A new debt free journey

lcc86

I've arrived nice and early for work (thank you half term traffic!) only to realise I've mislaid my keys to get in... And have no idea when anyone else is going to turn up to let me in lol. Such a waste of a lie in

Over the bank holiday I spent £5 on a carvery dinner (veggie option) and £4 on a sunbed as I'm off on holiday in 2 weeks so wanted to get a base. Horse riding yesterday was cancelled so that's saved me £35. I've rebooked it for a later date instead. Had the big shopping delivery last night, I just need to work out how much my toiletries were as they come out of my spending budget. I got quite a lot plus some pricey but necessary hay fever sprays so probably somewhere in the region of £20.

I might use a free pass for British Military Fitness' running club tonight, depends how lazy I'm feeling after work lol :rotfl: I'll probably find an excuse not to go no real plans for this week, just work and gym.

Right, better check my bank accounts while I'm sitting here waiting for someone to turn up and let me in!

lcc86

Worked out the cost of my toiletries which came to £22. Not too bad as that also includes loads of hay fever medication and cleaning materials.

Yesterday was a no spend day. Today should be too. I didn't end up going to BMF last night as the weather was horrendous (knew I'd find an excuse somewhere hehe).

lcc86

Yesterday was indeed a NSD. I'm hopeful that this month will actually be quite a thrifty month, I don't have many things I need/want to buy, essentials are mostly covered for a bit too, and I don't have many activities planned which aren't already paid for i.e. holiday and horse riding. I'm going for lunch with some of my work colleagues on Saturday and have budgeted £20 which should be more than sufficient. I'll be driving so will stick to tap water. Might have to pay for parking but I'm not 100% sure. I MIGHT treat myself to a shellac for my nails before holiday but I'm not sure, it's about £25 and I've never had it done before so I'm not missing out if I don't do it, it would just be 'nice' to try. I'll see how I feel nearer the time.


I also thought my new mortgage payment would go out as of this month, but I got the letter through yesterday and it doesn't start until July so I'm £50 better off this month than I'd thought. As my aim is to spend less than half my unallocated money (£150) I'm going to keep that money where it is until later on in the month, and then decide if I want to use it towards debt or savings. I want to save up to purchase some additional annual leave from work for next year. If I do go back to uni, I will definitely want it, so I started my fund this month with a modest £25 which I would like to add to asap!


Not much else to report. Am getting my hair cut after work today which is £25, already budgeted for. I also need to buy something for my dad for father's day as well so might have a look online today for that too.

lcc86

Ah the weekend! I'm glad this week is over, even though it was a short one work has been very frustrating. Won't go into it in detail as it's boring but I'm just frustrated with a colleague not pulling their weight. But enough of work!!

I got my dad's fathers day gifts sorted, hopefully he'll like it as I've tried to personalise it. Came in at a fraction under £30 which is what I budgeted. The only thing I haven't bought is a card but will sort that out asap.

I did find a shellac voucher on Groupon for £15 so yes I did treat myself! Going to have it done on Tuesday. On the downside my conjunctivitis or whatever it is has flared up yet again after looking almost healed yesterday. Doctors on Monday, hopefully I can get it sorted, it's so unsightly and irritating! So I'll probably have to pay for a prescription but that's fine, it's definitely needed!! Other than that, all is quiet on the money front and looking positive.

lcc86

Where did the weekend go?! it was a good one, went for lunch with some people from work on Saturday. It was okay, but most people were late so I ended up having to pay more for parking than I'd hoped and it wasn't anything really to write home about. I think we actually don't have that much in common, I spent a lot of the meal just kind of quietly smiling. I agreed to do a bottomless brunch with them in July and have paid for it (£20, used some money I got for my birthday), but apart from that, I might avoid in future. Plus they all live in London and I leave practically in Sussex so it's always a long journey for me, that can be my excuse for future hehe.

I also went to the pub with OH for a couple of drinks on Saturday night. It was unplanned, spent £7 which is pretty reasonable. It just seemed like too nice an evening to sit indoors!

Sunday I went to the gym for a couple of hours, then OH and I went to the driving range just for fun, that was £5 which was already budgeted for. We then went to get ice cream and sit in the sun enjoying the good weather!

Today I'm working from home as I have my doctor's appointment in about an hour's time. Typically my eye has all but cleared up! But every time it's done that, it then just gets worse again, so I'm still going to go!

