Taking back the control

Thick_n_Thin

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Well done on no alcohol yesterday and I am sure that you will notice the difference in your bank account and health over time. Nothing to say you cannot drink but as you say maybe plan for it. We do alcohol if we are having a meal out (not driving) or the odd bottle of wine on a Friday night which lasts up to Sunday. Not every weekend. Maybe just skip the alcohol aisles in the supermarket and if you have limited yourself to just one top up shop make sure that you don't pick up wine then. It is amazing how £5 or £6 adds up if you are buying wine every week.

Good news on ebay sales.

Thank you, I did exactly that and totally avoided the wine isle, it’s very strange but I didn’t actually miss it as much as I thought I would, I think it’s the ritual of opening a bottle of wine to wind down and watching a film with OH but last night I was quite happy with my diet coke:beer:

katsu

Hi TnT, maybe think about other treats you and OH can enjoy like some fresh fruit in water/sparking water, or some other nice drink that won't push up your calories or cost a lot.

The discipline of saving and clearing debt really does get addictive, I promise, so now that you are evaluating what you do, I'm sure you'll make longer lasting changes.

Thick_n_Thin

Thanks Katsu, managed to refrain from drinking again last night and had a really good nights sleep as a result, I always find I have a disturbed sleep if I have had even just one drink so that’s another benefit I have noticed already.

A no spend day today bar my eBay sales which I don’t count, have sold another 2 items today, only for a few pounds each but it all adds up and so far my sales should net me somewhere around the £35 mark after fees so I’m pleased with that and it’s another couple of things out of the house.
Not much else to report but feeling positive today!

Thick_n_Thin

A no spend day today, PayPal account is now up to £39.65, just need a couple more sales to make my mini target of £50. Will list a few more items on my day off on Thursday. Pay day is a week on Friday and the grocery budget has been spent however apart from a few things for packed lunches and milk ect I have a pretty decent chance of making it through if I plan accordingly.
I have been thinking a lot over the last couple of days about my relationship with money and one thing I have noticed is the more I want things the more stressful life feels, I have started removing my want from my mind and I have noticed that the stress eases pretty much straight away, I’m not sure if that makes sense at all but for example I was feeling a bit stressed out that I have no money in my purse and I don’t get paid for over a week however when I actually questioned myself on what I needed cash for I couldn’t come up with a reason, I have a roof over my head, I am warm, I have clothes to wear and enough food in the cupboard, all my bills are paid and I have a small emergency fund should something drastic happen, once this dawned on me I feel a lot less anxious about the 10 days, I have everything I need just not any disposable cash!
Sorry for the waffle, just wanted to get it down on paper for future reference!

Thick_n_Thin

Not much to update today. A no spend day and also sold another item on eBay so my paypal account is now £54.65 so mounting up nicely and another item that will leave the house!

Thick_n_Thin

Plans for today...
Wrap 3 eBay parcels and post
Take box of cd’s and DVD’s that I boxed up last week for music magpie to the post office
30 mins listing e bay stuff ( mentally it’s all I can manage at the moment)
Will need to buy some bread so won’t be a no spend day today.

Today I am 10 days alcohol free... starting to feel a little less chubby and my skin looks better and the puffiness that I had started to notice around my jawline is definitely disappearing!!!

Thick_n_Thin

Also forget to mention that I have received my latest credit card statement and it’s sitting at £1,300. That means I have only paid of £700 in a year.

So my total debt today stands at
£1300 - Halifax credit card @ 0%
£400 - Halifax overdraft

Total debts -£ 1700
So my 1st target is to get the Halifax card to £999 by 31st Dec! Then at least I will be under 1k for the new year. Once Christmas is out of the way I can attack this card in earnest throwing all my eBay money I earn at it, then I will work on the overdraft. I am setting myself the challenge of completely getting rid of it all by 31st Mar 2020! I am going to try and have a solid goal and deadline to work towards as it’s been 12 months on here now and little has changed!

Thick_n_Thin

Had an urge to make an overpayment so paid £6 to the Halifax card, not a lot but it’s a start right? Every little bit helps and all that...
sold another item on eBay this afternoon only £5 but it’s another item decluttered and a few extra pounds in my Christmas fund!

Thick_n_Thin

Had a particularly stressful day in work today but I have managed to avoid the wine trap on the way home so I am chuffed with myself as I did need a few things from te&co, small basket of things that came to £8 odd. Needed a refund for an item that I bought a few weeks ago for £11 that I no longer need so as soon as I got home I paid it to the Halifax credit card... I think I’m going to try and pay something each day to the card, even if it’s only £1

Lemon_Tree

Well done for avoiding the wine, paying little bits off regularly will make a difference, £1 a day is £365 in a year which I see as being a big amount