Taking the scenic route from chaos to calm!!!

seahorsey

Good morning!
Not a massive amount to report over the last 19 hours since I checked in, but a quick post to keep me focused......

Listed lots on fb selling pages yesterday and have since had another £21 in sales, so £107.82 / £230 - that hopefully plugs the payday gap, so anything extra now will fingers crossed go to restarting the emergency fund.

Have also just stepped on the scales - not a nice experience. Weight is still heading in the wrong direction. I’ve really taken my eye off the ball with it and am paying the price big time. Need to turn this round quick I’m off to meal plan for the week......

seahorsey

Monday again! It always comes around so quickly

Not much to report, but all helps me to keep focussed. Food shopping yesterday. Really thought we’d been good but still ~ £80. All fruit \ veg was of the wonky variety and no treats. Need to go through it with a fine tooth comb and see where we can save.

Managed to sort loads for listing on eBay and fb, so will work my way through them this week. 10 days to pay day and would love to have something in the EF. Was hoping for £100, but right now I’d take £20 :rotfl: Have made another £8 in sales though so currently at £115.82 b £230

Checked the dates with vets and dog jabs can be done next month. The farrier is also coming the day after pay day, I thought he was coming this week so that’s a bonus!

Diet / exercise wise I’ve been good all weekend. Stuck to calories / macros, 5k run and weights session. Meals all planned for the week - just need to stick to it now! I’ve lost 3lb over the weekend, so pleased with that - especially since weekends are usually when I fall off the wagon!

Jobs for this week
1. Sell, sell, sell
2. Post eBay
3. Clean kitchen
4. Clean bathroom
5. Sort garden

seahorsey

Morning!
Not a great deal to report (again!), just ticking off the days until payday. Went for my first swim in years during my lunch hour and thoroughly enjoyed it. Think it may become a regular occurrence as I’m building to much extra time up. The pool near work is also £1 cheaper than my local one and also much better so I think I’ll be adding it to my personal spends budget going forward.

Still need to get the gas and electricity switched over. Current deal doesn’t finish until end of July but need to get the wheels in motion. I’m hoping we should have a refund due too when we do this - fingers crossed.

Not much planned for today - looks like another miserable day out there, so will find something cheap (pref. free) and cheerful to entertain DS.

Have a good day x

seahorsey

Good morning!
Nice sunny Saturday here - just waiting for DS to wake up, think a busy week has taken its toll.

Not much to report - 5 days to get through before payday. The plan is to spend little and make a lot :rotfl: Anothet £26.98 in sales takes the total to £142.8 / £230. Have another potential sale of £30 plus car boot tomorrow, so hoping to come in somewhere near my target.

Just quick update for now as someone’s waking up! Be back soon x

Thick_n_Thin

Hi, just had a quick read through your diary, I feel your pain with the running and the weight gain, I’m in a similar position myself, over 2 stone has gone on over the last 2 years and I used to run regularly but fell out of the habit and have found it hard to get going again, I have a love hate relationship with eBay, I look forward to the day when I have nothing left to sell :rotfl:

seahorsey

Wow - it’s been best part of a month since I last posted. I admit I’ve not really been focussed on anything over the last 3 weeks, I’ve pretty much gone into survival mode and just plodded through each day not really making much progress on any front!!! But I’m back, refreshed and ready for action!

It’s currently 12 days until payday, money is tight but things are doable if we’re frugal. Minimum payments plus a little extra in some cases have all been taken care of and majority of DDs have come out, so it’s just a case of getting through the next 12 days spending as little as possible.

I’m thoroughly unimpressed with lack of progress on any front this year, debt, weight, state of the house, fitness. Really is time I gave myself a good talking to and pulled my socks up. I’m off to spend sometime with my trusty notebook and see if I can make a plan to solve all my life’s issues in the next 15 mins over a cuppa - wish me luck :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

jwil

Good luck

seahorsey

Well I’m back (again!) nearly 2 weeks on from my last get my bum in to action post! So.......

Slight progress on the house and exercise front, in that I’m keeping on top of things a bit better on both fronts. I see a direct relation to both and my moods so it’s really in my best interest to keep my new routines running. DS starts preschool in September so I’ll have a whole 6 hours to myself each week :rotfl: I fully intend on having my housework routine perfected by then so that I can invest a few of those hours in me!!!! Sounds selfish I know but at the minute I barely get a second to myself unless I can nip out for an 5am run. I don’t really socialise unless it’s a play date for DS and a soak in the bath is constantly interrupted, so come September I’m going to carve out a chunk of time for me!

