A new debt free journey

lcc86

I did more in terms of studying today than I'd planned so really pleased with what I achieved. Did a workout and went for a run as well so overall it's been a good day.

Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend for coffee locally. I want to spend less than £5. I also need to buy a few fresh bits for both me and the guinea pigs and a few household bits.

On Monday I'm having my windscreen replaced. If it could be repaired it would only cost me £10 but to replace it is £75 :mad: Still, it's one of those things, it's unavoidable and needs to be done so I have to do it!

lcc86

Most of my DD's have gone through today, everything is looking positive on the money front a few bits and bobs still to pay out for, like my car service, credit card bill and course fees. I'm also having my windscreen replaced today, I don't quite have enough in my reserves to cover it so I'm going to put it on my credit card FOR NOW. Then once my car's had its service I'll use any cash left over to pay for it, and the remainder out of next month's budget. I've already factored the entire cost into next month's budget just in case.

Not much else to report, I paid a couple of extra pounds off my credit card yesterday to bring it down to £6,385. More for my own peace of mind than anything else. I've budgeted £200 to repay when the bill comes in, but am unsure exactly when that is yet as it's a new card.

I continued kondoing my stuff again over the weekend and generally tidying the house as we had a long weekend. I focused on the bathroom, and although I only threw away manky bits of cotton wool that had become lost from their packaging, it still felt good to tidy it all up properly. I also donated a jumper to charity as I think I shrank it in the wash a little and I also found it very itchy to wear! I also renewed my breakdown cover, £31.90, pretty much the same price as it was last year with the same level of cover. I got a contents insurance quote, which has gone down by about £1 a month (every little helps!) but need to wait to renew it as it has over a month left, so it's not definitely going to stay that price. Still, good to get an idea of what I'm looking at.

Plans for this week are to register at a new doctor's near my house - it's been nearly four years since I moved and I still haven't done it!!! - then to make use of one of my free gym passes, attend a free meditation class, and enjoy a trip to London with OH for our anniversary.

lcc86

Made a booboo, bought my emergency credit card to work, but realised I have no idea what the pin is! In a way this is good because I can't use it for frivolous spending however it means I'm a little stuck today! Will use funds in my current account and work out where to jig some funds around from later.

lcc86

Had my windscreen replaced and the man's card machine wasn't working so I didn't pay, am waiting for them to contact me to sort out payment.

More direct debits have gone through today and finances are still looking good. Today I spent £2.50 on a fruit smoothie. We had a work meeting in a cafe next to work so I treated myself.

I've been good at exercising so far this year. I feel like a bit of a clich! in being committed to exercise again in the new year, but I just wanted to settle in my new job and get back into a routine before getting back into it. Went for a run with OH last night. Tomorrow I'm using my first free gym pass too. I have also found a yoga group at work running for the next 8 weeks so have asked to join provided they have space. Feeling more healthy in general, I've been recording my exercise and food intake on myfitnesspal, I've been doing well so I think my next step is to really consciously up my fruit and veg intake with meals.

Had to spend some money from my pets budget on water and a gravel filter (this aquarium business is more complicated than I thought!). But hey, the money is there for them and it's there to be spent on what they need.

lcc86

Did a bit of shuffling of funds today, rounding down my accounts to the nearest £ and putting the pennies into my remortgage fund, which now stands at £21.72 :eek: long way to go yet hehe.

Paid the next part of my Ibiza holiday deposit this morning, £60. The remaining £130 isn't due until May so plenty of time to save.

One thing I really MUST MUST MUST do is check my energy tariff. I haven't done it for such a long time. Am with EDF, in fact I have been for the last four years. Am electricity only so no dual fuel savings to be had, but I'll put it on my to do list for the weekend so that I know whether I could be saving money.

Have signed up for yoga at work now, there were still spaces, so that's more exercise sorted for the next 8 weeks. Off to the gym today after work as well. Hopefully dog walking on Saturday and have horse riding booked on Sunday.

I have also decided to postpone my BHS stage 1 course. I just thought to myself that I need to pay for my windscreen and there's no rush to do this course, so it makes more sense to cancel it and use the money to go into my savings and pay for my windscreen.

lcc86

End of the week is finally here! It's been a struggle adjusting back to 'normal' after days off over Xmas and New Year!

Not an awful lot to report. I forgot my lunch yesterday so had to buy lunch instead, but kept it cheap. I was exhausted yesterday, I spent an hour and a half in the gym Wednesday evening making the most of my free pass but boy did it take its toll! I really enjoyed it though. I registered on payasugym, and have signed up for a day pass once every three weeks at my nearest gym. I know there's no point in me signing up for a full membership because I won't use it, so this way, I can go when I want and do other exercise in between. I save 10% on each session, so after I've been 10 times my 11th go is free. I know I should be 100% focused on debt busting, but I really did enjoy going to the gym and I think a healthy body helps with a healthy mind, so I'm not going to feel guilty about it. Plus over the course of a month it costs less than £12 so hardly breaks the bank :money: I still have some free day passes to use as well so will ensure I make the most of them. I just want to shift some awkward pounds and stop being so lazy! :T

Financially, things are looking good, I went through my accounts this morning and no shocks or surprises. I'm sticking to my new, much less strict budget. I don't have anything I 'need' to buy this month so any spends are purely 'wants', but knowing that, I don't want to waste all my money so am not just buying stuff for the sake of it.

