When I grow up

sugar-walsh

Yes, it's amazing how a super cheap bunch of daffs can make you smile @Honeysucklelou2

I bought a small spring bunch in aldinon Sunday. £3.50 for daffs, tulips, hyacinths and iris. I'm sure it's not a very mse thing to do, but I know that if I completely stop all the things I love the dedication to paying down my debt soon wanes. It's a balancing act. Plus, to be sustainable it has to be realistic.

The credit card is very up and down, I've got to pay for a new handbrake this week, let's hope I find some extra cash somewhere. 

I do have some writing for a website to do, I just need to get on with it. 

Enjoy your day. X

powerspowers

Well done on your debt clearing sugar-Walsh, you are doing brilliantly!
overdrafts are a pain to pay off when you are used to using them regularly. It’s a difficult trap to get out of and can seem more motivating to pay off cc as you can see it go down. Sounds like you are headed in the right direction, good luck

sugar-walsh

Thank you @powerspowers. I've resisted using 1 of them and I'm trying really hard to minimise the damage on the big one. It's generally going in the right direction, and that's fine with me. 

powerspowers

Keep going! Maybe trackhow much is only t it at the end of the month/payday so you can see it going the right way?
i enventually got mine cleared. I still have it in case of real emergency but never use more than the £10 freebie allowance. I never want to pay hsbc another penny 😆 

sugar-walsh

Thanks @powerspowers.  It's a short month so I'm hopeful there will be an improvement, even if small.
Last month I was left with £100 in my overdraft, so I hope it's closer to £200 this month. It will be slow, but I will get there.

Today was another no spend day.  Almost gave in to temptation for lunch, but didn't.

Bath and pamper night tonight. Aldi face scrub, reduced price smellies from The Bath House. They changed their branding so I grabbed a bottle of hair and body wash for half price. They're a small, local to me, company and I'm passionate about supporting local when I can. 

I think tomorrow will be another nsd, with Friday being operation 'fix car', which I'm hoping won't be too awful.

Another money saving thing we did recently was we put our kids on school transport. It seems counterintuitive, but, with rising petrol costs, and the fact it was eating into my husbands (self employed) work day, means we are actually better off.  Seems crazy, but it's true. This term we had to credit card it, we didn't have a spare £600 sat around, but it's looking good for summer term, when it is less. Ideally we will pay towards it each week, even during the holidays, to make it seem more manageable. 

That's the trick, really, isn't it? Breaking it all down into small, manegable chunks. And accepting that the road may be a little long and winding, but it's going in the right direction. 

Scott_Weiland79

sugar-walsh said:

Thank you @WinterWarrior. One day I will discover what I want to do. At least I may be out of debt eventually. 

Very very true, for the minute i just want rid of the 9grand around my neck lol then i will have abit more money too decide what i want to do when i grow up.

sugar-walsh

@Scott_Weiland79 I know just what you mean. Debt dictated your thoughts and decisions.
I'm doing a job I don't particularly like at the moment, but it pays more than anything else I've done and it's a means to an end. 
Thing is, I still don't know what I want to be when I've got rid of the debt.... 

sugar-walsh

When the interest hits. Urgh.  It catches me by surprise each month. At least today I had made a payment 1st,ao it didn't have too much of a detrimental effect. 

I always get panicked half way through the month. All bills get paid out of my wage, with my husbands money paying extras, and the credit card. He's self employed and I can't help but ask (repeatedly) what money he is bringing in each week. And about this point in the month I start to freak out, even though there's no need to.  So any tips on how to make things feel more in control are welcome. 

WinterWarrior

Self employed variable wages must be so hard to budget with. I would worry too. I also hate this point in the month, where everything is paid and it’s just a battle not to spend the savings until the next pay day.

jusferbrowsing

You're doing amazingly well. I'm also a fan of little luxuries that make you feel its not all hard slog. 

Cocktails in the garden with some (quiet) 70s disco music was our alternative to going on holiday last year... and what a hoot, I can't wait for this summer to do it all again. In fact we bought an adult size blow up paddling/swimming pool to make the best of any heatwave. 

Its all to easy to sleepwalk onto overspending and the fact you are aware and react to any potential deficit in your budget means that you won't stray too far from your path to being debt free. 

...and as for growing up... *raspberry noise