Just me and my HappyGirlie Diary...

HappyGirlie

Helloooo


I've been lurking for a couple of years on MSE and have been greatly inspired by the DFWers and the MFWers and Old Stylers and Frugal Livers that have control of their finances... and are creating their life as they want it. I have seen heavy debtors become debt free, read of people with mortgages become mortgage free, envied people losing weight and gaining in health from eating more home cooked food and less convenient junk and marvelled at people saving up and buying their dream houses sometimes avoiding having a mortgage all together.
Why not me?


I know how to make a budget, menu plan, cut back my bills, live well below my means, make-do and mend etc... but do I do it? Yes... sometimes. I get easily sidetracked, feel fed-up and have a financial splurge and end up back to square one. Which is so frustrating as I am very thrifty by nature.


My square one is today... at this moment I am; £18'000 in credit card debt. I have set up a self-managed DMP, paying off the very minimum. All interest bar one card has currently being suspended... but my debts are going nowhere and this must change.


I am a single mum (split up from ex last year) with one very lovely just turned three little girl at home. I am self-employed - I have my fingers in many pies but my main bread winners are selling clothes on Ebay and working in Homecare. This allows me to work from home and I don't require childcare. I am also Forty two pounds overweight... my motto has been, "when all else fails, eat" ... I am a typical stress eater and spender.


I rent a house, have no savings, poor credit score (never defaulted but going on a DMP has sorted that out.) I could go bankrupt (I literally have nothing for the receiver to take) and it would save me £18,000 - however I spent it, I owe it and I couldn't morally justify it to myself that it was acceptable for me to do.


I was very FUAFO (Fed Up and Ferked Off) with my lot... the last few years has been a depressing binge session of crappy consumer impulse buys,eating poor food and buying silly presents for others, all to make myself feel good but all that spending and junk food made me even more miserable. I don't need anti-depressants from the doctor, I need control of my life.


And then I hit the bottom... and I started to cry; I was not giving my little girl a full and enjoyable life that she deserved. She has always eaten well, I buy her organic produce; she was breast fed for 18 months and she only has sweets once a week... I treat her little body with such good nutrition.... just not my own. And I was so lethargic and depressed with my lot that she was been baby sat by the television or when we went to the park etc I would want to come home after 30 minutes as I was so stressed. After the tears... the light bulb came on... my lack of control was dictating a future life for her of the same... debt, being overweight and depressed... watching the TV instead of a social life; to brainwash herself away from a miserable reality. I was giving her a blueprint for failure and unhappiness.


NO MORE! I want her to have the best life and that cannot be bought. It's time to radically change for the better.
And why not change for me too? Why not be the debt free, house -owning (with no mortgage) slim and healthy person who has the energy to give myself and my little girl a wonderful non-consumer based life.


So many people have done it on here... small consistent steps until they won the race. And I will get to that end line... I have hit the bottom... and now I am determined to get up and climb to the top.


My finishing line?
* To be debt free
* To get back to a healthy size 10/12 so I can fit into all my old wardrobe and feel full of energy instead of full of chocolate.
*To have an emergency fund of £1'000
*To save up to buy a small house in full with no mortgage. After years of credit card debt I am not paying another penny of interest to anyone unless it is on pain of death.
*Enroute - give my little girl a simple, back to basics life style with plenty of outdoors play, creative indoor play, making and baking, deconstructing and learning - personal time and attention. And of course oodles of love and cuddles (however those she has never been short of.)


Here is my diary... it will be of course a long game... but God willing, I will be around to play for many years to come...


Next my SOA...

Whitefeather8

I couldn't resist a diary with this name Happygirlie. I look forward to watching you achieve your goals, step by step, and having lots of fun with your little one along the way.

HappyGirlie

Thank you Whitefeather... ... good luck with all your hopes and goals too. x

HappyGirlie

MY SOA
Incoming: Per month -
WTC £608
CB £80
S/E £400
.................
£ 1088 per month





Outgoing:

Rent: £0 - (paid by Ex as maintenance )
Water £22
Telephone/Internet £42 (Can't get this any cheaper due to where I live.)
Council tax £51
Mobile £12
Daughter's savings £20
Contents insur £16
Pet insurance £20 (Old labrador)
Utilities £62
TV Licence £12
Groceries £200
Transport £30
Xmas/Birthdays £50
Window cleaner £5
Emergency fund £50
Total: £592


Debts:


x3 Credit cards 0% at moment due to debt management plan - (£15'000) payments £37 pm
Catalogue 0% £450 - £70 pm
Catalogue 2 (33%) £132 (to pay off asap) - Min payment £10 pm
T3sco Credit Card (29%) £1800 - (to pay off asap) - Min payment £40 pm
Child Tax Credit Over payment 0% £205 - £35 pm
Times Subscription £30 pm - doesn't run out for 12 months urgh!
Debt owed to mum - £175 (0%) £50 pm
Total £272


Outgoings in total: £864


In theory I should have £224 left over per month to throw at those debts ... but I don't. It seems to get soaked up in small, unecessary expenditures. Or it did... I now have a notebook to list down every single expenditure and I have set up all my budgets.


