New Year, different me

thrifty_fifty

Hello


Well a couple of years after my debt free date, I've had to have some spends as I had nothing both in terms of clothes and stuff that needed replacing around the house, plus there needed to be a little respite from being frugal and a spot of enjoying life and making progress. Then I was in a car crash in March which threw my budget out as that cost £1700 in hiring a car, and various insurance and tax and breakdown cover costs (not on a bus route to work and live 20 miles away) taking a loan for the new car, which now needs replacing as it only cost £750 and now the heater has stopped working which makes things a little bracing in this cold weather (gloves at the ready), although I've suggested that we could make money from offering a mobile polar experience complete with blankets and hot water bottles for any passengers


I've used interest free cards and kept my M&S card as it rewards me with vouchers. However upon reflection towards the end of the year and turning 34 that while I have kept some of my thrifty ways (I always buy at half price or less and get my nailvarnish and mascara free on magazines) I have let things slide a little. I'm also aware that I need to get a house and that needs a lot of clearing debt first and then a lot of saving-hoping that August 2016 I should be buying somewhere with OH. Silly frittering each day on Cola, snacks and wine (my job stresses me so I snack) is no good for the wallet or the wasteline, so hoping to tackle both. My certificate of Higher Education had cost me a lot so a few more bits to pay out on that , but that is an achievement.


I'm tackling the M&S card at just under £1000 per month, leaving £50 for the Natwest card (it's currently interest free until May 2015), I'm making £100 ring payment per month, a treat to myself and one of those tick off your life experience list things (interest free). Last interest free direct debit for the sofa comes out on 27th January. So the plan is to bust the M&S card first, as although it rewards me with vouchers that buy me clothes, the interest free period ran out a couple of months ago, so it needs to be gone. The ring will be paid for in March, then onto busting the Natwest card from May onwards at £1000 per month and the loan on the car should be done at the same time (July/August), then start saving for the house in earnest (but have a summer school, course fees and registration fees to pay out for the certificate in September/October totalling £2300)


Anywho, have just joined the NSD challenge. Proud not to have spent anything since 22nd December. Have drawn up a spreadsheet, and hoping not to spend for the rest of January (apart from the necessary train ticket for work)


So total outstanding debt (forward projected with necessary spends to before January payday is £7634.50


I'll shut up now, having waffled on for far too long. Hope you can join me along the way, and Happy 2015

thrifty_fifty

Happy new year


After feeling quite positive that I'd come back on here to help keep me on track to pay back what I've racked up, I spent yesterday feeling quite down. New year's eve can make me feel a bit apprehensive anyway, as that great thing called 'anxiety' is the annoying little voice putting a downer on things, making you obsess with not wanting to go back to work next week (not just in a boo, bah humbug work kind of way, but more of a I can't do this job anymore, I've been meaning to get out of it for ages, this is the year that could break me, I need to run away and live in a cave so I don't have to deal with work or money ever again kind of way), it is also the nagging little voice that tells you off for daring to enjoy yourself, telling you that you've failed for even having a credit card again, and makes you worry about all the other things in between.


It is such an annoying little voice, nagging away that it can make you forget your achievements, like the fact that you only spent what you planned to this Christmas, that you enjoyed yourself, that you bought nothing in the January sales and that you haven't spent a single penny since 22 December, which means that today you've achieved your first NSD for January. That you should enjoy your time off, and that today, as well as not spending anything, you finally get to enjoy that lovely bottle of champagne you bought on offer a couple of months back.


That you've decided to keep up some winter themed decorations throughout January to stop the house looking so bare (January and February are months to be just gotten through, from March everything improves as I can think about gardening again)


Right, off to get positive now. Enjoy the festivities

MrsR68

Happy New Year thrifty fifty,

Well done on all you have achieved and are achieving everyday. Having a job that you love,which pays the bills doesn't always happen. I hope 2015 brings you new job opportunities.

I'm looking forward to Garden time as well.

thrifty_fifty

Thanks for dropping by MRSR68


Have finished moping now and am going to have a fabulous day. Things to look forward to......


Cutting some Hellebore flowers to pop on the new year lunch table


The nice warm shower I'm going to enjoy in a mo-and finishing my bottle of shampoo (I derive great satisfaction from finishing things off, weird, I know)


Champagne later-going to shine up the glasses in readiness


sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen with the laptop, making plans


Maybe watching a film later

thrifty_fifty

Morning


Decided today that after seeing the interest they put on the loan after the payment has gone out, that the loan is probably going to be the first thing to be paid off with January's pay. Although it makes me uncomfortable that I will be paying less off my M&S card than I usually do, and therefore paying more interest, the rate is lower than that of the loan.


I pay £80.59 for the loan each month and so in December this went down to £577.74, then when they put the interest back on this goes up to £592.05!! £14 on such a small amount is crazy .Yes this was a silly interest rate, I think around 30% but we were desperate, only borrowing a small amount at £1300 over 2 years, mr bank of course sees that they need to at least squeeze a bit of interest out of me, because I always pay these things back early. However I am going to do this second plan and so pay them back a whole 14 months early.


Got my second NSD today as OH is back in work and so I have no access to transport to go to the shops.


