Reality Check...

milasavesmoney

We need to feel confident and good about ourselves. That's so important! Saving toward a planned expense is what this site is all about!!!! (beaming at you from NM)

adamjm96

This is the first proper diary I've followed along. Got some great tips from this, I'm confident I'll be able to get myself in a better position.

reality_check

Thanks Eager Elephant and Mila! I am learning, slowly.

Hey Adam, I'm glad I've helped someone, goodness knows with what though lol I saw you've started a diary, I'll go have a look...these diaries are addictive and my new guilty pleasure in life - that really is how exciting my life is!

The weekend has been and gone, too quick as usual. I was at a spa day and overnight stay - it was lovely! This had been booked and paid for last year, it also included dinner, breakfast and 2 treatments. I nearly bought extra treatments as a few others were doing so and normally I would be too caught up in the moment or just want to so would! Instead I had my 2 included and made use of the jacuzzi and sauna. I was tea total at dinner and stuck to water partly because I wasn't paying the extortionate wine prices, plus we had brought plenty wine with us that we had chilling in the room. I got my phone fixed so I am £40 lighter....£25 deal didn't exist! He had originally tried to say it would be £65!! I also spent £3 on milk and a newspaper on Sunday....I don't normally read the paper but I had it in my head I was going to spend a relaxing Sunday reading the paper drinking freshly brewed coffee...I watch too many films clearly! :rotfl: the newspaper was replaced with Come Dine With Me and some Real Housewives of Atlanta....classy!

9 more days until pay day....hurry up!! xx

reality_check

Amazon update - someone has tried to call me a few times and let me a voicemail saying they are looking into but need some more information....the number they call on doesn't accept incoming calls and each time I call I can never be transferred over and promised a call back right away, that doesn't happen and I keep missing the call back :mad::mad: The Amazon saga continues, I am now up to 24 calls in total made to them!

reality_check

I meant to say EE about the Botox, needles don't bother me (much!) I use someone I have used before that came highly recommended so I think and hope I am in safe hands....if it goes wrong, i'll just need to go into hiding for a while.

Tonight is the first night of taking my make up off with coconut oil - my face is so soft! My normal Emma Hardie stuff is £50 + a pot so trying this out, and so far so good. It's only night one but fingers crossed my skin doesn't react badly and this will be my new make up remover...great saving if it works!

Off to bed as up early for the gym, def need to be going tomorrow as tonight I have ate my body weight in gnocchi, dairy milk buttons and ice cream. My sister brought round the new Ben & Jerry ice creams that is 2 cookies with ice cream in the middle, I really recommend them! Called 'Ben & Jerry's Son of a Wich'

Night diary land xx

reality_check

Was too warm too bother cooking tonight plus wasn't hungry so had a bottle of wine for dinner!! And then decided to order a chinese about 8ish and spent £15 on that! Over estimated how hungry I was and had to get it over a certain amount so they would deliver...it was one of the nicest meals I have had in a long time...so wine and that have cancelled out going to the gym this morning! I need to have ZERO spend days for the rest of the week!!!

reality_check

My mum told me last night that my dad is highly likely being made redundant. At his age he will find it hard to get a job right away so I think I will need to make paying him back a higher priority than it is right now. The money my dad lent me was from an insurance payout he had for an accident a few years ago, and the money he got him and my mum basically went on holidays with it - they have no savings and live month to month on their wages so they def won't be able to cope without his wage/waiting on redundancy payout....

Had a look at my Barclaycard and I can get £5000 at the cost of £5400 which is over 2 years and paid back at £225 per month. I have approx £2000 in sales commission coming in over June and July, so could have his £7000 paid by then. Even if redundancy doesn't happen perhaps I should just do this as at my age I should be responsible for my own debt!!

Other news is my step son is coming home today, for a week apparently... His mum died nearly 5 years ago and he got some inheritance money and basically went off the rails for a few years, quit his job and just lived a party lifestyle and went travelling with the money...and then it ran out. He lived with me even after me and my ex husband split up and then met a girl in London and has been living there since June last year. I've heard from him off and on (mostly when he needs something!) but he hasn't been replying lately and then got in touch saying he is coming home for the week and his phone and laptop aren't working....I knew his laptop broke but he was waiting for a day off to go and get it fixed...He is addicted to his phone and laptop so the fact he hasn't had it fixed is a sign to me he has no money as has quit his job! I also think that's why he hasn't been replying recently because every time I ask how he is getting on/his job, no reply!!

He is staying with his dad and a week is probably the limit for them together, they just clash! I hope I am wrong and everything is going great for him and he is still working, but I just have a feeling he will be back with me before I know it. He is 22 now, so is a bit older and wiser I'm hoping. Towards the end of last year I got rid of his bed, redecorated his room into a walk in wardrobe...so it isn't ideal, plus he eats me out of house and home!! Just need to wait and see what is happening.....xx

reality_check

Ok forget that about Barclays. £5000 is the maximum and you you need to keep 15% of your credit limit to set up the plan, and my balance is £4100 so I can get £2275 with an 8% fee so works out paying back £2457 at £102.37...if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!!

Worst case is I take the £2275, I will have £2000 cash by 15th July and I have £2500 overdraft so that just about makes the £7000 I owe...would be back to paying £38 bank charges per month though :mad::(

reality_check

And....just to top it off, my daughter announced she would quite like an IMAC for Christmas...at £1500 I really don't think so! Last Christmas I bought 2 £1600 Prada handbags one for each of us plus I must have then spent about £500 on little bits for her :eek::eek::eek::eek: I get so annoyed at myself when I think about how I was so ridiculous in the past!! Up to my eyeballs in debt yet spent £3200 without thinking twice on 2 handbags!! Last year Christmas must have cost about £4500 with everyone's presents, including to me from me with the bag and Christmas dinner, this year I want it to be a quarter of that, if not less!!

Plus she has a perfectly working Apple laptop, she just claims would help her study!! :rotfl:

note3

Oh my god! I read that as you spent £1600 on 2 handbags then realised that was the price for each! My most expensive bag was 40 and that made me feel guilty enough...lol. mind you at least you can see better than me where your debt came from...mine has mainly been meals out or having nails done when I was a lot younger and silly purchases that I no longer have but all add up enormously!

How are you getting on with the coconut oil?

Hope your dad isn't made redundant. It's a scary thought isn't it. So many ppl (me included) live month to month...I know I would be stuffed if lost job and it's made me realise now that I must save some emergency money