Debt Free by 40 - let the countdown begin!!!!

seahorsey

5 more sleeps til Santa!!!

As much as I’m looking forward to Christmas, I’m also looking forward to the opportunity with getting on with the debt busting and getting back on track with life once it’s over.

I’ve finished work now for the year, which is a massive relief. This year has been horrific from a work POV and if nothing else it has shown me I need a clean slate financially to give me more options work wise.

OH has been paid today which has got to last us until the end of January. In theory it should be ok as other than a very small top up shop tomorrow (we’ve dodged Christmas dinner this year and are instead at my parents!) we’ve no plans to venture anywhere near a shop until Christmas is done and therefore until official pay day is here.

So in the absence of being able to make any official progress this month, a few plans have been put in place. I’ve arranged to have a smart meter fitted for our gas and electricity. While not saving us money in itself, I’m hoping that it will at least educate us and make us more mindful of what we’re using. I’ve also signed up for a couple of challenges on the challenges board. The 20p / £2 collectors will hopefully help with a chunk towards Christmas or debts this time next year. The budgets have also been played with in light of my spending diary. It seems I’m massively under budgeting on food spend. Whilst what I’m budgeting is what ideally I’d like to see it at, realistically it’s going to take a lot of work to get it there. Whilst I’m working towards that I figure it’s better to have a more realistic budget in place in an attempt to avoid the end of month struggles.

Right , better sign off for now. Have fun x

seahorsey

Morning!
Poor DS has been up coughing for the last hour and through most of yesterday, think it’ll be a quiet day of snuggles and TV in the hope that he fends it off in time for Christmas.

Popped into our local town yesterday as had a gift voucher for a local beauty salon and had booked to have my nails done. It felt very extravagant as isn’t something I’d usually do, but it was a nice little ‘free’ treat. Town was heaving by the time I left, but fortunately I managed a quick food shop whilst I was there (it’s amazing how having to carry the shopping bags across town curbs your spending!) and also picked the last of the gifts up from boots. Was amazed to see that I have £18 in points, so I grabbed a copy of the gift catalogue to have a flick through and make a quick list of things to look out for in the sale - I can use my points to kickstart next years pressie stash :j

I’m going to spend some quality time with by bullet journal this weekend and set out some goals for 2019. Obviously debt busting will feature heavily, but also want to set myself some personal goals in a bid to increase personsal happiness and wellbeing and improve our quality of life as a family.

Have a great weekend - 3 more sleeps :j

seahorsey

Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas. Ours has been lovely and we have all been well and truly spoilt by family and friends. Eaten and drunk far too much, but heigh ho it’s only once a year.

Managed to get 3 pressies for next year sorted in the boots sale with my points, so the stash is started for next year.

Set myself a few targets for next year, both financial and personal. The first 3 are
1. Lose 2 stone (by end of March)
2. £300 spending money for mini break at Easter
3. £1000 emergency fund by mid year

I hoping to fund the spending money and emergency fund via eBay sales, fb sales, car boots etc. The emergency fund is particularly important as our lack of one seems to be the root cause of our debt. I’ve tried and failed before to address this, as it’s always more tempting to throw any extra income at the debt to get it cleared sooner. Need a change of mindset on this one!

Anyways better go - DS is desperate for me to set up his new toys!

seahorsey

A couple of post Christmas eBay sales have kickstarted the emergency fund - currently £27.50/£1000. Not much but a start all the same! Have just dragged a box of stuff out to list, it’s my challenge for my early mornings whilst I’m off work - get up to date with my eBay listings! I find it pretty much impossible to lie in now so will put the extra hour or two to good use.

I cancelled Amazon prime on Xmas eve and have received a £7.99 refund into my account. It had its uses but I wasn’t using it anywhere near enough to warrant paying £7.99 for it.

Need to kickstart my running ASAP. I’m entered in a half marathon in May so need to give myself a kick up the bum and get back out there. Will be tough to begin with but I’m hoping I’ll soon fall back in love with it.

Going to brave the sales today. DS has a couple of Christmas pressies that I need to swap for bigger sizes and also need to pay my Christmas money into the bank. I will allow myself a couple of treats out of it if I see anything I really like, but I really want to save the majority for a rainy day.

