I hope I can do this

ChasingSunshine

I would never be able to keep a two week supply of treats at home. Still trying to beat the habit of buying multipacks of chocolate bars. In theory cheaper than buying one bar at a time but not good for my waistline or wallet as they seem to disappear a hell of a lot quicker than I planned. Wine is less of an issue but once the bottle is open well if it goes off it's a waste of money so..

I think with your new budget you are just going to have to review it as you go. I know mine needs to be changed every few months, sometimes it's little tweaks, sometimes sweeping changes but you will have a better idea as you go along and have lived with it for a little while.

ftbwannabe

Yesterday was a no-spend day. & a no-smoking day.
Today's a restaurant & pub day, yay! :j I've budgeted for it so will be guilt free:beer:

Also, today I cleared CC3! It was the card I used to pay for stuff on holiday recently, & before my LBM I would have been tempted to leave it as it 'wasn't much'. Now it's gone! happy dance...

jwil

Well done on clearing a card :T

Lacherlich

Good luck with your diary!

Can totally relate to a lot of what you have talked about; i.e restricting my social budget in an effort to throw more at my debt; which in theory should leave ample for what I want to do with my friends etc... yet somehow never is!

Food shopping is also similar to you; i have a budget but the odd trip to Tesco express and a bottle of wine later...!!

Its difficult. But i think the key is not to beat yourself up too much. As long as you dont go overboard with anything and are still paying off roughly what you want to each month. I make that mistake and feel disheartened; but its not easy. But keep going it will be worth it

efes_shareholder

well done on clearing a card - one of the monkeys knocked off your back

And well done with your smoke free day

Enjoy the meal ........but maybe getting the happy dance out of the way before you enter the pub

ftbwannabe

Thanks guys!
Stuck to my budget last night (actually spent less than planned) & managed to accept a drink without insisting I buy one back (friend knows I am saving & earns a lot more than me, but I'm not good at letting people treat me). Had such a massive pizza (Zizzi, tastecard) that I couldn't have managed dessert even if I'd budgeted for it.
Should be a quiet one today, then only 1 more day to go before the weekend :-)

ftbwannabe

Urgh, suddenly noticed that I had bungled a money transfer a few months back & was about to start paying interest on some of my mbna balance. Did a balance transfer to another card to keep it 0%, but that cost me £20 odd in fees so that's pretty annoying & now I have to redo my spreadsheets.

Still, at least I noticed. By being slightly obsessed with my debts these days & logging in everywhere so often, so far I've spotted a direct debit with the wrong details, another direct debit to a company I've never heard of, & narrowly missed paying interest on 2 cards. If my head was still in the sand, I wouldn't have noticed any of them.

ftbwannabe

Yesterday:
Had a big slump last night & felt really down & like I was making no progress. Eventually realised it was 99% likely to be because I haven't had a cigarette in a week & I just needed to let it pass.
Treated myself to some comfort tv & had an early night.
Woke up feeling shiny again, & now on week 2 of no nicotine, yay!
Listed some stuff on ebay & gumtree yesterday & woke up to £24 of sales, that cheered me up, too. In my gloom last night I'd forgotten I'd even listed stuff, even though I spent ages taking photos. Brains are weird.

efes_shareholder

Well done with the no smoking - in awe that you can do this cold turkey

It's bound to bring the odd mood swing as your body adjusts , we are after all only human

And win , win with the sales - I wish I had something to sell but after 3 moves in 7 years the final one back to my childhood bedroom , I am given away more then I can remember
Might get the odd £5 for my body :~)

ftbwannabe

Thanks! The only reason I can do it cold turkey is cos I'm stopping after a recent lapse, & I wasn't smoking loads - I'd been smoking 1 or 2 most days for a couple of months. When I gave up from being a long-term smoker, smoking way more a day, there's no way I could have done it like this. I would have burned the city down in rage, and then lit a fag off the embers.