Flo's Debt Free Diary

Kitten868

This is where the tests come in. If you can face it you win, steer clear of the credit cards. £10... Er beans on toast? Can you get a job closer by? X

moneycantbuyyouhappiness

Florence_J wrote: »

i am always tempted by the 3 pound cheese paninis rather than the 1.50 salad, which shows you everything about me

Flo I absolutely love this line ... this is me also!:T

I have subscribed to your Diary. All the best of luck with it you are doing great so far. Sometimes finding patterns of why and how we spend is half of the battle and you're doing a fantastic job with self reflection.

MCBYH x

reality_check

Hey

Just had a little read through your diary - 10% paid off already if fab! well done!!

Where do you do your shopping? I have recently switched from Sainsburys to Lidl. There is a fb group called 'How to feed yourself for £1 a day' they have some good ideas and they all seem to go to supermarkets late at night and get great reductions.

I am going to start using my slow cooker more as can buy cheaper bits of meat, bulk it out with veg/lentils and always try to make an extra portion for a lunch at a later date as if I don't take lunch to work I also spent a small fortune every day!

I've yet to start doing this, full of great ideas lol but I really need to get on with it!

I've subscribed and looking forward to watching your debt go down and savings go up!!

xx

Florence_J

Thank you all kitten, money and reality_check!.

I am still relatively new to posting so i don't know how to include quotes, but i will try to answer some of your questions.

Ah, the 'why don't you work closer to home?' question. Long term i will be looking for a job that doesn't involve transport costs of more than my rent each month, but i genuinely love what i do now, and for a long time i couldn't get into office work and i want to give back first to the loving company that saw the worth in me and have employed me and developed my skills. Long term i will be aiming for a job in my home town, but i am happy where i am-certainly in terms of my work-for the moment, though i am aware of the financial implications and costs to my spare time.

I think i have bought one lunch at work this month and that was only due to a miscommunication with my lunch companion. So i am making progress. On the losing weight front, i have decided that i really need to focus on what is in my cupboards first, as i have plenty of healthy things.

I have had today and yesterday off work due to a very nasty cold this has financial implications as due to a long term health condition i have used up my sick day allowance and am now on half pay for each sick day i have. but the ill health has meant that yesterday i made my partner and myself a store cupboard shepherds pie, we even used some dried lentils that i have bought so long ago it's embarrassing that i never opened them.

Due to buying milk, bananas and mayonaise today we now have about 2.50 of the months food budget left. I will have to shout at my boyfriend that we can only buy milk and bread till next weekend when i get paid.

(the thing is it's not like we will be starving if we run out of money as my boyfriend is far better with money and can easily cover the cost, but it's the principle of going over the shopping budget which we have already done in january)

Still, Martin would be proud of me as today i have put in an application to change energy suppliers, which if successful will save us 89 pounds from the crazy prices we were paying beforehand. I have also been binge watching super scrimpers on 4od as i've been ill and now i want an 'the owl energy meter' (one of those meters that shows you in real time how much energy you are using and how much it costs). I am fairly good with my energy but sometimes have been guilty of leaving my laptop on charge when i haven't been using it!!!!

I will be making another store cupboard (and healthy) dinner tonight. I've also been binge watching secret eaters, so will be having a small amount of spaghetti with a salmon fillet and some spinach and other vegetables. My boyfriend is out tonight and i had bought a pizza especially to eat, but no, i will be healthy.

Kitten868

Secret binge eaters? I think my sister told me about that. When asked what do you eat on an average day they say cereal, sandwich and dinner. When they film they they just constantly eat! Apparently one ate a pie sandwich! Wow
Hope you feel better soon x

note3

A pie sandwich? Wow I'm kinda impressed!
I forgot about super scrimpers...I used to love watching that and didn't realise it was still on. When the kids are back at school I'll be checking that out during the day thanks

When you next do your food shop I'd suggest getting a carton of uht milk for the cupboard. It tastes the same as fresh milk and is great for keeping for emergencies like when you're low on budget and need milk. It's cheaper than fresh too so buying a carton for cupboard is a winner

anita55

Hi Florence, found your diary, sorry to hear about your problems (have only read the first page) hopefully you can sort out your money problems at a young age (not like me) and have a full and happy debt free life.


