Five years till I'm 50

A question about : Five years till I'm 50

I don't know what's more frightening about the title of this new diary, the fact that it'll take at least 60 months to get debt free or the fact that I'll be 50 in 60 months

Three and a half weeks before Christmas is hardly the best time to start a new debt free diary but I thought I'd try and beat the crowds and at least try to get myself into the right frame of mind. The truth is I'm fed up! BF and I both work really had yet there's never any money left for the fun things - all because we've been living beyond our means.

Its crunch time now, if I can't make serious inroads into this stupid debt next year, I'll have to sell my house and I love my home.

I should be at work today, but I'm off with a stomach bug which is making me feel extra sorry for myself

I'm not going to list my totals until after Christmas because unlike every other diary I've started, this time, once they've been listed, they will only be moving in a downward direction.

Things I've done so far to change my ways:-

1. Cutting down on my pressie shopping.
2. Making lists.
3. Planning Christmas menus.
4. No impulse buying.

I'm off to make a cup of tea now and snuggle up on the sofa, catching up on a few diaries x

Best answers:

• Happy shiny new diary
  You can do this.
  Hope you feel better soon.
• This is a great idea.
  Whilst I am already 50 my Hubby isn't so maybe this is what we should be aiming for. Its a big ask for us but even if we can make a huge hole in the debt then it would make a great birthday pressie for him.
  We have already made a dent in 2014 knocking nearly 4k off our total but we still have a way to go.
  Good luck with you plan and will be watching to see how you get on.
• Thank you Beanielou and Leslamp. After countless tries I've finally realised that this is the point of no return - something's got to give!
  I haven't moved off the sofa today, still feeling yukky
  On the positive side, I've resurrected my Toluna account and completed three surveys. I've got a long way to go though, but if I manage one survey per day, I should be making inroads towards my first voucher before long
• You are truly committed if you are back with Toluna. I wish I could stick with it but I'm frequently sifted out and just get fed up.
• Morning! I'm still off work but slightly better this morning, thank goodness
  At least while I've been home, I haven't spent anything. I did a few more surveys last night, but I've been screened out of two already this morning.
  No Eb*y sales yet, but I've had a few questions - so fingers crossed!
  Things to do today:-
  1. Check my online banking.
  2. Do a food audit and see what we have in the freezer.
  3. Check the boards for any money off vouchers I can find.
  I'll be back later with an update but first things first, time for a coffee methinks!
• I recently went through my freezer, it was amazing how many opened bags of chips and veg I found!
• Haha yes I am living out of the freezer at the moment using up all the opened bags of veg etc, trays of meat etc.
• One day back at work done and dusted - bit of a struggle but at least I'm feeling better today
  Not a lot to report really. Posted 5 parcels this lunchtime, so was Miss Unpopular in the PO queue. Only one sale today, and that's packed and ready to go.
  I checked my online banking, no surprises there so far.
  We ate out of the fridge this evening, we had bacon butties with brown fruity sauce - lovely
  I've booked a home delivery slot with Mr T and Mr A for the week before Christmas and I've started to prepare a list of what I need to buy so I can hopefully avoid that expensive last minute panic.
  There's plenty of food in the freezer so we should be ok for a few days without the need to shop.
  I hope everyone else had a good day too x
• Good Morning - just a quick update now before I go to work.
  Only one parcel to post today, so I won't be upsetting the locals in the Post Office this lunchtime
  One thing is bugging me today about Eb*y. I checked my Seller Dashboard last night and had a look at my stars. Why do people leave you feedback like "brilliant" "excellent ebayer" "highly recommended" or "would use again" and then mark you down with 2 or 3 stars for "item not as described"? Why do people have to be so petty? They're obviously happy with their purchases going by the comments so why be so nasty just for the hell of it? I wouldn't do it!
  Sorry, rant over
  Should be an ok day at work today, boss is out all day so I can catch up on work that should have been done when I was ill. If I don't do it, nobody else does!!
  I'd better go and put my face on - it takes longer and longer to fill in the cracks every day
  Hope everyone has a good MSE day x
• I managed quite a thrifty day today and also managed to avoid buying a coffee this lunchtime..yay!
  Feeling even more fed up with Eb*y tonight. I've just received a message about a garment I sold this week. It doesn't fit the buyer and he's accused me of washing the item and shrinking it, even though it was sold with tags still attached! I'm starting to wonder if its worth the bother if I'm honest.
  I think I'm going to put my shop on holiday till after Christmas and start thinking of different options I'm so disillusioned with people
• I am not surprised to be honest.
• I shouldn't be surprised either really Beanielou!
  You get lulled into a false sense of security while things are going well and every now and then you get pulled back into the real world by idiots like this one. If the item wasn't suitable all they had to do was ask for a return - no need at all for rude messages
  Anyway, its Saturday..yayy...and I'm going to a Christmas Festival this afternoon. I've got a budget of Ј30 so hopefully will see some lovely Christmassy crafts somewhere along the way. I've just started to get flashing lights in front of my eyes, so I've taken two of my migraine tablets - nothing's going to spoil my day today!
