Put away your purse & become debt-averse

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  • foxgloves
    foxgloves Posts: 11,026
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    Hi readers,
    Endless rain today. It didn't stop till late afternoon when it was too late to start any work in the veggie garden & it doesn't feel like it's actually got properly light all day. Have found myself perusing websites of tempting clothes selling emporia this week, so decided to get all my Spring/Summer clothes out in the spirit of shopping from home.
    I've already turned the heating off so it was a bit chilly getting down to my bra & pants for trying on. Nevertheless, I went through everything. In an ideal world, I'd probably buy myself a couple of new tops, a skirt & summer dress. But I don't need them. My weight is currently between a 16 & 18 - I think I mentioned that I dieted down from a 26 to a 16 a few years ago & now yo-yo constantly between a 16 & 18. I think it makes money sense to wear what I already own until the Autumn when my aim is that I will be a stone & a half lighter & a proper size 16 all over. If I buy size 18s now, then lose a little weight, they will soon be too loose on the shoulders. So.....that spot of shopping from home & trying-on was really useful. Just need to be strong when I walk past 'Monsoon' now & I'm much better at that these days, thank goodness!
    "For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)
  • joedenise
    joedenise Posts: 16,480
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    Well done on the "shopping from home". Definitely makes sense to make use of what you already have, particularly if you are planning on losing some more weight.

    If you find you need any more clothes don't buy from a shop look in your local charity shops - will definitely be cheaper than buying new.

    Denise
  • foxgloves
    foxgloves Posts: 11,026
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    Hi Joedenise - Yes, I agree there are some good finds in charity shops. I bought a lovely maxi- dress (new) from a charity shop last year for £6. Lovely colour. It was one I bought to slim into, as despite it being a 16, I can't zip it up the back as the waist is so fitted. If it doesn't fit by the end of this year, it won't be wasted, as I'll make it into a maxi skirt instead. I live in a town with heaps of charity shops. I find I can visit for ages & find nothing, then one day there'll suddenly be a treasure. I guess that's part of the fun!
    "For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)
  • foxgloves
    foxgloves Posts: 11,026
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    Afternoon Debtbusters,
    Well, it took a couple of days longer than I expected, but that Paypal payment finally rocked up in our account today & I transferred all £84 of it to the Loan Pay-Down Fund, which is now up to over £600.....or ten times more than it was in December. This £84 is a definite reminder that every little helps, as it's made up from all sorts of little bits & bobs - the biggest amount was £40 from Prolific Academic surveys, but the rest was made up from a couple of ebay sales, selling one of my little hand-crafted items & selling a few old books & CDs to Ziffit. I've dropped another box of Ziffit sales off for Collect+ today......only around £9's worth, but all these bits & pieces do add up. They certainly added up back during the Spendy Decades when my money was busy flowing out in the wrong direction, so it's got to be true the other way round too.
    Oh, I've remembered I said I'd share a few more stories of when, back in the day, the 'light bulb' flickered for a moment before being extinguished in a haze of shopping. I've kept a journal for a lot of my adult life, so flicking through those, it's so easy to see that there were times I was worried about lack of money, but not enough to sustain an LBM longer than a couple of days. Oh well, that can be a 'debtisode' for another day, as I need to get this sourdough bashed up & put to prove, & to get on with a few kitchen jobs.
    Hope everyone is having a productive week. If not, try not to worry too much, there's another week coming, & you can start again on Monday.
    F x
    "For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)
  • You are so encouraging Fox. I hope ypuve has a productive day.
    Wish.
    Outstanding mortgage: £23,181 (December 19)
    MFW 2020 Challenge Member #10 0/£2318
  • Onebrokelady
    Onebrokelady Posts: 7,321
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    One broke lady, why don't you burn them at set points is your debt free journey?
    Depending on how many there are, you could do it at certain amounts paid off or certain % paid off.
    And, when you are debt free, you could maybe go out and buy a new candle to celebrate.

