Well here we go again with the same old resolution. For the last three years I have decided to not get into any more debt and to pay off what I owe. We are in negative equity and have to find three thousand pounds to pay the solicitor and the stamp duty! However, this will not be from debt but from my over time payments which were going to be used to pay off debt.

The good news is though, that I’ve brought all of my debts down to 20,132! Had two pay rises and earnt an extra 2500 in tutoring after school. Everything I don’t need goes on ebay and we’re carbooting on sunday to clear the clutz and hopefully make at least 50 pounds!

Food wise - I haven’t been shopping since before Christmas and we’re onto odd concoction soup now wiht homemade bread - clearing the cupboards - I’ve baked, hand washed, dried everything outside in the crisp dry winter air and had the heating on for only two hours a day!

This year, is the first year since I can remember when I’ve been cold. However, I’m not suffering and I’m not hungry but oh boy it’s chilly. I have a fire in one room and the rest of the house has that cold smell about it which I try to cover with some incense and the place is beginning to smell like students digs. We’ve taken to going to bed really early and watching something on the i player on the lap top and using the lap top instead of the main pc as it used less electricity. We’ve read our own meter and already have reduced our monthly direct debit from 75 to 50 pounds and will do the same, hopefully with the gas - another saving of 300 for electricity and hopefully the same with gas - which takes another few months off the longevity of debts which we will pay off soon.