In pursuit of happiness - the kebabmeister's debt diary!

Karmacat

Thats more like it! Enjoy the run - I'm off line now, to do a mystery shop, and what's more my sister's coming on it with me. I don't see her that much, so I'm chuffed today.

I keep scrolling back to see that moggy of yours. Lovely. Post more!

BWZN93

Hello fellow Bristolian! Good luck BTW, I shall be following your diary with interest. Please keep shouting at the council too - get councillors involved if you have to - I found them particularly helpful when I had an issue with a council tax error!

You have a beautiful cat too!

Jo x

donner_kebab

Good luck with your shop Karmakat! I don't get to see my brother much; it's great when we are together. Makes me more determined to sort this money problem out so that I can perhaps one day live closer to him and the rest of the family, cause at the moment I don't live close to my brother or my dad (they are my only family apart from mini-me of course). Will have to get some more piccies of Buzz up here. He loves it when I come back from a run cause he tries to lick away the sweat off of my legs....ewwwww gross!

Hiya jw1096! Council are blimin useless in Brizzle ain't they!!! A few people have said I should get local councilors involved but I just wouldn't know where to start?!? Seriously this place should be blown up and have them all start again!

Have been thinking about the ol' money issues whilst running today, which may explain my rubbish running time (well I will blame it on that anyway!!!). Was thinking about all the stuff I pay out for each month, since January I had been saving each month for my daughter's birthday and xmas pressie so that this year these do not go on cards. Have done really well here and have managed to save enough to pay for them outright! Have been saving £2 and 20p so that I have enough now to get my blokie's pressies with cash so just have my bro, his girlf and the bambino, my dad's and his wife (my step mum) and my blokies parents to buy for. My dad is pretty much sorted out already (just need one more little gift) and my bro wants a computer game. Need to plan the xmas pressies this year and do it early so don't go spending an absolute fortune like all the years previous. Need to do the budgetting each month for my daughters child care too. Costs me a fortune over the summer and half terms so will start to save for this now.

Going to call Virgin later and have them drop my tv package down to the lowest one. Have the movies and sports etc and reality is I can't afford it so they will go and they will go today. That is gonna save me at least £25 quid a month as it is.

Also been thinking about how much I spend on food and drink. Wine is gonna stop right now too. A bottle usually sets me back at least a fiver a pop. Also meal wise, gonna stop it with the side dishes...e.g the garlic bread dough balls and the bag of salad etc. All that is stopping now. More importantly, my daughter is gonna have to start eating the same as me...every day. Usually I do a separate meal for her and then one for me. This is probably costing a bomb doing it this way! If she doesn't like what I am having then tough luck! My dad brought me and my bro up on his own since I was 6 years old and my bro was 3. My mum decided she didn't actually want kids and did a bunk and we had nothing to do with her after that. My dad brought us both up, living on Income Support and we all had to eat the same. So she will have to learn to like it or lump it! She is gonna be hacked off enough as it is with no sports of movies so this ain't gonna go down well anyway! But I am the parent here and must remember that!

Right I need to pop to the shop to get a few bits. Will be back later and then try to get all my direct debits, loan payments etc up on here to help get this SOA up together.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Luv the kebabmeister xxx

tealady

Right with the Councillors, you will have at least one who covers your area. Ask at you local library if you dont want to ring the Council (does your council have a web site - most do). There may be a committee for housing, if so writ to the Chair as well. I would enclose photos if you can, it hammers the point home more.

donner_kebab

Thanks for that tealady! Will have a look in a bit. The photos idea is good...you are right, will help hammer the point home!

LookingAhead

Hi d_k! :hello:

Awww your cat is beautiful. I am half in/half out with cats....part of me finds them stand offish and snobby and that annoys me and the other half just wants to fuss them and cuddle them endlessly! Anyway Buzz woudl definitely be on the latter!

Right......

Your councillors may well hold 'clinics' where you can make an appointment to go and chat about problems. If you get no joy with the council again this time - see if you can find out about these types of clinics/meetings. Your local town hall or library should be able to assist with this.

I am sure if you explain to your daughter about the cuts backs then she will be more on board. If you guys are working together towards a goal, she will feel involved and important. Good luck with that.

With regards to the presents such as computer games etc - make sure you check out Amazon marketplace for them - you don't have to buy brand new. And it's greener too!

