My fate is sealed

Hastingslass

Well I have but the bullet and called step change last week. My situation is I’m a victim of Domestic Abuse and 3 weeks ago I plucked up the courage to leave. I’m 60 years old and I’ve suffered financial abuse and mental abuse for years. I’m lucky I can afford to pay quite a lot off me debts monthly and have found somewhere to live which is lovely. I have my beautiful upcycled furniture which I’ve been collecting off Facebook marketplace and repainting and I have to say my place is looking lovely. It’s amazing how much free stuff I have made look stunning.
My debt is £ 42000 and I can afford to pay off £800 a month so I’ll be debt free in 4 years and 3 months but I want to get this down. I’ll be scrimping and saving to make this happen 

Amber1980

@Hastingslass
Welcome and huge congrats on leaving,that must have taken some real guts!
You sound really positive and organised about your future,I wish you well!
 I also love upcycling second hand furniture,usually using chalk paint.
You will get loads of money saving ideas and advice on here 😊😊

Hastingslass

Thank you Amber yes it was really difficult and I’ve moved 200 miles away ( the only good thing to come out of the pandemic is that I know work at home although I will need to make a round trip of 400 miles  every month to go into the office). I’m using the time I have on my breathing space to get a cooker , washing machine and fridge freezer and to save an emergency fund. I took all my nice bedding and towels when I left so I’ll just get something I need monthly. I’m allowing myself £25/month for essential things I haven’t got.

AntoMac

Very brave of you to get out. I can imagine escaping such a situation is a lot more difficult than it would seem to someone on the outside. Onwards and upwards

Hastingslass

Well today I have received my pension payment. This covers my rent and gives me £70  for food until 28th which is more than I need. My pay comes in on the 28th. Meal plan complete and shopping bought. I’m going to try and go shopping every 8 days instead of 7 so every few weeks I’ll have my shopping budget of £35 to go into my EF. I’ve cashed in £8.00 from curiouscat and £4.75 from QMEE so that’s gone into my EF 
I’ve allowed myself £5/week for extras ie a the odd cup of coffee out. If I don’t spend it it’ll go into my EF and if I go out and it costs more than £5 I’ll have to earn it either by selling some of my fabric stash or from surveys. 

downshifted

Congratulations on taking such a brave step, you sound well organised, I bet you’ve got a great future ahead.

Hastingslass

Today has been a total p*** take at work. My teams manager who forgets about me constantly is off sick. Anyway the manager of the manager called a meeting to discuss who would be managing us, but didn’t send me an invite to the meeting.. to say I’m upset is an understatement but hey ho I went out for a walk and coming home the fruit and veg shop had daffodils in their window do having made £2.30 on surveys this morning I spent a pound on them to cheer me up , so have only managed to send £1.30 to my EF today. The daffodils 🌼 are currently on my desk till I finish work then I’ll put them in the living room. Today should’ve been a no spend day but never mind the daffodils are lovely ( I don’t have a vase do they’re in a pint glass) vases are not on my essential list but then again neither are daffodils… 
dinner tonight is shepherds pie and I’ll be putting 2 portions in the freezer one for dinner tomorrow. I’m thinking I’ll only need to cook one in 3 weeks if I keep this up 

Aimingforthegoodlife

Hi Hastgingslass, firstly the upheaval of moving so far, and under the circumstances you have done so must have been so tough, I love that you have been able to make your place your own and I hope this is the begining of great things for you! Sorry work have been rubbish to you, its definitely hurtful to be missed out. Daffodils are worth the spend, one of my fav flowers, the yellow just cheers up a rubbish day, so this was a self care spend! Hope your day gets better! 

foxgloves

Re a free vase, @Hastingslass, when you're passing the bottle banks in supermarket car parks, etc, just have a little look out for boxes of stuff dumped next to the bins cos they're full or people are too lazy to post their bottles in. Might well strike lucky with a lovely bottle that's someone's trash but would be your treasure. I have no qualms about rescuing good bottle bank finds..... including in the past a whole box of kilner jars & a big plastic crate which I lined with old compost bags & used to grow lettuces. I think one of my prettiest floral arrangements was a bunch of sweetpeas & a couple of sprays of alchemilla from the garden, plopped into an empty B*mbay Sapphire bottle!
Good luck with all your plans,
F

ladyholly

Congratulations on such a brave step and well done for making you new home your own. You deserve it. 
Very hurtful to be ignored complain loudly to ensure it doesn't happen again. Make  sure you find out what went on and if there was anything relevant put your point of view in writing. 

BellaLasagna2018

I often use a jar for a vase, with a ribbon around the top, but often without. I quite like the rustic look.