Adventures of the Boy & Me..

Chandelier.

So it's nearly bedtime and I've managed to plan and organise food to take into work tomorrow.

I've got:-

Breakfast: Overnight oats with raspberries. Will add a banana to this to bulk it out.

Lunch: Homemade vegetable soup.

Tea: Spaghetti on toast.

Snacks: Two satsumas and a tub of grapes to pick at.

It's not the most healthiest but if I'm honest I hate vegetables- mainly green ones. I'd much rather eat fruit. But it's a start after many months just grabbing food on the go or not eating all day until evening.

I just hope I can get back into the swing of eating better and picking better food options.

Chandelier.

Morning.

I'm all set to go for the work day ahead of me. My food is all nicely packed and ready to go with me. Another thing I've decided to do is cut out any unnecessary sugar e.g. in tea/coffee.. So you could say we're saving money with this as not using it for drinks ha ha. I get through quite a few cups of tea/coffee a day to keep me going sometimes but I really need to cut back. I won't cut it all out at once though.

Another monthly direct debit has gone out today of £12.99 so only one more to go later next week which is my phone insurance of £6.99.

I've been debating whether to cancel my phone insurance. My phone is 18 months old and my contract comes to an end in Jan 2018 where I'll most likely keep the phone and go on to a sim only deal. These new flashy phones don't really appeal to me that much anymore. I feel so ancient saying that lol. The phone does its job and I find I'm using it far less then what I used to and I probably don't use it in ways others do. It would be my luck to cancel the insurance and then it break.

I really need to get back in the swing of going to the gym. I'm paying for it and not using it currently but hopefully now I'm in this mindset to lose weight then I'll make the effort to go.

I'm about to go eat my overnight oats and get ready for work. I've decided to park my car a little bit further away from work so I've further to walk and I'm not tempted to pay for car parking. Sometimes I think stuff it I'll just pay as it means getting to the car quicker at the end of the day but each amount adds up.

I hope everyone has a nice day

Hiddenidenity

Morning

Have a lovely day

SpekySquarehead

Chandelier you sound super organised, well done.

Personally, I've never had phone insurance and never had the need for it. My mum used to have phone insurance, pet insurance etc. and what she now does is save the equivalent into a ISA. She's done that for a few years now and not had to dip into either!!! That way the money stays with you.

Chandelier.

That's the thing Speky. I have emergency fund and if needed it could be used to replace my phone. I may scrap the insurance then.

I notice FD also have the extra each month that covers holiday insurance, mobile phone and breakdown cover. I'm aware it's £15 a month but I may look at doing this instead. Currently I have no breakdown cover woops .

Work is going well so far today. I'm currently on my break and trying to relax and wind down ready for the day ahead.

I wish I was super organised as it sounds on here sometimes. I'm getting better at it and slowly getting back into my routine.

jvr

Hi


I just opened a nationwide account that is 10 a month for worldwide family travel insurance, phone and breakdown.... unfortunately had been planning on opening it for months and OH broke his iPhone just before opening it!

JoJoC

Hi Chandelier,

Just had a quick catch up of your new diary and it sounds like you're in a really good place! Did you and your son enjoy your getaway?

Great job on the meal planning - sometimes it comes so naturally to me and others it's like someone has asked me to run a marathon without any sleep. Good luck on keeping up with the organisation!

Chandelier.

Morning!

Jvr thanks for that suggestion however I only recent swapped banks to FD in February so for now I'm a bit reluctant to swap. I think I may look at these further down the line. I currently have annual travel insurance that runs out in December (I've no other trips planned, this was paid in full).

JoJo, nice to hear from you! The holiday was really good thank you although I was glad to be back on home soil after two weeks. I decided in future I'll only go for 10 days at a time (aside from another holiday we already have booked for next year).

So yesterday at work went as well as it could. I'm really achey today though and can feel it all over. I managed to stick to my meal plan for myself but did end up having two fondant fancies (not sure if this is the right name? lol) that someone had brought in for us as a treat.

I weighed myself this morning and have written it down on my calendar to mark the start of my weightloss journey. I'm going to do a mixture of SW and calorie counting/watching what I eat and set mini goals/challenges along the way to keep me motivated and to spur me on.

I've a training course tomorrow but I can't seem to find the details for this so I need to phone up today whilst at work. I've quite a few of these coming up so it's a very busy month.

I still need to book a table for my birthday meal this weekend. I just haven't had the time just yet. I'll set a reminder to do this once home from work today.

I've also planned out today's meal plan so I know what to pack for lunch and prepare once home.

Breakfast: Weetabix x2 and a banana.
Lunch: Ham sandwich and a handful of grapes.
Tea: Homemade potato and leek soup.
Snacks: Apple, two satsumas.

I know I will most likely become hungry at some points through day but I'll just find alternatives to junk food, to snack on. The problem I have is I'm such a fussy eater. I'll admit I do have a few sensory issues with food but I'm becoming a lot better.

I've also cut out sugar from my drinks since yesterday which is going surprisingly well. At one point I used to swap it for sweetener but found it gave it a bit of a funny taste. Tea is one of my first choices of drink and I'm surprised how much more I can taste the flavour since cutting out the sugar. I'm sure I'll get used to it at some point.

Yesterday I also arranged the boys ice skating lesson for later on this week. It will be an early morning session so I'll have to make sure I'm really organised for this.

