My Intentional Journey to Debt Freedom

RosaBernicia

Oh I didn't know there were green creams - I sometimes use the boots number green primer, not all over just to tone down areas I don't want rosy!  will look out for a cream version now. 

EssexHebridean

There is some fantastically interesting stuff here on the skincare front. I have always gone through phases with makeup/no makeup and what I do in terms of skincare. At the moment I am using the Cl1n1que moisture Surge that I've mentioned before - and having tried alternatives I confess that I just have never found anything anywhere near as good so I'm fortunate to be able to afford to continue to use it now. The only reason I don't plough through more of it is that it's not had SPF in until recently (and I haven't yet got a jar of the one that does!) - and these days I do try to ensure that on any days where there is even a bit of sun forecast, I use an SPF. On that side of things I currently have a rather nice vitamin C/SPF serum which I'm really enjoying - It is a Garn1er one I think and wasn't particularly expensive which is already a win. In terms of cleansing I'm another who likes to use essentially "soap and a flannel" - If I wash my face in the shower in the morning then it just gets a splash of water and a good rub as a rule, but at night I use either a cleansing balm which is massaged in and then washes off with water, or sometimes micellar water and reusable makeup remover pads. I find the pads a bit too harsh to use on a daily basis. I also have the Al's hot Cloth cleanser which I REALLY like and does a great job. I don't have a separate eye makeup remover as I don't wear waterproof mascara and all the various cleansing products I use can be safely used around the eyes too. I've currently got a Cl1n1que gentle liquid facial soap and a gel type exfoliator on the go too - both were gained as free full size products with other purchases and last just about forever so I'm seeing those as pretty MSE!

I find that Nadine Baggott is a great source of solid skin care info -  she really knows her stuff and she doesn't mince her words! (her views on neck creams are interesting as that is something that has been mentioned here - she says just take your usual moisturiser down your neck and onto your upper chest. Her view being that there is just no need to buy a specific "neck" cream as they don't do anything more than a regular moisturiser would. I confess I was glad to hear that as they've always felt like a step too far, for me! But then I feel much the same about eye creams - again there Nadine says that the rise of serum type moisturisers has been a game changer there as those are generally fine for use in the eye area.) 

That's so sad about your Sister - you must feel her loss all the more as you get older and aren't sharing that process with her. 

brilliant work on setting budgets and managing the coffee habit too! And the emergency fund - how fabulous that you're so nearly at your initial basic fund target! 

beanielou

Interesting on the neck cream. It’s the one I swear by & really notice if I don’t use regularly. 

Mind you I only started using it just before I was 60. 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Thanks @beanielou and @RosaBernicia.  I’ll probably stick to normal moisturiser on my neck.  I have so many products on the go that I don’t need to add any more.  

Thank you for your words about my sister @EssexHebridean.  Time helps but I won’t ever get over it. There was nothing that could be done for her soon as she was gone 6 months after being diagnosed  (brain tumour). But it does make me value life - with all its problems and challenges. I try to be grateful for all the imperfect bits (not always easy)  as well as all the joyous parts. It’s such a gift to be here to experience it at all.  

And thanks for all your beauty info.  I’m going to look into Nadine.  I’ve never heard of her. 

I know I’ve said it before but you are all amazing with your tips and ideas and the time and trouble you take to post.  All gratefully received and very much appreciated.  

L x 

EssexHebridean

I occasionally search out podcasts with Nadine speaking on because she is such a breath of fresh air and so often reminds me that some of what you hear said about beauty stuff is just fluff! 

PennysIntoPounds

Hope all is okay with you. If you've cracked and bought an entire coffee franchise, we won't judge. Much 😁 x

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

OMG @PennysIntoPounds  You’ve been stalking me 🤣🤣. I’ve been so busy getting it all up and running….
But seriously. My head has just been completely full of work.  I have a few days off now until next Thursday so will definitely catch up.  Sometimes I spend so long in front of a screen that I can’t face it outside work.  I am also a sufferer of visual migraines so I have to manage the screen side.  I don’t get headaches but do get the flashing lights etc etc. 

