I’m 34 and have been in debt since I was 18. It ends now!

AntoMac

Well done. You’ve made a great start and achieved a lot in just over a week.

GolfR

Thank you very much for your kind comment AntoMac, it’s much appreciated

Didn’t venture outdoors today as the rain has been battering down so I made some cloud bread with my little girl (which came out wrong!), put a whole chicken in the slow cooker which I just had with home made potato wedges with skin on and Richmond meat free sausages with the whole lot doused in peanut sauce and it tasted phenomenal, I love meat cooked in the slow cooker. I also spent about two hours going through all my clothes. I’ve still got my chest of drawers to go and a smaller pile but I’ve already put aside about two bin bag size piles to go into the charity bins. And I cleaned my old white converse with a trick I’ve seen on a facebook cleaning page - napisan soak and then in the washing machine - and they’ve come out so well, almost like new to look at them, especially from how they looked before. I’m majorly impressed considering the napisan only cost £3 for the box. I also put a few whites into the washing machine to make the most of it such as a white dressing gown I’ve had for years, a couple of white tshirts and a couple of the kids’ school polo shirts and they’ve come out nice too.

I sold a pair of shoes on eBay earlier but I just worked out I’ll be getting £7.71 after eBay fees. I’m wondering if it’s worth the rigamarole of boxing them up and going to the post office for the sake of say £2 once I pay the postage fees. I’d rather just give them to charity if that’s all I’m going to get, and save the hassle. I don’t know, I’ll think about it. Work tomorrow afternoon and my food is all planned ready - a defrosted home made breakfast burrito in the morning, slow cooker chicken with a yellow sticker 38p cheesy broccoli side thing in work and then the huge pizza for tea. I think I’ll have sweet potato wedges with it though since I had white potato wedges just now.

I had plans to have a this beansprout cous cous thing for dinner earlier but when I opened the beansprout pack they were all wet and smelled off. I was gutted as I was really looking forward to eating it and I only bought the beansprouts two days ago from Lidl and the use by was 11th august. Oh well it can’t be helped now. 

Hope you’re all well and have a lovely weekend!

GolfR

Got 2/3 bags of books (mostly recipe books) to go to the bhf charity bin on my way to work later, it will be good to finally get them out of my hallway. And I’ve got the clothes I sorted yesterday to go into charity bins on my way home from work if I get them bagged in time but it’s only in the Tesco car park a mile down the road from me so not the end of the world if I don’t whereas the bhf book one is 14 miles away. Can’t be bothered for work today but it’s only a 6 hour shift (as opposed to the usual 12) and I won’t be complaining when I get paid next week 

Buffythedebtslayer

You have made such an excellent start GolfR! Really impressive, hope work is ok and the time passes quickly  

GolfR

Thanks Buffy! That was one of my favourite shows growing up and because of this I’ve read quite a bit of your diary before now

Work went well, there’s wasn’t a huge amount going on but I was still knackered coming home. Had two hours sleep and then woke up just after 1am feeling hungry so I’ve just had two bags of crisps and a skinny crunch bar. Still feeling hungry though so if I’m still awake in a bit I’ll go eat some of the chicken that I made day yesterday.

I managed to sell two things today on eBay. My daughters coat went for quite a bit more than I expected at £23 so I’m waiting for payment for that then I’ll send it off. I also sold a book and even though the buyer paid instantly, eBay have decided to keep my money aside until 8th September - a whole month! So I’m annoyed at that and it makes me wonder whether it’s safe to send it.

I got rid of the four carrier bags of clothes on the way home from work although I didn’t leave early enough to take the books but they’re sat in the boot ready to go. And I’m going to finish sorting my room tomorrow I hope. I can then move onto my little girls room which is full of toys she doesn’t play with and a unit I want to get rid of so that I can build the new ikea desk that I bought her a few months ago.

I’ve just worked out my money for the rest of the month including the pay I’ll have for the bank shift today and I should have another £200 to put into savings/towards debt this month meaning I’ll have put away £450 this month unless anything else pops up. I feel very proud of myself when I think what I can do when I put my mind towards something.

GolfR

I’ve had a super busy day today! I spent hours upon hours sorting out my bedroom. I’ve finally finished sorting out my clothes and had another four carrier bags which I took to the charity bin earlier and I sorted out the side cubby hole bit and it’s so much neater now and I chucked out a good bit too. I did bit of a sort out of the kitchen too and it looks better already. At the same time I made three sundried tomato and mozzarella breads which I’ll have for dinner tomorrow with either a tin of soup or some home made soup from the freezer.

