The long haul supporters thread...

ramblingtree

An update? Well... Things were going pretty well, but this weekend had a slight wobble and bought a couple of things for the house and had a lunch and a dinner out (OH birthday) so its gone a bit wrong. Ah well, these days happen, and at least the c**k ups are finally outweighed by the good behaviour so I'm not going to beat myself up!

HHOD - I feel your pain on the food shopping, I really have no idea how to get ours down anymore. Even basic brands seem so expensive compared to a couple of years ago, but will keep trying to reduce it, even if by a tiny amount.

I'm not much of one for optimism and boosting spirits, but everyone seems to be doing well, even with the small mistakes, so keep up the good work!
:T

In_Search_Of_Me

Longhaulers is about learning over time me thinks and making lifelong changes rather than the quick fix. I've been here for donkeys years and have changed but still have a way to go. Having said that there are huge positives for me which are hard to see when you feel low so some reminders, hopefully to remind us all...
- I am 100% happier than I was when shopping frenzied
- I've learned who my good friends are, and in some cases arent
- I have learned to be more thoughtful in gift giving but do still struggle on this - a close friend said you'll never have money cos you'll just buy bigger presents which is probably true and something I will always struggle with
- I love my home and am a real home bird now!
- Have learned to value the small things in life and enjoy things like homemade bread - this in turn means some people think I'm amazing cos I bake!! Cake in teh oven for a course as I type - they paid for it!
- Have made some lovely friends - weezl, kp, bob, taxi etc have all kept me going when its hard and I feel carp and they get what its like
- I have become something of a dfw evangelist - to the point that someone on course was rolling her eyes today! Dont care cos the woman I was talking to has lots of debt and I really hope WILL go and look at how much interest she is paying...baby steps...
- I do things now that I enjoy - cooking, allotment, making hm limoncello, vodka
- selling my crafty bits gives me confidence and cash along with satisaction that I have, in some cases, made someones day!
- I'm still learning....but my blips are cheaper than they were and I almost hyperventilate at spending 100 where before I'd have whacked it on cc without 2nd thought! As an eg once spent 270 on chanel face creams...that I was then allergic to (but did get a refund!)...
- I am closer to my mum than ever - its been hard for both of us being in debt but we've worked through things and are stronger than before...
- one day I will jusmp around the sitting room phone my mum in tears and be able to tell her that I'm debt free...even though will then have to work on the mortgage!!

For those struggling with grocery budget get yourselves over to old style and also have a look at weezles thread...she is quite incredible with her ability to eat on a minute budget, with variety and some yummy recipes like chicken liver pate etc...

Keeping_Positive

AAAARGH just posted a long post and lost it . Any ways basically Great Post ISOM. Ditto the lovely friends

talisker78

Hwllo,

Yes I would love a long haul number! Thank you!

I can empathise with some of the previous posts. Last month was a horiffic month - I went over budget by £100 and I wasn't best pleased about it. Its so frustrating watching all your hard work go down the drain. This month I'll try harder!

ramblingtree

Thanks ISOM, a great motivational post. Although new to these forums, I have been cutting back and becoming a bit of a DFW evangelist for some time, I hate seeing some of my wealthier friends waste money/food etc, I think, they earn a lot of money and have no debt, if they didn't waste money they would be even better off than they are now. I'm determined that even when I am debt free and living comfortably, I will not waste a single penny!
Thanks for the motivational boost, I really needed it this week!

Stan73

Good news was that we got guaranteed credit card at 0% for 15 months from mortgage supplier. I have recently taken another offer out so not wanting to try again but wife is going to so hopefullly in a few weeks we will have 75% of our debt on 4% or lower interest for at least the next year! This will hopefully allow us to get a good chunk of debt out of the way and we can apply for new cards next year - if available etc etc etc.
Other than that it has been a long 5 week month and we are finally able to do a proper food shop as payday for the wife is today and mine is tomorrow!
We have a wedding to go to this month which is great, it is my brothers and I am really looking forward to it but it is going to be expensive...I think this is the one area I hate about the mess my wife and I have got ourselves into, now we are handling our debts and our spending we look at fun things in a different way - that they are expensive rather than fun and I think that is a little sad.

Anyway here's to a year of nearly 0% and big reductions on the debt and a few bevvies at the wedding!

Happytogetdebtfree

stan 73 i went to a wedding at an expensive place and took mini shot bottles of my favourite drinks and i think i saved a fortune we bought cokes all day haha ha afterall why should i line someone elses pocket so there are ways to make it cheap...i borrowed an outfit from a friend and didnt spend cash on anew outfit bonus xx

dubgirl

Hello everyone and welcome to the new faces. Well we both still have our jobs, which is great and still chipping away at the debt, which is all you can do really. On a positive note, OH and I went to the bank on Tuesday to order OH a new cash card, as his had cracked. We also opened up another current account as we decided to try to have one account for mortgage, bills, debt repayment and the other account for any money that is left (ha ha) for food etx. I fully expected just to open up another basic account with a cash card, but to my pleasant surprise we are one step up and have an account with an electron card! I am taking this as a positive that things in terms of our credit rating have improved. PMA everyone x
PS been on stress managment training today so feeling extra positive, but dont expect that will last!

Happytogetdebtfree

thats great news everyone lets keep up the good work and get to the end of this dammned journey xx

In_Search_Of_Me

talisker youre no 161! Welcome!
Here is a link to weezl's thread that I mentioned;

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1157641&page=39

Mr and Mrs weezl have been my greatest dfw gift as we are now fast friends and she is a real inspiration for budgetting...even done me a pretty spreadsheet with colors and idior prooof to inspire me after my blippage!

wll done on the wedding hpgdf! Very frugal of you! Also good for you dubgirl re the card and having jobs...in this day and age not a bad thing eh!

My budget is doing ok but some days easier than others! As with all things! Also have to watch for bank hol tendency to "deserve" a treat!!