I have hundreds of posts to read.  We are doing a big finance review this weekend as well.  More to follow.  Hope everyone is well 

L x 

Cheery_Daff

Glad you're doing ok! I get visual migraines too (actually I think it was here we were talking about them recently, wasn't it!) Odd things.

Do report back after your meeting!

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hi everyone
Apologies in advance for this epic post!!!
We have taken the opportunity of me having a few days off to review everything we have done financially since Christmas.  It has been really interesting and has surprised me in some areas.  
When i started this journey in between Christmas and New Year, I was pretty confident that I had genuinely hit my light bulb moment....hmm!!  Maybe not.  That doesn't mean it has all gone to pot, more that I had hit a moment but the past three months have shown that what I thought I could and would do in the beginning has not turned out to be the case and that there is more work to do in terms of firmly embedding all of the good habits.
Over the past three months, one of the things that has struck me most (I have carried on reading even when not posting) is how different we all are - not just in income and circumstances, but in the things that are important to us, the things we value and the lifestyle choices we make both singly and as part of couples and families.  That reflection has informed this discussion with Mr L today, together with his thoughts on everything.  He may not be front and centre on this but has good ideas and is also good at helping me to take a step back and consider different choices and angles.  So, here we go:
Things we planned to address/have addressed:
- Credit cards.  We have stuck to the plan - Mr L is moving towards being paid off by the end of the year which was the original plan.   We transferred most of mine to 0% and have that set up to pay off by the end of the (long) term.   The interest bearing part is reducing steadily and will be gone by the beginning of June.  All round win and we're happy with the approach and current outcomes.
- Personal spends.  We were keen on this idea and tried it in January but it didn't work out.  I think it could work out further down the process but it's not for us at the moment.  It was an interesting process and I'm glad we tried it.  
- Emergency fund - this stands at £1400 (see later) and we will keep at that until we get to £2000.

Still a work in progress:
- Food budget.  We have some money budgeted for next week when I am off but will start back on our food budget on Friday 4th.  We have been a bit hit and miss with this and there is definite progress still to be made. We are both keen to organise this better because I think there are still good savings to be had with minimal impact to be honest.  
- Insurances - we had to pay the car insurance and that was a shock to the system (nearly £900!!!).  We could have gone cheaper but I wasn't prepared to choose a company where I couldn't find a single person that had used them and where any negative reviews were about claims which is the only bit I want to be good.  I drive a lot of miles (up to 30,000 a year) and that obviously increases it and we also realised that (for some reason) our protection for our no claims discount had dropped off and that cost money to re-introduce (and hadn't been in place the year before but thankfully no claims - also explains why last year seemed cheaper).  I'm not going to lie - the price of this was a shock, but it gives us a benchmark and we have started putting some aside each month for next year.  We have household insurance renewal in October so have also started putting something aside for that in expectation that this will also rise way more than we anticipate.  On the plus side we had money to pay the car insurance in full so it didn't go on a credit card.
-General spending - still finding this a bit challenging to be honest.  This is mainly about my expenditure rather than Mr L, who is pretty good.  I am using up lots of skin care stuff that I still have and have decided to just finish up with everything before trying anything else new - everyone's input has been great on this and I am still considering different options.
- Impulse buying - generally has improved but I did succumb to a handbag the other day from JL.  It was just under £300.  However, by the time it arrived I had talked myself out of it and so it will be going back this week (no danger of changing my mind).  It's a funny thing really - on the one hand I am cross with myself for buying it but on the other, quite proud of myself that I used the time before it arrived to honestly think about it and whether it was worth it (don't ask me how many handbags I have already) and came to a good decision.  There was no postage involved and we can take it back without incurring any cost so I am viewing this as just a learning event.    However, I have been thinking about why I bought it in the first place - not quite sure.  I was looking to find the perfect cross body bag and it seemed to tick that box (it didn't once I saw it).  What I need to do more work on is really about my values in this area - do I want more stuff than I have already?  Is it the end of the world if I don't have the perfect cross body bag (I have others). I know the answer to this at a deeper level, but clearly I have work to do on my impulse brain.  

