Becoming obsessed....

EssexOstrich

Seasidegal58 said:

I think you must be related to me.......😂

I think we live in the same area so you never know.... 

EssexOstrich

FOMO_overspender said:

Amazing six month progress! Well done. I am in very similar position and have also managed to keep out of the overdraft, if only by a few pence, and not add to credit. It's been a real game changer. Cheering you on from the sidelines for the rest of the debt and also starting the diet, I am the same with running -  I start and then give up a few weeks in! 

Thanks just caught up with your diary and you've done so well too! I give myself an allowance also but must admit I'm a bit shoddy at paying any leftovers off the debt, I think I view the allowance as a target and try to spend it all   
As for running, I started Couch to 5k and was doing so well, felt the difference and also felt a bit smug in the face of all those rolling eyeballs.... but then it got dark and colder and wetter and now it's way easier to sit on the sofa and watch tv! I'll start again when you start again  

FOMO_overspender

EssexOstrich said:

Thanks just caught up with your diary and you've done so well too! I give myself an allowance also but must admit I'm a bit shoddy at paying any leftovers off the debt, I think I view the allowance as a target and try to spend it all   
As for running, I started Couch to 5k and was doing so well, felt the difference and also felt a bit smug in the face of all those rolling eyeballs.... but then it got dark and colder and wetter and now it's way easier to sit on the sofa and watch tv! I'll start again when you start again  

Thank you
I found that too when I was doing it in categories (e.g. if I put £ in for takeaways, then I ended up spending as much as I put in) whereas just saying ok, well £X a week includes any groceries, travel etc it has started to keep me in check a bit more, but we're only week 2, so let's see!! 

Haha I actually just re-downloaded couch to 5k. I ran the Great North Run last year and as soon as I did it, basically gave up the running and so I really want to try and get back in a routine, but I agree, the dark nights and cold weather isn't inspiring! 

EssexOstrich

Next years goal is to put money aside for Christmas! I've started my Christmas shopping, LOVE Christmas, and will happily shoot any budget out of the sky so need to find a new way of doing it.

On the plus side, I've shopped around for the trainers my youngest wanted and found them in the sale reduced from £120 to £84, plus Nike are doing a 25% off offer for signing up so I got them for £62 with free delivery. I know there's a lot of people who will pull faces at the cost of the trainers but it's her main present and shoes are her number 1 love. I don't buy her any throughout the year, she saves and buys them herself from her Saturday job wages, usually from Depop or ebay, and the old me would've just nipped in to town and bought them off the shelf for £120 so I feel chuffed for getting them half price.

Apologies for any frown lines!

Sarahwithlove

Just caught up you've done so well so far. Keep up the good work. I have a spends allowance which use for takeaways etc but have found treating myself to lunch on the go once a week, usually a Friday makes taking a packed lunch rest of week seem more bearable. So maybe try find little regards you can give yourself if you manage a goal. My next aim is to increase number of non spend days. 

EssexOstrich

Thanks @Sarahwithlove,  I definitely need to take a look at non-spend days too! Well done on your progress you're doing brilliantly.

Sarahwithlove

EssexOstrich said:

Thanks @Sarahwithlove,  I definitely need to take a look at non-spend days too! Well done on your progress you're doing brilliantly.

Aim for one a week and just increase as you go along. I managed two last week. So aiming for 3 this week 👍 got one so far 🙈 hoping to make tomorrow two. 

EssexOstrich

MOT day tomorrow.... I hate anything to do with cars, and the faux sad voice the mechanic uses to break the news it’s gonna be £500 and take 2 weeks for the part to arrive. 

I reckon at least £2000 of my debt is car related from about 67 years ago!

If by some miracle it passes I’ll pay some extra money off a card in celebration

Sarahwithlove

EssexOstrich said:

MOT day tomorrow.... I hate anything to do with cars, and the faux sad voice the mechanic uses to break the news it’s gonna be £500 and take 2 weeks for the part to arrive. 

I reckon at least £2000 of my debt is car related from about 67 years ago!

If by some miracle it passes I’ll pay some extra money off a card in celebration

Cars are a nightmare for money aren't they? Mine had its MOT last month and has 3 advisories on it which garage said need doing in next 6 months. Not looking forward to it. Can you still use your car whilst waiting for the part? 

Retireinten

Hi EO.

Hope you don't me popping into your diary. Just going back to the issue of work lunches. I dread to think how much we have spent on work and school lunches over the years. I've tried to make these in the past but my commitment quickly disappears!  However when the kids started secondary school and had access to a canteen we were spending in excess of £15 a day (sometimes more !) so I had to do something about it. 


My husband also has a Home Bargains obsession and often visited on his trip out for his lunch too, which added to the cost and the growing amount of tat in the house!


So I forced myself to start making four lunches at 6.30am in the morning and I forced myself to stick at it!  18 months in, it's now formed into a morning habit and none of us would dream of buying a work lunch.  Now I'm not sure how long the resolve would last if I stopped making the lunches but husband has stepped in on occasion to make his own!


It helps me to convert the financial waste into something worthwhile. We get no pleasure from eating a store or cafe bought work lunch, it's a means to an end, it's simply convenient (though I'd argue its inconvenient to get the food at lunchtime). But we could have at least one family meal out a month or a doggy friendly weekend away in a caravan every few months for how much we were throwing away on work lunches!  This was what spurred me on to sort it!