When I was sorting out the kitchen I found an old pack of 8 yeast which is due to run out the end of October which is annoying as I’d bought yeast a few weeks ago to make bread! That’ll teach me to not know what’s in my cupboards so I’ll make a point of using that soon. Luckily the new packs I bought are good until 2023. I found a ton of packs of seeds and nuts which are hitting their best before soon so I’ll need to make something from them. Some nut bars or balls maybe. I made them before and they came out lovely.

I went to tesco earlier and spent just under £16 on milk, eggs and a few other essentials. I used about £1’s worth of coppers and some other change I had in my purse so in effect the shopping today was only just over £4 on my card.

Music magpie have received my order too so that should be an extra £16 for myself tomorrow hopefully and £21 for my son as long as they’re happy with the quality of the items. I’m going to enjoy a nice cup of mint hot chocolate options now and then head to bed. Goodnight all!

GolfR

There’s been a little bit of spending today. I had to post a book I sold on eBay so I ended up with £10 from that sale, and payment for the coat I sold that I’d been waiting two days for was paid about an hour after I’d been to the post office so I was a bit miffed by that! So I’ll have to go back to the post office for that tomorrow. 

I spent £2.70 in the post office and then £21 in Lidl but £15 of that was a storage ottoman on one of their weekly deals; I wanted it to complete my bedroom and it’s finally done now so I’m thrilled! I also spent £13 on a lamp last night for my sons room as he really needed one. I was going to get a cheap one from argos and there was one for £6 but the bulbs were £10 for two and I’d already seen this LED moon lamp on Amazon for £13 so the cheap argos one seemed a false economy, plus it involved me driving there. I used to be awful for driving miles all over the place and spending loads of money unnecessarily and I’ve cut back on that so much recently which is massive thing for anyone who knows me.

I’ve sold a set of wind deflectors off my old car tonight on eBay and I’m meeting the guy tomorrow with them. I needed to go to town tomorrow anyway to sell the last four games to CEX and to drop the charity books off so that’s worked out perfectly and it’s £13 more in my pocket  

I looked into the thing where eBay are keeping my sales money for a month and it’s to do with the buyer confirming they’ve had the item before they’ll release the funds to me so it’s unlikely to be a month they keep it. This is new for eBay, as far as I’m aware, so I don’t know why I’ve been targeted as I’ve had no selling issues so far. I really don’t trust this either as I know eBay are very keen to side with the buyer if there’s any issues so someone could easily say they’ve not received the item and then I’m down however much the item was. I’m just glad I’m on my last bulk of items to sell and then I’m done with it.

As mentioned above, my bedroom is finally sorted and I just have a Halfords car bike rack left that I’m really unsure what to do with. I wouldn’t have the foggiest how to put it on the car as I only did it once before and it was super complicated. And I’m assuming all the parts are there but I wouldn’t like to sell it on with bits missing that I don’t know about. Maybe I’ll try and put it on my car tomorrow and if it goes ok I’ll try it on fb marketplace and eBay

I came across some stuff in the bedroom cubby hole last night that are too bulky for the bin so I’ve booked a tip visit for Thursday afternoon. And I’ve currently got a huge batch of yellow split pea curry cooking in the slow cooker which I only needed to buy a bag of spinach for, everything else was already in the cupboard. I’ve not made it before but I’m hoping it comes out like my red split lentil curry which is really really tasty, I added all the same spices to it so fingers crossed. I’ve also added in a tin of drained chickpeas and 150g organic soya chunks (I have a 1kg bag here to use up). My biggest slow cooker (I have three!) is 6l so it should make around 10 portions.

Hope you all had a lovely day!

GolfR

Another busy one today. I sent the eBay coat off, it was £4.20 delivered so I ended up with around £18, amazing when I was considering giving it away! I met the guy with the wind deflectors but because he’d paid on eBay and there’s no way of me confirming I’ve met him (another one of those darned holding the money things) looks like I’ll have to wait until a months time to have the money. Not the end of the world but just really annoying when it’s my money! Maybe I’ll speak to eBay in a few days if nothing has changed between now and then as I really don’t think it’s fair. I also gave the games into cex and I’ve had confirmation that they’re sending me the £28 for the four games, of which £15 is mine and £13 is my son’s, which should be going into my account tomorrow. 

I went to the place where the book bank is but it’s gone sadly. I’d not taken anything there for a couple of years so I guess it’s moved on. I’ll leave them in my car and take them to a charity shop next time I’m near one.

