My Journey To My Pot Of Gold

MuffinTops

Well my meeting went as expected really. Some things I asked for will happen but can't just yet. Increasing my hours talks are just waiting for input from 2 other departments and then we'll see where that goes. He was surprised that I put forward full time hours. I think he expected me to just offer a token gesture of spreading my current hours out! We did have a nice talk about the changes that have happened for me personally since he joined, which was nice.

I've decreased some of my monthly outgoings. I put money aside for birthdays and christmas each month, so I've slightly reduced the amount for those as I also collect vouchers from various places, which all helps. That will also help me find better value quality items when I'm buying too. By being organised I can sort this out.

My Amazon prime membership was about to be renewed, but I've cancelled it. I always opt for the delayed delivery for a £1 towards a kindle book and I rarely watch the Amazon films so I'll see if I miss it before renewing.

I'm really hoping the rest of this week and the weekend have this lovely weather. Have a great one!!! MTxx

moneyonmymindsam

Fab news about the car how exciting!!!
Sam xxx

doingitanyway

I love your reaction with the car dealer. I must remember that. Just get up slowly and walk away so much more effective and grown up than my huffy fits

Who was the loser there? A new car from somewhere else. So, take that, horrible car dealer man...

Have a good day MT x

RosaBernicia

Oh so you're the strange person who actually eats the coffee creams :rotfl:

:eek: to car dealer - what an appalling way to treat people! I am also v impressed that you just walked away :T. Are you going to put up another review about your experience? Very pleased that you got a better car anyhow :j ... karma methinks .

Enjoy your YNAB fiddling. I have just added a 'car replacement' line to mine, as I've started to think about how I can budget differently once DF. It's nice to see things working from a perspective a little further on the journey so thank you for that :A


Rosa xx

MuffinTops

I am most definitely that strange person! I love them! I was so upset when they stopped using them in Christmas chocolate tins!

I'm not sure if I should put up a review because he was so instantly aggressive that I'm wondering if he has some difficult things going on in his life. Although that's no reason for him to be so rude, I also don't want to potentially add to anything he may have going on. However, I also feel I should warn others, so I'll try to think of a way to word the review without being nasty or patronising!

I'll be keeping up with my "car replacement" category too Rosa as it was so nice to have so many more options based on having a nice amount put aside.

Those are the times I get really excited about being debt free. Although I think it happens most often with the little things. When it hits me that I don't have to worry about mnoey, but I'm in control of it now.

MTxx

MuffinTops

It's quite scary looking at my bank balance now my car has been paid for, but what a rush being able to pay for the car with a debit card and then also have enough for the insurance and tax. I genuinely never thought that day would come!

So that's the best reason for getting the Wednesday hump day ladies out, I think!

So my full time chat hasn't amounted to much as it was too soon after the major changes in the department, and another woman in the department threatened legal action if anyone's hours were increased!!! He has asked me to put in writing though that I won't do what he's asking me to (which is spread my 3 days hours into 4 days) which seems a bit odd to me, but I will also put an explanation in there of why it's not viable for me to do that.

I've had training these past 2 days and my weekends have also been really busy so I'm feeling so tired at the moment. This means that I need to increase the nutrition I'm getting (not much currently) and take a little better care of myself. I had to work Monday which means today is my last working day and I have a full clear day ahead tomorrow. Sadly, as my house now looks like the Tasmanian Devil broke in and had a little party, I'll be spending the day getting my house looking more like a home again!

YNAB has been neglected this week, so I need to get back on track there too! It's hard work staying organised!!! But so well worth it!

Have a lovely hump day, all! MTxx

MuffinTops

I feel a need for some direction again, especially as so much has gone to pot with working different days and being so busy the last couple of weeks! So I'll copy and paste my previous life action plan.

Work:
I'm still not much wiser about what's happening in my job, but I did manage to start creating lunches in the evenings for all of 2 days!!!! I did realise that I find a sandwich boring, plus I want to relook at the nutrition I put into my body and improve it. So this weekend I will be scouring recipe books and figuring out better food ideas.


Curent Home:
Much more packing to be done. I have a 5 day weekend and at least 3 of these days are dedicated to clearing and packing. I'm doing a boot sale on Sunday, weather permitting, so can also get rid of a lot of stuff and a little money added to the bank too.

Potential Home:
I have decided on where to live now! It's all very clinical and investment heavy, but it will also work for me. I don't want to bore anyone with my ideas here, but I'm sure I'll update as things happen.

Silly Spends:
Even though I've added more categories in YNAB I'm still silly spending. It's a mood thing. So, I've started studying Psycho Cybernetics and am fascinated by it. It really resonates with me. A lot of my actions come from a self belief which I have recently been shown isn't particularly based on facts! I'm hoping that gainer a better understanding here will help me work out why I go through this silly spends process.


My list of solutions is still valid, with a couple of items added for this weekend!

Solutions:

• Bring breakfast in to work (I leave the house at 6am and start work at 8am so generally end up paying £1 for 2 slices of toast in the office canteen and then may also buy a muffin if I'm particularly hungry by the time I've arrived at work!!). This could be remedied with a sandwich in emergency or something healthier preferably. In the beginning it will be about getting into a habit, then I can realign that habit to make it healthier. One step at a time!
  
• Bring lunches in to work. Again, to start with focus on the routine and then up the ante by making it healthier.
• Have £1 in the office, in case of emergency only. Leave cash at home.
• Track every penny spent on frivolous unnecessary items and then, at the end of the month, show what that money would have been better spent on.
  
  Maybe on a great day out to make lovely memories, or a new pair of shoes/item of clothing, a beauty treatment or a boost of savings towards that beautiful watch I want. (This money will never go on credit cards or pot of gold savings as it's my spending money for the month).
• Stay organised on what's coming up socially and in birthdays/celebrations.
• Limit TV watching, as it's so life wasting!
  
  Instead, use YouTube for watching resourceful videos and read more books. Even a trashy novel is better than most TV shows. Listen to the motivational audible books and CD's I have!
  
• Do some form of exercise each day to get those cobwebs blown away and to increase the feelings of wanting to be more active. No gym membership! I have a bike, I have fully functional legs and I also have home weights in a spare bedroom that has a lot of space in it! On top of that, I have a few excellent exercise DVD's, plusYouTube is another great and free resource for exercise ideas. No excuses.
  
• Cut out caffeinated and fizzy drinks! Are you mad, woman??? There is nothing of any value in either of those categories. Drink lots of water (squash is ok to kickstart this).
  

If I move closer to London then making lunches and breakfast in the morning before I leave for work becomes a much bigger possibility. The thought of getting up at 4:30am to make lunch while I have my current address just isn't going to become a reality! So, for now, I need to make sure that I'm organised enough at home to be able to put together a lunch each evening ready for the next day. Thinking ahead if I'm out any work night.


This weekend:

1. Recipe books for more exciting food plan ideas.
2. Packing and boot sale preparations.

enjoyyourshoes

Make lunches one a week and freeze them:-

Sardines are OK frozen then defrosted that day

Soups the same (use Aldis veg of the week as basis and make your own)

Coleslaw is OK made in advance and used across 3 is days

Can you take raw potato and microwave it in canteen at work ?

MuffinTops

Thanks Enjoyyourshoes. I'll add this to my recipe plans this weekend.


We're not allowed a microwave at work. They want to force us to pay for food in the canteen.

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Hi can you take stuff to make lunch in work and keep in fridge?
Sorry just saw you can't use micro but can you take in cereal bars for breakfast to keep in your drawer? Or pot porridge?