only ONE credit card left + mortgage. current mood: content

fru-girl

Thanks, it's not really £900, HMRC takes their share of that

I'm so behind everything - Christmas cards, presents shopping, even grocery shopping.

Also have to watch what I'm eating, too many temptations - cake, chocolates, alcohol. Don't want to ruin my good work from this year

Love life is nonexistent. Not good!

fru-girl

Hello diary. Just realized that I also need a to do list to get me through the holiday period so here we go:

- buy presents - ongoing - I have a list for this, most pressing one is a present for a party on the 11th of December
- buy Christmas tree and decorate - 10 Dec (we're late this year...)
- write remaining Christmas cards
- cook for 'Christmas party' with friends: 10 Dec
- book Harry Potter studios visit (this is my main gift to DD)
- deep clean kitchen
- deep clean bathroom
- pay off Barclaycard and Tesco, and get BOS under 10K. deadline 22 December (that will be a happy/sad day)
- passport photos + submit permanent residence application (I'm a EU citizen needing to apply for permanent residency because of Brexit... 85-page form and a ton of paperwork
- go ice skating
- do more yoga and spinning
- take photos
- create a family photo album
- decide on outfits for the Xmas parties... this is a tough one, as I don't want to buy any clothes for myself. Already bought one dress so that's that.

I probably forgot some stuff but will add as I go along...

lulabelle

don't worry about love life being non-existent right now - just think how much you'll save on xmas presents!!! A new year will bring new good tidings and just think, by this time next year it could all be different!

I love your diary - sounds daft but I can't talk to any of my friends about the stuff I post on here - so it's nice to read other's diaries who are/have been in same position(s) as me and understand.

And don't worry about the dress - we all need a little sparkle from time to time x

fru-girl

Dear diary, I'm quite busy so I'll keep it super short.

- buy presents - ongoing - I have a list for this, most pressing one is a present for a party on the 11th of December STILL DOING THIS
- buy Christmas tree and decorate - 10 Dec (we're late this year...) DONE
- write remaining Christmas cards DONE
- cook for 'Christmas party' with friends: 10 Dec DONE
- book Harry Potter studios visit (this is my main gift to DD) THIS MIGHT CHANGE
- deep clean kitchen DONE
- deep clean bathroom TODAY
- pay off Barclaycard and Tesco, and get BOS under 10K. deadline 22 December (that will be a happy/sad day) DONE. I got my annual bonus and paid off Bcard and Tesco, and also made a payment to BOS. I'm now at £9400 total. Cannot tell you how that feels. PHEW.
- passport photos + submit permanent residence application (I'm a EU citizen needing to apply for permanent residency because of Brexit... 85-page form and a ton of paperwork TO DO TODAY
- go ice skating NEXT WEEK
- do more yoga and spinning ONGOING
- take photos ONGOING (took some nice ones on a biz trip)
- create a family photo album OUCH. HAVE NOT DONE THIS. HOPE TO DO NEXT WEEK, TOO LATE OBVS
- decide on outfits for the Xmas parties... this is a tough one, as I don't want to buy any clothes for myself. Already bought one dress so that's that. THE BLACK DRESS HAS SEEN 2 PARTIES AND THERE ARE 2 MORE. A SUCCESS

That's all for now, I will be back next week after Christmas dinner and Crisis volunteering are done.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!!

xxx


PS. Current mood: content

fru-girl

Forgot to say. My only new year resolution is to pay off all CC debt by end of 2017. I know it's ambitious BUT with the help of the annual bonus it's not impossible...

(Oh, and I've just called to close both Barclaycard and Tesco. I'm down to 1 credit card - Bank of Scotland).

MistyMountainTop

You've really taken control of the situation and it sounds like you're doing fantastically well!

I hope you have a lovely Christmas x

fru-girl

Thanks Misty, it turns out I made a mistake, the balance left on BOS is actually £9600, didn't record accurately.

Still very busy, Christmas meals, guests, Crisis volunteering and so on. Will be back in a couple of days.

Hope everyone is enjoying their time off x

hamiltoes

Just read your diary, sounds like you are making great progress!

Fellow single mum here and can relate to lots of things you've said. It's hard work isn't it? Good luck on your debt free journey in 2017 :-)

[Deleted User]

fru-girl wrote: »

Thanks Misty, it turns out I made a mistake, the balance left on BOS is actually £9600, didn't record accurately.

Still very busy, Christmas meals, guests, Crisis volunteering and so on. Will be back in a couple of days.

Hope everyone is enjoying their time off x

That's still a good challenge to have set yourself, I will be following

Sorry the date didn't come to anything, as Misty said, if it didn't click, there must've been an underlying reason.

Well done on the volunteering.

Hope you and DD have had a great Christmas x

fru-girl

Thanks hamiltoes, it is indeed.

@purplemumof2: thanks... dating when you're a single parent is not the easiest thing - finding time to meet is always a challenge, especially with no family nearby.

Volunteering was hard work this year... the centre I worked served over 300 lunches, for example (they also provide a lot of other services, not just food). It's so heartbreaking to see so many people who have it so rough. I've actually met some of those people 2 years ago (I'm a returning volunteer) and to see them in the same place is just sad.

I've been reviewing my bills and spending and decided to make a fresh new start in YNAB as it's much easier now, I'm now only tracking 1 debit card, 1 credit card and 1 child vouchers account. I've realized that my goal to pay off my CC debt entirely by end of 2017 is very ambitious and probably not very realistic (even if we make the full annual bonus)... so I decided to use a range for my goal.

For the first time in years, I'm making a new year resolution list:

1. Reduce my credit card debt significantly. Ideally to £0, but in any case it should get sub £3000. This, to keep things realistic.

2. Professional certification. I've been meaning to apply for certified member status with one of the professional organizations in my field and kept postponing. This is the year when it will get done. It doesn't cost any money, my employer will pay for the exam + membership, but I will need to prepare for an oral viva.

3. Keep active with things I enjoy - weekly yoga, spinning, tennis + once in a while cycling, rollerblading, hiking, skiing.
3b. Lose another 10lbs. I don't look too shabby now, but there's room for improvement

4. Take more photos, revive my photo blog, try to get some photos displayed, perhaps in a local cafe Finish the family photo album (have started but not there yet).

5. Don't neglect love life. Ok this is the most difficult one because it doesn't only depend on me - but I've been hiding too much under the "I'm too busy"/"don't feel like going out" pretense... so get out there.

So there.