2017 - A year of change and positivity

[Deleted User]

Thank you - I will get there one day!

In the meantime......
So, cc3 sent me a letter offering 0% on money transfers for 19 months and given that the OD isn't disappearing at the rate I wanted and costing me ~£14 a month for the pleasure I figured it would be rude not to take them up on it. Woofs vet bill came in at approx £300 and given that we didn't have much notice of it only £100 had been put away, so it went on cc3 initially. So I paid cc3 off with the OD before using the money transfer to pay off the OD so it's all on 0%. It works out at approx £53 a month to pay it off before the 19 months is up, so will set a DD up for £55 to cover it.

eBay is ticking over quite nicely. Another £26 made last night. Need a few bags of bark and some decking oil to finish off our garden project so will probably use it towards this.

Cc2 will now be the focus for overpayments. Currently pay £20 ish minimum payment. Hoping to make this £100 with eBay and various other savings elsewhere. Should be doable.......

[Deleted User]

Really really must get on here more often, even if it's just to brain dump- it's been nearly two weeks:eek:

So....
Things are ticking over not too badly. Not going to be a ground breaking month in terms of repayments, but overall feeling more in control. Just need to get my head round OH new pay day as it's now the last working day of each month, so varies each month and is a good 4-5 days later than his old one.

I've rejoined slimming world - not very MSE I know but need to get my weight back under control ahead of Christmas. First week weigh in was 1.5lb loss. Not a huge loss I know but a step in the right direction.

It's 4 weeks on Sunday until the half marathon. Managed 11 miles last weekend slow but I did it. Will aim to do the same route this weekend.

eBay sales are ticking over quite nicely - loads more to declutter, but it's nice to see the pile coming down and the Paypal account going up. Been very useful to help plug the gaps left by unexpected car / animal related bills.

The garden is almost done!!! So nice to have something that resembles a garden rather than a jungle!!! It's all very low maintenance (which was the idea!). Just need to wash and oil the decking and repaint the fences and we're done. A little late to appreciate it this year maybe but that's one huge monkey almost off our backs :j

The house on the other hand......
Eek! How can one toddler create so much carnage!!! I've discovered the organised mum blog and am going to give her method a go. It's very similar to fly lady but works in daily 30 mins blocks. Need to do something as I can feel it all spiralling out of control.

So jobs for the Bank Holiday weekend...
1. Post eBay
2. Meal plan
3. Clean and stain decking
4. Pressure wash patio
5. Paint fence
6. Clean out new stable
7. Finish fencing paddock
8. List eBay

[Deleted User]

Payday yesterday so time for the scores on the doors.....

Cc1 was £5306.20 now £5156.20 (-£150)
Cc2 was £799.52 now £749.52 (-£50.00)
Cc3 was £0.00 now £1080 (+£1080)
OD was £963.97 now £0 (-£963.97)
Very was £64.73 now £49.73 (-£15.00)

Total was £7134.42 now £7035.45 (-£98.97)

Not great but still going down. Hopefully next month willl be better, but there is a few obstacles between now and Christmas to be mindful of.

Both cars are due a service and MOT and DS birthday is coming up, so need to start thinking about that so they don't all creep up and bite us.

Quidco I've had £10 payable on, so have used this to purchase some xmas pressies in the sale. Also have £63 lodged in a missing cashback claim from when we switched energy providers. This is moving forward so hopefully should have that soon too.

Beginning to get organised in terms of Christmas- plan is to have all presents bought by the beginning of December.

Got a £20 off a £50 spend at very. Conscious it's a lure to get us to use the account but with DS birthday and xmas coming up it's too good to pass up. Will just need to make sure it's paid straight back.

Right best crack on - busy day ahead....

[Deleted User]

Been awol again!!! Time to get a grip and get focussed.......

So, I've been feeling rather reflective over the last few days. Really feel that it's time to stop existing and start living. I feel as though I've been stuck in a rut for so long with most aspects of my life that it's become the norm. My spark has gone and I feel like I'm going through the motions - need to pick myself up and get it sorted!!!!

So, the master plan......

1. Me
Feel rather selfish popping this at the top of the list, but I need to start looking after myself more. If I can do that, everything else will follow suit easier (or so that's the plan!).
* mindfulness - get back into the habit of doing my daily app. Something I'd only just started to explore but did find it made a big difference to my mental health. Fell by the wayside as I didn't have time - come on it's 5 minutes a day!!!
* weight - have rejoined slimming world and have about a stone to lose. My weight has always yo-yo'd. Never been massively overweight but do find it has a negative impact on my mental wellbeing when I'm carrying a few extra lbs. Aim to get the weight lost by Christmas
* Exercise - I love love love the buzz I get from running, but I seem to be struggling to get out consitently as it always seems to be bottom of the list of priorities in my house. No excuses now I have the running buggy I can do a 3-4 miler with the buggy on my days off and the OH can have DS for a couple of hours at the weekend so I can do a longer run. Need to make it happen.

2. Family life
Really want DS to have the best life we can give him and make loads of happy memories along the way. Feel at the minute our weekends i.e. Family time, are wasted with trips to the supermarket and running errands and generally playing catch up. I'm going to pull together a list of activities that we can do as a family with an aim to doing at least one a weekend. Doesn't have to be expensive - they'll be loads of free stuff on there too.

3. The House
Grrr why is it everybody else (seemingly) manages to keep on top of things and I seem to be constantly fighting a losing battle? As I mentioned in an earlier post I've just discovered the organised Mum blog as have started to implement her methods. Early days as the mo, but I'm hoping in a few weeks time I'll really begin to see the benefits. Will also help with family life as they'll be less to do at the weekends and it'll be a nicer environment for us to relax together in. Definitely an area I need to get the OH onboard with, even if it's just a few non routine diy jobs that need doing before they escalate into bigger (more expensive) jobs. Need to make a list of these tasks and put some sort of timeframe in place for them.

4. Work
I feel I have a fab balance since going pt, but still dread going in mainly due to one particular colleague whom I seem to clash with. Doesn't help that he was my ML cover that they've kept on due to my pt working and he has made it clear that a. he's after my job and b. he sees himself as my superior. He's a very confrontational character where as I avoid it at all costs. There have been times over the last 12 months when I've seriously considered leaving, but need to put it all into perspective. Firstly I get paid well for working pt - I doubt I'd get the same elsewhere. Secondly he's the first person I've clashed with in my whole working career - why should I let him spoil something I'd otherwise be happy doing. He's also on a temporary contract, so no saying he'll stick around longer term if he doesn't get what he wants. Need stop letting this man put a black cloud over it all. Will see how the next 6-12 months pan out and readdress then.

I could go on and on but it's quite therapeutic getting this much down in writing. Think the key to it all is planning as I just seem to go with the flow and never seem to move forward! I've got myself a wee notebook that is going to act as my dumping ground, so any ideas, things I need to do, thoughts and feelings etc will get scribbled down in there and hopefully help me take charge of my life again!

Well done if you've made it to the end of this rambling post - Onwards and Upwards!!!!

[Deleted User]

Grrr! Is it just me that seems to lurch from one financial disaster to the next??? So over the last week my cars developed a huge crack in its window screen - needs fixing before MOT next week (lets not even go there!!!!) and the boiler packed in at the house we rent out (cost as yet unknown!). It's stuff like this that push me to get the debt sorted. I long for the days where we can afford to save £1000 a month and it's a realistic possibility once this is all dealt with! I'm sick of living payday to payday.

Right woe is me post over! Busy day ahead today. Work and a shed load of errands to run. Best get cracking x

jvr

Hey Seabiscuit....... how are you doing?