I Will Be Free

IWillBeFree

I have been reading various blogs and essays on a range of topics that are relevant to where I am at right now, emotionally and spiritually and I have found the Minimalists' thoughts very helpful. They express how I feel and think but in a much more concise and eloquent way than I ever could.

Here's an extract of the How to Make A Damn Decision esseay that I love and think this is finally what happened to me and where I am at now...

Two Kinds of Decisions

Fundamentally, there are two kinds of decisions: intellectual and emotional.

Intellectually, we knew we wanted a change in our lives. We knew we were unhappy, unsatisfied, and unfulfilled. We knew we didn’t have freedom—not real freedom. The problem was we knew these things intellectually, but not emotionally: We didn’t have the feeling in our guts that things must change. We knew they should change, but that change wasn’t a must.
Should vs. Must

It’s like anything else you tell yourself…
I should change.
I should stop wasting my money.
I should work fewer hours.
I should get rid of all this junk.
I should eat healthier food.
I should exercise.
I should write more.
I should read more.
I should watch less TV.
I should, I should, I should.

After a while, you end up shoulding all over yourself, which is an apt analogy because you really do feel like !!!! after you’ve put everything off for so long—after you’ve procrastinated over and over and over.

Once you understand the necessity for change on an emotional level, you are able to turn your shoulds into musts. To accomplish this, we must begin to associate enough pain with our current circumstances and then equate immense pleasure with our new outcome. A mixture of enough pain combined with enough pleasure—this is how we change our shoulds into musts.

This is the pivotal point.
This is when you get leverage.
This is when you are compelled to take action.
This is how you make a damn decision.

crazy_cat_lady

I like that.

IWillBeFree

£100 incentive from Halifax was received yesterday

£5.40 spent yesterday on lunch with a colleague - it was my turn to pay - no other expenditure

£3 spent on fruit at the green grocers today, no other expenditure today

Still doing great with making lunches and dinners from the cupboard/freezer

IWillBeFree

Just a quick update as I am so relieved: the insurance have paid for the works!!! :j:j:j:j:j

peaceandfreedom

IWillBeFree wrote: »

Just a quick update as I am so relieved: the insurance have paid for the works!!! :j:j:j:j:j

Well done you for standing your ground :T

Their response did sound dodgy to me and often they just need to be challenged - good work .

Are they paying for the contents damage as well?

IWillBeFree

Thank you

peaceandfreedom

:beer:

It was certainly worth percevering and writing all those letters. They paid for the works and the contents damage and £100 compensation for the poor handling of my claim!

I am just so relieved as I had borrowed £2,000 from a friend to help me pay for the works and now I can pay it back and not add it to my debt total. I can also go out and buy a vaccum cleaner and an iron etc so no more excuses :rotfl:

It will be so great to have the floors done and the rooms decorated. It will lift my spirits no end not to have to look at the damage every day!

So glad things are moving forward!

IWillBeFree

Little update to keep track of things.....

• £4 spent yesterday on coffees for colleague and myself - he bought lunch so it was a fair exchange...
• £35 made yesterday by selling stuff which was collected and paid in cash
• £50 paid off Barclaycard in cash (£35 above and £15 I will be making from another sale):T
• No spending today, lunch and dinner sorted and the fella is working so a quiet night in with the hounds
• Paid back my friend so I no longer owe him the money for the works

It is payday, at last! So I opened two new savings accounts, one for emergencies and one for annual motoring costs. I have transferred £1000 and £406 in them respectively. I need to also create a pot for presents/Christmas as my savings in that respect should also start.

I won't be able to pay as much on debt this month as I have been, but anything I make from selling, will go straight on the Barclaycard.

Immediate spending goals are

• redecoration/floors
• essential items mentioned above and
• new boiler as it's died

Fingers crossed I can do it all with frugal living and using the insurance money wisely

peaceandfreedom

IWillBeFree wrote: »

Thank you :beer:

It was certainly worth percevering and writing all those letters. They paid for the works and the contents damage and £100 compensation for the poor handling of my claim!

I am just so relieved as I had borrowed £2,000 from a friend to help me pay for the works and now I can pay it back and not add it to my debt total. I can also go out and buy a vaccum cleaner and an iron etc so no more excuses :rotfl:

This is a brilliant result - I'm impressed :T.

What's appalling is that if you hadn't challenged them and put forward your case convincingly, they would have just got away with it :mad:.

Happy ironing and hoovering .

By the way, if the budget can stretch to it, I recommend a steam generator iron. Depends how much ironing you do of course but it gets the ironing done in a fraction of the time .

IWillBeFree

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

This is a brilliant result - I'm impressed :T.

What's appalling is that if you hadn't challenged them and put forward your case convincingly, they would have just got away with it :mad:.

Happy ironing and hoovering .

By the way, if the budget can stretch to it, I recommend a steam generator iron. Depends how much ironing you do of course but it gets the ironing done in a fraction of the time .

Thank you so much

It's apalling how they had just counted on writing it all off, until I challenged them. I was pulling my hair out over a few weeks and was soooooo stressed about it all but now I feel justified. I only claimed for what was genuinely damaged and I feel vindicated

I had a steam generator iron and I am very much hoping to replace it. My old one was £300 but there must be much cheaper options out there that will be good. You are absolutely right, it just makes ironing a breeze and I need that as I hate that chore :rotfl:

lcc86

Congrats to you, this is such an MSE type victory!