First Steps to Solvency

ryanm8655

alt80 said:

Afternoon on the work and evening with wife, son and dog. Actually unexpectedly had a really good day no idea how that happened on so little sleep but not complaining. Not too good now but hoping to get to bed by 11.30 and actually go to and stay asleep. Last night I accidentally woke my wife up so she had a rubbish night’s sleep too, gone to bed at 10pm this evening haha. Need to get into the kind of sleep routine she’s got, not a care in the world ha.

@getmore4less No nothing missed mate re cards thanks.

I think you’re right mate, always wanted everything done yesterday bit of a running joke at work staff saying they reckon I don’t sleep just work through machine lol. Don’t think it’s done me a lot of good last few years having the instant fix mentality, need to work on it to sort the debts as well as other stuff. My wife is definitely right about parking it for a few days.

Will def have a look at the no BT fee options. No accounts with Natwest unfortunately.

Trying not to fill my evenings/ weekends with reports mate. Know I could get more done if I was out all day and writing them up all night been there for years but right now I’ve not got the energy. Hopefully get back to it soon. Agreed re not doing the all-nighters anymore, do get time to send this stuff back. Team are doing vast majority of the fee earners and robust peer review process in place too. Things pretty good on that front also get some external input too.

Got the lad I’m mentoring, could turn into someone to train up. Was meant to be going to London or another big city after uni but now not so sure with covid thinking about staying closer to family. He’s a bright lad, lot of potential. Agreed re looking for someone more experienced with other skills/ connections when time comes def will help growth - what I did with lettings side and really paying off now. 

I have considered the £1k left could either be gone with sales (more than that waiting to sell now) or could go the other way and be a bit higher if something unforeseen comes up. Sacrificing having anything on the savings/ EF side to pay the cards at the rate I am - get it and the o/d cleared off as much as possible before the 0%s run out. Tried to keep away from trying to chase hypothetical targets on dates (apart from the 0%s). At one point I spent far too long number crunching working out by when I’d owe nothing on cards, then got obsessed with the RR balloon and everything must be gone by the time that due including the balloon and I’ll be debt free etc. Can’t do that was driving me completely mad. I just need to keep a check on it all, pay it down and if it goes a bit over April 2024 know I’ve taken the best options utilised 0% deals etc and done the best I could with it.

@ryanm8655 Even the wife has let me off the exercise mate I’ve not really felt like going into details but not been very well mentally or physically really generally just all over the place. Not eating much either most days need to start making myself eat something for each mealtime again, don’t need to lose weight. Know I need to get back into the exercise - I do go for a walk with the family but that’s not much really.

Herbal sleep stuff can power through that tbh ha. Should probably not do that lol.

Thanks re debts think you and @getmore4less and others on here are right. Need to chill out about it a bit really. Even my !!!!!! in-laws who hate debt said the other day to me going to make myself ill clearing debt next FML (hear the full run down from wife about it ha).

Ha I’ve had some ups and downs re keeping off the stuff mate. Tbf I’ve never done that everyday and had breaks from it before but thanks.

Funny you should say about the time of waking up, often lie in bed working our how many hours and minutes until need to be up in the morning. Dawn rolls around and the !!!!!! birds start chirping. The sleep really is a work in progress but as you say just accepting it for what it is I hope might help a bit thanks.

@FootyFanDan Thanks mate. I want it gone yesterday tbh move on from what’s been a bit of a blip in my life past few years and definitely adding to the stress levels. Half kind of feel I’ll have sorted my head out if I clear the debts haha probably not tbf. Just want to move on, work on business and family. No more self destructive stuff, keep with the programme. Boring probably but better than the alternative for me mate.

Wife sort of gets me wanting to !!!!!! the cards off but doesn’t understand my ‘obsession’ with making the RR balloon payment, just doesn’t see it at all. Told me in all the time we’ve been together not been 1 month I didn’t owe money to JLR and never been a problem before actually been longer than that FML ha.

I don’t function well at all without sleep either so 100 relate to that.

... well that turned into a bit of long one ha bed now for me I think. 😆

I think the working out how many hours/minutes of sleep you'll get things is a common theme of stress/anxiety. Went for a stroll with my mate and he mentioned he does the same. Thought I was mental ha. Laying there thinking..need to be up at 8...it's 2am...if I can nod off now then...and recalculating everytime you check your phone/getting more and more anxious the longer you are awake for... Get you on the birds chirping too...hate it when that happens...

getmore4less

Got me waking up early know, bed at 10:30 for me last night.

Hope you managed a full night after a good day. 

I forgot the OD, that's adds a bit.
There is time before  park for a week.
if needed new 0% card this year, then won't need to look at another one for a year.


If you can wean of the evening and weekend that is good, but having some specific options lined up to fill a gap(not full on) gives focus and might help the stress especially at the weekends which need breaking up from 100% family. 
I was thinking along the lines of say Sunday morning you get up do one specific job before getting into breakfast/brunch,  it can wait till Monday for admin to do it if you have been OK at the weekend. 

Good the block is unwinding, that has been a source of uncertainty, if the hall is looking on track in house maybe there is scope to find another project to begin the pipeline.

RelievedSheff

I don't know how some of you function on so little sleep. We were in bed for 9am last night and it was 6am when the alarm went off when we woke up!

