A new debt free journey

crazy_cat_lady

Hi lcc - I've just spent time reading right through your diary...
I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder a couple of years ago, and I had CBT, which I found life changing. I was discharged from CBT in June this year - then decided to take myself off my anti depressants, which was a mistake on my part. I went downhill very quickly, so put myself back onto them. I will get round to speaking to the doctor sooner or later though about perhaps reducing the dose or something.
You're doing fantastically well - don't beat yourself up about whether you need medication or not.

lcc86

Thanks guys for all of your support and posts

Yesterday I spent £10 on a carvery. It was nice to get out with OH and have a meal together. No spends apart from that and none today. Work is getting meaty and causing me endless conundrums but I'm loving it.

Tomorrow I'm working in the evening and overnight so a long day in prospect, hopefully it won't be too taxing. At least it means no spends

Today I drafted up my budget for the next three months. I like planning 3 months in advance, it gives me peace of mind.

lcc86

It's been a long few days, I'm absolutely shattered!! yesterday I was exhausted, had an early night to try to recover lol. It has made me think that perhaps going from my main job to my second job and then back to my main job as soon as I wake up is probably not the best idea! I need to suck it up for the next few weeks of my induction and then specify what worked and what didn't work for me in no uncertain terms. I've accommodated them and done what they've asked in terms of hours during my induction, but afterwards I must must must be assertive!!

Nothing really to report in terms of personal finances. I'm still chasing my volunteering expenses :rotfl: getting a bit ridiculous now. I had factored that money into my budget this month because I was assured I'd receive it, and it could cause a few issues for me if I don't get it. I'll have to wait and see.

In positive news, I've earned £9 ish on prolific academic since I joined. I'm not big on surveys so don't want to sign up to other sites really as I know I won't use them enough. I'll keep going with this one though as and when it offers me surveys as the rewards seem to be good.

lcc86

Friday is finally here! What a long week, very much looking forward to a lie in tomorrow followed by horse riding.

Still no news on the expenses front, so I've amended my budget to remove it. I had hoped to chuck that at an extra loan repayment but it can't be relied on. Can't believe it has been three months since I submitted these expenses! On the plus side, my work expenses did come through today so that's something lol.

I have also had to admit defeat in the battle with my arch nemesis, the food budget! :mad: I think I was maybe a little naive in thinking it would only cost me £50 a month extra to feed OH especially when in his eyes a meal isn't a meal without meat! So I've upped the monthly food budget to £180 and will see how I go with that. I'm still preferring weekly shops.

I've been thinking about my zero hours job, after my induction I think I'm going to take it in its literal sense I.e. They call me to work, if I can do it, I will, if not I won't. I never wanted a regular weekly job when I applied and have to have a balance.

I plan to buy a copy of my credit report this weekend, I like to do it every six months but have left it about ten months by accident. I also need sawdust and hay but no other spends planned except horse riding,

lcc86

Horse riding wasn't great today, they paired me up with two much more experienced riders, my saddle didn't feel supportive at all, my feet weren't sitting right in the stirrups, something just wasn't 'right' once we set off. All of that left me feeling quite uncomfortable, but the group kept trotting which I had to do too to keep up, but my legs were slipping and I really didn't feel like I was in control at all. I kept telling the instructor that I wasn't comfortable but she didn't listen. I could tell my horse was picking up on my nerves and getting annoyed at me too. I felt bad for 'ruining' the others' hack tbh, even though I had no idea how experienced they were. So all in all it was probably the worst ride I've had since I started again! I think I just have to chalk it up as one of those things, it won't put me off, it was just unfortunate. I've booked a lesson for next time so I can work on my trotting and get my confidence back. I was going to do a lesson anyway but this confirmed I need it :rotfl:

So apart from horse riding I've bought a yoga ball to exercise with and to improve my core strength and balance (all good for riding too). That was £11 from amazon. I'll cash out some of my PA survey money to pay for it I think.

lcc86

Managed to have a lovely long sleep last night and feel really good today, apart from aching everywhere due to horse riding!