MSE...... I’ve had a slight lightbulb moment in that things have got to change. If you keep doing what you’ve always done you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got (or words to that effect!).
It came yesterday. Rather than pay £3.00 for a couple of bottle gift bags in our village supermarket, I went for a 8 mile round trip to our local Home Bargains knowing I could get 2 for just over £1. Anyways (you know what’s coming!) nearly £12 later I walk out. £1.18 spent on what I came for and £11 spent on stuff I didn’t realise I needed until I got there! Granted, some of it was food that we’d have otherwise bought as part of the food shop but still! Do that twice a week and over the month there’s £100 frittered away :eek: I did try just allowing one day a week for shop visits - it seemed to work well so I’m going to reinstate that rule.

I also need to get off eBay (unless selling of course). Shops are open 24/7 on the www and that’s not necessarily a good thing for impulsive, emotional shoppers like me! Time spent internet browsing needs to be cut!

Food shop also needs tackling - I’ve been unsuccessful this far. We buy pretty much the same each week, so again it’s a case of doing what we’ve always done and still expecting change - it’s not going to happen. I need to meal plan religiously, something I must admit I’m not great at but needs must.

I’ve just transferred our utilities saving £20 a month. Should also be due a refund from our old supplier which I want to use to pay for DS birthday party. Need to ring them today as they’ve emailed me to say my final bill is available for viewing but then I can’t actually see it as they’ve closed my account :mad:. On my list of things to for today is to call them and get it sorted.

Right DS has just woken up - best spring into action. Will be back soon x

seahorsey

Morning!
So I phoned the energy supplier yesterday, refund for the gas is being processed and should more than cover cost of DS birthday party. Still waiting for the electricity to be finalised but hopefully there should be a small refund there too fingers crossed.

We’ve got a scarily expensive latter half of the year. Car MOT and service due, DS birthday, Christmas (obviously), along with other family birthdays too. Kick off is October! Would like to get £300 -£400 put aside ahead of the car in Nov, so at least £100 a month needs saving. Need to sit with the spreadsheet and do some shuffling. I’d estimate I probably need to be putting away £200 ish a month to cover this - best get eBaying!!!

Right I’m off to dig through the fridge and cupboards to pull together a meal plan / shopping list for this week.
Have a great weekend x

seahorsey

Morning! It’s wet and miserable here - such a contrast from last week.

So I’ve spent some quality time with the spreadsheet, adding up all the foreseeable expenses between now and the end of the year. On paper we can reasonably comfortably afford to put £300 away for Christmas / cars etc plus another £300 to debt repayment. This allows approx £120 a month wiggle room. OH should also be due a pay raise, we’re still waiting on his new role to be confirmed. This would give a debt free date of September 2021. I’m more than happy with this , but would love to bring it forward by 6 months. I really need to work on our mindset though as we still need to rein our spending in and get the emergency fund built up.

Prority 1 is Very - this needs demolishing by year end as the 0% period finishes and if it’s not paid the interest is mega. This has been used to bail us out when white goods have died and also taking advantage of the £20 off £50 spend that come through occasionally (I know I’m playing into their hands there, I’ve used it for pressies to put away for DS birthday/ Christmas, as long as the balance gets cleared ahead of 0% finishing it’s a saving - just need to be mindful of the deadline). I’ve written payments into the budget to cover this, but will also be throwing any eBay sales etc it’s way to get it paid ASAP.......

The emergency fund is also a must. I’m hoping once OH job is finalised we can put his pay rise aside to build this up. Would love to have £500 put aside by the end of the year.

Right back to the present day.......
Plan for this rainy Sunday is sort the animals, get the food shopping done and give the house a bit of TLC. May also pop out for a run if the rain clears.

Small victory yesterday - 80 free pg tips! I’d received a coupon and claimed it yesterday. Once upon a time I’d have been embarrassed using it - not anymore!!! I think I’ll be looking out for more. We rarely buy branded food these days but if the coupons good enough I can be swayed!

Right I’m going to get some breakfast before braving the weather to go and give the ponies there’s. Have a great day x