    Just an idea.
    Hi sorry I didn't see your reply to my post,I love this idea :) and I'm going to do it,I need to count them and work out how to do it but it's being done.....thanks for the idea :beer:
    Original Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,080.1 Owed = £11,549.9
  • Onebrokelady
    Onebrokelady Posts: 7,321
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    foxgloves wrote: »
    OneBrokeLady - Oh my days, those wax melts sound lovely......just the sort of thing I like. I do like WishingtheMortgageaway's idea though, of burning them to mark progress in your debt-free journey. You really will have wasted your money if you don't get to enjoy them. Why not light some next time you have some 'you time' to celebrate the fact that you are being strong & are determined to move forward?
    KantankrusMare - Aww, glad you are enjoying the 'debtisodes'. My light-bulb did have a few very rubbish flickers along the way, but those can be a story for another day.
    They smell gorgeous even before you light them and are totally natural so no nasty chemicals,I'm definitely going to use Wishingthemortgageaways idea as I think it's brilliant and your right I will have wasted my money if I don't use them :)
    Original Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,080.1 Owed = £11,549.9
  • Onebrokelady
    Onebrokelady Posts: 7,321
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    Well done on the wardrobe sorting Foxgloves,Im so glad I did mine at the weekend,I found a nice top and cardigan I forgot I owned,I think it had got too small but fits again now I've lost weight,I got rid of quite a few tops that were too big for me now so the two I bought yesterday have replaced some of the ones I gave away
    I too am loving your debtisodes they remind me of me before my LBM so much,I still can't believe I was such an idiot at the time,but at least we have lived and learned:)
    Original Debt Owed Jan 18 = £17,630 Paid To Date = £6,080.1 Owed = £11,549.9
  • foxgloves
    foxgloves Posts: 11,026
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    I too can see the similarities, Onebrokelady. The thing is, I have never been impressed by big luxury brands, even when I was spendy. If I saw a designer handbag costing £800 in a magazine, I'd have thought "What kind of idiot would spend that much on a bag?", but I didn't make the connection that frittering £800 over a couple of months on lots of smaller unneccessary things was just as wasteful.
    But as you say, at least we saw the light in time. I think that the explosion of easy credit in the 1990s means that ours is probably the 1st generation where there will be 1000s of people reaching retirement age with significant levels of consumer debt & I don't intend to be one of them.
    "For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)
  • foxgloves
    foxgloves Posts: 11,026
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    Hi Debtbusters,
    An extra little payment to the loan pay-down fund today, as sold a couple of jars of my home made preserves.
    And another £10 in survey vouchers. I've spent those straight away as putting them towards a family birthday present I was planning to buy anyway, has almost halved the cost.
    Then meal planning & diet planning. For next week's meal plans, I've done the same as last time & apart from buying a chicken (which will do at least 3 meals), I've based it heavily on stuff I can shop from home, including 2 new recipes - I'm always trying out new ones clipped from magazines, cookery books from the library, etc.
    I mentioned that since my big weight loss, I've stuck & just yo-yo'd the same stone & a half on & off for 3 years. Well, I'm absolutely in the right frame of mind to get it back off plus a little more. I also want to increase my nutrient profile & am going to do this by changing my weekday lunches from bread/toast-based to much more varied healthy bowls of stuff. But I didn't want to bust the grocery budget, so have done lots of planning today, & written my new diet plans into my bullet journal as well as a big date for a weigh-in at the end of July. As soon as it was all written up into my bullet journal, I felt really organised & positive. Additional healthy ingredients were added to our online shop this afternoon (as well as a cheeky bottle of cava for my birthday in a couple of weeks) & we still came in £3 under budget!!
    Planning is EVERYTHING in this game, isn't it?
    Talk to you again soon,
    F x
    "For each of our actions there are only consequences" (James Lovelock)"For in the true nature of things......every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold & silver" (Martin Luther King Jnr)
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