Now or never

Its_time

I've just been trying to catch up on some of the threads I have been reading, one thing that struck me about online shopping is that I am missing out on all the bargains that everyone is getting by not going to the shops.  Are they really bargains or are they impulse buys/am I better off sticking to my online list?  Definitely feel I am missing out on the fun part of that, the delight when I can grab a yellow sticker at the end of the day.
I've tried to sort out my little veg patch today but the ground is so hard I haven't been able to pull weeds out of the pots, another month maybe...did come across my first spider of the year in the greenhouse though ewwww.
I am going to have to say a big thank you to DH later - cup of tea and a bikkie will do - he has helped me finalise my last two jobs so they are done and dusted and customers have been informed that they are ready for collection...phew...that is a nice feeling.
Tea tonight was pie and chips with peas from the garden collected last year and gravy for DH.  Smaller person had burgers and chips and I had a frozen homemade curry made with mayflower sauce, chicken, onions, mushrooms and some runner beans of all things, I had it with brown wholegrain rice, it was nice but I could only manage half of it, less rice next time I think.
Money is all the same nothing to update but I did have a loss of 1lb on the scales this morning so I am pleased with that.  I have been sticking to drinking lots of water each day and I also have some cranberry juice, the health benefits outweigh the calories I think although there are not too many of them in my small glass.
Watched a little bit of Rosemary and Thyme when I was making tea.....mmmm speaking of Thyme my Nan used to make a fab parsley and thyme stuffing when I was small, wonder why that particular flavour is not available in shops, next time I make stuffing I think I will have a go, it was lovely on my chicken dinner followed by afters which was nearly always something with custard.  Happy memories.
Tomorrow is cleaning day and it really does need it.  I am also going to do some baking as I have about 7 eggs to use up by Monday or Tuesday, I will start as soon as I have finished helping DH outside in the morning.
Its time

Its_time

Been giving this years veg garden a little bit of thought, last year I think I went a bit mad and grew about 100 of everything.  This year we really only need what we eat so will stick to runner beans, peas, tomatoes, cucumber and some rocket.  Then a few carrots, cabbages and sprouts.  I think I might have to sow the seeds with a tweezers because no matter how hard I try to only sow a few I end up with about 20 lettuce ready to eat at one time.
Last year we had broccoli which came to nothing, potatoes which were ok but took a long time to grow, carrots and parsnips which looked like mandrakes, runner beans, peas, sprouts, beetroot, peppers, chilli peppers, tomatoes, melon and various herbs.  The herbs will be there this year and so will the fruit bushes which are raspberries, strawberries, one blackberry, blackcurrants and gooseberries.   The only bushes which give enough for jam are the blackcurrants.
I am going to do some flowers as well but not many, usually I start my sweet peas off around November so they are really strong plants the following year, I didn't do this last year even though I had the seeds, I will sow them March time I think and maybe some bedding plants, hmmmm....will think on this, I really only want the bare minimum as it is quite a lot of work to water them all.  Feeling a little restless tonight, wanting to bash this debt harder 
It's time

Its_time

Grey and misty here today and still quite cold.
DH is making tea tonight which is lovely, pitta bread with roast seasoned chicken, rocket, cucumber and tomatoes. Yum yum.  Have been sat on my butt watching Spider Wick Chronicles, I love the house, it's a country style and plenty of room.
One of my clients came today, click and collect style, took his order and paid me. That is a very nice over payment of £320 off the credit card    Now to work out how to get one of those everyday would be nice!
Ordered some frozen mash potato on my Mums order, I like the taste of it but worry that it is very processed, it also makes me feel very bloated after i've had it.  DH on the other hand loves it and has no such issues.
Completed my daily paperwork and cleaned up a bit, changed the beds etc. didn't do any cooking felt tired, probably the relief kicking in that my client had been and was pleased.
It's time

