Let's get this sorted then!

LzzyIsGod

That's a good start! I'm a firm believer in what I call the Nibbling Approach - just try and do a little nibble every few days on things rather than big chunks. Makes it easier on the stomach.

Well done resisting the takeaway, ultimately you do still have to eat! Wine is defo permitted ona friday though

rachmac3

I was in such a grump last night, I slept really badly thinking about work and money. Grrrr!! I was feeling like I should be paying things off more quickly, and be stricter, pay some lumps off now! But I also know I haven't quite got my figures right yet, my wages are fluctuating, and I only just made it through January (somehow more went out of my bills account than I had paid in, so I need to figure that out). If I pay more off than I intended today there is a very good chance I will be crying in a couple of weeks. I need to learn some patience. I should have a couple of bits of extra income through February so I can pay extra then. Slow and steady wins the race. 
Anyway, some wins, I have been to yoga, I have drunk plenty of water, I've done some chores, and I resisted all the food whilst I was out.

Today the debts look like this - 

Tesco CC  6,438.00   £70 payment each month

Natwest CC 7,533.00 £75 payment each month

Lloyds CC 5,957.60 £155 payment each month

1st D CC 173.42 I use this for food and fuel and clear it each payday when I get mileage reimbursed

CC total 20,101.02 (was 20,411.34 on 04/01)

TSB overdraft 0 (500limit - this is my bills account so slowly reducing the overdraft)

1st D overdraft 0 (500 was 600 limit in January)

Overdraft total usage  0

Car 4,000

1st D Loan 10,684.44 £205 payment each month

Total £34,786.46 (was 35,116.15 on 04/01)

Today I'm going to do my mileage for my old/second job and try to fix my woodstore so I can stack some wood to burn and get my gas bill down a bit. I've been very lazy with this over the last couple of weeks because the logs are not easily accessible. 

February is here, the days are getting longer, I can start thinking about what seeds I'm going to plant. 

browneyed_girl

Hi @rachmac3!  Sounds as though you're managing your debt really well - don't be discouraged because it takes a long time!  I definitely have the same issue with feeling impatient and wishing the numbers down quicker, but as you say, you still need to allow a few treats and not be so harsh on yourself.  As my DH likes to say - "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."  Somewhat plagiarised I know, but it's very true!  Hopefully, having the garden to focus on soon will be a nice distraction from the daily grind - keep up the good work!
   

rachmac3

I really think you should be rewarded for checking your credit card balance, like maybe they take a £1 off each time because you're being brave. £20,094.51 total CC debt today, and that could have been finally under 20k on Thursday if my timesheet for my second/old job had been signed off in time for pay to go in this week. 
On the plus side, it's coming down slowly. I did a couple hours extra on the weekend when I really didn't feel like it, every little helps! I've got a big job on Friday which although exhausting will help me pay a bigger chunk off some debts before the end of the month. 
I took a bag of old clothes to the charity bin.
And I made myself caramelised red onion and goats cheese tart for my tea tonight which was quite cheap to make but tasted like a treat. It's made me feel like I've been a bit kind to myself. 
I've decided I need to look forward to the milestones because clearing the whole debt is just too big and too long. So getting CC's under 20k will be my first goal and I should be able to do that in the next couple of weeks. 
Fingers crossed!

LzzyIsGod

I agree on the cc balance bit! That would be lovely! My little next milestone is ccs under 20k ..... should be a little closer by the end of the month fingers crossed. I think you'll beat me there though 

rachmac3

My wages from my old/second job didn't go in on Thursday and there's a hold up with my mileage payment so things haven't shifted much this week. I did some extra work on Friday so that will bring some extra pounds in soon, but having to travel for that work meant a few extra spends (including £28 for a spare front door key for my mate to look after my animals ). CC debt as of yesterday was £20,080.60 so a tiny reduction. It's heading in the right direction though. And a scheduled loan repayment meant another £205 off that. 
My schedule is all out from a strange week, so I'm having a relatively lazy day today, a few house chores, sending out the invoice for Friday's work, and then I think I'll go through all my old seeds and start thinking about what and when I'll be planting this year. I fixed my woodstore, so started using the log burner again yesterday. I still have quite a lot of logs to stack but I have made a start. 
I should probably go through the freezer and pantry too and think of a few nice meals to make during the week. 
Sunday reset. 
Get back on track. 
Ok, go!

LzzyIsGod

That 20k is getting ever closer! I do like a Sunday reset although mine was slightly off kilter yesterday due to a social commitment but it does help the week run smoother.

rachmac3

Well well well!! Finally a bit of good news!
In desperation to feel like I'm 'doing something' when I can't pay any extra off debts yet, I created a word document to start tracking old bits of work pensions. I've worked more than a few jobs all over the place and never paid much attention to the pension part, and usually opted out if I could while I was poor/studying/saving (so most of the time then).
I've found around 15k in pensions over 4 different pots!! Woooohooooooo!!!
I mean, it's not enough to retire any time soon but it's 15k I didn't know I had, so still a massive win.
See, sometimes good things happen when you face up to things. 
I still have an NHS pension to add to that list too.
I'm not planning on doing anything about them yet, that's definitely a job for later this year, but I feel amazing that I've made a start. 

rachmac3

£88 in my bank this morning from extra work I did in January. Paid an extra £68 off a credit card with it. Had to do it before I got out of bed in case I was tempted to spend it all. The willpower struggle is real!!

FootyFanDan

well done on resisting the urge to spend the extra elsewhere 😊