Aims for Oct/November -
Increase productivity in self employment department -


Don't go in to overdraft -


Take little one out everyday for at least two hours; even when raining.... library, friends houses, playgroups etc - Or creative play for at least two hours indoors.


Limit TV to one hour am and one hour pm -


Start hammering T3sco credit card with over payments -


Aim for an incredibly frugal, yet spirit filled Christmas - savings for Xmas so far £0 - I have however wrote a list and have a few gifts to already purchased.


Any thoughts/recommendations/suggestions would be great thank you. x

HappyGirlie

We have had a productive moving forward day to day; as well as working out my budgets and starting this diary the little one and I have...


*...been on a nature trail and dog walk. We collected some lovely red, yellow, orange and brown leaves and when we returned home we then made a pretty picture gluing the leaves on the back of an Amazon envelope.


*Checking bank, all is well.


*Asked for a refund on an 3bay item that was auctioned as 'new' and arrived smelling of damp and had a small rip in it, really just fit for the bin. Full refund offered by seller.


*Had a No Spending Day :T here's to many more to come.


*Started to declutter spare room, ready for a serious 3bay session.


*I'm sat with blanket on my lap rather than the heating on.


*Had slow cooker pulse and bottom of the fridge veg soup. The chicken stock and garlic really made this soup edible.


*Drank two glasses of water in place of two cups of coffee, so my fluids today consisted of 6 coffees and 5 glasses of water. I would ideally like to give coffee up as I drink too much of it and it would be so much healthier. I shall withdraw from coffee slowly.... I once tried sudden and total abstinence before... I thought someone was trying to axe my skull open.


*Turn main lights off, sat in sitting room with low energy lamp on.


*Cut my little one's hair (which I usually do) and made a good job of it... even though she was playing wriggly worms at the time.


*Turned TV off at 2pm and didn't put it back on until 9pm. Little one enjoyed colouring in, painting and getting Play Doh all over. I put the black Doh in the bin as a little bit got crushed into my fawn coloured carpet and the colour doesn't wash out it just smears... 'orrible stuff.


And that's my first full MSE day over with... roll on day two... menu planning and a day Ebay listing awaits.


Night all. x

theemptypurse

Hi, just wanted to pop in and say enjoyed your diary really well done for making a start and putting your plans in place...this board is excellent for motivation - good luck xxxxxxxxxx

miss_kc

Good luck I love how positive and focussed you are. You have made a great start and I wish you luck xx

abba1772

Well done on the changes you've made so far xx

HappyGirlie

Thank you all... it's nice to have such positive comments. xx


I've felt a bit lousy today, every few months I get bad headaches, brain fog and super lethargy that lasts for a couple of weeks and then disappears again. I think it's one of the many physical manifestations of stress and I am sure my poor diet hasn't helped along the way.... who can have boundless energy with carb overload? I am seeing the doctor later in the week regarding blood test results, he is quite forward thinking and believes my headaches/tiredness/stress/brain fog are from a diet based heavily gluten filled products. It would be nice if all those symptoms disappeared if I excluded gluten from my diet...


Okay back to the main aim of the game... today's cash friendly actions;


*Another no spending day, yaha!!! The very best kind of cash day to have (after a cash earning day anyway.)
*I listed several things on Ebay and photographed a lot more for tomorrow.
*I took LO for another long walk with the pooch. We took some chalks and marked arrows on our way there, she loved finding her way home looking for the arrows on the return. We also listened to an audio cd that came with a story book she had given for her birthday, pop some bubble-wrap (not strictly money saving but it makes her belly laugh like crazy) and we also disco danced to an old 80's CD.... even me with my pounding head, I actually felt a bit better after it. She watched children's TV for 90 minutes this morning while I did my Ebaying... and that was it for the day. We are making great improvements in that department.
*I checked banking... still nowhere near my overdraft I am pleased to say.
*Annual water bill arrived, direct debit has doubled for next year. I had an idea this years DD was low but not by that much, I shall certainly be very frugal with the water from now on. more showers and less baths.
*Dried three loads of washing on the line... hopefully that will be the washing machine off duty for a few days.
*I ordered some free water saving gadgets from Yorkshire water... they shall certainly come in handy.
*I used the last bowl of slowcooker soup for my lunch with a baked potato.
*And now little one has just nodded offI am going to sit in front of the TV and menu plan. Have a great Saturday night all. xx

Maryland_Cookie

Sounds like your well on track, well done. Look forward to hearing how you get on xx

HappyGirlie

Good morning all