I went into multiple game/hmv type stores today just for a look and despite being incredibly tempted by two soft toys (Kirby and mr meeseeks) I didn’t spend a penny. It really hit home how well I’m doing. I could have easily spent at least £30 today in my old ways. My son had been asking for a dominos all month so I agreed that we could have one tonight. But instead of having two large pizzas with stuffed crust and a side or two costing around £25 which is what I’d normally get, I got three personal size pizza’s, so one each, costing £9.48 after applying a 50% off £10 coupon. And it actually worked out better doing this as we all like completely different toppings.

I have my tip visit tomorrow at 3:30pm so I filled my car completely full earlier ready for it and actually managed to get in more than I expected - surprising for a 3 door Polo so I’m very excited to get rid of all that stuff. Honestly, I know I said it a few posts ago, but the difference I’m feeling for getting rid of stuff is actually more rewarding than the money I’m getting for some of it, although that is a nice bonus! I’m hoping to continue sorting my daughters room tomorrow. I’m tempted to get rid of some of her toys without her knowing, I know it’s a little mean but I can’t see her wanting to get rid of anything. Even if I just get rid of things with missing bits, that might be a start. 

I’ve listed a couple more things on eBay. I’m not expecting them to make much, if anything, and if they don’t they can go into the charity bins so it’s no big deal if they don’t, I just thought I’d give them a go. Got some other stuff finishing on eBay tomorrow evening (Thursday evening, I know it’s almost 5am that I’m posting this but it’s still Wednesday to me until I wake up!) so I shall report back with how I get on!

GolfR

Hi everyone! I’ve not had chance to post the last few days as I’ve been at my partners house, he lives four hours away from me. I’m hoping to do the journey on one full tank of petrol which will mean it would have cost around £55 and I’ve spent £40 up here so far on food and I was expecting to have spent around £100 altogether with petrol so that’s about right. He’s moving into the house he bought a few months ago soon once the work inside is done so it will be easier food wise rather than having to get takeaways as I feel a bit awkward buying and making food at his parents, as lovely as they are.

I had a great success with eBay last night, my Kitchenaid attachment went for £85! I have the max £2 selling fees on currently so I managed to get £83 plus postage, way more than I would have had for them on a normal eBay fee day. And I was just so shocked at how much it actually made, I was jumping my exercise bike went for £46 which the person is coming to collect the end of this week and I also sold a pair of tailored trousers and a top that both don’t fit me anymore so I’ve done really well! There was four items that didn’t sell, which is fine, so I’ll be putting them in the charity bag. eBay are finally starting to pay out the money I’ve made thankfully, once you say you’ve dispatched it seems to be coming in within a week or so which is rubbish but much better than a month.

I’ve been watching lots of decluttering videos on YouTube so I’m excited to get home and continue with my efforts. I’m back in work from 14 days of annual leave on Wednesday night but I’m only in for three weeks then I have 22 days annual leave so I can’t wait for that. All the games and clothes I wanted to sell are going soon or are already gone. According to eBay I’ve made £600 with what I’ve sold recently. This is before fees I assume and includes my sons games which he’s had the money for but I think I’ve done so well and I’m very pleased with myself for finally decluttering and making extra money to go towards my debt/savings. I’m still awaiting for one music magpie payment which they’re being very slow about so I’ll be getting in touch with them today again if I’ve not received it later on. 

I’ve got £300 from what I’ve made this month so far in my debt/savings pot, I’m expecting £278 in dribs and drabs from eBay in the next week or two and payment for my bank shift this Friday which should be around £175 so I’m hoping to have £650 altogether by the end of this month. Not too shabby!

GolfR

Hello! Hope you’re all well. I drove home from my other half’s today. I decided against driving home on the half tank; my range was showing as 190 miles and it’s 225 from his and I didn’t fancy filling up with crazy priced services petrol so I got some before I left. I got home on just over half a tank so I’m confident I could have done it posted lots more things today and I’ve got another two to post tomorrow. The money is coming in thick and fast from eBay now thankfully and I’m getting lots of nice feedback which is lovely! I bought a meal deal before I left of honey and mustard pasta and crisps which I’d planned to eat in the services when I stopped for a wee but surprisingly I didn’t need to stop so I’ll take that to work tomorrow night instead so saves me wondering to take tomorrow night.

It’s payday for me on Monday and I don’t think I’ve ever made it there with money left over. It’s normally all gone by two weeks into the month and then I’m feeling deprived for the other 2/3 weeks so I’m thrilled with what I’ve achieved in the last few weeks. As far as I’m aware I don’t have any other stuff to sell on eBay which is fine by me as I’ve had enough now

It’s very late now and I’m super tired but I’ll be back before you know it!