2017 - A year of change and positivity

[Deleted User]

Another early morning wake up call courtesy of DS - good job I'm an early bird anyway :rotfl:

My parents had the little one for a couple of hours yesterday which freed me up to make a start on blitzing the kitchen. Still a bit to do but feel better having made a big dent in it.

Santa bought me a soup maker which I put to the test yesterday - it passed with flying colours. The mushroom soup was lovely. No excuses for chucking away veggies now. Tea was a SW quiche to use up some eggs that go ood in a couple of days.

I have a fair bit of Christmas money - in previous years this would have disappeared on various bits and pieces that I don't really need. This year I'll put it to good use. Yes I could chuck it at one of the debts but I'm planning to use it to buy a few bits for the house that'll make life easier for us. DS needs some storage in his room for the amazing amount of toys he's accumulated so that's on the list and also a toy box or similar for the living room. I'm planning to go round with a notebook this weekend and make a list of things to do for each room. We can then work through it over the course of the year.

Right - I'm going to sneak off to feed the ponies before everyone else wakes up! Have a good day x

smallholdingsister

You have ponies/horses? What do you have? (Famous racehorse?!).

[Deleted User]

Hi Smallholding sister :hello: I have 2 Shetlands and a retired cob - all pampered pets :rotfl:

Yesterday I had a trip into town to exchange a couple of DS's Christmas pressies that had been bought in the wrong size - he's a big lad for his age! Picked a few nice bits up in the sale for him and my mum and sister also treated him to a couple of tops which was lovely. He's pretty much clothed in charity shop bargains as he's growing so quickly so it was nice to get him nice bits without breaking the bank.

Had 2 sales on eBay yesterday totalling £14. So I'm almost half way to my £30 aim for the month. Will pay this cc3 later. Cc3 is my grrrrr! card. The other two are static and contain the outcome of car purchases, car repairs and the monster vet bill and have been balanced transferred to 0%. Cc3 however is the one I kick myself over - there's no good reason for it, it's just been used to plug holes when we haven't budgeted right. My aim is to have this cleared by 26th May, so all extra money will go towards this.

A day of running errands today. Need to post eBay items, collect DS's medication from chemist and a trip to collect my boots order for next years pressie stash.

Right best get cracking - have a good day x

[Deleted User]

Good morning!!!

Busy day yesterday - but I finally got out for my run! Made the most of the time and actually managed to do 10k, feeling very pleased with myself

Also had a letter from the bank to say we couldn't be transferred onto our new mortgage rate due to an outstanding early repayment charge. A quickish phone call and it's all sorted. Our new rate kicks in next month - we've fixed for 10 years @ 2.69% with no fee. Since we're in our forever home (bar a lottery win!) it seems a great deal and will save us approx £170 a month.

This weekend is all about getting the house sorted. We're going to buy some storage units for DS room (out of Xmas money) and move the living room around to make more space for DS to play. I'll also pop along and do the parkrun either today or tomorrow (or maybe both )

So 2016 is coming to an end and I have to say it's been a good one! Seeing DS grow from a baby to toddler has been amazing.

For 2017 the aim will be getting organised and on track so we can give him the best life possible. So quick roundup of my goals for the coming year.....

Financial
1. Pay off all debt except cc1, which will be reduced to approx £4.5k
2. Make £30 a month via eBay / fb / general selling and decluttering.
3. Save change to put towards Christmas and birthdays.

Personal
1. Lose 1 stone by end of March
2. Run at least twice a week and complete 1000km in 2017
3. Run half marathon
4. Be more positive about work ......

[Deleted User]

Happy New Year!!!!! 2017 we're ready for you!!!

Went to have a look at storage options yesterday amd think we've settled on one. Unfortunately couldn't collect it yesterday as didn't have enough room in the car with DS car seat etc. One of us will pop over at some point either today or tomorrow to get it.

Had another sale on eBay yesterday for £8 so takes my monthly total to £22 / £30.

Didn't get to parkrun yesterday but will be there today to kick off my 2017 running total. I've been reading on a fb group of people putting £1 per mile in a pot and it seems like a fun way to save some pennies. My other pots are set up ready to go - anything under 50p will get saved.

So a few things I've realised over the last few days.....
1. I procrastinate sooo much. I have this perception that everything takes so much longer than it actually does. My brain seems to think unless I have 30mins to spare there's no point doing anything! For example washing up generally doesn't take half an hour neither does putting away laundry if you do it as you go along. Need to embrace a just do it attitude.