Its_time

A little warmer here this morning but drizzle by this afternoon and feeling chilly again. 
I have checked when DH and I should get our vaccinations, DH is on the first priority list but I am not, he might be lucky and get it by the spring and I will be more like the autumn, that is if all goes as planned.
I had a good sort out of my workshop this morning and started a new piece.  My favourite time of the job where there are no mistakes and it is a fresh start.  Tomorrow I will crack back on and if all goes to plan this job might be finished in around a week.  This one is not for a client it is one I am doing and will just sell on the site which is fine.  My other client has answered my messages but as expected is unable to pick up due to his location and the lock downs, I am grateful to him for not even trying.  I worked until around 3.30 and then started on tea, made a chicken cooked dinner as we didn't have one yesterday.
I am looking forward to 8pm tonight when we have a cuppa and I can have a nice piece of victoria sandwich cake I made.  I had the sponge in the freezer so only had to add butter icing and jam.
I slept like a log last night, woke up this morning when my alarm went, am hoping I do the same tonight.
No change on the money front today, I suppose Friday is the next day it will all change.  I am waiting for a statement to come in the post and then I can update my overall debt and work onwards from that.
It's time

Its_time

Busy day planned, showered, house tidied, washing and dishwasher on, just about to go and help organise the yard, its raining so don't really fancy that!  Work is calling hoping to finish by about 3.30/4, update the paperwork later on and then at some point make cakes out of the 4 eggs which are out of date today.  Had a few enquiries which might result in firm commissions fingers crossed 🤞 

Its_time

Well I have written around 4 updates...where they are is a mystery!
Quick recap.
Over payment to debt last Friday of £120.
Shopping account was on £175.60 so I transferred £100 of it to the debt leaving £75.60, I have just done an Aldi click and collect for Tuesday so will update the figures on Tuesday but it is around £62.
This week I have stopped myself from buying two items I have wanted for a very long time, a new treadmill and dressform total cost of them both would have been £599, I realised at some point in the week that I wouldn't have been buying them, the credit card would and it had felt so good on Friday to get below another £1,000 marker.  Out of the blue my daughter in law said she knew someone with a treadmill they wanted to sell.  A few minutes later I paid £50 via the bank for an absolutely fab treadmill with all the features I would have wanted, delighted is not the word.  The treadmill was left in their garden at an agreed time and my son picked it up as it was enroute between his house and ours.  I felt lucky!  So I have used it every single day since.  DH has given it the once over and cast his mechanics eyes over it, it is now running smoothly and silently.  I LOVE IT!   I think it takes me back to the days when I used to go to the gym and was slim and healthy, hopefully those days wont be too far away now.  Diet is better last few days as well, seems both go together.  I need to work up to half hour on the treadmill and incorporate 10 minutes on my cross trainer in there as well.  
I decided to leave the dressform mannequin until I am slimmer and then I can alter/make my clothes to fit properly as it is no use now I am not the right size.  I did content myself with altering an old dressing gown which has hung in the wardrobe for about 2 years, I changed it into a pyjama top, it is lovely and comfy and warm.
I've been quite busy with quotes for my business 3, 2 of them have become definite jobs, always a nice feeling to know the money is coming.  I've been working today as I had a lot of work that needed my concentration and it has been very difficult with the schools closed, DH was babysitter today.  
I've also made an effort to look after myself this week, I have spoiled myself with a mask and a bath mid afternoon, have cut 3 inches off my long hair (still very long but 3 inches made a huge difference to me), have been using creams and generally being much kinder to myself.
Made a cake this evening when I finished work and have just sat down now after cleaning the kitchen.
Here's to another good week fingers crossed.
It's time

Its_time

Bit of a muddle occurred really, I didn't think ahead and transferred £100 to the debt from the shopping which only left £75.60 in the shopping.  I decided to try and shop for 2 weeks to avoid click and collect fees of £4.99 weekly.  Anyway, the total bill came to £92.06 I decided the best thing for now is to pretend the £100 I paid to the card was for the shop I just did, because I use the card for payment and then recently with my new system I transfer payment immediately from the shopping account.  I will write that off as a bad call and try to think in advance next time.  So the shopping account is still on £75.60.  Total shopping so far for January is £166.20/£375 budget and there will be about £15 to pay my Mum for her Tesco shop add ons that I have done,  I am hoping not to shop until Feb.
Had our final electricity bill from our old supplier and after paying the charges for the last month it has meant that we are due a rebate so that is £300 ear marked for the debt going over on Friday making this weeks payment £420.  Thank you very much!!
It is an absolutely stinker of a day here, torrential rain gushing down and high winds.  I did not enjoy the click and collect experience mainly because I felt guilty as sin for the poor boy loading my shopping into my boot.
I was not well in the night, just felt unbelievably bloated and hot, I am not sure if I am having some kind of reaction to flour, it always occurs when I eat homemade bread and cakes, maybe it is just the amount I can go through in one day, I don't know, either way today I am having a healthy day again.  I know I need to I just can't find the mojo to get on with the healthy lifestyle I keep harping on about.
I have used my treadmill or as DH calls it, the new clothes horse, instead of using program 2 I have gone back to program 1 in case it is a bit much for me as I have been aching to the point I have needed painkillers, I have a bad neck with degenerative discs which means even walking hurts me, but I will keep on and get myself back to where I was last August which was not far off 2 stone lighter and much more active.  
DH and I have decided we are going to watch a complete re run of Death in Paradise, we both love to see the sea in the program and as we can't go away or even out at the moment it is a welcome splash of colour and a reminder of holidays.
For the first time in a long time there are inroads being made into the debt and it feels good

