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Life after debt.
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Oh gosh two weeks away from my diary must do better.I have fixed my energy for 12 months now with the payment being £83 a month. My car insurance actually went down by £50 not up , did comparisons but just went with the same company as the other quotes were more or less the same. Also did travel insurance and got £4 cash back on that.I have had a really bad cold this week , runny eyes , runny nose , coughing . Anyway I seem to be coming out the other side.Today finds me getting ready to leave for a break in the Lake District for 3 days , then across country to the North East to stay with friends for 3 days . I have food with me for the Lake District bit as self catering .Yesterday a situation reared its head again which to be honest sent me into a bit of a spiral , but I had a decent sleep and am able to rationalise it this morning . Fingers crossed it stays that way.Looking forward to seeing the fells in the next couple of hours I instantly feel calmer .Have a great Sunday everyone.Life is an adventure, never stop exploring.1
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Do you mind me asking who you fixed your energy with? I need to look at comparison quotes again.
Have a lovely break.0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗
Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).
Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1
Living off savings diary
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p10 -
Octopus Energy . Thank you .Life is an adventure, never stop exploring.1
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Glad you are sleeping well again and have sorted the issue that rose up
If you have built castles in the air, your work should not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them
Emergency fund 0/1000
Buffer fund 0/100
Debt March -1,119 (April) -889 (April) -498 (April) -378 (May) -875 July (190)0 -
I have been away a long time from this diary. I can't pinpoint why but haven't felt my usual self for weeks. I had a lovely week away in June , but did end up with an A@E visit when I got home. Which I have recovered well from , but lessons learnt I can't take strong painkillers they mess my whole body up . My youngest grandson ended up in hospital the same week as well , with breathing difficulties.I have felt a bit unsettled at work as well I have a new manager , she is ok but not a very people person sometimes . Anyway I think I'm getting to grips with her now.I have booked with my friend a weeks break in Tenerife in November and will be paying that in full of my CC today . I have been making good use of my RHS membership the past few weeks , even took ex hubby with me last weekend which he enjoyed . We get on very well , just in small doses.I still struggle when I spend any money on me , as I feel that I should be saving and watching every penny . I have stopped reading some diaries as they make me feel I could so much better , when in earnest I am doing fine .Have to remind myself that my funds are there for 18 months living expenses , EF etc. I do save every month in various pots and a couple of regular savers , just done the Principality one 8% for 6 months .Anyway my parents have been away on the south coast for a week , they love their hols much as I do. We are two weeks done of the school hols , trying to find free things to do with the kids. This week we went to see the Lovell telescope that was very interesting for them and me. It's some 50 yrs since I last went, obviously not free but we did take a picnic. Need to get ready for Saturday jobs, shopping for myself and parents . Housework this afternoon after I have been to see my new great nephew.Have a good weekend if you read all this.Life is an adventure, never stop exploring.3
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@Sunshine_girl2. You have your financial back up and you are not in debt. Remember life is for living too, which you seem to do very well. So stop worrying about spending !You are correct to stop reading some of the more pious diaries.
Some people like to wear their financial hair shirts even when they do not need too. I believe for some it becomes an obsession as life passes them by.
You are only accountable to yourself. MSE an be very helpful, but you have to be wary and question some of the advice and ideas provided by the site and forum members.
I do what I consider best for myself with the knowledge I have at the time. If others disagree I couldn’t care less.Like every forum there are extreme ideas on all sides. Just ignore them.0 -
I'm sorry you are feeling 'out of sorts' change can do that to you. And any brush with hospitals can leave us feeling vulnerable. Glad everyone is ok now
I've always loved that you use holidays so well.
I'm not sure what diaries are making you feel that way. However, whether it is people spending too much or people spending too little it doesn't matter. As the young people around me say, 'you do you' You sound sensible so I'm sure you have enough for what you need including regular holidays
Take care
If you have built castles in the air, your work should not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them
Emergency fund 0/1000
Buffer fund 0/100
Debt March -1,119 (April) -889 (April) -498 (April) -378 (May) -875 July (190)0 -
Hey - belated happy new diary!
One of the things I found hardest when I was first on MFW years ago was that there were people on there who were seriously hardcore - literally forgoing everything and everything they possibly could, and scrimping to ludicrous levels to pay every last penny to the mortgage, laudable indeed? Well perhaps, except that these were people who constantly "played at being poor" as a result - and worse, laid guilt on those who were doing things differently, balancing "having a life" and overpaying. In the end I just found it too much like hard work trying to post on there while constantly being made to feel I wasn't quite doing it properly. I wonder how many folk just gave the whole thing up as a bad job as a result, to be honest!
I went back to DFW for a long while as you know - and yes, again sometimes struggled with the feeling that I was so much more fortunate than many others that really, I shouldn't be there. Others begged to differ on that view though, and convinced me that my diary had something to offer...and so I stuck about, So I am back on MFW and things over there are just SO different these days - at least from those whose diaries I follow! That's the trick I've found - I struggle with people "being poor" when in fact they are clearly not - for some folk thrift is a routine way of life, but for others it seems to be some sort of game almost, so I am now just very selective about the diaries I follow and even more so about those I comment on. If a diary doesn't feel sincere, or the diarist is a bit snarky to others, then I just unfollow it now. I suspect 99% of the time the person concerned never even notices either!
What I'm trying to say is that we can make this place whatever we want, but most of all, we can make it fit what we want it to be - and that in turn should mean it uplifts us rather than dragging us down. And if it does, THAT, in my view, is when we know it's doing its job!
You do you. Seems to me that you have a cracking balance of work and play, and of living your life and being financially sensible about it.🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her4 -
Hiya…..just found your new diary 👋January spends - £587.581
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How are things going?0
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