DD's accountability thread

DD265

beanielou wrote: »

I dident rate the Feliway at all.
All cats are different.

Luckily ours seem to do well with it - one in particular sits in front of the diffuser for minutes at a time. :rotfl: It's a small price to pay for less stressed cats as we move.

I have unliked a load of pages on Facebook. These past few months I have been very good at unsubscribing from marketing emails, but I still let myself follow some pages on FB and then I often get drawn in to their sales etc. I know what the brands are, and if I've saved up the money for the purchase then I can re-subscribe knowing that I'm ready to buy when there's a good deal.

I've managed to avoid any sale or even random shopping, sticking just to things related to the house move. I was thinking about not buying any new clothes at all in 2019 but if I actually get my backside into gear and lose weight I am going to need some smaller clothes, plus some things will wear out. Therefore, I'm going to adopt a one-in, one-out rule for clothing purchases next year.

Feeling a bit frustrated on the new house front today. I just want to know when we're moving in, what it's going to cost bills wise, how much space we have for appliances etc. I know it'll probably happen very quickly once things get moving and I'll be complaining that we need more time. Today though, I just want to crack on.

beanielou

Good idea on the one in & one out for clothes.
I try to stick to it as much as I can.

DD265

Happy new year

Went out/away for NYE. Had a great time and have spent within budget but more than I would've liked. This just means I have less to spend in January, which shouldn't be an issue as I'm currently declining all social invites, and planning on a large number of NSDs.

Following on from what I was saying about unsubscribing from newsletters/unsubscribing from adverts, I've unsubscribed from the charity shop buys thread on here. It rekindled my love for rummaging in the charity shops and I don't need that love right now when I'm trying to spend as little as possible. Luckily we only have one charity shop within walking distance (i.e. lunch time danger zone) and I can walk in the opposite direction away from the shopping.

I'm most certainly not ready to go back to work tomorrow. It doesn't feel like new year, or January at all. I do feel like I've had a break from work, but with the tooth related pain the time off has not been as productive as I had hoped so I feel like there's some catching up to do. Best get on with it. :cool:

DD265

Most of the bills etc have gone out now; there are still a few stragglers but all budgeted for. Originally I had less than £13 fun money this month - I paid in £25 left over from NYE yesterday then had my claim for the chiropractor paid in today, so I've got over £70 now and feeling more chilled. Any left over will either go towards the new house or into the mortgage or credit card over payments.

I wasn't certain about paying the extra £100 off the MBNA card (making £200 in total, £100 still to go for the Barclaycard) but did it anyway, and feeling better about it today after having a bit of money in. I'd like to make another £100 over payment this month which would make a nice 5%. I'd rather pay round £s than round %s if that makes sense, but if I can achieve both then all the better. My birthday is coming up and if I'm lucky enough to get any money, I might treat myself with an over payment rather than a shopping spree.

Today is shaping up to be another NSD. I don't count direct debits, standing orders or cash; the cash is 'spent' when I withdraw it as far as my budget is concerned. Saturday will be a spend day as we'll have the food shop to do, and we're going out for lunch for a relative's birthday. The main spending I'm trying to stop is my lunch time excursions to Tesco or the corner shop, as well as periodic splurges on clothes.

I've got WW this evening and the membership billing date is coming up (Sunday). I get my membership discounted through Vitality; £30 for 6 months, but they extend it to 12 months if you go twice a month. Normally it doesn't get extended, I get charged (can't remove my billing details), and then I have to claim a refund. I've emailed Vitality today so hopefully it'll go smoothly for once!

I still need to do the hand washing. The drying rack is just sat all lonely on the bath, and the jumpers are on the shelf. I promise I will do that one job today!

DD265

The hand washing is done! When it comes to buying a washing machine, I'm definitely going to make sure it has a hand wash cycle and that the reviews of that specific function are reasonable. Next on my to do list is the scanning of paperwork. The shredding can count as a separate task as both are quite hefty jobs.

I transferred £15 from my fun money to the mortgage over payment fund today. It's only 1% of the 1% target for this year, but it felt achievable.

Made the decision to take my hair back to brunette. The red is going to have to grow out but I might be able to do ombre or transition through auburn. Admittedly my appointment isn't until Tuesday, so I might change my mind between now and then, but I think the upkeep will be easier (read cheaper as I can spread appointments a bit more or down the line DIY the colour) so it's just another sacrifice I'm making to achieve our financial freedom.

I won't lie, I feel like I've given up a lot the past couple of years and occasionally I do begrudge it, largely because my OH hasn't given anything up. He didn't have much to give up really as his hobbies are minimal, but still. Being honest, typically it was me living beyond my means whereas my OH doesn't - though he struggles to build savings too. I pushed for the good career etc and yet still had to cut back, whereas he hasn't and it's not a case of taking a lower paid job that you love! When you're in the 'I earn X so I deserve Y' mindset it's easy to see how debt can spiral! There are a lot of stories on here about one partner racking up debt but both benefiting, and whilst that isn't true for all of the credit card balance, it's true for a fair chunk.