Financially things are looking good. I have a lot of 'spare' money this month but I really, really want to try hard not to spend it. I'm still aiming to spend £75 this month in total on unallocated spends. I will probably go a little over but I want to keep it to a minimum. It seems more difficult in the hot weather to not spend money, the temptation to just pop out and grab something or do something is always there. The cold of winter makes it much easier to just sit indoors I guess! :rotfl:

This week I just need to sort myself out for holiday on Sunday evening as I'm super busy with horsey volunteering stuff all weekend so I need to do it now. Euros are all ordered and have arrived, I haven't changed up everything that I had saved as I think I have enough. Anything I have left will probably go towards my car repairs (STILL haven't had it painted since the accident a few months' back). I have ordered a new wheel arch lining from Toyota as that was ruined by the accident, only £37, I had thought a genuine Toyota part would be much more expensive!

In general, am feeling positive atm, although I still have a LONG way to go, I feel like getting out of debt isn't as hard as I sometimes feel it is. Any money I have left over this month will go towards saving to buy some annual leave and then I want to pay some additional money off my credit card and hopefully inch closer to that debt free date! My card statement isn't due until the middle of the month so I can't update any totals just yet, but it will be £5,400 by the time I pay my statement, and hopefully £5,300 by the end of the month depending on how much money I can set aside.

lcc86

£100 paid off cc today. Statement isn't in yet but I just wanted to bring the total down. The minimum payment will be £55 and when the statement comes in I'll pay another £100 so will more than cover that.

I went to my appointment to get my nails done for holiday and when I got there, there was a sign on the door saying they would be closed for a few days due to unforeseen circumstances. Soooo a complete waste of time! I've emailed to see if I can get a refund, the voucher is valid until September but I only wanted it done for my holiday. That'll teach me for buying something when I should've just waited!

Another lesson to be learned today - don't book stuff with people at work!! Turns out I can't make the date we've booked brunch so I either have to find someone else or just lose the money :mad: I only realised this about 30 minutes ago so am very annoyed with myself! Complete f*ck up on my part. Well, we live and learn!

lcc86

Currently sitting on the train en route to a meeting in Kensington for work. Had to pay £29.80 for a travel card :eek: But I budgeted for it and can claim it back so it's not the end of the world. It's just extortionate... Still, at least I have a seat! Of course the train is delayed lol :rotfl:

I should be able to get a refund for the whole shellac thing, just sorting it out now. I might go to my local nail bar and get it done if I have time before holiday. If not I don't really mind, it was only ever intended to be a treat.

Gym last night, am really starting to enjoy it and am contemplating getting a membership instead of using payasyougym. Would have to keep up my current level of attendance though, and that's where I have a tendency to fall down!

I started thinking about my Masters again last night. I'd been more than happy with it for the last few weeks and thought yep, I'll definitely do it, but last night the old financial niggles crept in again. That is literally the only thing worrying me about it, having that debt and the interest hanging over me for however many years. I know other people have the same thing and cope absolutely fine, but perhaps being in debt has changed me and made me more anxious. This year really would be the best time to do it though for a variety of reasons... I just need to research the financial side of it a little more. The course I'm happy with.

I have someone from the planning department of my council coming over this afternoon to discuss the proposed plans for redevelopment outside my house. I'm not hopeful of hearing anything positive. It's going to happen, I know that, I just need to try and minimise disruption. It looks like I'll lose all vehicular access to my house, and with nowhere else to park within a 10 minute walk, that could be the decider for me. Equally I'll lose a proportion of daylight which is a big thing in a small flat. The council would have to compensate for both of these things but it would be a long drawn out process. Not sure if I'd have to stay put for the entirety of the build to claim compensation either. I want to move in two years so have to factor that in. Anyway, not looking forward to the meeting but it is what it is. Happy Thursday everyone!

lcc86

Wow today has been a long, horrible day. Had massive public transport problems morning and afternoon and then the meeting with the planning guy from the council was pretty much my worst case scenario I.e. They can do as they please and I would have to fight for minimal compensation... I'm now regretting fixing my mortgage deal as I just want to move away from all of this. Need to call my mortgage advisor and see if there's any way I can 'pause' until I've been able to really think things through or if it's too late. As it stands I wouldn't care about paying fees if it meant I could get away from this place, the council have left a very bitter taste and shown they really only care about money, and I was foolish to think otherwise.

Kitten868

Oh !!!!!!y poo! Poor you. You do get a cancellation period with mortgages. You can 'port' your mortgage. Well I think I can anyway. I would find out your selling options asap x

lcc86

Thanks kitten, I need to call the guy tomorrow. I guess there's no mad rush, the building isn't due to start until next year but the reality is I'll probably have to pay fees. It is what it is I guess! Just need to get saving!