My 25 Months Challenge

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

emergency fund: £3/£1000
weight loss 0/3st 8 3/4 or 40 3/4 lb increase 19/06/2020 weight loss target now 3 stone 10lb and 1/4 back to 3 stone 8 3/4
list to sell 229/500
Mortgage Balance £47,860

Priorities:
Complete course (initial) Completed   
Sign up for second course (advanced) Signed up (paid for) and nearly ready to start 
Apply for dream job to clarify is dream ish job.
Apply for Tax Refund - so can pay to card targeting.
Well i've updated the above and the priorities are still waiting after i have been very low and my self-esteem was non existent.
I want to hit the 500 listed items to sell this month - this will be a real challenge. We already emptied our kitchen cupboards and under the stairs and we are keeping what we have in there now and what we're getting rid of is not worth much at all so not worth listing but will be passed onto people who will find it useful. Hopefully things will sell and that will be money in. i have set some money to one side so if i don't want to touch it i actually need the sales money to pay my minimum off the credit card i'm focusing on now - the £222 was just extra.
It's been a bit of a spendy weekend so far with £29.20 spent on social activities so far - when i say social i mean on food and drink for something a bit nicer from independent businesses. I am going to try and squeeze this out of the food shopping. We have plenty in and other than fresh stuff not much is needed so the food shop should be low this week and next. The treats were much needed for both of us I think.
I've had some interesting conversations lately - friends who spend all their income each month and are very happy buying whatever they want. Other friends who don't spend all they earn (because they have a very good income) they still buy whatever they want and are very happy. It is food for thought. I think it is about having choices. I would love to be able to say to Mr Socks - come on lets get a takeaway / buy some nice wine / replace the things that need it but i always think i have my budget for food and drink and going over this affects other things (target card / mortgage). I can't just spend money without thinking that it could be an extra payment / overpayment.
I've paid a little off the mortgage to keep it in a nice round number. I've paid a bit into savings so need to check that balance too.
I'd better get listing!

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Savings checked and updated

savingholmes

Rich D@d p00r d@d has a free game that you can play - that kind of illustrates the point that most people spend all their income - but if you choose to save &/or invest you can have a really different outcome. Playing the game showed me that my lack of financial anticipation ie (not) saving for having a baby, kid going to uni etc were the root of many of my real life issues. 

Tahlullah.H

Never heard of that game Savings.  It doesn't sound like fun...
You are doing really well with your savings Stripey. And good luck with the selling on ebay.

savingholmes

It a game about cashflow - but it taught me a lot. A more grown up version of monopoly

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hello - i like the idea of the game savings but i have a very limited income and i find these things are easier when you have some money to invest    I'd love to invest in my future but my salary now is less than half of what i was earning prior to the first redundancy ooh over 10 years ago now. I never regained that level of income and several redundancies later (all losing money through overtime not being paid Grr! i spent all my savings paying the bills. JobSA did not pay the mortgage. Sometimes I was working and earning less than the mortgage that needed to be paid.
I'm popping in just so i don't not update for too long. I need to start my course but i am in no frame of mind for this :0( i need to apply for new jobs but ditto. i need to carry on finding things to list and list them but i am stalled on all fronts at the moment.
It is nice to have visitors though x

savingholmes

Sorry things are tough. Hope things pick up for you soon. I'm just focusing on what I can control for now - paint and pressure washing... I also like tangible results preferably that last 

Nichelette

Wow you are doing well with your decluttering! DH keeps saying how much stuff I have, which to be fair is true (it's mostly a result of buying things to cheer myself up when I was very depressed years ago, though obviously I would get depressed again when I realised I was then broke) but I find it hard to get rid of things because I tend to think, oh, x will be useful one day, or I like this dress/whatever and will fit it one day. Really I know I won't... I need to be more like you! All the little over payments we make get us a step closer to having the freedom to have more choices, so try and keep that in mind when things are hard. Take care of yourself . 

 

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

It is lovely to stop by and have visitors again. Thank you for your supportive words.
I have sorted through my bags... twice... I do not need any new handbags. I do need a new rucksack for hiking. I'm not spending on anything unnecessary yet though.
I am going to adopt the same approach to my bags as i do to shoes - use 1 until they are beyond use and then onto the next one. Most bags are lovely gifts so can't be parted with (i do like them and the people who bought them would know if i tried to sell them). The rest are cheap ones i bought (i mean literally 50p or £1) and would not sell for anything so i will try and get the use out of them - they are nice and useful and i don't want to part with them just for the sake of it.
I am trying to declutter to improve where and how we live - i hope my energy perks up so i can make a difference here. I am not sleeping well though and this is affecting what i can do *yawn* although if i did have a tidy home it would be easier to clean and should therefore be easier to sleep in too.
I am trying a new approach this week. I know i often try and change a lot of things at once and then cannot maintain it when my energy drops but i am trying to introduce some of the things i enjoy back into my days. So i am reading again which is great - as i have a *lot* of books to declutter!
I hope all are well - back to it now lunch is over x

savingholmes

Hi Stripey - good to see you posting again. Are you going out anywhere nice and doing nice things?