday, had a takeaway £6 spent, luckily had cash in purse, think from cash4clothes. I was tired and think everything is catching up with me Nevermind moving on!

So I have renamed one of my savings accounts to my holiday fund so can start utilising

I think maybe to start of with will save all extras in there and then at end of each month after my min payment for Bcard gone out then can send half of whats in there as an extra to Bcard. This means dont have to worry about splitting each time a small amount comes in, will still mean my min payment isnt affected (budgeted each month and if make extra before it decreases) and also hopefully will earn a few pence interest too

Some survey money due soon already so that will be the first payment

Baldybear

Good morning

So reading other diaries and mulling over things, it occurs I dont have an emergency fund. A lot of people are doing this, they are in debt for longer but have a back up if needed. I dont have a fund, have naff all in savings apart from what I have saved this year, but this is already accounted for. I think I need to re look at my strategy.

So I am going to change my goals slightly. I still desperately want to go away but I am going to knock my target in half to £500 and still see if I can go somewhere on a budget. I am going to add in an emergency fund goal of £1000.

My real only outstanding debt is my Bcard, it is on 0% till Feb 2017 so ideally needs to be paid of before then. I do have leeway of having empty credit card if emergency occurs now but I really dont want to do that, otherwise just going back to square one.

So I am going to do what I had planned with any extras but instead of to debt going to do half and half to emergency fund and holiday until I reach my goals, then put half to debt.

I am hopefully in a good position that I should be able to refinance my 0% deal when it ends but its a while off yet so lets see what we can do first, its still 12 months of yet.

So I have set up appropriate savings accounts ready for my plan, watch this space as they say.

Its still a massive learning curve of which way and what is best but hopefully come out the other side a bit more savvy

Off to update signature.

Baldybear

Friends hossie done at lunchtime, managed to get the sedative into him and changed his foot bandage ok Friend stayed with him till he came round as I had to get back to work, took 2hours :eek: going to try again on sunday, maybe give him a little bit less this time, but if not will have plenty of time to stay with him.

£6 arrived in bank account from survey site so £3 respectively sent to emergency fund and holiday fund so both of the marks

cazmanian_minx

My vet told me that the trick to getting them to come round from sedation faster is to annoy them and promptly went on to prove it by starting to pull Merlin's mane (the old-fashioned way, by back-combing a few hairs, tugging them out, working her way up) - he was fully alert in about fifteen minutes.

Baldybear

Caz thanks for the info - will try that on Monday

So the sedation didnt work, stupid hoss had a reaction, took nearly 3 hours to come round and then he was sweating and shaking, ended up with me tramping round a muddy field in the dark at 7.30 last night checking he was ok and didnt need to get the vet, luckily all ok but after speaking to vet we have decided not to give again, so as we cant do it without sedation the vet is coming back on Monday to sedate IV. More bills but cant be helped I am afraid. At least I am not paying for it.

Totally fed up to be honest, did not sign up for this, am knackered, fighting a cold, still trying to work full time and look after my own horse, sigh. So back down this lunch to feed and hay, do sat, friend is doing sunday so a day off and then back down to meet vet monday lunchtime. Will try caz's trick of trying to bring him round quickly so dont have to have to an extended lunch hour as may need it again later in the week as probably need another vet visit. Friend is back monday 16th - cannot come quick enough. Am not doing this again in the winter, summer maybe but definitely not in the winter.

So good news, got fuel last night, in budget, used Sains CC to get double nectar points, have paid of this morning.

Expenses landed as they were already "in budget" last month have split and sent to savings targets - so £5 to emergency and £4.85 to holiday fund. Small amounts but they soon add up

mfmaybe

Don't envy you all that nonsense, is the horse perhaps, err, not that tame I know when you are going away it's inevitable to have to rely on people but this does sound quite extreme. I hope your friend really really REALLY appreciates what you have done for her. We know the horse won't!

Baldybear

Good afternoon

mfmyabe - hossie is tame, he is not the sharpest pencil in the box, a bit stupid, winds himself up and just uses his weight, not to be dangerous just doesn't think He was with my old hossie for 15 years so know him well but think he is got a bit more bolshy which doesn't help. He is a 15.3 cob x thoroughbred so chunky with no brains, and trying to change a foot poultice am just not strong enough, he wont stand still, just spins and keeps slamming his foot down, stupid hoss!

