Thistle grasps the nettle (again)!!

Thistlewhistle

Afternoon everyone :wave:,


I've been lurking around for a couple of weeks having migrated over from the MFW Diary forum after deciding that everyday debtbusting is a better focus for me right now. As my mum says..."Your mortgage will look after itself!" and she's right. I tried to remortgage to get a new deal but I can't get anywhere near what I'd need to borrow because I'm carrying too much Credit Card debt around with me. So that's my new focus!:j


I'm self-employed as a Consultant for a well known weight loss company (not the one owned by Heinz!), and run 4 groups per week. I took a decision last August (2017) to step away from my manager role because I was finding it just too stressful. It was a big monthly pay drop:eek: and REALLY scary:eek: but I find I'm managing Ok and so much less fraught:eek: and stressed out. So now I just look after the members of my groups which is where my heart really is. I am earning just enough to make ends meet at the moment but the potential to grow is massive, which I find very exciting!:D


The only debts I have are on the car of my dreams:T which I purchased in May 2017. I financed a chunk of the cost through a good 0% credit card deal which runs to June 2020, and the rest through a finance company. The interest is disgusting:eek::eek::eek: but at age 45, I just decided that for once I was going to have what I wanted instead of always making do. Call me rash but I don't care. For me and OH, driving around the Yorkshire Dales in an open top car is what we love to do so we're doing it and that's that!!:beer:


So my plan going forward is to throw any spare cash at my CC debt (I'm paying off the minimum payment (automatic DD of about £45) + £65 (standing order) every month. The Finance Company get a further £220, so it's coming down. I should have it all cleared by June 2020 at this rate, but I want it cleared sooner.


Plans: :dance::dance:

• Watch my spends (I use YNAB so I'm totally on top of all my spending and budgeting), by batch cooking, grabbing cheaper deals at the supermarket, dropping brands (if I can stomach it), and shopping cleverly.
• Grow my groups to generate more income
• Grab every opportunity to cpver relief groups
• Grab every opportunity to cover groups for colleagues on holiday

I'm actually quite excited to be back posting on here again as I used to be an avid diarist, but just lost focus.


Happy Friday everyone!!:j:j:j


Thistle;)

Thistlewhistle

Me again,:j


Time to put my plan into action already as I must pop to the supermarket to get some groceries. YNAB tells me I've £52.94 in my grocery budget until next Friday so I'm going to have to be very savvy about what I buy. However, the freezer is stuffed full of fish, chicken and meat and the cupboards are full of rice, pasta, cous cous and tinned foods so i should only need fresh fruit and veg, plus the odd thing or two. Hope fully the lady with the whoops gun will have been busy and I can bag some bargains!


I often buy a large roasted chicken which I can get about 6 meals out of if I don't go mad. I love stuff like lentils, barley and rice so I bulk my meals out with that kind of stuff.


Plus I'm on a cutting phase at the gym so I'm not going mad foodwise anyway. Filling, high satiation foods are the name of the game for September ready for my trip to Rome on 8th October.


Bargains here we come......


Thistle:p

rollercoasting

waving hello. Looking forward to seeing how you get on!

Thistlewhistle

rollercoasting wrote: »

waving hello. Looking forward to seeing how you get on!

Hello Rollercoasting, thanks for dropping by.


I've done particularly well on this shopping trip. I deliberately just picked up a basket instead of a trolley as that limits my spending before I even get into the shop!!


I'm chuffed with some of my purchases today. Because I'm working out at the gym a lot in order to change my physique and get fitter after major surgery in Nov 2016, I'm buying a lot of high protein foods of which meat, poultry and fish can be a real wallet-basher!!:eek:



Bargains bagged today....

• 40p Smoked mackerel fillet (was 80p)
• 69p half a cantalope melon (was £1.37)
• £1.16 for a whole trout
• 75p for a bag of trimmed leeks (down from £1.50) so I bought 3 packs!
• 75p for bag of Florette prepared salad (Refuse to pay £1.50 for bagged salad but 75p was a steal especially as it was a big bag!)

I cocked up on the turkey mince as I thought it was on offer but when I got to the checkout I found out I'd read the label on the wrong shelf, so the two packs cost me £8 but i can make several meals out of all that so not worried.


I love living where I do as our supermarket stocks vast amounts of Asian foods at ridiculously low prices so bought green lentils and chana dhal for next to nothing, along with turmeric and garam masala spices in 100g bags for the same price as Schw@rtz sell you 42g.


Some beef stewing steak for a root veg casserole tomorrow which will feed me three times if I chuck in enough veg.


Total: £20.06
which would have been less if not for the turkey debacle.


Soupmaker is already on cooking up a batch of leek, celery (found some in the fridge) & potato soup which will freeze.


Life is good!:D:D:D



Thistle;)

Thistlewhistle

Agreed to cover for a colleague tomorrow so that'll bag me an unexpected £60 earnings, some of which I'll use to augment the grocery budget, my fuel budget on YNAB, the rest I'll chuck at the MBNA Credit Card

Thistlewhistle

Covered the group this morning, but felt totally dreadful. I've got sinusitis and really bad this time. Been rumbling on for a couple of days now. Painful it is. All this not feeling good has contributed to me having a 5lb gain this morning too which has made me feel rubbish. Bleugh!!!!!


Still, it's £60 in the bag towards augmenting the groceries and fuel budgets plus a chunk for debt busting.


Now tucked up on my sofa, beef casserole simmering away for tea, pot of coffee brewing and I'm happy as I don't need to venture out today at all. I "might" pop to M0zzers about 6pm to check out the whoops shelves - there's always bargains to be had if you're quick enough.


Thistle;)

redofromstart

Happy new diary, and good luck with it.

Sinusitis is horrid - poor you. Hope it clears up quickly.

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

XSpender

I :heart2: YNAB and leek and potato soup too Good luck with the debt busting

Thistlewhistle

redofromstart wrote: »

Happy new diary, and good luck with it.

Sinusitis is horrid - poor you. Hope it clears up quickly.

Thanks redofromstart


I'm really cross too as I succumbed to a pop to the shop and bought Häagen Dazs salted caramel ice cream because I was feeling miserable. It was a small fortune.

Thistlewhistle

beanielou wrote: »

Happy shiny new diary

Thanks beanielou!


Thistle:)