2. I don't need to keep buying stuff! My wardrobes are bursting, I have enough perfume and toiletries to last me at least a year, enough scented candles to light the house, soooo many books I haven't read and a handbag for every day of the week! I can't resist a bargain however the reality is, is it really a bargain when there's no requirement for it? This year my focus will be on the house rather than myself - any purchases made certainly until end of March should be make our lives easier and make the house easier to keep on top of. I'll be undertaking a mass declutter and as a result lots of ebaying!

3. I was watching a home improvement program the other day (one of my guilty pleasures!) and a comment from one of the guys on there has stuck with me. He commented he doesn't mind spending money he just doesn't like to waste money. I need to adopt this motto! Spending on what we don't need (see above) results in a lack of money to spend on what is needed, hence the reason our house hasn't been touched in the 5 years we've lived here! If I'd have adopted this earlier I'd think the debt would be at least half of what it is.

Right enough mind dumping for now- time to get on with the day x

CP2016

Happy New Year Seabiscuit. I totally get the 30 minutes thing, our washing up takes 5 minutes at the most but the number of times it gets left until the morning after isn't funny. I'm getting going with Flylady to see if a bit of routine can help me/us.

[Deleted User]

Happy New Year CP2016! I'm glad I'm not the only one! Take the other day for example - littles milk was warming, 2 minutes left on the timer. I took a basket of clean washing upstairs and managed to put it away before the timer went off! By the time I usually get round to doing it, it's a good 20 minute task! I need to stop being so lazy!

Managed to get to parkrun yesterday in the pouring rain and wind. Must have been mad but it was good to get off the mark with my challenge -5km down just 995km to go!

Had another £5 sale on eBay yesterday so that takes me to £27/£30 for January and it's only the 2nd! Will get this paid off cc3.

So time to give myself a few challenges for the first half of the year to get my mind focussed.

1. Pay off CC3 - £790.01 by end of May - 145 days away.
2. Run 100km in January. Will try and put £1 per mile in a pot. If I find I'm struggling with this it'll be £1 per run under 5k and £2 per run over 5k.
3. Reduce the od to £200 by end of May. £298.20 to pay....

Also need to set up a dd to pay very. I'm usually pretty good at paying everything but for some reason Very is always the one that falls off radar until the last minute.

Jobs for today.....
1. Laundry
2. Post eBay
3. Set up Very dd

smallholdingsister

We have a New Forest (not retired but also a beloved pet).

Have you seen this?
http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html

jvr

Your 30 minute issue is exactly me! I'm sure I get more done on a busy day when I have to fit jobs in around other stuff otherwise I'm convinced everything takes forever!
Still haven't managed that's run... Might try couch to 5k and then look at local park run as it is 5 min walk away... Got my bike out ready to cycle to work tomorrow so that should help just hoping it's not too icy as will have work laptop on me! I just know if I don't go on my bike first day back I will put it off again for ages with excuses

[Deleted User]

Parkruns are fantastic jvr - everyone is so supportive. I need to get to mine more often, I'm 4 runs away from my first t shirt so would be great to get that by the end of Feb.

Smallholding sister - thanks that's a really interesting read altho I'm now concerned that OH may be a genuine procrastinator :cool:

Not as productive a bank holiday weekend as I would have hoped for as I spent most of the evening New Year's Day in bed after throwing up. Wish it was a result of seeing in the new year, but the most likely culprit was my home made soup. Think the mushrooms were further gone than I thought :eek: won't be making that mistake again :rotfl:. However living rooms been moved (although it still looks like a bomb site at the mo) and the storage for DS room has been collected (building it is on this weekends to do list!).

Had a £15 sale on fb so this has gone straight off cc3. This takes my eBay / fb target to £42/£30 . Let's see how much more I can make this month.

Just a 2 day week at work this week. I've made red pepper and tomato soup for lunches (ingredients all good :rotfl:) - need to get back on track with SW and shift this excess stone once and for all. Weigh in night tonight - will be very happy if I just maintain last weeks weight as all the Christmas goodies are still talking to me.

Today's to do list.....
1. Short run with woofs (2-3k)
2. Tidy porch
3. Clear dining table aka dumping ground!

Have a good day x