Have a good day all x

seahorsey

So I survived the sales! Managed to swap DS pressies (pjs) for some that had been reduced in the sale in his size, so he’s ended up with 3 pairs for the price of the 2 he was gifted, so that’s all good.

Two more eBay sales totalling £17 mean the emergency fund is currently at £44.50/£1000. I did work out earlier that to build the emergency fund up by 30th June would equate to £5.52 per day starting 1st Jan. Makes it seem more achievable. There are payment a day challenges on the challenge board so will look at joining them to keep me on track.

Had an email through offering £12 off £60 online supermarket shop, so have that arriving over the weekend. Our weekly shop is averaging approx £85 - this came in at £61, so I’m pleased with that.

Anyway it’s past my bedtime so I’d better go before I drop off!!!!!

seahorsey

Morning! Just waiting for the online shop to arrive early time = cheap delivery :T

Nothing much to report. Another £7.50 eBay sale added to the emergency fund takes it to £52/£1000. Really need to tighten the belt this month to ensure that the pot doesn’t get dipped into. Going to be a very very long and tight month, but I’m determined that we’ll get through it somehow!

Managed to get £5 refunded via eBay for an item that was nothing like described, small victories and all that, but to be fair I was going to just write it off, so everything’s a bonus.

Ventured to park run yesterday - my first run in 3 months :eek: whilst it wasn’t great it wasn’t bad either. I can still run, although a lot slower as it feels like much harder but it’s a start, I’m back on the horse so to speak! Also weighed in 5.5lb put on over Xmas week :mad: - I did enjoy it tho :rotfl: time to knuckle down and get rid of the excess!

Right best go - hoping to get a quick meal plan scrawled out before the shopping arrives

pidge04

Good to read you had some wins yesterday!

Yes, I’m looking at January as a challenge which I will get through!

seahorsey

Morning - pidge04 it’s certainly going to be a challenge!!! Pay day is still 3.5 weeks away :eek:

Nothing much to report - Christmas is officially over for another year and I’m back at work To be fair I was beginning to crave a bit of normality and routine again, so here’s to a new year. Fingers crossed my this time next year I will be reporting mega debt busting results :T

Task for today is to blitz the house, get the decorations down and hopefully sort the garage a wee bit. I know I’ve got some bits and pieces in there that can go on fb selling pages, so hopefully make some pennies along the way.

So after my park run this time last week I’ve clocked up a further 13km, not a massive achievement, but considering I’ve not run in 3 months it’s feeling good to be back out there. I’ve got some races booked (thank you Santa!) to help keep me motivated. The first is a 5km in March, followed by a 5 mile in May and a half at the end of May. Very tempted with another half at beginning of June as I loved it so much last year, but will see how the training and pennies go before booking.

2019 is going to be the year I get organised. As I’ve mentioned before I seem to spend a lot of my life living in chaos and no matter what time I’m awake it’s a rush to get out the door. I’m conscious I spend a lot of time on line (pretty ironic as I’m tapping away here), so will aim to limit this. It’ll also help limit my spending as a massive chunk of my impulse buys are done on line. I’ve also set myself a £300 limit for clothes purchases this year (no idea if this is a lot or not as I don’t know what I spent last year, but by having a limit it may help me think twice before clicking the add to basket - eBay is my downfall!).

Right, I may have 30 minutes no before DS wakes - time to get cracking!

Happy new year x

AdventureWanted

Hi,
Just finished reading your diary and have subscribed. Good luck with your 2019 goals .

Kitten868

Hello!

Have you Marie Kondo'd your place? It's a big job but with huge rewards! Lucky for you she now has a tv show to teach you her ways. Essentially you pull everything out and only put it back if it 'sparks joy'. Don't keep holding on to stuff just because it cost a lot of money or it was a gift from your auntie. Only keep the stuff you want. I've found it liberating and it's enabled me to be so much more organised with day to day cleaning and tidying. Plus you'll have loads in your eBay box to sell.

With your clothes budget is it just for you or are you including your DS? I find it impossible trying to budget for my two. Every time I think I'm ahead of the game the kids outgrow or need something else. Last time it was rain coats. They've never needed rain coats ever before - standard coats weren't up to the job. Blooming weather. Warm and wet.

You're doing really well. You can do this. Xxx