I just wanted to add as well that I can relate to how you felt when you worked out how much you owe and it was more. When I worked my debt out in 2005 I thought it was about £15k or so - it was about £18.5k. My heart sank and I felt panicky.

But then, as lots of people say, once you've done that really painful bit of working it out - you know what you are dealing with and it can only get better from here.

Target the highest APR card first and see that reducing/wiped out then pay what you were paying on that towards the next one and see those cards disappear! It's very very rewarding.

All the cut backs you are making - they will all help. Every penny helps.

Stay positive honey - things will get better and remember you now have this forum and heaps of support. Post every bit of positive news because we all take inspiration from each other and like to see each other doing well.

LA xx

tigtag02

:wave:

Hi DK ~ we *met* on the lenny vs the girls thread and I have just caught up with your diary.

It may have been a shock fiding out that you owe more than you thought but judging by your diary so far you have the motivation for it not to be a problem (if that makes sense)

As far as your house in concerned I think the council want shooting :eek: I really would go down the local councillor route, they do appear to get things done Its a shame to admit it but life is a case of *those that shout loudest get seen soonest*

Good luck with everything and I will be following with interest

tigtag
xx

LookingAhead

Oh yes I meant to ask as well....have you got a priority list actually written down for the house? Take this to the meeting if you have one and also make sure it gets flashed to the council (and council workers!) at every possible opportunity.

You could even give them a photocopy! Why not?

donner_kebab

Hi LA and Tigtag,

I remember you tigtag! Have you stuck to the diet regime? I know I haven't! Kinda lost the plot a bit recently, but am no heavier than when I originally started so that's something I suppose! That is something else I need to tackle...could do with getting back on track in the food department! Believe me it was a shock last night...made me feel so sick it was awful! This whole house thing is making me more determined to sort the money out. One day I wanna be in a position to afford to get a nice place for me and mini-me. Will be checking out the local councilor route, no one should have to live in this mess!

LA, I was a bit like that with cats to begin with! But now I have buzz I am a huge cat lover! He is a bit cheeky, knows he is the man of the house and loves it...me and mini-me are just slaves to him! But wouldn't have it any other way! Am gonna spend some time this week going around the house with a fine tooth comb, writing up all the issues! They wrote to me a while ago and said that they were sending someone to come over and access the house to check it meets up to these new standards that all homes have to reach by 2010...I thought that would be great...apart from no-one showed up...surprise surprise :rolleyes: so will grill them about that too! Have spoken with my daughter re- the cuts! She isn't that fusses about the tv but pulled a horrible face when I told her she will be eating the same as me!!! Tough luck! Will be checking ebay / amazon for that game! Hopefully can get it a few quid cheaper!

I love this forum! Before when I was with the ex, he managed to cut me off from all my friends (no-one would speak to me when I was with him as everyone hated him so much) and we moved to Bristol so I left everyone behind. I don't have many friends here...none I can call real friends really which is a shame. I don't think I am a horrible person and would love to have more friends; it is so hard when you are bringing up a child on your own though. That's why I love coming on here and reading about everyone and talking to all the peeps! Everyone is truly lovely!

Right gotta start dinner soon for me and mini-me need to remember to chop the veggies really small so she is more likely to eat the things. Went to the shop and found a few items of food I can make into a meal for 10-20p each! Was well chuffed with that and the fact that I didn't buy myself a bottle of wine either! Need to finish off these Direct Debits and get them listed up here and try and get this SOA sorted. Work messed up my wages this month, great! So dunno where I am with that! Listed a replacement DVD on ebay to replace the one I sold on Friday. Got a few items of clothing to list on there too. Will help with the decluttering of this place!

Luv the kebabmeister xxx

LookingAhead

Aww you're doing really well.

The friends thing - you can deal with that as well as your confidence grows from getting yourself out of debt and tackling the house. It's amazing what people can achieve once they are free from unsuitable partners and also doing things for themselves.

This forum is great though isn't it? And who knows perhaps you can meet up, in time, with fellow DFW people in your area? It's possible!

Do you have a hand blender by the way? If so perhaps you can make nice home made soups for you and daughter to eat together with reduced price bread? Always a cheap way of getting veggies in the diet!

If you don't have a hand blender you could try for one on freecycle?