Hazelnutty's recover and rebuild plan for a happier, simpler life! 25 June 2021 at 5:36PM in Debt free diaries 114 replies 8.2K views

Hazelnutty

Hello diary friends!

An NSD yesterday but mainly due to my being under the weather I have a chronic liver condition that I can 99% of the time keep under control by getting enough sleep, eating a decent diet and not overdoing it on sugar, caffeine and alcohol. I guess I must've been overdoing it work-wise more than I thought as I've had a minor crash - it's just a kind of extreme fatigue. OH made me take the day off yesterday and today I've got through by working 50', lying down 10' every hour

Today was almost a 2nd but DD has a friend over for an alternative end of year party (she made it very clear she wasn't going to the school one - she's been on the receiving end of low-level but frequent targetting from some of the boys and just didn't want to do enforced socialising with them on her own time). We've catered for them but were then both really tired and really uninspired for our dinner so got some burgers and fries from an awesome food truck a 5' cycle away. What would normally be a breeze for me knocked me out But burgers were yum.

CC cut off tomorrow yay! Checked my balance and I'm going to just go over £600 but that's comfortably below the £750 target so will have some numbers to reallocate on my spreadsheet for next month Does anyone else get super excited about these things?!

Sun_Addict

Oh definitely yes, love updating my spreadsheet 😆

anjyeah

Like the journalling, I love updating my spreadsheet now. And I was even the type that used to hate the existence of it before, lol, how times can change. 

It seems like a hard few days for you and I really do hope you feel better. 

teapot2

Take care and get as much rest as you can - hope your energy is restored over the weekend.

Hazelnutty

Thanks @teapot2 @anjyeah @Sun_Addict !

I'm feeling a bit better this week - definitely learned the hard way to rest when these relapses start and not try to push through regardless! I managed to do my final run of the week but skipped swimming. It means a cross in my journal for weekly swimming goal but it was the right call.

So I managed to squirrel just under £150 extra away into various virtual pots from the CC underspend I think I'm going to reduce that £750 target from next month too. My monthly cc budgets only add up to £579 so I'd effectively be allowing myself almost £200 of unbudgeted spending - now I'm keeping a closer eye on spending, I shouldn't need it.  Every £ I reduce that target is a £ I can reallocate to a pot ANyway, I'll do my August planning next week some time so will report in then.

Also making some headway on further decluttering. Shifting 4 things today on Olio and sold a bookcase on FB this weekend. We're not going to do another boot sale this summer (just don't have the stuff to make it worth it) so over the next few weeks I'm going to shift through and give away/sell it all. Paying in all the proceeds tomorrow. The books will go into our little free library in the garden

It's too hot for me I've dug my USB fan out and am working with it full blast! Stay cool everyone

Hazelnutty

Happy rainy Tuesday! DD and I decided to go out and splash about ('like main characters' she said!) so am now drying off and having a cuppa!

New washing rack bought today (Home pot) but was really needed as veteran rack was getting quite rusty. Asda online shop order put in as neither of us fancy braving a supermarket right after Freedom Day (£77 including quite a few vegan treats for DD). I've listed another 4 boot sale leftovers on Olio so good on the decluttering front - aim is to clear the lot by the end of the month.

I'm mulling over my August journal (which is in neon orange!) and wondering what goals to set beyond financials. I'd like to get some more good habits and family-oriented goals on the list. What health/wellbeing/family goals do you all have?

Sun_Addict

One health goal I recently set for myself was to do 5,000 steps before I start work, another 5,000 before I start work after lunch and another 5,000 before I sit down at night. It also helps with my well-being because I’m getting out in the fresh air.

Hazelnutty

Wow @Sun_Addict that's a brilliant goal! What does 5000 steps roughly translate into in terms of minutes of walking?

Today should have been an NSD but DD announced she needed chocolates for all the teachers and TAs this morning. Managed to find some nice cadbury's chocolate gift cards in the Bos of Sains, which will do nicely. Also picked up a thank you card for her tutor, who has done wonders for her self-confidence and anxiety over the last few years, a half-price pair of denim shorts from the men's section (often fits me better) and some raspberries (for no reason other than I almost never get a look-in when they're on the shopping list) All of this can be covered from various virtual pots. Put half a tank of fuel in the car for our trip back to mine and OH's hometown (where we moved from) - will be lovely to see DD friends from her old school as well as some of ours

I am indulging in a valet for the car tomorrow (£35). This is a total luxury but the car is not in a great state after lockdown. I found some moss growing in the slot where the window goes up and down and it's just generally a bit manky inside and out (e.g. the council mows the communal bit of land next to the street so she gets sprayed with grass every couple of weeks!) Now I know a new (to us) e-vehicle replacement is a couple of years off at least, we need to show the old girl some tlc. I've had her since new and she's seen me through some major life changes, so I am quite attached Once it's been valeted we can keep her looking passable.

I thought I'd follow the suggestion of @Blackcats & others to divide up my cc debt into 1% squares in my journal and use that to do motivational OPs

Happy hump day everyone

Sun_Addict

5000 steps equals around 20-30 minutes walking. I WFH at the moment and used to walk 3 miles each way to and from the office, then a walk at lunchtime so I’m averaging less steps than normal. Some days I do more if I do a long walk with the dog. Too hot for the dog right now though. The 1% squares is a great idea, breaking it down into small goals is more achievable. 

Hazelnutty

That's really efficient! I did just under 30' for my scheduled run today (a mixture of run/walk) and did 4,200 ish. I do like the idea of spreading steps into chunks so you get that fresh air in over the day

I've just made up a 10x10 square in my journal for the CC debt. My balance today is £5924 so I've just gone for £60/square for simplicity. To include my monthly DDs I've messaged M&S bank and asked them to raise the amount from £200 to £240, so each month I'll get 4 squares for 'free' then any other OPs will nicely chip away at the balance