Apart from that not much else to say... Oh except I made a £5 overpayment yesterday towards the Halifax credit card. This brings my debts to:

Halifax CC: £2995.
MBNA CC: £2980.

Total debt: £5975.

Woo woo :rotfl:

Chandelier.

Morning!

Yesterday I finished work, picked the boy up and ended up falling asleep at 6pm and didn't wake up until this morning at 6am. I must have been absolutely exhausted. Thankfully my mum was happy to sort the boy out and she understands sometimes I end up having outbursts of being tired and sleeping for long periods.

I'm up now and ready for the day ahead. The amount for the fine has finally left my bank and there is only one more direct debit to leave my bank which is phone insurance. I think I'll definitely look at cancelling that before next months payment. My phone is pretty much like new 18 months on as it's been kept in a secured case with a brilliant screen protector so there are no cracks/scratches or anything.

Today I've got a training course at another work site which is only an hour but I need to attend. It's silly really because the thing the course is about is something I've been doing for four years so why they insist on providing training for it I do not know. It's just another bit of paperwork to add to the collection.

I'm not 100% sure what I'll do for the rest of the day. I did say I'd meet my friend whom I met at a bipolar support group but it depends on what's happening with him. He's such a lovely guy and we are both very similar. I know he's been having a tough time so maybe I should suggest popping round for a brew.

I also need to pay for the boys ice skating lessons in advance for the week. I'll discuss this with my mum to see whether she could take him this week for me on Sunday when I work.

I'm working tomorrow then off Friday and Saturday. On Friday I have hospital appointment for a small procedure/investigations regarding previous hospital admission in May. I'm not 100% looking forward to it.

I have £80 currently left in my bank account to last me the month to account for any planned spends. I moved other spare money into my savings to build them back up a little bit. And I'm awaiting two other payments to hit my bank account, one payment in two days time and another next Wednesday. At that point I shall decide what to do with them. I'll probably pass some to savings to round figures up and use what's left towards debt repayments.

I seem really on the ball this month in regards to my debt repayments. Alot of this is down to me getting back on my two feet and feeling alot better in myself as a whole. I'm starting to feel a lot more organised and I know where I stand with upcoming spends.

Before I became "ill" I was always on the ball with my budgets/spending. I used to save alot each month but never treated the original car PCP as a debt. At least after these two credit cards are paid off, the car is officially mine and I'll only have to pay the usual outgoings to maintain it and drive.

A couple of months ago I also booked a holiday with the family for next year. It's a two week cruise which will be amazing but I also need to factor in saving up for this. I've put a deposit down already and the payment in full is due next May. It was a spur of the moment decision but I enjoy these holidays immensely and it is within the school holidays next year so no fine . I need to work out the upcoming cost of these as we paid in dollars through an American company as it was cheaper. Once I know I can work out how much I need to save each month towards this.

This won't hinder my debt repayments though. My debt is my priority and I have savings to fall back on.

The only other thing that's currently bugging me is my HTB Isa. It used to have pretty round numbers until the yearly interest was added to it. I'm not sure if I can withdraw the interest amount and get it back to pretty figures without it affecting the purpose of the HTB Isa? It's something I need to look at.

Anyhow I best crack on and wake the rest of the house up

Chandelier.

Morning.

So yesterday I attended training to find out it had been cancelled :mad:. That was a waste of petrol and I had to pay £2.50 in car parking.

I then came back home and chilled out for a bit until my CPN came round to see me. I had a chat with her for about 45 minutes and she seems to think I seem brighter in myself since she last saw me (my moods are still very mixed). After that I picked the boy up and met up with my friend and we went for ice cream then a drink at the pub and talked about anything and everything. I didn't initially plan to spend but I guess it just worked out that way. Total spends were £14.95.

Today I've got work and I've woke up in a pretty low mood. I'm hoping I can perk myself up a bit before I actually set off. Either that or cheer myself up once there.

I've worked out the cost of our holiday for next year to be around £1980 with the current exchange rate. I best start putting money aside for this. This doesn't include flights, yikes - flights will be released just after August and we'll shop around for a good deal. I know this sounds alot and is eye watering for some but for us it's worth every penny.

I don't think I've ever really set myself a debt free date on my diaries so I've decided to set a target right now to be debt free by Feb 2019. That's means I have to meet payments of approximately £300 a month for the next 20 months. Knowing myself I'll probably aim to do this far earlier but at least I have something to work towards.

I also decided to have a gander at car insurance yesterday after my figures showing double last year's premium. The cheapest I've found so far is around £472.00 which is a new quote from my current providers who always work out cheaper but this is still around approximately £50 more then last year. When it's closer to the time I'll have a chat with them as we also have other policies with them and see if they can do us a cheaper deal. I wouldn't mind last year I had business milage policy, this year's is just social and commuting. I guess all in all I'm looking at around £650.00 for car tax/car insurance to come out of my savings end of July/end of August. If I can get this lower then brilliant. I'll top my savings pot up on payday this month to cover these.

August seems to be an expensive month each year. On top of that I have the boys birthday. Aldo my sister also wants me to go visit her in London in August to discuss plans for her wedding next year. I'll have to set aside some money for that too.

So a spendy couple of months ahead. Nothing will deter me though. I'll find a way to pay these things whether it be cutting back in some areas compared to others, working extra shifts or using savings.

Anyhow I'm off to get ready for the day ahead.

Happy Thursday everyone