Battling Debt and Mental Illness — and (hopefully) Winning!

AspiringButAnxious

Lots to do today: have showered, put the sleeping bag out to air on the washing line and wrote a birthday card for my friend's partner so I can give it to her later.

Other tasks to get done today:
• Clean mould off my wall. It faces north and is prone to damp, so got a few patches when my bookshelves were crammed. I cleaned loads off a couple of months ago, but uncovered another patch when I was reorganising my books yesterday.
• Change my sheets
• Make tiffin
• Make honeycomb crisp (a toffee from a kids' recipe book which my mum had in the 60s!)
• Blow up air beds
• Make polenta chips ready to heat up when we eat dinner

I would also like to work on the brochure, but we'll see! The to-do list actually looks much shorter typed out...

IWillBeFree

Hi ABA

Just caught up, nice to see you are making such good progress. Love your to do lists

Hope you have fun with your friends. I now want tiffin!

Subscribed and look forward to more.

IWBF x

Bobarella

AspiringButAnxious wrote: »

Lots to do today: have showered, put the sleeping bag out to air on the washing line and wrote a birthday card for my friend's partner so I can give it to her later.

Other tasks to get done today:
• Clean mould off my wall. It faces north and is prone to damp, so got a few patches when my bookshelves were crammed. I cleaned loads off a couple of months ago, but uncovered another patch when I was reorganising my books yesterday.
• Change my sheets
• Make tiffin
• Make honeycomb crisp (a toffee from a kids' recipe book which my mum had in the 60s!)
• Blow up air beds
• Make polenta chips ready to heat up when we eat dinner

I would also like to work on the brochure, but we'll see! The to-do list actually looks much shorter typed out...

What I tiffin ABA? I have heard of it but not sure.

AspiringButAnxious

Thanks IWillBeFree

Bob — tiffin is basically melted chocolate with yummy stuff stirred in! You set it in the fridge and cut into squares. The one I did yesterday had crumbled digestives, raisins, dried cranberries and nuts in it, but there are loads of different recipes. I just base mine on whatever's in the cupboard

I had a great time with my friends and did everything to get ready except make honeycomb crisp, which I decided we didn't need. Judging by the amount of food left over, I was right! I was brought gorgeous pink roses with glitter on them, a notebook and a bottle of ros!

My friends have gone home now and I'm scoffing more tiffin Also won 25p on Luckyphone today, so it's going very well!

AspiringButAnxious

Forgot to mention, I've agreed to see a comedian in Nov for £20.50. I've never done it before and think I will enjoy it, but it's an unexpected expense. My friend is ordering the tickets and she doesn't need to be paid until I see her, so it doesn't impact my current cashflow. Part of me feels guilty for not saying no and putting the money in my savings acc, but I want to go and it's probably the only time I'll go out (apart from to friends' homes) before Xmas.

I've finished reading a book called Dream Save Do by Betsy and Warren Talbot, which has inspired me to turn my loosely connected goals into a project: Project Freedom.

It's about having the freedom to pursue my writing career and do what I love. It's also about escaping things which tie me down, like being on benefits and living with my parents. The deadline for the first stage of my project is my 35th birthday. Some of the goals involved have deadlines before then; I want to consistently earn £100+ a week so I can come off ESA before 1st June next year (when I won't be able to do permitted work any longer), though I would love to do it ASAP so I don't have to travel 25 miles to Working Links every 2/3 weeks and so that I won't need to go to another medical assessment. Some aspects of being on benefits are soul-destroying and I wish I didn't have to rely on them, so that's my priority.

I have a series of targets for my EF and rainy day funds, the first of which are £300 and £500 respectively. I also want to save a deposit so that I can buy my own home somewhere down the line — even if it's just a static caravan or a cabin in the woods.

My fitness and weight loss goals are also part of Project Freedom, because I want to be free from physical health problems and discomfort.

I think the project perspective will help me see my goals more clearly. The book recommends asking yourself every time you want to buy something whether it is worth delaying your dream for X days, which I think will help me curb my spending. I've decided to cut right back on coke, starting today (using lemonade left over from when my friends were here to wean myself!) and every £27 I save or repay will bring me a day closer to.finishing stage one.

I considered changing my phone tariff, but I pay £8 (SIM only) and the only cheaper plans I have seen so far don't offer unlimited texts, which is my main form of communication with my friends. Since I switched from PAYG because I was sick of restricting my communication with my friends because I didn't want to use all my credit, I think this will be a false economy. My closest friends live over 25 miles away (and one is is London, so we see each other twice s year at the most) so it's not as if I can pop over on a whim. Being in touch with my friends is good for my mental health too, which I should prioritise above everything else.

My thoughts are all over the place tonight. I just want to escape — from ESA first and foremost — but I'm not even close to being able to do that yet.