When I talk about living on one salary, I mean mine - we couldn't pay the bills (even without servicing the debt) on his. If we do have children, then he may go part time or be a stay at home parent, whereas right now I don't have that choice. I can't see me wanting to be a SAHM anyway but I do like to keep my options open. It might be that the bills in the new house are lower than we think and we can survive on his current salary, but I would be very surprised. If he changes to a higher paid job then some new doors might open.

If I changed career I know what I'd do, but it wouldn't pay as well and would involve unsociable hours/shifts. Not ideal for our current life stage. Plus I feel like I've got my career and now it's his turn, so I'll stay where I am. But I do hope he takes his turn! We were talking yesterday about how he has the potential to retrain, once we're settled. I said another degree is out of the question (unless it's via the Open University whilst working full time) but professional courses, or even entry level in a different career is perfectly viable. He just needs to decide what...

Tomorrow I'll feel differently, and be pleased to making a dent in our debt and building savings, and to be in the fortunate position where we can buy a house. And when the mortgage is paid off (in our 40's, hopefully!) then I can have bright red hair again :rotfl:

Edit - oh dear, that turned into a bit of a rant. I was (and am) feeling very motivated though and like I say, having slept on it I'll be fine!

DD265

Yesterday was a spend day but all within budget. Today has been a NSD which I'm pleased about - that's 4 out of 6 so far, and a good start on my goal for the month. I should manage 4 NSD next week, maybe 5 at a push. I could withdraw some cash for the 5th when I do the food shopping, but that feels a bit like cheating.

I also had my beauty appointment yesterday, and it ended up cheaper than was expected. I used some of the surplus to treat us to a takeway last night. I have some loyalty points built up so need to book something with those.

We took a load of stuff to the charity shop earlier, and have a bit more to go as well. I still need to declutter my sale items but I'm expecting that as we start packing we'll find more things to donate. Once the sale items are decluttered, the packing can commence! They're going to be at the back of the pile of boxes.

Initially I'm going to pack up everything in the spare bedroom and stack it against one wall - I'm thinking I'll leave our smart coats and one of OH's suits in the wardrobe just in case, but jackets and my dresses can be packed away. After that, I can pack the books and DVDs from downstairs. I do feel like my organisational skills are going to be put to the test over the next couple of months! The trick is not to take it too far, and make life harder than it needs to be.

DD265

The paperwork is scanned - I'll make the shredding my next task but it's a bit late tonight as my shredder is not at all quiet.

I managed another NSD today, but only just. I was making an impulse purchase; I've wanted some specific pens for a while, and saw that they were on offer (6 for £8) which would've saved almost £10. Had them all in my basket, then remembered that today was meant to be a NSD. So if I sleep on it, and I still want them tomorrow (which is already marked as a spend day) and the offer is still on, and I'm happy to use some of my fun money then fair enough.

The payment for the Barclaycard went out today as well, so I've updated my signature. I don't have any balance transfer offers at the moment. I wouldn't need it until November but it's an incentive to get the MBNA card paid off - the last payment would need to come out of October's salary. Typically come October I'd be scrabbling around to pay my car insurance, but I'm budgeting for that monthly now so that won't be an issue. I've also got at least one £500 (pre tax) bonus coming at the end of January so I'm aiming to pay off £900 in total at the end of the month. Really bad timing given the house but it's the only guaranteed bonus I'll get this year.

I'll need to get used to having less fun money, but I've played with some numbers and it is doable. I will prioritise savings into the emergency fund, then once that's up to £1000 I'll probably stop saving temporarily. If I can find an extra £400 for the Barclaycard over the course of the year, I could actually be credit card debt free by Christmas! Now there's an incentive

beanielou

Sure you can do it

DD265

Thanks beanielou, I think I can too.

My main concern is the (potential) £1k dental work, though I had forgotten about the promised £250 refund and will follow up with the practise manager this week. I could pay it tomorrow if I had to, but I would be concerned about something else happening whilst I was still chasing my tail. I've decided that I'll continue to save the money for this specifically at £100 a month, but when it comes to it, I'll pay the balance from my emergency fund (growing by £50 a month).

To that end, I'm going to save the extra MBNA payments I want to make and apply them in a lump sum later. On the one hand it'll be frustrating to have the balance sat there, knowing I have the money to pay it down, but on the other it means I have options. There would be nothing worse than making a payment to the MBNA card on Monday, only to have toothache in the needs-root-canal tooth on Tuesday!

My hair appointment was £20 less than expected today, so I'm pleased with that. I'm brunette again, which means I do have the option of dying my hair at home if I want to, or at the very least spreading my appointments a little further apart. Today was a spend day, but I'm pleased with my 5/8 so far this month. Oh, and I've decided not to buy those pens!

Spent some time filling in the life insurance paperwork earlier. We're hopefully not too far off exchanging, so it's a case of getting things in place now. Exciting! :cool:

beanielou

Happy new hair