Its_time

Another torrential day here, wind and rain, everywhere is soaked and we have a river running through our garden.
Managed to sell on ebay so after fees transferred £32.70 will keep it in the current account to make the balance a bit higher so it does not go as low as it has, even £100 buffer is better than nothing.
Been messing about a lot today with the mse calculators, have thought what to do when all the debt is paid off, whether to save or not.  We would love to give up our main income business as it is running constantly and causes lots of stress.  The calculators suggest that if we pay all the debt at the rate we are at the moment then the first credit card should be gone by around December, then the loan by next March and the 2nd credit card a few months later.  After that we can save.  This is all purely wishful thinking I am sure but if we followed the plan to the T then saving for 6 years after the debt has gone would give us decent amount to start looking towards a second property with a small mortgage to rent out to provide more income to replace business 1, or if we didn't save as much and paid off the mortgage on our main house by over paying monthly, in 6 years we would have a main house mortgage of around £30,000 and savings of around £10,000. but no second house to rent out. But this would mean with lower outgoings (as soon as we had paid the rest of the mortgage off) we could consider giving up business 1  as we could live on business 2 and 3's income.  During the 6 years we would also have the income of business 2 and 3 which would give us spending money during the 6 years.  It would also mean we could if we wanted to not give up business 1 but just scale down to an acceptable level for additional income for a few years.  Either way lots of thinking today.  According to mse calculators paying off the mortgage rather than saving will save us around £27,000 in interest and we would be mortgage free 12 years earlier.  
Might all be pie in the sky but if we don't attempt to put a plan in place we are definitely going nowhere.
I'm quite pleased at myself because this is the first time ever 'ever' that I have paid over payments regularly like this, its usually one payment maybe another and then that is it, I give up.  But for whatever reason so far it is working, it really is starting to give me a little bit of peace of mind and I can see a tiny but realistic glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.  It's becoming addictive and that is what I need.
I know I am muddled where money is concerned and jump from one plan to the next but I am really hoping I can stick to this as the future looks much brighter playing it this way
It's time

Blackcats

It's time - don't worry about feeling like you jump from plan to plan - I recognise that from myself and I think it's healthy because this is our thinking about how we spend our money in a future world when we are liberated from debt and our money really is ours to save and spend.  

Your debt free date is really close now - well done!!

Its_time

Thank you Blackcats, it's nice to hear I am not the only one, at least the thinking is positive and pointing in the right direction.  I am also recognising that I am beginning to see the difference between 'their' money and 'mine.  Up until now all the money was mine to do with what ever I wanted, I could spend happily until my credit card limits and then get another one if I wanted to, no more, I want my own money and want to stop borrowing.
Had a busy day so far today, have been working on B1 (business 1, 2 and 3 is too long to type ) and also B3, so my brain has been dragged in a few different directions.  Currently have a few minutes rest as the app is down and I am not able to use it, partly annoying..partly grateful for the rest.
I have a curry in the slow cooker which is smelling divine and my tummy is rumbling ....we actually I am not that hungry as I have just eaten two chocolate oaties but my cravings are definitely fancying more.
Today has been a lovely day, sunny and cold, it really makes such as difference to my mood.  I have been trying to remember my Vitamin D as I swear it helps with my brain fog and headaches.
I love it when I have worked hard all day I really feel a sense of achievement and feel as if I am making my 6 year plan work.  I can look forward to a lovely evening sitting watching sunny Death in Paradise.
It is helping me hugely posting on here, half the time I am just typing what is on my mind but all the same it helps.  I don't update my challenge threads unless there is something to say but I try and read them as often as I can as they are very motivating and inspirational.  Another one I enjoy reading is the Frump to Fab, wonderful ladies on there
It's time