I’m taking control of my life, now.

[Deleted User]

boxofpaws wrote: »

I haven't posted my great plan yet, have I?

Things I am going to do

• Meal plan and cook from scratch.
• Online shop mindfully.
• Make my lunches.
• Work really hard at my job to try to progress.
• Allow treats. Going to the pub quiz, and fish and chips at the seaside.
• Buy nice food, just don't waste it.
• Question everything we spend.
• Check annual bills and shop around.
• Change any monthly policies to annual.
• Try and use vouchers but only if I need the thing it’s for.
• Give regular meter readings!
• When I am asked to spend money on something, don't be afraid to say, 'its not in my budget' or 'I can’t afford/justify it'.

Things I am not going to attempt

• Buy food that we don't quite like as much.
• Completing surveys - if I have spare time I will spend it on my job.
• Payment a day - it doesn't suit our payday/cashflow. cycle. I will pay money out as soon as we get paid, so it’s gone and can’t be spent on other things without if being a faff.
• Do things that I find inconvenient.

Hats off to all the people who do surveys, and go out to the supermarket late at night to get the deals, or make a payment to a debtor every day. But when I tried them in the past, I found it hard work, and the husband thought he was being punished. I want us to not really notice we are repaying a load of debt.

I don’t know if that’s possible but I will give it a go.

Love a plan you can do it x

parsniphead

Have to agree with surveys boxofpaws. I think you need to have a particular mindset to do them constantly. I just found that they took up too much time. I admire anyone with the patience though.

I also dont do yellow sticker unless im there and see them. By the time i have driven too and back from the nearest supermarmet i have lost in petrol what ive saved in money.

It sounds like you have a plan suited to you which will eventually lead you to success.

takingcontrolatlast

Good luck with the plan - my favourite is fish and chips at the seaside... its years since I have done that... I want to go there... now:rotfl:

I've never completed a survey... just dont have the time so I admire that you know what you DONT want to do and get on with what you DO want to do....:T

boxofpaws

Bobarella, thank you for that. I do have conflicting feelings about being making myself happy. I sort of feel like we should feel some pain so that we feel the consequences, but I just know its not sustainable. I guess if we're paying it back, there's no need to stay in and self-flagellate every night.


Little--fish, if I can get the husband to stick at this it will be a minor miracle. He did look very serious when I told him that we spend £1800 :eek:maintaining and insurancing his car and bike per year. I told him if this is hobby, that's fine, but he needs to sacrifice elsewhere to pay for it.


Thank you for popping by Purplemumof2. :wave:


Parsniphead and takingcontrolatlast, I am so glad I am not alone on the surveys. I did used to try to do them, but I would spend 5 minutes answering questions to find I didn't qualify and be given 5p and it started to make me a little bit angry.

boxofpaws

Good Things since I last posted :j

• Checked all credit cards and it most of the balance transfers are looking like they have gone through ok.
• The evilest credit card is already showing up as half paid off
• I used a teabag 3 times on Monday (admittedly is was down to laziness because I couldn’t be bothered to walk to the bin, but I’m having it on my list anyway:D)
• I made a soup out of broccoli stalks and cauliflower hearts on Tuesday. I skinned them, and it seemed to come out ok.
• Travelled to a different location for work today and I make about £20 profit in expenses each time for that.
  

Bad Things since I last posted

• I reviewed our spending so far this year, and I am a little alarmed at what we are projected to spend per month on food. Let’s see what the rest of the month brings. I feel like we have been quite frugal too. I am going to post a full breakdown at the end of the month.
• A Barclaycard payment came out of the account that I don’t really understand. Nothing should come out on the 17th, it’s too close to payday. It looks like it’s the balance transfer fee but I don’t want to get caught out with unexpected payments so I need to keep on top of this when all the BTs have gone through.

EssexHebridean

I have a feeling that surveys are much easier when you don't *have* to do them. I'm using surveys to chip away at my 0% card debt at the moment - largely because I want to see how much money I can get rid of on it without raiding the savings that are set aside to pay for the items that I BT'd onto it. It feels far less of a drag done that way than when I used to regard them as actual extra income. :rotfl:

Definitely with the people who say they don't make special trips for yellow stickers too - surely that would be defeating the object anyway? If while I'm in the shop anyway there is anything reduced decently that I would either buy anyway, or that is cheap enough to make it worth me incorporating it into the meal plan, then fine, but otherwise, no.

parsniphead

I used a teabag 3 times on Monday (admittedly is was down to laziness because I couldn’t be bothered to walk to the bin, but I’m having it on my list anyway)

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Even I have only used them twice. That said I use the really, really cheap ones from Asda.

Cheered me up.:)

MrsTinks

If the grocery budget is a concern, then why not do a meal plan I worryingly found it very satisfying to do full inventories of my freezer LOL

Now I know what's in there and I can actually plan meals and know what to take out etc. Should really do my cupboards too and do a cupboard challenge... how long can you live out of your cupboards (apart from fresh milk and bread) - it's a fun challenge if you MAKE it fun Apparently I get a little obsessive when I do it and scare the normal people Pffffft lightweights.

boxofpaws

EssexHebridean wrote: »

I have a feeling that surveys are much easier when you don't *have* to do them.

True, and I reckon this is true about most things. Apart from ironing. Ironing is always hateful.

Parsniphead, thank you for popping by, if only to laugh at me

Mrs Tinks, I really need to do an inventory. The freezer is ok, but the cupboards make me nervous. There are all sorts of things in three, in particular chicken flavour packets of origins unknown. I might post all the rubbish on here so you can have another good laugh at me:D

boxofpaws

Good things since I last posted:j

• Still logging spends
• Still spending mindfully.
• BT deals are not showing yet but have been confirmed as going through
• The spending diary is FASCINATING. All the things I hadn't thought of when doing a SOA. Eg window cleaner (£17.50), naproxen (£5), collections at work (£15!). It's really going to help when I redo the SOA next month

Bad things

• I am really quite shocked at what we spend
• Spent 55p on a superfluous coffee (but was given half a pound of butter if that somehow strangely offsets it)