Balance crept up ever so slowly... Now the wake up call

Sarahwithlove

What about frozen chicken breasts? Have you considered wearing gloves when handling raw chicken? 

Didisdebtfreejourney

Thanks @Sarahwithlove for your reply. 
I think gloves would help, will have a look at what kind I can use while cooking. My hands are very sore from all the hand washing I do on a day to day basis anyway (including durng cooking) so it would also help with that. And frozen would probably be ok. It's just the dicing it up when raw. 
I fell down a rabbit hole yesterday after looking up the rubber chicken idea that was brought up in this thread and was watching videos on how to butcher a full chicken into its parts (wing, leg, thigh, breast...). Not there yet though! 

Didisdebtfreejourney

So today was the first "extravaganza" since starting this diary. After getting my days mixed up and turning up for a children's party we were invited to that is actually being hosted tomorrow (I misread the invitation) and being up half the night deep cleaning the kitchen (I don't get a chance during the day and it was great need of a good scrub) I decided to take DD1 to a local pub to share a piece of cake - with an extra expresso for me (£7.49!). I, of course, bought some cake from HB for DH and DD2 as I didn't want them to feel left out and some stickers for DD1 (£3.63) 

I am back in full swing paying for things by cash again, partly because I blocked my debit card by accident by putting the wrong pin code in at the petrol station. Thankfully I had my cash envelopes with me so I was still able to get my petrol and get my shopping at Aldo. So I can technically say that cash stuffing saved the day! And it's surprising how different it feels spending cash and seeing it disappear rather than tapping my card. 

Hopefully I can get my debit card sorted soon, in the meantime I'm glad I'm not stuck but it will be a bit convoluted with transfers to a different account. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

£45.87 today, it hurts! Unfortunately that was a non-negotiable purchase of books that is necessary whilst establishing myself as a self-employed music teacher. I get to keep them as a reference for many years so it's not so bad but it will eat into what I can put away in my emergency fund this month. 

Concerning emergency fund I think it's worth putting away £500 initially for now and completing £1000 once the debt is paid off. It's seens reasonable given the amount and would cover most emergencies I can think of. 

Yesterday I made rice and beans for the first time. Initially my other half's reaction was "with what?". "With veg". Nevertheless we both enjoyed it with cheese and tabasco sauce. Mixed reactions from DD1 & DD2. Will definitely make again though. 
 
Caution though, I had to put some more stock in and had to make sure it was stirred regularly as it catches on the bottom to the pan otherwise. Spices/tomato paste gave it a nice taste though.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/279440/mexican-rice-and-beans/

in_need_of_direction

Make sure you keep a record of all self employment related expenses

Didisdebtfreejourney

in_need_of_direction said:

Make sure you keep a record of all self employment related expenses

That's a great point @in_need_of_direction, should save the invoices and file them. I'm hoping books would be a claimable expense as they are an essential part of the role, especially with photocopying being so frowned upon. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

Hi again, another purchase today that I have been planning for a while. All three items that I bought off Amazon had been on the white board on the fridge for the last two weeks so not an impulse buy. And I used a £25 Amazon voucher from Christmas so it came to the grand total of £10.47 for the three items. 

If all goes to plan, I'll have all my direct debits covered for this month even with yesterday and today's purchases. I would have used my credit card without hesitation for this kind of purchase before I got my wake up call. If I can finish January without using it, it will be a small victory!

I never used credit for years and years and was well aware of the risks when I signed up. But I thought: credit score and points! The value of the points is not worth the debt I have now. Despite paying it off in full for ages, it starts so slowly, "oh it's ok, it's under control, I'll pay it off next month...". I never thought I would get in this position. And thankfully, I caught on before the numbers got too high. I personally think it can happen to anyone. Sending positive thoughts to everyone on this journey. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

So I officially have £1 in a dedicated Emergency Fund 😅😂. I named one of my savings pot a while back "Emergency Fund", full of good intentions at the time. So I have officially made my first contribution to it (of £1!). I'm going to still keep my £1000 figure target in mind with the understanding that I won't wait until it is fully funded to start tackling the debt. 

I suppose that I can get quite impatient and that the whole point of saving up first is to have a small cushion to avoid having to dip back into credit at the first hurdle. I have had to be very strict with myself to make sure I don't ot make any ad hoc payments to the credit card that could leave me short to cover my direct debits which I would have done in the past.

At least I have now started and need to make sure I don't get ahead of myself by setting a realistic long term budget/plan. Onwards and upwards! 

Didisdebtfreejourney

Hi again, got paid a little more than expected as it included an extra day's work that I thought would be added to February's income. So I've put £9 straight into the emergency fund, bringing it up to £10, or 1% of the target.

I can probably put more at the end of the month but I'm hoping to put some of it towards some petrol (£20), a little bit of personal spend (£10), my sinking funds for MOT and car TAX (£20 each) and some money for DD1 and DD2 in case I need to get clothes in the next coming weeks/months (£10 each). I also have a dentist sinking fund for next month's visit (£10). That's already £100 so will have to see where I go from there and what's left. At least starting saving for the MOT and tax a little at a time will mean it doesn't affect my budget as much that month, especially since they are both on back to back months. 

I'll see if I can unblock my pin today too. Checked that all my direct debits are still covered until Jan 31st and left a small buffer too just in case. 

It's a long road, but CC is still safely in drawer. I need to take my CC details off my phone in case though! 
Hope you all have a great day 👍. 

Didisdebtfreejourney

Looking like a no spend day today 👍.