Tomorrow I'm dog walking in the morning, then off to London in the afternoon. Need to pay for a travelcard but that should be it, and I have a £3 off train voucher so will use that. Sunday I am horse riding, but my sister got me a voucher for that so it's free. I also plan on going for a run as well, so lots of exercise planned! Will sort my car repairs/service out for the week after next and keep my fingers crossed that it won't be too much of a hit. The car has been fine and hasn't made the noise I heard since I first heard it, so perhaps it was nothing, but better to be safe than sorry!

I've checked my energy tariff and could be saving £100 a year once my tariff ends in March, so have made a note to sort that out nearer the time.

lcc86

Well it's been a busy, spendy weekend and I am absolutely shattered! :eek: I could do with another day in the weekend just to sleep :rotfl:

Yesterday I did a little dog walking, then went up to London with OH for our anniversary. He paid for the things we did bless him, but I paid for my travel. By the time we were on our way home we were knackered so decided to go to a local restaurant for dinner instead of cooking. £30 spent which wasn't budgeted for and which takes a large chunk out of my unallocated monthly budget but we had a great time all in all.

Today OH and I went for a run this morning and then I went horse riding, followed by a cheeky nap this afternoon when I got home :cool: Really enjoyed it! I have made enquiries about doing some volunteering with horses so we'll see what comes of that.

Next week I'm aiming for 6 NSD's to try to balance out my overspend this weekend. Should be possible. I'm working from home tomorrow as well so that will save me some money in travel, as well as sparing me a few miles on my car

Next week I've no major plans, I have a meditation class I'd like to attend after work, which is free. Weekend-wise I'll be off to the gym and studying so I SHOULD be able to keep my spends down.

Health wise, I'm doing okay with my healthy eating. Yesterday I fell off the wagon slightly what with eating out, but I've been quite good apart from that. My aim isn't necessarily to lose weight as I'm exercising more so in theory should build up muscle, but I just want to be healthier in general.

Meal wise things are fine for me on the veggie front, I planned well for myself but have sort of forgotten about OH a little! Need to buy some more bits and bobs for him, as sadly I have yet to convert him to a veggie.

crazy_cat_lady

Sounds like it's been a fantastic weekend lcc - pleased you enjoyed it. Good luck with the no spend week ahead. I'm thinking that I need to be doing this as well as money is looking a bit tight already (only 10 days into the year. I'll be here cheering you on.

lcc86

Thanks CCL, we can cheer each other on!

Today was almost a NSD, but I popped to the shop for some de icer for the car. A wise purchase hopefully given the impending drop in temperature forecast. Plus I went to £land so it was cheap.

I also worked from home so saved on fuel costs. I found it hard to concentrate, I think I'm in that awkward mid month phase where I just want to get paid again and crack on with the debt busting - even though I've not had my CC bill through yet! Perhaps once I pay the CC that'll help cheer me up a little on the debt busting front. I just don't feel like I've done any debt busting for AGES, when the reality is more like a few weeks ago. Should stop wishing my life away I suppose!

lcc86

I managed a NSD yesterday, today should also be a NSD too. I do need some toiletries such as toothpaste and shampoo, but will wait until the weekend to purchase those, and will see what I can get in £land.

I still haven't received my P45 from my old employer. I chased them over it yesterday and they 'apologised' and said they haven't had the right form filled in. Getting to be beyond a joke now, it's been two months of me telling them I've left, but until they have their silly form filled in they won't do anything about it. I filled in a P46 but I don't know if it'll be in time for this month's payday so I might end up overpaying my tax yet again :mad::mad: really annoyed with the incompetent way they've handled things since I left. They still owe me over an hour and a bit's pay but tbh, I can't be bothered to chase them over it any more. I should in principle but they've been so awful that I just don't want the hassle.

Credit card bill still hasn't come through yet, it should be due any day now. I have my car repairs/service to pay for as well early next week so I may wait and get that out of the way first before paying the credit card. Hopefully I may have some extra money to throw at it, that would be nice.

Nothing much else to report. I've done a rough meal plan for February and have started an online shop to be delivered just before payday. Can't believe it's still over two weeks away! :eek: ah well, I've bought everything I wanted/needed to buy, the bills are all covered and I should have approx. £30 spare at the end of the month if I'm smart, so that's my little mini challenge atm. There's a book I'd like to buy on Amazon, it's used and is £6 including postage. It's relevant to my job and studies so I'd like to 'treat' myself to that if I have the spare cash come payday. I should also have some spare petrol money left over too. I budgeted £125 this month, I've put £50 worth of fuel in so far, still have more or less a full tank, and have £75 to last two weeks. It would be practically impossible for my car to use that amount of fuel to get to and from work for two weeks so any money left over from that can go towards something sensible, perhaps my vet fund or just to the credit card, I'm undecided. The grocery budget is looking tight (as ever) - can't believe I STILL haven't mastered it! Essentially I have £30 to last two weeks... We shall see if I can manage it, I'm really not sure. Another mini challenge perhaps!

I found 10p the other day at work. I thought someone must've dropped it, so put it up on the side for the owner to claim. Nobody has, so I've wombled it... Feel a bit naughty but oh well!

One last thing I must write on here as a reminder/admonishment to myself. I really need to buy a new bath plug. I had one where you twist a knob on the bath and it goes up/down. It's been broken for AT LEAST a year. I've tried to fix it but without success, so have to prise the plug out each time I have a bath with a knife. All easily remedied by buying a new, no-frills plug that just sits on top of the plughole. Yet I haven't done it!! I won't break my NSD's until the weekend (after waiting this long, really what's the rush lol) but this is something I am DEFINITELY going to buy. Lord knows why I prioritise hobbies, going out, clothes etc over important stuff like having a plug for the bath. Crazy!