Going to start taking decorations down today, do a spot of cleaning and generally make plans

thrifty_fifty

Ok, need to get myself moving. Still festering in dressing gown, procrastinating about taking the decorations down, am starving (having eaten 2 bags of low fat crisps) the stomach knows that diet and no spend time is upon us and is demanding all kinds of lovely treats.


On the other hand the silly anxiety brain is what has kept me doing this for one hour over when I'd planned to get up and get on. The anxiety brain is ever whirling round, not doing anything productive only procrastinating, catastrophizing and worrying and working out.


Current thoughts and procrastinations (sorry if this is boring but it helps to write it down)


So silly to have landed yourself in debt again


do take the decorations down it will help you get on with the future/don't take the decorations down the bare house will add to the feeling of payday being a long way off, being skint, being on a diet, generally doom and gloom.


Do pay the loan off first then that is a target met vs don't pay the loan off this month, get some more knocked off that interest bearing M&S card so you feel better about the whole situation, sofa is paid for in January so you can feel better about that.


In between all these thoughts are the other whirly anxiety thoughts-is this going to be a good year? I was happy last year, so it's bound to be time for some rubbish to head your way. Please let work not be as rubbish this year vs you know it will and will just get worse, you need to move on. Then there is the pending-we need to replace the car as it is due MOT and Tax in April, not worth putting it through the MOT as we pretty much know it will cost more than the car is worth, so then what do we do about another car, don't want to take on any more loans or credit card debt but we won't have any savings for a car and we can't not have one, OH needs to get to work.


Positives for today.... it's an NSD, the cold that has been hanging around for the last two months is now on its way out and the cough has broken into a chesty one from just hurting when I breath in. I feel positive about being able to lose the weight this year. Mood has shifted from feeling down all day yesterday.


Apologies, this diary will get cheerier, I promise


OK now going to get dressed and take a few decorations down. Baby steps is the way forward. Oh and also the goals for this year?


Learn some woodworking and photography skills-we both want to get to a stage where we can do most things for ourselves so don't have to pay lots of money out to get things done/repaired.


Oh and a bit weeks until my next course starts in old literature, at the end of it in April I'll be 85 credits into the 120 needed for the certificate

cazzyd

Hi thrifty fifty. Just popping in to wish you luck in your diary, and hope you get to where you need to be. You can do it! I am the world's worst anxiety brain, I catastrophize EVERYTHING!!! Anxiety always kicks in, and I am working on it, but it takes time, hopefully positive thought waves will prevail. Wishing you all the best, good luck!

thrifty_fifty

Thanks Cazzyd


Yes it would be nice to have a switch sometimes that just turns off the silly whirly thoughts wouldn't it?


Well, I have done better than expected and got all the decorations down, now just need to box up the decorations, and then haul the Christmas tree out the front door for recycling and then dust everything and hoover and get the chairs back down from upstairs. For now I'm tired though-this stupid lurgy has still not gone entirely then, so might just get the decorations in their box for today.


Going to heat some soup up now-more good veg for getting rid of bugs, and maybe declutter (eat ) some candy canes this afternoon while watching the snowman-Christmas tradition that I watch this

thrifty_fifty

Right, so that's the pots mostly done, dishwasher on and washing machine on, lunch eaten, Snowman watched and now just chilling again.






Trying to learn to chill out more, it's hard with OH not being around today, recognised that anxiety is the thing that makes me eat and spend. I'm always looking for something to do, and really wanting to sit down and read a book, I never read the book because I can't relax when I sit down, I also don't like to finish things, when I do I think I'm bored, then the anxiety kicks in, and to fill the gap I'll try and find another project to do, or eat some snack food or have a beer, or anything that will distract me from actually just trying to be still and relax. Having just had this epiphany I've burst into tears and now feel a lot better. I am going to chill with a martini and lemonade though.

cazzyd

thrifty_fifty wrote: »

Right, so that's the pots mostly done, dishwasher on and washing machine on, lunch eaten, Snowman watched and now just chilling again.


Trying to learn to chill out more, it's hard with OH not being around today, recognised that anxiety is the thing that makes me eat and spend. I'm always looking for something to do, and really wanting to sit down and read a book, I never read the book because I can't relax when I sit down, I also don't like to finish things, when I do I think I'm bored, then the anxiety kicks in, and to fill the gap I'll try and find another project to do, or eat some snack food or have a beer, or anything that will distract me from actually just trying to be still and relax. Having just had this epiphany I've burst into tears and now feel a lot better. I am going to chill with a martini and lemonade though.

I know the feeling, I still live at home, and feel like I have to compensate the amount of time I spend with my bf, at home, but the more I spend at home, the more I miss bf, and the more I get anxious. And then when I see him there is this build up, and subsequent burst into tears, and then I feel better. Same with the reading, I have a trilogy boxset, and still haven't finished the last in another series of books! But I haven't yet felt the relaxation I need to sit down and read. My plan is to do half an hour before bed, ever other night!

Enjoy your martini, I have a tiny bit of xmas voddie left, but I wont finish that tonight, we still have a bottle of wine from last weekend to finish, and a dvd. It's chill time, I go back to work on Monday still it's a training day, nice ease back into routine!

Glad you've had a contstructive day

newpennypincher

Hi Thrifty, I followed your previous diary (in a different guise, didn't comment much, mostly lurked!). You can definitely do it again, just remember how it felt when you got to that debt free date.

I'm still here and only now feel like I have the determination to achieve my goal - Good Luck