General/future stuff
- We have agreed that we don't need to make every future plan at this moment.  We both know that our old habits havn't gone away yet, so we are keen to focus on day to day spending and all of the things above to embed new habits.  That will automatically take us towards our longer term goals but the end of this year will be time enough to see where we are up to and make new goals.  As I said in a previous post, our mortgage is going down fairly quickly anyway as we have reduced the term quite substantially (I am way better at paying things I have to pay than voluntarily making overpayments and that was part of our decision to reduce the term when we last re-mortgaged).  Whilst I would like to make more overpayments, I know that it is ticking along at quite a good rate in the background so we can afford to park that whilst we make progress in other areas.
- We have booked to go away for Christmas week this year.  This was kind of an impulse - we took the deposit out of the emergency fund and will replace that - and I am putting money aside for the balance each month.  It is in this country as we need to bring the dog with us.  We will be staying a few miles from very good friends in the west country.  There are reasons for choosing to do this for this year.  We also get quite fed up putting our arrangements on hold whilst we wait for all of our family and friends to decide what they're doing and then we fit in around them, so decided to take a bit of control.  I will still have 10 days off when we return so plenty of time to catch up with everyone then.  This is an expense that we hadn't planned for but I'm comfortable that it's affordable in the great scheme of things and we won't be eating out all the time.  I did my nurse training in the same area so several nice towns to visit and have a wander, the coast and great friends.  Looking forward to it already but lots of year to go first (albeit that it seems to be hurtling along already).

Overall, I think we have shone a light on everything and that has been very beneficial.  I have understood over the past three months that a lifetime of habits don't change just because I want them to!!!!  This is very much a step by step journey but I am definitely more intentional and more aware.  I'm ashamed to say that previously I would probably have kept the handbag mentioned above - even though it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.  That is every bit as bad as it sounds and it definitely feels like progress to be taking it back.

Looking forwards
- Car service in April - money put aside already.
- Christmas holiday - money being put aside for the balance due in October and we are also re-filling the emergency pot where we took the deposit money.
- Still saving for Christmas/Silver wedding - all on track there.
- Coffee habit -  ongoing reductions.  In March I spent £10 on drive thru coffees (shockingly that equates to only 2 coffees).  I am happy with that - I doubt I will eliminate it totally but it is more intentional and less of a habit. There will be times that I feel it's needed when I am driving and am really tired (that isn't necessarily driven by being physically tired - more of a mental thing that pops up every now and again).  I am definitely better as the days get longer so should be well under control as we move towards the summer.  The coffee franchise is safe at the moment @PennysIntoPounds but never say never!!!
- Food budget - Mr L is going to do the food shopping going forward as I view it as more of an entertaining outing (meaning more tendency for impulse expenditure) whereas he is a focused shopper just following the list.  We are going to spend more time on our meal planning and start trying more dishes to avoid the likelihood of deciding to reject those choices mid-week.  We're vegetarian but aiming to be more plant based at home.  Our Lent challenges were kind of okay in that I think we were better than we would have been so I am taking that as a win.

Well done if you have lasted this far - I am going to try and post more frequently but I'm not going to beat myself up.  When I am working it swallows up my whole brain to be honest.  I love my job and I am well paid, so definitely not complaining.  I just understand that I have to give it a lot.  As I said before, I am trying not to sit on screens too much when I am not working and that affects things like this.  But, I think with a bit of organisation I should be able to do a weekly review at least, so am committed to that.  I don't have any on-call responsibilities and I manage my work time well generally so I do have time at weekends.

I hope everyone is well - I only have one Easter egg so going to enjoy that today.

L x 

Cheery_Daff

Wow you are doing SO WELL! You have made so much progress. Look at your coffee bill for a start! And all the different areas you're making strides in. These habits all took years to get into, so it was always going to be a slow process of getting out. But that decision to send the handbag back is a fantastic one. Well done!