  I'm not going to have any lunch because I'm hoping to get a huge hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows on top while I'm out. I might even let them persuade me to have some mulled wine, because, for a change, I'm not the driver. I know what you're thinking, I'll be getting another migraine if I'm not careful, but its sooo worth it
  I'm feeling quite Christmassy now which is just as well because its less than three weeks to go till the big day. Last year was awful because we'd just lost dad. Don't get me wrong, I was a huge daddy's girl and sometimes the silliest things set me off, but its not constant now. While he was on chemo he lusted after these jelly, fruity sweets and I just couldn't find them anywhere. I was shopping last week and went into this nice little deli and the first thing I saw were those same sweets. For a split second I thought "I'll get those for dad's Christmas box" and then, I remembered! BF's dad wasn't very nice to him (to put it mildly) so I'll always be grateful to my mum and dad.
  Mum has Parkinsons and can't go out alone. She can cook for herself and lives alone (her choice, she knows she can move in here whenever she feels the time is right) she does light housework. I see her most days, and do her shopping, heavy housework and most of her laundry. Mum and dad never got into debt, if they couldn't pay for it, they just didn't buy it! If my dad knew about my debts he'd tell me how stupid I've been. This is going to be my mantra from 1st January - if I can't afford it, I won't be getting it (determined face). And no more keeping up appearances - people are too busy getting on with their own lives to bother about what I'm doing
  My gas refil has just arrived. They must be working overtime before Christmas, I wasn't expecting it till Tuesday. They gave me quite a fright, I'm sitting here in my dressing gown and two men just walked past the window. Probably gave them more of a fright if I'm honest
  I'm waffling now, sorry
  Right, this is a list of things I need to try and do this weekend:-
  1. If it stays dry, I need to clean the windows outside.
  2. Clean the windows inside ready for the fairy lights.
  3. Clean the bathroom.
  4. Clean out the kitchen cupboards ready for all the nice Christmas food (started this last week).
  5. Stick to my diet (I've lost 1 1/2 stone and need to lose another 2).
  6. Check my online banking.
  7. List a few more bits on Eb*y (needs must!)
  My brother's coming up tomorrow, so my mum will have his company and I can get on with my jobs.
  We haven't had the central heating on since March so I've just switched the heating on with bated breath - so far so good, the radiators are warming up, thank goodness
  Just scared the postman in my dressing gown
  I'd better go and make myself beautiful before I give anyone else a fright, it takes me longer these days!
  Hope everyone else has a good day x
• Just a quick update for today. I didn't manage to do everything I wanted to do but did manage to do quite a lot.
  Things to tick off the list:-
  1. Windows washed inside and out.
  2. Whole house hoovered.
  3. I've gone all around the skirting boards with flash.
  4. Washing done.
  5. One pair of curtains washed.
  6. Few items listed on Eb*y.
  I didn't get around to cleaning the kitchen today, but at least its a start.
  I haven't had any sales today. Its funny, last weekend things were flying out and this week, nothing!
  It feels like we're in limbo at the moment, the money's still going out and even though I've come to the realisation that something needs to be done, I can't start the serious moneysaving till after Christmas. I can't wait till the 1st Jan
  I'm back at work tomorrow for three days, then four days off
  BF and I are taking one day to do some pressie shopping and the other, I'll probably put the decorations up.
  This diary feels like a bit of a fraud at the moment because I can't report any progress made in destroying these debts, but I promise you'll see some serious debt busting after Christmas (determined face).
• Ok day at work today, but spent more than I should have. Firstly, I didn't take anything in with me for lunch and bought a sandwich, and secondly DS2 was coming over for dinner so I went to the butchers and bought some really lovely lamb and rosemary sausages and made us some hotdogs, which incidentally were absolutely delicious. Oh, and on the way home I stopped and bought a bar of Dairy Milk Mint Bubbles and a bottle of wine......I know!
  The Dairy Milk is history (and was very nice!) but the wine will last for a couple of nights. I'm off for a few days now, and don't have to get up in the morning, so I might have another glass before bed
  I've had a couple of sales on Eb*y, but have also had a few awkward sellers recently. If customers told me an item wasn't suitable, I'd gladly refund upon return, but when they lie and make up false reasons for return, it really makes me mad
  I also had to pay Ј42 at the dentist the other day, but at least I've managed to get on the list of an NHS dentist at long last. It took me 8 months, but was well worth it because I need a tooth taken out and the dentist was very nice! I've stopped paying Denpl*n now which is saving me Ј22 per month - so a step in the right direction I spose.
  I can't wait to get Christmas over (for all the right reasons!) so I can stop stressing about money and put all my efforts into paying this debt off.
  Not a lot else to report really, I hope everyone else had a good day x
• Here we are again! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas
  Its been ok here so far, I'm trying to keep positive - unfortunately, the only positives are - I'm positive I'm skint and positively fed up!
