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My journey to a debt free life
Comments
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You're in a very determined mood with regard to the decluttering OBL
. I'm sure the housework will be much easier when you've finished and it will benefit your mood too.
My DH has lots of boxed of cables too and it drives me potty :mad:. I will never have a minimalist house while I live with him, but at least I can do as much as I can stop it becoming too cluttered.
I agree with hiding childrens' toys and seeing which ones they ask for. If they don't miss them after six months then they could probably go. Rotating their toys is good too, so they're not all floating around the house at the same time.Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally
Debt in July 2017 = £58,766 😱 DEBT FREE 31 OCTOBER 2017 :T 🎉
EMERGENCY FUND 1 = £50/£5,000. EMERGENCY FUND 2 = £10/£5,000.
CHRISTMAS SAVINGS = £0/£500. SEF = £1,400/£12,000 PREMIUM BONDS ME = £350. PREMIUM BONDS DH = £300.
HOLIDAY MONEY = £0 TIME LEFT TO PAY OFF MORTGAGE = 5 YEARS 1 MONTHS0 -
I couldn't go the full minimalist route, OBL, but I do think William Morris was onto something when he said 'Have nothing in your homes which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful', or words to that effect. I think I've reached a point where I don't really have very much around now that I don't actually like. Sometimes, especially for ex-spenders like myself, it's a case of simply outgrowing all the tons of stuff bought back in the Spendy Years. And no longer being suckered in by those pesky sale rails helps, too.
The guys who's podcast I'm listening to quoted William Morris the other day,it's a quote I'm going to start abiding by because it covers all bases and is a really useful way of deciding what to keep and what to get rid of,
They also advocate that you tailor minimilism to suit yourself and your circumstances,so you can be quite flexible with it,they suggest you only keep things that add value to your life and this also helps me to decide what to get rid of
I'm terrible for assigning sentimental feeling to all sorts of objects that you really shouldn't be feeling sentimental about ,I kept some old towels because my mum gave them to me about 20 years ago,they werent any good for their intended purpose but 8 kept them anyway,I finally got rid of them to the clothes bank so that's a step in the right direction
I did go and look at a house tour that one of them posted on their website of his apartment and it was so minimal to a level I will never reach but I have to say just looking at the photos made me feel really calm,I'm sure my heart rate actually slowed down,it was very weird :rotfl:Original Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,510 Owed = £11,1201 -
HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »You're in a very determined mood with regard to the decluttering OBL
. I'm sure the housework will be much easier when you've finished and it will benefit your mood too.
My DH has lots of boxed of cables too and it drives me potty :mad:. I will never have a minimalist house while I live with him, but at least I can do as much as I can stop it becoming too cluttered.
I agree with hiding childrens' toys and seeing which ones they ask for. If they don't miss them after six months then they could probably go. Rotating their toys is good too, so they're not all floating around the house at the same time.
I am feeling very motivated Hairy, the house is already looking a lot tidier and your right it does really help my mood,I had got into the habit of not washing the dishes before bed and doing them in the morning instead, but coming down to a bowl full of washing up then annoyed me for the rest of the day,so the new rule is to make sure the kitchen is clean and tidy before bed
I can home from work tonight and my living room looked so clean and tidy,then I went into to kitchen and DD had cleared up from cooking her tea so that was lovely and clean too,it just made all the difference to my mood to come home to a tidy house
The idea is also to streamline your belongings so you don't have to spend lots of time organising and tidying things that you don't actually need away,this frees up time for you to do the things you do enjoy,so more time for hobbies,I like spending time in my garden but it's got into a mess over the last year because I spend so much time sorting the house out I don't have time for the garden,this year I will be able to speed my way through the house and concentrate on doing the things i actually enjoyOriginal Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,510 Owed = £11,1201 -
Well not a bad day at work today,I was in clinic all day so was kept busy,the only downside is that there are still lots of biscuits knocking about down there so my diet went out the window again today,I really need to get a handle on my diet because my work trousers were awfully tight this morning :eek:
As mentioned above I came home to a lovely tidy house tonight so was able to just have a nice hot shower chuck on my pjs and chill out
Tomorrow is my day to look after DGS and I'm really looking forward to seeing him, I haven't seen him since Christmas day:eek:
I'm not sure what my plans are yet but I have a few ideas of things I want to get done,I could bag up some more clutter and put it under the buggy to take to the charity shop,I do have some washing that needs doing and I must sort out a hair cut because my hair is getting a bit long for my liking now,I will see how I feel and what sort of mood DGS is in before I decideOriginal Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,510 Owed = £11,1201 -
I agree about the tidying. I hate coming down in the morning to a mess, or coming home from work to one. Since being poorly, I have let the house get in a bit of a mess, so really need to get on and sort everything out. I have lots of plans, just not had the energy to do it.
