Reality Check...

It really is - the purse won't be coming with me in future or I will just need to keep it in my bag and be a bit firmer with saying no!

I am £191.27 lighter after a trip to the vet last night. I have a week and a half of food, and 3 weeks of medication.

I plan on spending my weekend cleaning and organising my spare room that I am in the process of turning into an office for my daughrer, it has recently been decorated and new carpet, but the desk needs built and it has become a bit of a dumping ground so need to sort that out.

Food in the fridge and a bottle of wine chilling, so I am hopefull for a ZERO spend weekend....thats the plan anyway!

Off to check my accounts and see if my returns have hit yet.... fingers crossed!!

xx

ASOS and another Topshop return has been refunded back onto Barclays, I rounded the figure from current account with £2.17 so now the balance with interterst is sitting at £2200.

Forgot to take out £300 from my bank yesterday so will today and then again tomorrow morning and get the £900 paid into my bank and then transfered over, with hopefully another £70 from current account and the £30 cheque I have bringing me to £1200 and with my sister (hopefully!) pays me on the 7th I will pay the £200 off and that just leaves me with £1000! I am very happy with what I am able to pay in the first month!!

The old me would have 100% ignored the interest and paid minimum payments and classed the £900 as my own money or potentially I would have researched a new 0% interest card!

Feburary I won't be paying as much as I won't have any refunds going back on plus my Feb commission is only £300 because that was from sales from the end of Dec/Jan sales I was off for 2 weeks at Christmas and when you don't work there is obviously no potential to earn commission.

My aim is £500 a month so I am hoping to be able to have £100 left over from my wages as council tax doesn't need paid in Feb and I will need to try and come in under budget with food/petrol or try find something to sell!!

I am so tempted to buy lunch in work, Friday is fish and chips in the canteen in work - but I will resist and go and heat up my soup and have some fruit!

xx

I know, I just hope this mentality sticks! I've never actually tried and failed to pay back debt, I've always just thought 'awww its only money, can balance transfer' and always been in my overdraft and act like it's my own money! If i see -£2100 available £400 I don't think I owe £2100 I think ohhh what can I by with £400?! I am 34 in a few months, I really need to get a grip and have a bit of savings behind me!

My £500 a month is only possible IF I earn commission, if not I can just about survive with minimum payments. £50-£100 is still great, just think the old you wouldn't have bothered and just continued spending away lol anything we put towards debt is a step in the right direction!

I am off to have a read of your diary! xx

Have managed to not spend a penny today, due to the fact i've not been anywhere apart from the park with the dogs, so not even a penny on fuel! The heating has been on full blast due to being so cold!!

Walked to the bank this morning and paid in £900 - realised I have lost debit card so waiting on a new one so can't make any payments to my card! I did pay the £900 in the branch into Barclays account so my new balance of what needs paid on Barclays is £1270.01 - this is what is currently costing me interest.

Been tempted in the last hour or so to order a takeaway, for along as I can remember if I don't go out I have a takeaway on a Saturday night and quite often or not Friday night too! But I am going to make some pasta, put garlic bread in the oven and watch The Voice when it starts.

Realised I havent budgeted for beauty/hair/make up.... I have plenty make up/skin care for the next few months but I do have expensive taste in this area! I actually really need a new mascara but Boots had offers on at christmas when you bought 2 products you got £5 worth of points, so I know I def have £15.00 and probably a little more on my Advantage card, and mascara is one of the products I am ok with changing up, so the usual £25 YSL one will be on hold for the foreseeable future!

I spend £85 every 6 weeks getting my hair cut and coloured, but as I walked to the bank today I read the sign on the windows and my hairdresser offers a dry cut for £12...I actually have some hair dye at home so I will DIY it myself...will try hold off until pay day before going for the cut.

I also spend £12 every 4 weeks getting my eyebrows threaded and tinted - it is £5 threading, £5 tint and I leave a £2 tip...I do not know why I tip as the girls are really rude, but I go as they are great at what they do! You can make an appointment, turn up on time, they always run behind and just take drop ins so even thought you are on time they may have agreed to someone just before you get there so really need to budget about 45 minutes to be in there for a 15 minute job.....Anyway the point of this is, I bought dye a while back to tint myself as the tint only really lasts a week or so and I planned to top it up, never got round to it, so next time I am going in with £5 and getting them threaded only.

I also spend £27 (£25 plus £2 tip) getting gel nails every month of £42 if I get toes done too... this also has to stop. Last year I bought all the kit, lamp, nail polish etc, spent over £150 so that me and my daughter could do at home - I done it a few times and it was great, I am just too lazy! But if I want gel nails done, this is how it will have to be right now!

Another rambling entry but I like clearing my head on this. Off to finish off dinner and settle down on the couch with a big ice cold glass of wine and my pasta! xxx