@Alt80 you will figure out a happy medium of paying off the debt while still managing to have a life. It is difficult at the minute what with Covid restrictions in place to find some sort of balance between the two.

alt80

Really busy day on the work front today started 8am had 30 mins for lunch, finished 7.30pm. None stop and not planned - one of my staff now awaiting a Covid result lol. I inherited a load a of res jobs FML looking round those today makes my res home look like a !!!!!! palace haha love it really lol. Now just zonked in front of TV and on here ha.

@ryanm8655 yeah thought it was just me too tbh re the minutes/ hours to wake up thing. Wife never experienced it. Know I’m mental so not commenting on that mate ha. 

@getmore4less haha 4.30am FML mate only time I’m up at that time I’ve been up all night. Actually didn’t do too bad for the sleep last night thanks. Good !!!!!! job lol.

Thanks re finances. I’ve got a reminder going off Sunday - too much other stuff to keep me occupied before then.

Iswym re evening/ weekends now thanks, yeah sounds a good plan to me.

Every single unit that I accept an offer in that damn block like a weight gone from my mind. No massive profit, doesn’t even matter tbh like end of an era and start of something a bit better tbh mate. Hall looking on track, have a few irons in the fire re projects and also passed on some deals for management.

@RelievedSheff can only dream of that much sleep lol. Don’t really listen to the ‘need to sleep signals’ tbh just power through it most of the time sometimes with a bit of help but those days trying to move away from. Probably should try to embrace the need to sleep rather than fight it all the time - done that for as long as I can remember tbh even as a kid was a nightmare for going to bed at a decent time. Getting too old for it now I think.

Tbh with Covid I’ve used it as an opportunity for debt payment. Actually dreading everything opening again, don’t want to go mental. Don’t want temptations of shops / restaurants / holidays / nights out etc. Massive stressor thinking about the lockdown ending for me right now.

KxMx

I can get a bit focused on the amount of sleep in hours too while I'm trying to drift off. 
Luckily if I get only 5 hours of really good quality sleep it can be as beneficial as a longer one. 

alt80

@KxMx good qual but shortish sleep works for me for a few days but catches up with me then find I’m either napping like a baby or back on the chang. Fell to sleep on the sofa again this evening then craving the stuff FML over 2 weeks since I’ve even bothered and still !!!!!! want it most days ha.

Made the mistake of two 3 shot coffees back to back full blown anxiety/ palpitations/ cravings ha. Quite glad I’ve stuck with the decaf after lunch tbh avoided that and the effects seemed a lot more unpleasant today - not worth it lol.

ryanm8655

alt80 said:

@KxMx good qual but shortish sleep works for me for a few days but catches up with me then find I’m either napping like a baby or back on the chang. Fell to sleep on the sofa again this evening then craving the stuff FML over 2 weeks since I’ve even bothered and still !!!!!! want it most days ha.

Made the mistake of two 3 shot coffees back to back full blown anxiety/ palpitations/ cravings ha. Quite glad I’ve stuck with the decaf after lunch tbh avoided that and the effects seemed a lot more unpleasant today - not worth it lol.

Cravings bieng there is normal so wouldn't worry about that, but every one you ignore the easier it gets and a new habit forms. Think I need to apply that to the drunken weekend takeaways ha.

On things opening up, I'd just park those thoughts and deal with it when you get there. I don't think it's the end of the world if you do take a month or two of paying minimums when things are normal (not that I'm saying you should just don't beat yourself up if you do). That thought might help you get there and then you'll change your mind anyhow and things will be easier.

alt80

Shouldn’t have fallen to sleep earlier wide awake now lol. 

@ryanm8655 I know just like a constant battle. Then sit up reading about all the ways it could have affected my health and start feeling paranoid. Thinking about having a full body mri scan just to make sure I’ve not !!!!!! myself. Wife will go mad if I start the many medical appts again ha. Just don’t want the health anxiety thing to start again tbf and been reading too much I think. Never wanted to know before- knew it did nothing good.

Panicking about going mad post lockdown. Like you know I’ll want to go out on a big night but that won’t be good for me lot of temptation don’t want to go there. Wife has suggested rather than going on a big night maybe go for two nights away nice country hotel. Like that idea tbh but won’t be cheap ha. Few months of paying the mins and not adding to debt would be good lol I’m panicking it’ll be the beginning of another massive spiral into all the self destructive stuff again. Don’t want that to happen, not when I’m starting to see a future for me and a future for my marriage as well. Lots not great about now but some positive stuff that if I can build on will make things a lot better for my family and for me. Just need to deal with each day as it comes, deal with the issues I have going on in my head and my life not so bad. I’m lucky to have what I do, go to some places doing my job and really realise there’s a !!!!!! long way to fall mate. 

woahsoah

I've not been in debt before but not spending on drugs/booze and instead going away for a country hotel seems like a positive? If the trip costs less than a monthly 'habit' spend that seems like a double positive! 

We've gotta live a little (this excludes detrimental behaviour!), otherwise what's the point? To me, you don't seem to be in crippling debt and if this helps you mentally then I would go for it. I understand the want to clear the debt asap, I am in a similar position waiting to quit working. I'm just waiting for every pay cheque and counting down the months. I should probably quit today but I am a rather risk averse !!!!!!.

RelievedSheff

I think a couple of nights at a nice country hotel is a brilliant idea. It would do you all the world of good to just get away for a couple of nights. Every one needs a break now and then.