Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

Chrystal

GeorgianaCavendish wrote: »

Thank you Chrystal

My present idea is one I borrowed from instagram - Blind Date With A Book. I pick a few good condition books up secondhand, wrap them in plain brown paper, and write a few clues or bullet points about the book on the outside. Then I put them all in a gift bag with some chocolate or another treat. So far I've been picking books that I really love but choice can be a bit limited by what is available! My mum has been saving the wrapping and regifting them after reading

I was also thinking of doing it with DVDs for people that aren't so into reading

What a great idea! And might also be a way I can 'move on' some of the hundreds of books I REALLY need to offload... Thanks for sharing XX

GeorgianaCavendish

A bit of a rollercoaster weekend here!

Firstly, the dentist. They hadn't paid my claim for the checkup so I thought I'd ring and check. Customer Services said the claims team left a note saying it was rejected because they "couldn't see proof of payment" (even though this was attached to the original claim) they have now "found" the proof of payment so will be processing that this week :cool:

I had the further dental work done this weekend. Dental receptionist refused to process it as a direct settlement because she (direct quote) "couldn't do it on a Saturday" and "it would just make life easier" for her if I paid and claimed it back. This was the first time doing direct settlement so I was really unsure of myself - also had a mouth full of anaesthetic and felt quite shaky - I ended up paying (£200!) and then opening a claim to get it back. The person I spoke to today said that the receptionist was talking a load of rubbish and that it is usual practice to process the direct settlements on the next working day. Anyway, that claim should also be processed this week as well. HOW ANNOYING! :mad: On the plus side, all is good with the dental work now

Secondly, had a really difficult situation with a family member. Won't go into too many details here but it is the kind of thing that in the past would send me scurrying off to buy something as a way of dealing with the nasty feelings. I haven't done that this time, but everything feels really raw and painful (although getting better). I'm proud of myself for not reverting to one of my old coping/distraction strategies but not enjoying feeling like my emotions turned up to 11!

Thirdly, had a really lovely day yesterday with lots of rest and relaxation. The only minor annoyance was that after giving advice on other diaries against the dangers of stock piling, I went to put a bottle of cleanser in the bathroom cupboard only to discover two other bottles hidden behind the spare loo roll. I received them as Christmas gifts, put them away and then promptly forgot about them. So now I'm giving myself some anti stock piling advice : physically check the cupboards properly before ordering, don't just make decisions based on what I think "must" be in there!

I had a couple of quiet days on ebay selling but then two sales came through in the early hours of this morning, I've packaged up the items and posted them already

GeorgianaCavendish

Chrystal wrote: »

What a great idea! And might also be a way I can 'move on' some of the hundreds of books I REALLY need to offload... Thanks for sharing XX

My pleasure, hope it is helpful!

PositiveBalance

GeorgianaCavendish wrote: »

Secondly, had a really difficult situation with a family member. Won't go into too many details here but it is the kind of thing that in the past would send me scurrying off to buy something as a way of dealing with the nasty feelings. I haven't done that this time, but everything feels really raw and painful (although getting better). I'm proud of myself for not reverting to one of my old coping/distraction strategies but not enjoying feeling like my emotions turned up to 11!

Well done on identifying that spending pattern and not succumbing to it. :T

I hope the situation with your relative improves - and quickly.

GeorgianaCavendish wrote: »

Thirdly, had a really lovely day yesterday with lots of rest and relaxation. The only minor annoyance was that after giving advice on other diaries against the dangers of stock piling, I went to put a bottle of cleanser in the bathroom cupboard only to discover two other bottles hidden behind the spare loo roll. I received them as Christmas gifts, put them away and then promptly forgot about them. So now I'm giving myself some anti stock piling advice : physically check the cupboards properly before ordering, don't just make decisions based on what I think "must" be in there!

I've had that happen as well. You know what the cure is? Another spreadsheet!

ChasingSunshine

Oh no, sorry to hear about situation with relative. I hope it all improves soon but well done on avoiding falling back into old bad habits.

Completely get where you are coming from on the stockpiling of beauty products. I thought I was being so good and finally making progress with using up my stash only to open a suitcase I had put away and found it full of product. How I forgot it was there I do not know!

GeorgianaCavendish

Thank you PositiveBalance and ChasingSunshine, I think things are already improving (or at least the way I'm feeling about it is improving!) and I'm really chuffed with myself for not using spending to try to cope. I'm trying to learn new responses to stressful / upsetting things instead of my old habits of spending (or deciding I need to go on a diet - another great distraction technique!) It isn't easy but I'm seeing improvements

I do love a spreadsheet I like the idea of having one for products, if only to give me something to look at on the days I would usually click into the debt spreadsheet and drive myself mad by running different scenarios

While I'm thinking about identifying spending patterns, I think my stockpiling habits come from feeling that I have to take care of all my bills and "essentials" as soon as I get paid because I can't trust myself to have money available if I run out mid-month (I know it is debatable about how "essential" cleanser is ) Hopefully as I get through the coming months with the feeling of having surplus cash, I'll be able to trust myself and let go of the need to take care of as many outgoings as possible on payday. I really want to break that cycle!

In other news, I had an ebay return last night. I had a feeling that they would return it, they were one of the cheeky question brigade and I'd accepted a Best Offer that I immediately regretted. It is annoying but that is part of the reason why I haven't withdrawn any of the money from PayPal yet. Hopefully I'll get the item back with no hassle and then I can relist it. And block that buyer so they can't mess me around again :rotfl:

GeorgianaCavendish

Update from BUPA saying the £65 for my checkup has been approved and will be paid in 5-7 days. I'm still waiting to hear about the claim for the more expensive work.

Seasidegal58

Love your idea about the books Georgiana!


Sorry to hear about the difficulties with the family member . You seem to be dealing with it in a positive way though.


By the way - in my world some form of "cleanser" is an essential. However, I have found through sad, costly experience that you don't have to spend a fortune on it!:D

Homegrown0

How irritating about the dentist making you pay and claim back! At least you know now for next time that she absolutely can and should sort it out for you to save you all the hassle. I suppose it's a good thing that you get the money back but the wait must be annoying.

I hope the family issues resolve themselves or at least the emotions surrounding them dull a little. It's horrible feeling that way.

GeorgianaCavendish

Thank you Seasidegal and Homegrown The family situation is resolving itself (as much as it can anyway) and I'm starting to feel a lot better about it. Luckily it isn't someone that I have to see on a daily or even weekly basis, so I'm able to get a bit of space for the moment.

I am really hoping that someone does the blind date books for my birthday as well, I'll have to drop some hints!

Although the cleanser situation was annoying, at least I now have a good supply :rotfl: I "saved" £6 on the RRP with the latest purchase as well (can't believe I've only started price comparing cosmetics and skincare in the last year, feels like such a rip off to have ever paid full price!)

I am still really irritated about the dentist receptionist, especially as it takes 10 working days to process the claims. The Easter bank hols mean that I probably won't get a notification until the middle of next week and the payment takes 5-7 days after that :mad: But I received the refund for the checkup in my account this morning, so at least I know the system does work (eventually!)

I am looking forward to having some time off over Easter, I suspect that this will be occupied with spring cleaning though! I had another few ebay sales over the weekend (ready for posting today) and I took two bags off stuff to the charity shop as well.

I didn't check my debt spreadsheet at all last week! I know that there won't be any change on the balances until 19th when the final April statement is generated (although with the bank holidays, maybe this happen on Tuesday next week?) so I'm going to try to hold off until then. I'm feeling much less anxious without the frequent checking and running endless calculations, so I think that this is a positive step for me at least for the time being.