Time to stop running away

scarey78

Hi
I am a newbie joining after years of lurking and after listening to a podcast about running away from your problems (via drinking, facebook, tv, going out) and instead using that time wisely to solve your problems. So I've decided to take small daily actions towards a few worries I have...debt being one of them. I've been overspending by £200 to £300 per month over the past year and although my debt isn't huge, if I carry on the way I'm going it will easily become huge.
My first step today is joining this forum and to start being mindful of my spending.
I've already got a spreadsheet which budgets and tracks my spending but I tend to ignore it as it gets to the end of month. I need to start looking at this daily!
When I get paid I want to put cash in envelopes as this worked really well the one and only month I tried it.
My only planned spending for today is a trip to the sweet shop after school (Wednesdays and Fridays). I need to make sure all I buy is sweets for the kids...I do not need any!
I'm going to start taking left overs to work.
I need to cancel Now TV (now GOT has finished)
I am going to delete the Uber Eats app on my phone.
My biggest obstacle is always the weekend when I'm socialising...that's when it all tends to go wrong but for now I'm going to take each day as it comes
CC £3101.90
OD £133.45

Now to work out how to change my signature below from a few years back!

scarey78

Hoped for a NSD today but have spent £1.10. Need to remember to take my lunch to work tomorrow!
Feeling nervous about the weekend and overspending. I'm going out to eat with friends tomorrow night and have nominated myself as driver so no spending money on alcohol or taxis.
I need to look into cancelling Now TV.
Looking forward to getting paid next week so I can start working on the debt.
CC £3101.90

beanielou

Break into baby steps.
Get rid of the smallest CC first.
Then on second CC only £102.90 until you are in the £2k's

scarey78

Thanks beanielou. Good plan!
Had a NSD day yesterday and am planning on the same for today. That's pretty good for me on a weekend!
This diary is really helping to keep me focused on spending as little as possible and hopefully start getting rid of this debt.

doingitanyway

Your plan is sound. I wish you success with it.

scarey78

Thank you doingitanyway.

So spent £2.70 yesterday so not a complete success on NSD but still not bad.

This evening I'm getting a takeaway with friends so going to look for cheapest options on the menu. We'd originally planned to eat at the restaurant but getting a takeaway has obvs saved us some already.

This morning I've had a look at my spreadsheet.

I should be able to pay off hopefully about £300 during the Summer hols due to not having to pay for school dinners and childcare.

I really need to cancel Now TV soon and a monthly charity donation.

I also pay £3.95 per month to a scheme where I can get really cheap cinema tickets and entry to English Heritage sites. We use this occasionally during the Summer hols. I need to keep an eye on whether we actually use it enough.

Have a great day all!

CC £3101.90
OD £149.00

scarey78

So today is pay day. I spent my train journey reading other diaries this morning which are a real motivation.
I felt proud of myself for only spending £1.50 all day until it was time to start getting sorted for Father's day. I went for the sale on ASOS and bought DH a couple of t-shirts but ended up spending £10 more than I'd planned to.
I got a letter from the charity I have a dd for so I've left that on the side as a reminder to call them tomorrow to cancel that...I always feel bad cancelling dd to charities!
I spent more than I should have on birthday/Fathers day cards for the month...lesson learned for next time (I need to buy the smaller sizes!)
On the plus side I withdrew some cash and put them into envelopes for petrol, my daughter's tutor, the childminder and general money. I find it so much easier to keep track of what I'm spending with cash.
I need to look at bargain Father's Day presents for.my Step Dad.

Yellow_mango

Looks like you’re making a great start! I think actually just being conscious about spending can go a long way.

I just wanted to say that on the charity dd, I don’t think there’s any need to call to cancel, especially if it’s going to make you feel bad and they’ll give you the hard sell. I’ve always just cancelled them online. Its not like you have a contract to pay it that they can try to enforce!

scarey78

Thanks Yellow_mango.
I don't why I didn't think to cancel online. I don't really like talking on the phone and normally would do everything online. So I've emailed them this morning to cancel. I'm also going to cancel Now TV this morning too.
My next job after this is to check when my interest free period ends on my cc but that can be for another day. A little every day and all that.
I also need to look into bargain Father's Day presents.

FootyFanDan

Hey Scarey,

Just wanted to pop in and wish you luck

scarey78

Thanks FootyFanDan. And good luck to you too.
I cancelled Now TV yesterday. I'm now binge watching Chernobyl before my contract expires next Wednesday.
Next job today is look for bargain Father's day presents.