Sounds like you are doing well:)DMP 2015 £57,549, now £36,112 (37% paid)
EF £200 Mortgage OP's this year £115
There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the End of Every Day!0 -
Lifeisforliving19 wrote: »I agree about the tidying. I hate coming down in the morning to a mess, or coming home from work to one. Since being poorly, I have let the house get in a bit of a mess, so really need to get on and sort everything out. I have lots of plans, just not had the energy to do it.
Sounds like you are doing well:)
Thanks,I know what you mean about having no energy,I do struggle with my energy levels because of the fibro and I get anaemic quite quickly sometimes too,last year seemed to start off badly for me with lots of viruses and that had a knock on effect over the year and I think this is what led to me letting the house go a bit,but this year although I still feel tired sometimes it's a normal tiredness and not exhaustion like last year
I hope you get better soon and it doesn't drag on like mine did last year, I've been taking Echinacea and eating oranges like they are going out of fashion to try and ward off the lurgies going round at workOriginal Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,510 Owed = £11,1201 -
Had a lucky moment this morning,I had to be up at 6.30 and I had set my clock but forgot to switch it on,I woke up dead on time luckily
I have DGS here today, he is a lot better but not back to perfect health yet,we have read some books and played with his cars and track I got him for Christmas,he has played with the box they came in:rotfl:
I was going to go out but I really didn't feel like it so decided to have a day at home and concentrate on getting my washing done,I've stripped my bed and that is now drying ready to go back on and I've hung one load up and put another load on
DGS has gone for a nap so I'm having five minutes peace :T
I was just sitting here and thinking about my money and Ive decided to change things a bit
At the moment I take out the cash for food shopping and put that in envelopes,I'm going to keep on doing that as it helps me ration out my food money instead of spending it all in the first week after payday:eek:
I then work out my bill money and leave that in the bank to cover the bills so that is staying the same,then I take a set amount to pay into my two savings accounts,any spare just gets left in my account ,this is the area I'm changing,I'm going to put it all in the savings knowing that it's still there if I desperately need it but if I decide to buy anything that isn't in the budget I will have to transfer it back to my current account,this will mean logging into my online account and I hate doing that so hopefully it will give me time to consider if I really want to spend that money,it will still be available if I have an emergency but won't just be sitting there being wasted on things I probably don't need,I'm going to put it in the emergency fund and I'm hoping that once it's in there I won't want to spend it unless it's a genuine emergency or it's something that I definitely need like work shoe etc etc
While doing this I need to set myself a small personal pocket money allowance ,I haven't worked out how much this will be yet and it will be dependent on each months wages so I will have to see
January's pay shouldn't be too disastrous because I think I had a Saturday and a Sunday for my unsocial hours in December, January's pay will be better because I have a Saturday and two Sundays unsocial in that month so I will get that in Februarys pay
As I realised last year I should be able to plan my budget really carefully because I know quite a bit in advance when I'm working and what my unsocial hours are going to be so this allows me to plan quite well,I just need to be that organised person that I know I can be and keep track of itOriginal Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,510 Owed = £11,1202 -
Onebrokelady wrote: »
The idea is also to streamline your belongings so you don't have to spend lots of time organising and tidying things that you don't actually need away,this frees up time for you to do the things you do enjoy,so more time for hobbies,I like spending time in my garden but it's got into a mess over the last year because I spend so much time sorting the house out I don't have time for the garden,this year I will be able to speed my way through the house and concentrate on doing the things i actually enjoy
This is exactly the reason that I don't like clutter. I've also decluttered the garden a bit last summer as I cut down a big bush that needed constant pruning and blocked my view of the garden. I also cut down our side hedge the year before that. Now there is a lot less pruning to do I can use the time saved to grow flowers and bulbs in pots which we can all enjoy.