  BF went back to work today, so this morning I spent some time paying bills and working out my budget for the next few weeks. So far I'm about Ј70 short in my current account and we're both about Ј150 short in the joint account - making for a huge mess!
  I've done it again, tried to keep up appearances and dug myself into an even deeper hole in the process. On the plus side we have a freezer full of food, on the negative side - I don't know how we're going to clear the end of the month.
  I'm fed up because my children have let me down yet again. DS1 should be coming here for a meal tomorrow with his GF but for the second time this Christmas they've expected me to reorganise everything because their father and grandmother have had to change the date of their get together. This woman was vile to me during my marriage, saying awful things but I've kept quiet, never said a word because even though I know I'd feel better for telling them the truth, I know my boys love their grandmother so the truth would inevitably hurt them.
  You won't believe how hard it was not to let rip this morning. I came soooo close - but I'm better than that! They'll find out for themselves what she's like sooner or later
  It took me 10 years to work up the courage to leave that family and they still manage to get under my skin and spoil things
  Anyway, I'm sorry for using my diary to rant but I had to get it off my chest before BF comes home - the poor thing has to listen to my rants about the ex in laws all too often lately!
  Back to the moneysaving. I need to get back into the right frame of mind, which means we need a plan. I can't think which way to go for the best at the moment so I'm starting off with a list. I'm not calling them Resolutions because that's just asking for failure so this is just my New Year's list:-
  1. Get back into batch cooking. I can start this off tomorrow. We have a load of leftover turkey in the fridge and I intend to make a curry and two turkey and leek pies for the freezer. I also have some lamb mince, left over rack of lamb (already in the freezer), two turkey drumsticks and a sliced turkey breast (already in the freezer) and two containers of stock after boiling the turkey carcass - so you could say I've already started
  2. List some unwanted gifts on Eb*y Technically not unwanted gifts, but brand new items nevertheless
  3. Become super frugal I've got a huge pack of washing powder in my utility room and my aim is to make it last for as long as I can (at least six months).
  4. Try and adopt a more positive mindset I intend to try and find something positive about every day. I'm tired of feeling defeated all the time. The fact that we're still here, still paying the mortgage and still working means that we're not defeated yet!
  5. Check online banking every day I do this most days already but I need to keep a better eye on things.
  6. Put myself first sometimes This sounds easy but its not. I'm responsible for an elderly parent - my brother let her down last week when he changed his plans at the last minute and I was actually feeling guilty because she was on her own and it wasn't even my fault! My youngest is 20 now so I think I need to learn to say no sometimes without the guilt.
  7. Stop trying to keep up appearances and worrying about what other people think This is the biggie - most of my money worries stem from keeping up appearances and pleasing others. I've come to realise that some people can't be pleased no matter how hard you try.
  8. Subscribe to and post on other people's diaries I love reading other people's diaries and gaining inspiration from them but find it hard to post. I think this stems from finding it hard to make friends in RL, but I can see how much support is out there and I want to offer that support to others if I can.
  This is turning into a very long post. I need to get into the kitchen - I promised BF a romantic meal for two tonight. We've been entertaining other people since Monday night so tonight is Duck A L'Orange for two (huge duck and plenty of leftovers for the freezer!). I've already opened the wine (because everybody knows you need a glass of wine on the go when you're cooking).
  I'll probably be back later for an update - sorry for the rant!
• It's your thread, you have all the right in the world to rant! Sounds like a bum deal that your son and his girlfriend aren't coming to see you tomorrow, all that food! Try not to let it get to you
• Rant all you like.
  Keep plodding!
• Thank you, no more rants for now
  The duck was lovely but I'm afraid I didn't bother with the orange sauce. BF came home from work absolutely starving so we went for the quick option - duck and chips! Lovely
  Since I won't be cooking tomorrow..........I've got a plan. Tomorrow is going to be an MSE day. Its going to be surveys, looking for freebies, coupon printing, comping and Eba*ing........all day! I may even make some soup.
  This is me looking for the positives, start as you mean to go on and all that. Hope everyone else is having a nice Saturday night x
• Good afternoon! Much better mood here today
  I've just put my leek and turkey pie in the oven and have a nice big pan of vegetable soup on the go using half my turkey stock. I'm hoping if I blitz it all together with my hand blender OH won't notice its got parsnips in it.
  If anyone happens to read this, I'd be very grateful for any suggestions on how to use leftover creme fraiche and also leftover single and double cream. Could I put some creme fraiche in the soup?
  One more item sold on Eb*y this morning so that makes four parcels to post tomorrow. I'm actually glad of the excuse to get out of the house - I'm starting to feel like a hermit.
  I'm off to check on my pie, I'll be back later. Hope everyone else is having a good day x