So a day off today from the hossies which has been nice. Tidied house, done some boring surveys, done half of small mystery shop and relaxed a little

Yesterday was very spendy, I am afraid to say had a massive fail and spent some money I didnt have. So £8 in boots on boring things like nail brush and shower gel, did use some points, will be able to fit this into budget ok. So my fail spent £53 in sainsburys on food, mainly fresh fruit, veg, yoghurts, some squash and milk. I also spent £128 in debenhams It was for some very much needed underwear, unfortunately cant get cheap stuff as doesnt fit well. Came home and threw away all my skanky ones

So I now have £181 on my Sains CC to clear. I still have the £75 of hoss food budget to use, £15 on farrier that I didnt need. So in theory could use to pay off so would half this straight away. But.....I think I need to get some more hoss food/bedding before payday so I will go next week and then see if I have anything left over to send to Sains CC. I am also going out on 21st with friend and I may need the £15 extra for that. Unfortunately my budget is so tight I only have £50 for misc spending each month and this is naff all really.

I will pay the Sains CC off asap, I will probably use the council tax money and water rates savings for march, plus any extras I get to clear this before I get charged interest and then go back to original plan of my holiday and emergency targets. Not great but there it is. Once I have got some emergency money behind me, and also finally got rid of the last remaining debt I may have some money left over each month. :cool: Just to got keep working towards that day.

I have to keep reminding myself that I am getting there, I have made real progress forward so its not impossible, just to keep going

Baldybear

Good morning

So I topped up my hoss food/bedding stash - spent £61.89, got some hay so another £12 so my £75 budget is gone, will last me into next month so can eek out that a bit more.

Checked all balances etc if I use my OD I can pay of my Sains CC off before payday, will be uber tight but I can do it, I will go and do that now. It leaves me with enough to pay my min payment for Bcard and £40 misc spending, thats it. It will undo my good work in paying of my overdraft but it will be cheaper than paying interest on that rather than my Sains CC. I will still work on my overdraft. It also means that all extra moneys can go towards original targets, only be a month or so behind so not major at the end of the day.

On good news got my electricity and gas bills and although there is still some more credit I could be due back I have managed to get a £27 refund, that should land in the next few days

Baldybear

Good morning

Nothing exciting money wise to report, no money in or out. My Sains CC is paid off, am left with naff all now till payday, 2 weeks away, but I have plenty of food, a full tank of fuel, plenty of hoss food so shouldnt need anything at all.

Short day today, vet down at 3.15 so get to leave early, due a few hours from the other day

Feeling a bit bah with life recently, been fighting a cold and do not like the winter. Also am quite depressed about the state of my finances and the house. The finances are getting better but there is still such a long way to go, it always seems like an uphill struggle, suppose its always harder when there is just one person rather than 2 people on board, but hey ho thats it so suppose I should get on with it. :cool:

My house depresses me, I do like the house, the area is good, neighbours ok, close to hoss, family and work. I bought with ex and he was always full of ideas and quite happy to start things but never finished them off. Since he has gone its my ideas that are always constantly buzzing round my head. The house needs a complete refurb, not structurally, but decorating wise. I have done odd bits to some rooms, some major works (new windows and doors) and have nearly finished one room.

Think I may list on here what needs doing as its clogging up my brain so can see what I need to achieve, and maybe somehow try and find a plan of how to achieve it all, obviously some need money so need to add that into the equation In an ideal world would get my extension done but dont have the money so will list what will make it better in the meantime.

So house works:-
Externally - front garden/drive is ok, could do with a couple more plants, need to replace broken fence panel at the front and paint outside window sills at the front.
At the back, have replaced fence, but need to replace side entrance, need plants as have none (just grass and one shrub so very bare), also need to paint window sills.
My bedroom is so nearly finished but need wardrobe doors, need to touch up paint, put some pictures up and put my mirror up.
Rest of the house needs completely re-doing, needs stripping the wallpaper in every room (have done hall and kitchen), re-plastering in hall, new carpets in every room, bathroom suite is ok but the tiling is horrible, kitchen is ok but needs re-tiling if possible, hate the worktops but could live with it short term. Once wallpaper stripped needs re-painting, new light fittings. Need new shelves in front room so can be more tidy with the wood/coal etc.

At the moment the house looks shabby, the previous owners just magnoliaed everything, including over wallpaper with border (it looks crap :mad:) so it annoys me when I see it. When they did decorate they were rubbish, missing bits, dont think they did any maintenance in the time they were there.

Take for example my bedroom, its only the one thats done was when we went to put in wardrobes, they had a picture rail up, so we had to take picture rail down and it took of half the wall with it :cool: so had the room completely re-plastered including the ceiling which had artex on. So had new carpet, paint etc.

A lot of the other ceilings have artex on, horrible stuff so need to get those done too.

There is plenty more but think I have gone off on one too much already

I think that if I have a space that I am more comfortable in at home that will help my state of mind

Calling14

You are doing brilliantly and its tough on your own.

I am full of cold as well at the moment and that combined with debt cloud, horrid cold weather doesn't help.

Cheer up spring will soon be here.

My house was similar when I moved in, now looks good. Haven't spent loads cash on it, except new front door and kitchen base units, replaced doors on the wall units. Spent hrs painting, wallpapering, gardening but result is happier me.

Anyway good luck x