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Put away your purse & become debt-averse
Comments
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Hello Diary friends,
Hope everyone surviving the stormy weather. We are in an amber warning area & today's weather has so far been brisk showers & strong winds. The wind is howling down the chimney, psychologically making it feel a lot colder than it actually is.
Today I sent some birthday money to my nephew's bank account. He is 19 today. It's birthday money, so I'm not fussed if it gets spent on cider & take-away, as long as he feels he's had a treat. Somehow though, I don't think he'll blow it all on those. 19 was a significant year for me, as a student. It was the year during which my carefully saved 6th form weekend job earnings were all spent, which meant there was no cushion to offset my overspending. It was great living in a big city with so much shopping, entertainment & eating out available. Age 19 - always remembered by me as the first year those minus numbers kept appearing on my bank statement, where they remained for over 2 decades, to be joined by plenty of other borrowing & consolidation debt. Before he went off to uni, I told my nephew the sorry tale of Aunty Foxgloves hitting student life in the big city & her head down the well approach to money management. He found it quite amusing in a 'Why would you even do that?' kind of way. Never say never, of course, but I really can't see him going the same financially sloppy route as me. Last time I saw him, he was telling me about the price advantages of shopping in A*di, lol, so I'm taking that as a good sign!
Stay safe,
F x
2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (36/100) 3) The Shrinking of Foxgloves 6.8kg/30kg
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)10 -
That's good about your nephew @foxgloves I was much like you. At 18 all my weekend job savings got blown and I still haven't recovered financially over 20 years laterLive the good life where you have been planted.
Fashion on the Ration Challenge 2022 - 15 carried over. Fashion on the Ration Challenge 2023 - 6 carried over. Fashion on the Ration Challenge 2024 - oops! My Frugal, Thrifty Moneysaving Diary7 -
At least we've learned a fair few things throughout the trajectory of the debt to reformed character journey, @Elisheba. I felt much happier in myself, & I think I even had more self-respect once all the frittering had stopped. After all, I was just spending somebody else's money really, wasn't I? Then having to pay it back..... for ages!
I learned that a simpler life makes me happier. It also makes for a 'greener' more sustainable lifestyle. And importantly, I learned that there is simply no bag of stuff I could come home with now, that would make me feel as good as being debt-free does.
You will get there, there's nothing like the feeling of paying off the last chunk of debt. Slow & steady wins the race, m'dear.
F x2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (36/100) 3) The Shrinking of Foxgloves 6.8kg/30kg
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)8 -
Hello Soggy Savers...... well, there's a chance it may not be soggy everywhere, but it certainly is here as we've had plenty of rain & sleet today. Hope nobody has sustained too much damage in the storm. I thought of @DawnW, @Onebrokelady, @HairyHandofDartmoor, etc, down in the South West, & I know the London area was pretty bad too. We have a damaged fence panel, but am hoping Mr F can fix it back into place if our neighbour doesn't mind him accessing it from his side.
Family coming for lunch tomorrow. My sister hasn't visited us since 2019 due to Covid but they are coming for lunch on route from the North to London tomorrow, which will be lovely. I am determined not to over-cater. I am the world's worst for this. They'll have had a hotel breakfast so I am slow cooking a hamhock atm for some nice ham rolls, will put out a couple of bowls of decent crisps, grapes & I've baked a cake - just need to ice it. I'm sure that will be sufficient. The ham is bigger than I thought, so have tweaked the meal plans to accommodate ham, eggs, mushrooms & home made jacket wedges. Any further leftovers can do a packed lunch or pizza.
I need to do a bit of mending later, but apart from that, I intend only to read & watch the last episode of 'Stay close', which I've been catching up with this week.
Oh, more ☔ ☔ just lashing the windows.
Stay cosy - cardis on!
F x2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (36/100) 3) The Shrinking of Foxgloves 6.8kg/30kg
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)8 -
There were lots of trees down etc locally, and some structural damage, but apart from OH having to go out in it to fix a fence panel that was coming apart, we were ok. Neighbours lost a corner bit off their roof though
The masonry / tiles etc fell just where they normally park their car, but luckily they had parked it elsewhere, so at least they didn't have the additional hassle of a damaged car to deal with. I gather it was worse right on the South coast.
I always tend to over cater too - annoying, but I do make sure that nothing gets wasted!7 -
We had a few plant pots blow over and the patio furniture ended up all over the place but all easily rectified.Have a lovely day with your sister tomorrow.I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping)7
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foxgloves said:At least we've learned a fair few things throughout the trajectory of the debt to reformed character journey, @Elisheba. I felt much happier in myself, & I think I even had more self-respect once all the frittering had stopped. After all, I was just spending somebody else's money really, wasn't I? Then having to pay it back..... for ages!
I learned that a simpler life makes me happier. It also makes for a 'greener' more sustainable lifestyle. And importantly, I learned that there is simply no bag of stuff I could come home with now, that would make me feel as good as being debt-free does.
You will get there, there's nothing like the feeling of paying off the last chunk of debt. Slow & steady wins the race, m'dear.
F x
I'm also much happier with a simpler life, and it gives me a real kick that not only am I sorting out my mess but I'm doing my little bit for sorting out the climate mess as wellLive the good life where you have been planted.
Fashion on the Ration Challenge 2022 - 15 carried over. Fashion on the Ration Challenge 2023 - 6 carried over. Fashion on the Ration Challenge 2024 - oops! My Frugal, Thrifty Moneysaving Diary5 -
Enjoy spending time with your sister tomorrow. I'm another who ends up over catering, I do not like the idea of people being hungry on my watch.
Next week we have some friends staying for a couple of days which I am so looking forward to, I am trying to balance the catering so we have enough but are not overrun with leftovers.Fashion on a ration 2025 0/66 coupons spent
79.5 coupons rolled over 4/75.5 coupons spent - using for secondhand purchases
One income, home educating family7 -
@Elisheba, Yes I agree. Back in the Spendy Years, I thought being environmentally aware meant buying 'green' products, which usually cost more than standard ones, especially the more aspirational ranges. In fact, the decision to consume less is a much more sustainable way to live. Cutting cleaning products to a minimum reduces plastic waste as well as chemicals going down the plughole. Re-purposing all sorts of packaging for garden use saves not only on buying pots, seed trays, plant labels, etc, but keeps them out of landfill. The old me would have tackled this by buying oodles of pots made from things like stewed seaweed & cow poo and thought 'Ooh, look at me being green'.
F x2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (36/100) 3) The Shrinking of Foxgloves 6.8kg/30kg
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)6 -
@Baileys_Babe, I'm glad it's not just me! I remember watching a Nigella Lawson cookery programme where she described herself as 'never knowingly under-catered' & I thought, oh that is exactly me! I love cooking - Mr F too - & I genuinely want guests to feel they've enjoyed nice food. I am evangelical about leftovers, so nothing is wasted - I've already added in a meal to use some of tomorrow's leftover ham & identified that there'll be a piece of cake for Monday's packed lunch box, probably a roll or two as well. I think I've got the right level of food this time. Hope so.
F x2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (36/100) 3) The Shrinking of Foxgloves 6.8kg/30kg
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)5
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