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"Thevinternet's still in debt" diary
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I've been an idiot. I know. Feel free to administer a kick as I kick myself. It turns out 'denial' is not just a river in Egypt.
So....this week...
1. Slow-cooked meals...made a lovely veggie curry tonight and it was uber cheap
2. Reclaim Tesco vouchers
3. Work out total amount of debt...*gulps*
4. Start knitting a draft excluder snake (please feel free to laugh)
5. Work out other ways of saving cash...perhaps I could do AQA again...that was handy cash and kept me out of trouble, although the constant ego texts used to drive me a bit mad!
A good day. Whilst I am waiting for some temporary full-time work (I also have a part-time job a few nights a week), I have decided to try this 'comping' malarky...:D It seems more productive than just randomly searching the blogs/diaries on here, inspiring though they are. Anyway, I have entered over 100 competitions so far, so let's see how we get on. I believe the hitrate is something crazy like 1 in 1000, but if I keep perservering I might have some luck.
Also I managed to reclaim my Tesco vouchers today...£4.50, so not much, but enough to help me out next time I'm shopping. That will buy a lot of great slow-cooker ingredients, such as economy chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans etc. That's the great thing about slowcooking, you can use cheapo ingredients and it still tastes great.
Managed to make my OH lunch all this week - he is a lazy little thing God love him, so unless I do it he will just wander off to the supermarket, and spend at least a fiver a day I should imagine.
Still haven't dared figure out total debt again...but I reckon around the 40k mark at least. God. :mad: Wish I could turn back the clock.
ps - has anyone noticed how this is definitely the friendliest part of the board? I was cruising some non-DFW areas today and it was scary how horrible they are about people in debt. I understand being cross at people who go bankrupt etc but for those of us who have CC and Loans and don't miss payments....isn't our interest and overdraft charges helping the banks? Some of them had such venom...nobody is perfect, and at least we are here trying to change our ways! Everyone has a weakness...maybe for some it's a total lack of empathy and a judgmental nature
My OH is getting the hang of the BOGOF deals at the supermarket, it is sooo cute when he comes home like an excited puppy with arms full of chicken noodles
On the downside, didn't work today, although I'm working 3 nights next week. :j
Entered 57 comps yesterday and 63 today, though I am well slow compared to some peeps on here, so have asked for advice on how to speed up on one of the other boards.
Oh yes, and decided to start the grim process of listing my debts on here :eek: so let's start with my first CC - just checked it online, and total = £3613
The OH was a little off today but I think he's just tired; hopefully a good snooze will sort him out. To cheer us both up, I made a really cheap and big pot of chilli con carne tonight (I reckon the whole thing cost about 6 quid) which did for both our dinners tonight and the OH's lunch for tomorrow too. We have really cut back on our meals out and takeaways...it wasn't so long ago that we would go out at least once a week, but now that seems like a waste of money to me lol - I am turning into an old fart!
Confession no 2 tonight - brace yourself for the balance of CC2, as it's the big one. £7222 YIKES!
That's a behemoth I have to slaughter! I will add it to the sig.
Made a cheap-ish pasta and chicken thingy tonight, I reckon came in about 6 quid...sadly not enough for leftovers but I will make the OH a packed lunch for tomorrow instead.
He seems a bit down today, I think he's a bit frustrated with himself in some ways because he is thinking about changing job and/or career, but can't seem to get on with actually sorting it. I am a bit more of a 'doer' type of person, so I've tried to give him a few tips but I don't want it to seem like I'm nagging him. But he is a member of the Procrastination Nation at the moment
On the bad side - forking out for roadside assistance in the next couple of days for the pair of us, however I plan to go through Quidco and get some cash back for it. It's saved my !!! countless times, and I'm not strong enough to change a spare tyre on my own, plus I do a lot of driving, so I feel it's a bit of an essential really. Still, it'll go on the debit and not the CC, that's for sure! And at least I have a lot of shifts this week
CC 3 is going on the list tonight, this is my smallest debt at £765. I will add it to the sig. This is the one I am attacking with my 'Payment a day' - I know that most people prefer to attack the highest interest first but all three of my cards have v v similar interest, and I want to get rid of a balance desperately.
Righto - off to do some comps and make the OH's lunch for tomorrow. Take care everyone out there, I hope you're getting on well xx
Tips etc were good tonight, the restaurant was strangely busy for a Tuesday so it was hectic *yawns*...tired but I am still determined to try and do my comping tonight if at all possible! Another shift tomorrow night so the bank will be happy for a few days
In the ongoing gentle process of confession, I am including a loan in my sig tonight...£578.53, we shall call that 'Loan 1', and yes, unfortunately that's the small one. Its come down from 6k though, so not too bad.
Right....off to comp....must try to win kitchen gadgets to keep OH happy!! :rotfl:
Still comping, no wins yet, but I'm only a few days in so no surprises there.
I got a letter today from one of my bank accounts. I have an overdraft with them and they periodically send me a letter asking why I never put money in? So I usually bung a few quid in there and it shuts them up for a few months, lol...best do that tomorrow.
Oooh - meant to add another confession...let's make it that Overdraft then. According to the letter, it's standing at £1232. Whoops. :O(
Other than my PAD, I'm gonna aim to have a no-spend day if possible. The dentist has wiped out most of my pay for this week, and I have no shifts now until Saturday. The house is a state anyway, so a bit of tidying wouldn't hurt.
Confession for today: loan 2: £2253. I will add it to the ever-growing sig! :eek:
Sorry to get all deep here, but I was thinking yesterday about my low self-esteem. I hid it most of the time from everyone, but I really wonder why I dislike myself so much. I know everyone has things they don't like about themselves, but I would venture so far as to say there are things I 'hate' about myself.
I feel as though this basic lack of faith in myself is very damaging, and pervades most areas of my life.
I have built a house/life on very shaky foundations, and I'm sure my lack of discipline with money/food all stems from this. It's as though I subconsciously undermine a lot of my big 'plans', as though I think deep down, that I'm not good enough, so why bother spending time eating healthy or saving up for nice things for myself?
I am going to have a good think about this over the next few days, and see if I can get to the roots of where this all came from, so apologies if I waffle on.
Comping is still going well - entered a fair few comps this morning, so fingers crossed
Confession no. 1 billion tonight is about my 2nd OD (the one I mainly use), I'm going to declare that as being £1250 OD cos that's my limit. I always go near or over it during the month, so even though I'm not near that at the moment, I think it's a good idea to list it at the top amount. Realistically, I know that'll be the last thing to come down, it certainly won't be touched until I'm working full-time and the CCs are clear, as they charge much higher interest!
Have been feeling a bit blue over the last few days, but trying to cheer myself up...perhaps a lazy movie day tomorrow will do it, I have loads of dvds I already own that I wouldn't mind seeing again.