Today was meant to be a NSD but I forgot I need some veg for the pigs' tea and they won't stand for going without! So I'll pop to sainsbury's for them as it's only a minute's walk away. I was going to go tomorrow but I remembered I'm on a training course on the other side of the county so it makes much more sense to go today.

I paid for my credit report the other day, just waiting for the pin to come through the post then I can view it online. Next week is pretty busy, training tomorrow and possibly seeing some friends afterwards, Tuesday I'm working my little job, and Thursday I'm volunteering after work. Still, on the plus side, it's 10 days until payday - I don't know where time has gone!!

lcc86

This week has gone so quickly, can't believe it's almost the weekend already. Monday was good meeting up with friends after work and having a chinwag. Tuesday was also good, we went out for a meal while I was at my little job as one of the kids was moving on, and it just didn't feel like work at all, it was such a pleasant evening.

Moneywise I've been sticking to my various budgets. I've bought some birthday presents for OH this week out of money which I've already saved. I also had to pay some money towards my service charge, but again this was already saved so I've not been short or anything.

I've made a plan for the next few months in relation to my debt repayments, up until December I am going to pay £115 extra minimum off my debts. In January I'm going to give myself a month off from overpayments and just enjoy some downtime, and then I'll reevaluate in January what my plans are for the few months after that. I feel a bit reinvigorated after thinking about this and doing some planning. I also don't feel tired or anything this week which I think helps!

Volunteering this evening and then chilling out for the weekend. I'm going to do a little Christmas shopping too, it's creeping up on us!

crazy_cat_lady

You are so well planned and organised. I think I need to take a leaf out of your book.

lcc86

crazy_cat_lady wrote: »

You are so well planned and organised. I think I need to take a leaf out of your book.

Thanks CCL, I don't feel particularly organised but I like to plan to relieve my anxiety where possible, even if I have to change them later.

In other MSE news, still no volunteering expenses despite being assured I'd receive it by the end of this week..... :mad: ah well. Also I received a letter from Sainsbury's following my recent overpayment of £8 (gotta start somewhere right? ) and I've saved £2 in interest, probably because I've still got so long to run on my loan still. That's inspired me to make that my focus as much as I can while the benefits are so worthwhile. I have a spare £5 which I'm going to chuck at it today and then make a more concerted effort once I get paid next month. :T

lcc86

Hooray for the weekend! :beer: I have no plans this weekend, OH and I got a takeaway last night, that was our little treat to ourselves, but that's it as far as plans go for me! I'm just going to focus on chores, some exercise, and relaxing.

I've sorted my hours for my little job next month, and it's a decent amount, not unmanageable at all. I've also been offered a few hours of overtime for my main job which I've decided to take up. So on the money front things are looking good next month. I start my course next month too, which is something to look forward to. Work aren't funding the course, but I have been accepted onto a salary sacrifice scheme which will save me quite a bit. Yes the course is only £500 but every little helps!

I have been using goodbudget for about a year, but I also have a budget spreadsheet that I've been using for a much longer period of time. I've found myself getting a bit confused recently and goodbudget is always out compared to what I actually have in my account. I'm not sure where I'm going wrong. I used to have goodbudget on my old phone, so would update it every time I spent money, whereas I can't download it on my current phone for some reason so I rely on my tablet, which I don't use every day, so I must be missing stuff. I'm going to try just using the spreadsheet next month and seeing how that goes.

I've bought quite a few little Christmas presents over the last few weeks and am happy with how that's coming along. Got a few crafty bits to be getting on with once they arrive in the post.

Finally, I've added £20 to my vet fund, which I keep safely tucked away. After my bad run of luck with vet fees earlier this year, things have been much kinder since. I would be £1,000 closer to being debt free if I hadn't had so many fees to pay, but that's life sometimes, and that's why it's all the more important to be debt free!

Right, time to get on with some chores. Step one: get out of bed!!! :rotfl: