Chubby Keto lady working towards Debt Free and Healthy Frugal Life!

juicyjackieb

Its been a very mundane week money-wise, which I guess is better than it being dramatic in the wrong way 

I managed to put aside £40 last week towards the garden, hoping for a £100 this and maybe the next too. I think £200+ is a fab garden budget and looking forward to planning things out. We need a new bench as our is rotten so will keep my eyes peeled for a metal one on offer. Your girl doesn't like to pay full price! 

Also looking at this weeks MSE newsletter there was a feature on trying to claim back overpaid council tax; I don't think it's likely but I have thrown my hat into the ring for 2 reference numbers, you don't ask you don't get!

I am doing a 28 day declutter challenge this month and I am bit behind, I am going to tackle the pet cupboard tomorrow, and the dreaded tupperware as I do hoard it somewhat. I will try and pass on the catfood that mine have deemed unworthy to someone that is struggling, I have been there myself, making sure my cat got Whiskas and me circling the aisles waiting for food to get reduced for me.     

I need to go into the JS shopping booked in for tomorrow and do my edits for the weekly meal prep - I am thinking keto pecan pie and chicken jambalaya for dinners and egg mayo again for breakfasts. I am dreading going in and seeing whether I won't be getting litter yet again. I am sure I will have a good rant about it for you tomorrow!

I am so looking forward to clearing this next debt - the credit card - and saving money up. I am also thinking about beyond that for the first time - investing. It's such a minefield though and the bubble is likely to burst in the next 18 months. My small thoughts right now on this are maximizing my pension contributions, maybe a few premium bonds (even though the payout rate has dropped with the poo interest rates it does seem like a slightly better return), and then very low-level stock investing, say £50pm. Who even am I?!? Lol. 

But lets just get that debt cleared first eh?

 

juicyjackieb

Well, this week has been a bit of a bag of poo. 

Work has been busy and stressful, but I shouldn't complain because at least I have a job. I have felt my heart racing even when I am resting, its not that it's hard work, there is just a lot of it. Although I should losing a 40-minute chunk of work on a daily basis as of next week which should really help. 

With the stress comes the lack of exercise because I am sacrificing my time to work instead and then with it the bad eating. I have thoroughly binged today. Excess everything non-keto that's not nailed down. My eating has been poor in general the last 2 weeks and my weight has rocketed. Massively not motivated. But its another Monday and I have fully mealed prepped myself ready: bacon, egg sausage boxes, cherry flavoured chia pudding for lunch, chicken pot pie for dinner. Plenty of water, plenty of exercise, doing my best to chill the F out! I have dyed my hair, defuzzed myself and plan to have an early night with a little sleeping pill and a trashy regency romance book!

On the plus side, the weather has been turning and it's making me feel better. I have never been one to have issues with SAD but I think with the 12 months of panny-d time I have been very upbeat all things considered but these last 2 weeks have not been fun. I have been putting money aside the last 2 weeks and had £150 there for a garden budget and this weekend I decided to spend the lot! and a bit more lol! I spent £92 in Suttons and another £137 at an independent garden centre and when I think of it arriving it feels like Christmas. I am not a good gardener but its definitely my therapy time. I get lost for hours just pottering around. I was reading about keeping unused credit active from time to time so I decided to put the second transaction on my old credit card which I will pay in full on Friday, it won't let me do it now as the transaction is pending and I was £1 in credit. Other than that the only 2 things that I want for out there is a new bench as our is wooden and pretty rotten now and I decided I want a water feature. I have picked one out that I like and will order that in a few weeks and ask the OH to buy the bench as it's his house/garden too. I am getting better at this asking for money malarky!

Other money adulting stuff! I checked out my pension pot last weekend and its got me concerned; I was a late starter and only have 3k in it and projected to have 29k by the time I actually retire but that seems very low. I have decided to increase my contributions once my credit card is paid off in September. I think I am currently on 5% but I will look at increasing to 10% I think. I did look at my HMRC records while I was at it and there appears to be a blackhole in my tax this year and my recorded earnings,about a third is missing. Let's be optimistic and say my employer forgot to pay HMRC shall we. I have reported it so let's see shall we. Working for a small business and all that!

So current/future plans are:
Pay off garden splurge probably Friday
Order a fountain before they sell out like last year!
Order bench

March
Double down on credit card payments till September
Spend oodles of time in the garden making a glorious paradise
Once tidied up get wo/man with a van to take away the old bench and tables etc

April
Decorate Kitchen
Buy New Fridge Freezer, toaster & kettle (from House Fund)

June
Decorate bedroom
New Bed (from House Fund)

September
Start dumping money into savings
Increase pension payments

November
Fly off to Mauritius and get married (all things letting us and being safe and ya know still wanting to)
Sort out my will and all the paperwork
Get put onto the mortgage
*******************************************************

All this is pending no disasters etc

I should also get another payment from my youtube in March, maybe £80, I think I will put that in my savings for now along with my ebay money which sits at £38. 

All in all its looking a lot better than it was, just need to keep facing forward and reaching for my goals. To quote Nemo "Just keep swimming"

caeler

I’ve had a bad keto week too. Stress made me lose my focus. I’ve given myself a talking to and I’m hoping for a better week. I hope you do too. You’ve got a great meal plan. 

welshspendthrift

Just found your diary @juicyjackieb , you are doing so well! I’ve briefly looked at your YT too , think I might try and do some keto planning.( subscribed)  My OH proposed Valentine’s Day and planning wedding for end of 2022/ 2023- probably a destination one otherwise loads of relatives would have to be invited ! Will follow your diary as has inspired me 😀 Thank you 

juicyjackieb

welshspendthrift said:

Just found your diary @juicyjackieb , you are doing so well! I’ve briefly looked at your YT too , think I might try and do some keto planning.( subscribed)  My OH proposed Valentine’s Day and planning wedding for end of 2022/ 2023- probably a destination one otherwise loads of relatives would have to be invited ! Will follow your diary as has inspired me 😀 Thank you 

Ahhhh many congratulations!!! Im
a bit worried my dress won’t fit! And thank you for subscribing, it makes things easier if you don’t feel alone. It can be such a hard journey. 

Have you any thoughts on the destination? We did it for the same reason lol too many relatives! When I was researching Mauritius was the cheapest “exotic” location. It was £3800 all inc for 9 days including the wedding, you couldn’t get married over here for that! Great experience with tropical sky’s agency, really recommend them! 

welshspendthrift

@juicyjackieb I looked at Mauritius looks gorgeous but flight is 12 hours and we will have 3 little DGD who we want there will be 2,4,5 as well as a 9 year old! Good to know about the agency though, thank you . Look forward to following more of your YT videos as well as on here! X😀

juicyjackieb

Haven't checked in for a few weeks! 

Nothing mega to report. I paid off that garden spends that I had placed on my card to stop it going dormant. I also paid my first double payment this week on my credit card (£70) hopefully I should be able to maintain that and get that gone by September. I will allow myself a little grace though. Its nice to see that under 2k though yayyyy! I also believe if I have read things correctly that my 1996 student loan gets wiped thing year and my 1997 next year which is also good. Although I haven't heard from them in years so who knows, SLC are so terribly run!

I did see an article in the MSE newsletter a few weeks ago about trying to claim back money from the council for potentially overpaid council tax, I haven't heard from them but no surprises. I am not expecting anything so I think I will forget about it. 

I was very much struggling with my eating, my hormones and appetite have been a rollercoaster; I am now in menopause territory. I am craving sugar so much as I type this and it isn't usually a problem for me since following keto. Oh well, damage for the last few weeks has been done and next week's meal prep is a go. 

I should hopefully be able to buy our solar garden fountain next week; nothing fancy just a little one. I was working out outside last summer and having the gentle sounds of the water will be nice. I am seriously thinking about starting yoga videos but nothing too hard or too introspective.... I ain't got time to look inside my soul 

Anywhoooo .... hope everyone is well, the light is at the end of this tunnel. Time to adjust my grocery basket and update that signature 

juicyjackieb

Another quiet couple of weeks, but I guess the lack of drama is a good thing when it comes to money. I think I am on week 3 of paying £70pw off my credit card and all on schedule to have that cleared by September. I should between having a little surplus from my wages and getting paid by YouTube  in the next couple of days will be able to drop £100 into my savings next week too. Although the urge to just throw it all at my card is hard to resist and is still something I am thinking about. 

OH has not only been plowing through overtime but he also got a wee promotion too, I am so proud of him.  All the OT has been building up and we have decided to spend some of it to improve the house. We have booked a cleaner to come in on Tuesday and deep clean the kitchen. Although we of course clean and tidy every day its needs a deep scrub top to bottom and I just don't have the time or energy to do it. I do feel awkward about it but I am resolved to set up a deep clean rota to help keep on top of it. We are also looking to replace our leaking fridge and get a new toaster and kettle that are all over 15 years old. It's being redecorated next month; being at home all the freaking time does give a new perspective on having a nicer home. Once that's done it's the bedroom and the blinds and we are looking good. Phew!

I had the vaccine yesterday, I can see no reason why at 42 I should be called up for it already other than my weight but I did not want to miss getting it done. I feel fine today, just a bit of a sore arm. Still trying not to think too much about our weddingmoon in November and whether it might actually happen or not. 

My last big garden thing of the year has been bought; the solar fountain. I am going to make it as nice as I can so I have a relaxing outdoor space to enjoy and use as a gym. I am going to rejoin the gyms when they hopefully reopen in 4 weeks - can not wait! Of course, it will be another cost but I am canceling a wee £6.50 subscription this week which will go towards it and it will be totally worth the expense. I have signed up to do 2000 burpees for charity in April too. I am so stupid 

And thats me loves - meal prep tomorrow, maybe cajun chicken, a pizza and some fat bombs, planning out my garden tasks for my cheeky 5 days easter weekend (so excited!), and picking out stuff for the house. Need to squeeze in the census and of course my man Ted Hastings because Line Of Duty is back. I am so sad haha

juicyjackieb

Another few weeks have gone and a little more off my credit card yayyyy! Now sitting at £1650

I was paid by youtube and that's sitting went into the emergency fund... for a while... see below. I have a few small payments or just acknowledgments I am waiting on. Even though its so small it seems petty to chase them but its more or a case I feel forgotten about, ya know?

1 - I requested a review of historical council tax payments from b'ham city council on 13/02, I didn't get the courtesy of a reply but now it's lingering 7 weeks I will chase them. I do appreciate that they are of course working from home but a holding / bog-off email takes a minute. CHASED
2 - $10 Cash out from an exercise app, its been a few weeks and hasn't arrived CHASED
3 - Affiliate Payment from some PR work I did, only $8.97 but it all adds up in the savings CHASED 
4 - £5 Cashback for scanning receipts, should be with me this week
5 - PPI Tax rebate claim I processed on 27/03 - I imagine HMRC are rammed so I don't expect to hear for weeks. It would only equal I think £43 but it all goes in the pot!

I have had some mental health problems lately, just generally feeling unfocused, scattered and not being able to direct myself. I have been eating nonketo and a lot of it. I looked at the scales today and its not good, I gained 9lbs in a week, its gonna be mostly water weight of course but still not great :-(  - time to knuckle down.

And now the big confession!! Like everyone else in the UK I really want to make the best of my garden and decided to invest in some really nice rattan furniture to lounge in and maybe work outside too as my working from home will still be in place at least till year-end, possibly permanently. Finding any furniture is again, like last year ridiculously hard but I managed to find some at Thompson & Morgan. I wanted the set with the cover and with shipping it was a stonking £540. I joined their club at £10 to get 4 x £4 vouchers and 10% so all in that dropped it down to £478. I decided to see if I could use the PayPal "pay over 3" credit thing and it worked! I used the £150 from my emergency fund to cover today's payment and will have 2 x more payments May and June. I will also get £27 Quidco back at some point. Yes it's a lot, yes it's more credit but only a couple of months. I should absolutely be able to pay it each month and hopefully, this will not affect my credit score negatively. I am gonna push myself to get selling on fb marketplace and ebay to see if I can top up the money. I keep thinking about spending my afternoons working out there during the summer. My garden isn't much, but it really helped me mentally being out there last year.

Our new fridge freezer comes on Saturday, I only realized today it's my first ever brand new fridge! We are on a self-imposed "freezer challenge" so we start with an empty freezer, as a food hoarder having nothing in my freezer is very stressful lol. But groceries come Sunday and I will be meal prepping my arms off getting it full of keto ready meals. 

Roll on Summer. Roll on lockdown easement!

juicyjackieb

Its been a while!

So I have been very very spendy this last month, I haven't saved a penny, in fact, I have dipped into the very little savings I have and obliterated them. I have maintained my weekly credit card payments to get that down to nothing by September but I have been buying so much for the house! I got a new home office upgrade with desk and cabinet from Ikea, a new wireless keyboard and mouse. I have bought new bins for the kitchen after the paint job. Lots of unfun things that are not exciting or frivolous but they make my home nicer so I feel moderately justified, but I need to rein in my spending now. 

Diet is a bit 50/50 - I feel like I am putting the effort in but not getting the rewards. I am on week 4 of carnivore and also been dairy-free this week to see if that pushes me out of a plateau. I have also started a 12-week intense weight lifting plan which goes well with the higher protein I am having right now. I am going to give dairy-free another week I think but may change things up in June. Still, after losing 110lbs your body does start to sabotage you, I just wish I didn't have so much more to lose. 

I think that's everything! The current CC balance is £1300, zero savings. Officially pulling it back from today. A little bit of meal prep tomorrow, bacon, egg and sausage boxes, and maybe a roast chicken if I find one on a yellow sticker on the way home.  

Have a good week everyone!