Orange_Ena

AspiringButAnxious wrote: »

Forgot to mention, I've agreed to see a comedian in Nov for £20.50. I've never done it before and think I will enjoy it, but it's an unexpected expense. My friend is ordering the tickets and she doesn't need to be paid until I see her, so it doesn't impact my current cashflow. Part of me feels guilty for not saying no and putting the money in my savings acc, but I want to go and it's probably the only time I'll go out (apart from to friends' homes) before Xmas.

I've finished reading a book called Dream Save Do by Betsy and Warren Talbot, which has inspired me to turn my loosely connected goals into a project: Project Freedom.

It's about having the freedom to pursue my writing career and do what I love. It's also about escaping things which tie me down, like being on benefits and living with my parents. The deadline for the first stage of my project is my 35th birthday. Some of the goals involved have deadlines before then; I want to consistently earn £100+ a week so I can come off ESA before 1st June next year (when I won't be able to do permitted work any longer), though I would love to do it ASAP so I don't have to travel 25 miles to Working Links every 2/3 weeks and so that I won't need to go to another medical assessment. Some aspects of being on benefits are soul-destroying and I wish I didn't have to rely on them, so that's my priority.

I have a series of targets for my EF and rainy day funds, the first of which are £300 and £500 respectively. I also want to save a deposit so that I can buy my own home somewhere down the line — even if it's just a static caravan or a cabin in the woods.

My fitness and weight loss goals are also part of Project Freedom, because I want to be free from physical health problems and discomfort.

I think the project perspective will help me see my goals more clearly. The book recommends asking yourself every time you want to buy something whether it is worth delaying your dream for X days, which I think will help me curb my spending. I've decided to cut right back on coke, starting today (using lemonade left over from when my friends were here to wean myself!) and every £27 I save or repay will bring me a day closer to.finishing stage one.

I considered changing my phone tariff, but I pay £8 (SIM only) and the only cheaper plans I have seen so far don't offer unlimited texts, which is my main form of communication with my friends. Since I switched from PAYG because I was sick of restricting my communication with my friends because I didn't want to use all my credit, I think this will be a false economy. My closest friends live over 25 miles away (and one is is London, so we see each other twice s year at the most) so it's not as if I can pop over on a whim. Being in touch with my friends is good for my mental health too, which I should prioritise above everything else.

My thoughts are all over the place tonight. I just want to escape — from ESA first and foremost — but I'm not even close to being able to do that yet.

I definitely think you should go and enjoy the comedian. You've got a bit of time to save / find money and I'm sure you'll have a great time. And laughing is always good. :T

You've got a plan and that is great. Yes it might take time but you know what you need to do. And that's a great idea about working out how many days extra you'll be trapped by debt if you buy that dress / bag / cuddly toy / candle / whatever I've started trying to do that or working out that I have to work X amount of hours to pay for it. Suddenly it becomes not so desirable

I can highly recommend Dett0l mould and mildew remover. I used it in my spare room a few months ago and it's not come back. I think someone on here recommended it so I tried it and it's worked for me.

Have a great week ABA

crazy_cat_lady

I think that it's fantastic that you have a plan... And I wish you lots of luck with Project Freedom. Make the most of the good days and try and just ride through the bad days, and you'll get there

AspiringButAnxious

Thanks Ena and Cat

It's quite funny that I'm worrying about £20 when I used to spend £200 without a second thought! I've withdrawn the money I earnt from The Ex-Client on Upwork, so that should be about £17 to help ease my cashflow situation.

What I would like to achieve today:
• Post on blog
• Not drink any coke (got a bottle of ginger beer to help the transition)
• Finish at least 1 page of brochure, preferably 2
• Do some freewriting
• Submit a proposal on Upwork

misstara

Finally got round to reading through your diary ABA - all sounding very positive Good luck with project freedom and hope you achieve your to-do list today (I'm feeling very lazy now after reading that - my plan for today is drink coffee and browse the forums until it's time to go to work )

AspiringButAnxious

Thanks Tara I didn't actually complete my list...

I posted on my blog and didn't drink any coke, but only managed to do a bit of work on the brochure and nothing else. I feel very lazy compared to people on here who are juggling full time work, kids, etc. I have few responsibilities and yet I struggle to get stuff done. My motivation seemed to lag yesterday and I felt a bit more depressed, for no apparent reason. How do I expect to get off benefits when I only manage to do an hour or two of work a day?

Got a text from my friend last night — the comedian is sold out. I know I would have had fun, but I feel relieved. Cashflow is tight at the moment and my dog has his annual checkup in just over a month, so saving the £20 is a great help.

Hoping to get more done today:
• Finish the next 2 brochure pages and email to S
• Do some freewriting — even a few minutes would be something
• Submit at least 1 proposal on Upwork