Taking Stock

I'm running it a bit tight with the budget this month, lulled into a false security waiting for the repayment from Abbey, and if I'm completely honest will struggle to pay one of my minimum balances on time. I'm going to phone them to advise. It's a bad thing and it's again just bad budgetting, a glance over previous posts on this blog and it's a recurring theme and situation.

I've been posting for over a year and to take stock of how far I've come, what improvements I've made to my life I've just had a reread of my first post.

My first target was to stop smoking - failed. I'm not going to justify it in any shape or form, I'm just going to try again.

Second and third targets were linked, it's about my diet, I still drink too much tea and alcohol, however my psoriasis is 95% clear, I'm pleased it's nearly gone. In May and August last year I was wittering on about my diet full of motivation to better things and still I see more procrastination and excuses later on in 2007. My target to mealplan has also been haphazard. When will it sink in a budget is a budget ?

One good thing to report - I have lost a few marbles in the last year, taken the balance down by £1, 598. That's good to see and something to build on.

I can see I'm rather fickle and live life on a rollercoaster of emotions due to my debt. I'm usually more inspired and motivated than down and feeling full of self pity. Time to regroup again .

The Secret

All is well, very well in fact. Last Thursday as reported in my last post I was dreaming,I didn't realise it but I was positive dreaming, visualizing my family on a warm sandy beach.

On Friday last week I bought The Secret by Rhonda Byrne started reading it this week, on Saturday I received a letter from Abbey/Cahoot confirming I had been mis-sold my loan insurance and they were refunding me over £2000 !

Now I'm not about to book tickets for the four of us on a fully inclusive two week holiday in paradise, but I am starting to think this positive attitude is something to be taken more seriously. Yes I wrote and instigated the action on the PPI claims, but I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think I stood a chance.

It's an interesting book, many have claimed it's mumbo jumbo and that the quotes by empowering figures such as Winston Churchill are taken out of context. It's not the easiest book to read, very repetitive, and the layout is unusual, but it has me thinking and feeling good things.

Reminds me of a poem:

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will—
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can never ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
but soon or late the man who wins
Is THE MAN WHO THINKS HE CAN!

I'm happy today.

Got To Have A Dream

It's my day off, I've decluttered my desk, there was so much stuff ! All shredded or disposed of. Think we could do with a decent desk with draws instead of the old battered reconstructed flatpack thing from the 90's.

I've been day dreaming and window shopping for houses in Barbados. Makes me feel good. I'm lucky enough to have been there, and one day we'll go back. Probably as Grandparents the way things are !

Anyway I've been tagged by The Bright Side, which in a roundabout way is why I went window shopping in Barbados. Bright Sides's memoir tag is “Been there, done that, charged it”. I guess somehow I'm still paying for those wonderful holidays in the West Indies.

So my six word memoir given that I seem to hash things up a lot (and go back to proverbial jail, without passing go and not collecting £200) is 'Any Chance I Can Start Again?'

Here's the rules :

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag at least 5 more blogs.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Who to tag ? I'm not very good at this, so if you don't want to play then feel free to pass.

1. Notes From the Frugal Trenches
2. Dump the Debt
3. Collecting My Cash
4. No More Spending
5. Eliminate My Debt

I'm back off to the beach....

The Only Way Is Up !

I've shut the door on my bad week. Something I've really noticed is that as a Mum, wife, daughter, colleague and other roles I play if I'm down it causes a ripple effect. I have two sons and lovely husband. My negativity caused a general bad feeling, I'm not blaming myself, just coming to terms with the fact the it's so easy to wallow in self pity, in turn I felt selfish. No more of that it's just wasted energy.

So last night I sold a book on Amazon, that's three this month total £11.51. One of them a boot sale purchase for 25p sold for £4.50. Would love to sell books, but I must focus on the jewellery. It's payday tomorrow. Today I must menu plan and then write a list.

My EF went out the window, due to the phone/internet bill (just changed the contract and reralised that BT's confusing calling plans dupilicate themselves so that was £39we didn't need to spend. Attention to detail is one of my downfalls.

It's great to see so many other UK PF bloggers on the scene, I really must update my blog roll.

Negativity

A horrible week at work last week, a phone bill and some hiccups in family life made for a big dip in my mental attitude. I don't like being negative, but that was the flow of things last week. I'm actually of the belief that I don't think I've had the real lightbulb moment yet.

I found an old diary from 1989 in which I had entered the amount I earned each week. At 21 I was earning nearly twice the amount I am earning now. But then at 21 I had a mortgage no kids went on exotic holidays every year and more importantly no financial savvy.

This is food for thought.

Slippery Slope

The snowball effect works both ways I guess. Only thing is it's easier to fall straight back into the mess from whence you came.
My absence is due to several factors, and it's not good news. The car, £300, I'd budgeted for that. Took it on the chin.

The one situation that I knew at the back of my mind was going to happen but wasn't prepared for was the death of my PC. At nearly 5 years old it was behaving erratically. Last week no power, nothing. I had no real hands on idea what to do. I don't know how to fix it.

Do I need one ? Yes, it's a means to an end, I don't have to justify it because it will justifiy itself. So I bought a new one. I'm not over the moon about it because I'm sadly the owner of an overdraft again, after all my parading about not venturing that side of the zero balance, and I did it. I can't shake my marbles off without this form of communication. This has really put the cat amongst the pigeons, only minimum payments this month on all cards, put my extra income plans back a week. The silliest thing is I didn't back up important documents from the old PC because it's never going to happen to me right ?

Cross with myself, but taking it as another learning curve.

I have a lot of catching up to do on the PF blog front. Hoping you've all had a better two weeks than me.