Also as you say if the house is decluttered it does free up time for more enjoyable activities. I feel quite inspired to declutter now when I get over this horrible cold .
I hope you're having a good day with DGS today.
Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally
Debt in July 2017 = £58,766 😱 DEBT FREE 31 OCTOBER 2017 :T 🎉
EMERGENCY FUND 1 = £50/£5,000. EMERGENCY FUND 2 = £10/£5,000.
CHRISTMAS SAVINGS = £0/£500. SEF = £1,400/£12,000 PREMIUM BONDS ME = £350. PREMIUM BONDS DH = £300.
HOLIDAY MONEY = £0 TIME LEFT TO PAY OFF MORTGAGE = 5 YEARS 1 MONTHS0 -
Onebrokelady wrote: »Had a lucky moment this morning,I had to be up at 6.30 and I had set my clock but forgot to switch it on,I woke up dead on time luckily
I have DGS here today, he is a lot better but not back to perfect health yet,we have read some books and played with his cars and track I got him for Christmas,he has played with the box they came in:rotfl:
I was going to go out but I really didn't feel like it so decided to have a day at home and concentrate on getting my washing done,I've stripped my bed and that is now drying ready to go back on and I've hung one load up and put another load on
DGS has gone for a nap so I'm having five minutes peace :T
I was just sitting here and thinking about my money and Ive decided to change things a bit
At the moment I take out the cash for food shopping and put that in envelopes,I'm going to keep on doing that as it helps me ration out my food money instead of spending it all in the first week after payday:eek:
I then work out my bill money and leave that in the bank to cover the bills so that is staying the same,then I take a set amount to pay into my two savings accounts,any spare just gets left in my account ,this is the area I'm changing,I'm going to put it all in the savings knowing that it's still there if I desperately need it but if I decide to buy anything that isn't in the budget I will have to transfer it back to my current account,this will mean logging into my online account and I hate doing that so hopefully it will give me time to consider if I really want to spend that money,it will still be available if I have an emergency but won't just be sitting there being wasted on things I probably don't need,I'm going to put it in the emergency fund and I'm hoping that once it's in there I won't want to spend it unless it's a genuine emergency or it's something that I definitely need like work shoe etc etc
While doing this I need to set myself a small personal pocket money allowance ,I haven't worked out how much this will be yet and it will be dependent on each months wages so I will have to see
January's pay shouldn't be too disastrous because I think I had a Saturday and a Sunday for my unsocial hours in December, January's pay will be better because I have a Saturday and two Sundays unsocial in that month so I will get that in Februarys pay
As I realised last year I should be able to plan my budget really carefully because I know quite a bit in advance when I'm working and what my unsocial hours are going to be so this allows me to plan quite well,I just need to be that organised person that I know I can be and keep track of it
That sounds like a good plan OBL. It's very easy to fritter when you have money readily available.Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally
Debt in July 2017 = £58,766 😱 DEBT FREE 31 OCTOBER 2017 :T 🎉
EMERGENCY FUND 1 = £50/£5,000. EMERGENCY FUND 2 = £10/£5,000.
CHRISTMAS SAVINGS = £0/£500. SEF = £1,400/£12,000 PREMIUM BONDS ME = £350. PREMIUM BONDS DH = £300.
HOLIDAY MONEY = £0 TIME LEFT TO PAY OFF MORTGAGE = 5 YEARS 1 MONTHS1 -
While on the subject of decluttering. Have you read or watched Marie Kondo? She is very good, her book was very inspirational. Her method is that you declutter by category, rather than by room or cupboard etc and you pick up each item in turn and decide if it brings you joy.....If not then it gets thrown out or recycled or donated. We did it a couple of years ago and went through all the house except the garage. We really got rid of quite a lot, but I fear that we have since got cluttered again and I need another go. Of course OH won't let me declutter his rubbish wardrobe or the shed..lol:rotfl:DMP 2015 £57,549, now £36,112 (37% paid)
EF £200 Mortgage OP's this year £115
There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the End of Every Day!0
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