I haven't suffered from mental illness or depression but my eldest daughter did which is why we are bring up her son, unfortunately this life wasn't for her and I always hope she is happy where she is now.


I'm sorry about your Mum too, you are right alcoholism is a disease although there isn't a lot of sympathy around for it or the people who suffer with it (or their families) and it must have been hard for you, but you sound like you have a chance for a good and happy life with your boyfriend and wish you well in everything you do (especially debt busting)


Will subscribe if that's OK

Florence_J

Thank you Anita, you are very kind. I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. x

For the first time in years i feel free. I am facing the problem rather than hiding it, not opening the bank letters, living on whatever cash i can withdraw from the credit cards, and believing the next job will pay for it, or that in a really bad moment my boyfriend will bail me out.

I have in some months spent up to 300 pounds on clothes, all financed by the credit card. I have not bought one item this year, nothing, not even a pair of socks. I feel in control.

I am sorting out the problem before it got too bad. I am at the peak of the problem. I am living paycheck to paycheck, i do not have savings, and if i was to lose my job me and my boyfriend would last about one month, maybe two, before my debt repayments would bankrupt us.

I used the last balance increase on the bad credit card to pay off a debt to my younger brother of 540 pounds that i had owed him since 2011. Yes, it is stupid to use a debt to pay off a debt, but it was the quickest way i could clear the debt and not feel afraid to see him anymore. So i am paying for it now in interest rates, but i am ok with my decision.

One thing that does keep me awake at night is my friend might be getting married this year, and the wedding will be costly, it will most likely involve a hotel or an expensive taxi ride, and at the moment i don't know how i am going to afford it, and i am scared it will be sprung on me without being able to prepare. But i am preparing, that's all i can do.

The water bill came through this week. I think in the four years i have lived in this house with my boyfriend i have only paid my half once. I cannot afford to pay the sum outright this year BUT i can afford to pay my half in 12 installmants, taking me to next year. This is better than nothing, and i am pleased.

I have had to seriously curb my spending, but i am happy with this. I want to only make a debit card purchase not a credit card purchase. And preferably i will save for the item first.

The wedding is my motivation. I will be devastated if my debt and previous bad decisions keep me from attending the wedding.

The good news. I haven't used my credit cards since December. The fact is i couldn't even if i wanted to. I destroyed them. They no longer exist. It was extreme, but it was the only way i could pay off the debts. Once again i am happy with this choice i made.

I feel free and calm. I am facing the future. I spend all my free time investigating money and how to save, how to spend better, how to keep track of what i'm spending, i feel bored and slightly low when i have exhausted everything i can do that day. I look forward to sorting out my money.

I am going into work tomorrow, i feel better, and i don't want to leave my work colleagues stranded. I will be going to a gig my boyfriend has paid for tomorrow night, on saturday we are seeing two films for free through our volunteering work. We will also be going for a nice long run as we are training for a marathon (just a half) I feel good, but i would like it if payday was this weekend instead of next weekend.

I just have to keep my focus for the last few days of this month. Just 8-9 days till payday (i sometimes get paid early if it falls on a weekend)

anita55

Sounds like your going to have a great weekend and very frugal, remember your young and you should be enjoying yourself as well as paying your debt. Well done on cutting your cards up, I cried when I did mine lol x

Florence_J

Hi Anita, i don't regret cutting up the credit cards. I had previously given them to my boyfriend to hide, but then one day when i was putting his socks away i found them and knew they were there and it was too tempting, so i had to cut them up. I regret not doing it sooner.

So many clothes i bought on impulse that months later mean little to me. I wish i had been more sensible. I would far rather spend 30 quid hard saved for money on one item i will love forever than 100 quid on tat that i get bored of or don't even like how i look in. I used to just pick up clothes and buy them without even trying them on! Madness!

Today was a no spend day (so far). Question, does it count as a no spend day if i don't buy anything, but i go out with my boyf and he buys me a drink? We are going to a gig tonight, and i know we will get drinks.