The Money Diet

Thank you everyone who has commented so far.

Sunday 3 December

The OH told me it was too early to put the Christmas tree up and that I have to wait until double figures. Got a rant about how there are ‘12 days of Christmas’ not 31. So, next Sunday is the 10th and that’s double figures so it’s going up then whether he likes it or not. I’m still following his rules! He is such a Scruge!

Went food shopping today and brought selection boxes for my nieces/nephews. I can’t afford anything else so I hope they don’t mind too much. Still got presents to sort out for rest of the family and some will be coming out of our grocery budget so I have to keep a close eye on things.

I’ve brought the OH first present with some money I have left on my amazon account gift card. A personal (for 1) teapot, teacup and saucer set that all fits together. I’ve got a loose tea holder thing too as he suggested he might like some posh tea and teacup. It was under a £10 and came off a gift card I got for my insurance so it’s not like I’ve missed the money.

I’ve also been out in the garden to sweep up the mass of leaves. It looks a little better now, less messy, but will need a good sort end of winter to get it looking ready for spring. We haven’t done much to the garden and it’ll be nice to spend a little money on it next year.

Made a nice roast for dinner, chicken left over for dinner tomorrow. I made stuffing balls with sausage meat and Yorkshire puddings too which are now in the freezer. I must remember to sort out lunches before I go to bed and clean up what I can so it’s not a tip in the morning.

I’ve got that dreaded Sunday feeling where you know you have to get ready for work. I’ve only got 2.5 weeks left before I break up for Christmas though so not too long. I had ten days off during the wedding but it all went so quickly and I felt so busy it feels like I haven’t had any time off!

Sunday 10th December

I!!!8217;m still here, plugging away, but I've been very tired throughout the week as I've had a long week at work. I have, however, built up an extra two hours of flexi time this week and I now have enough for a day off work. I think I will try to save it though for January as I would like my birthday off. If I can build about 14 hours (I!!!8217;m on 9.5 I think) I'll try and have the Monday and Tuesday off.

Budgets are looking okay. Joint budget/shopping is looking good. My personal budget is looking less happy as I've already dipped into next weeks budget so I will have to be very strict with myself. I have only managed 2 NSD (including today) so far so I need to pull some out of the bag.

My target this coming week is to clean a room a night so it doesn't feel like I'm spending all weekend cleaning the house.

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Well done on budgeting so well and glad you did not go massively into debt for your wedding.

As the cards are on 0% I can understand your DH not rushing to pay it off but personally I am with you and would rather get shot of it asap and get into the habit of saving for stuff asap. Initially an emergency fund, fund for your holidays and a house fund for eventually a new boiler and redecoration and any car expenses.

If you both put around £850 into your house fund you presumably both have around £350- £400 spare which has got to cover personal spends/holiday savings and debt repayments which is not a massive amount but better than some. Any chance of either of you upping your income?

You are doing brill anyway.

Also I am with your DH in that it is far too early for Christmas trees yet. Ours will go up next weekend probably.

Thank you

I agree, I think the cards should be gone as soon as possible but I do understand where he is coming from because we spent a year feeling very poor because we were saving £400 a month which left no room for nice things for us.

I completely agree re the emergency fund. It was depleated last year and we haven’t built it up again. That is a massive priority for 2018. I’d like it at £1,000 and DH would like it to be at least £500, but thinks a target of £1,000 is unrealistic. I don’t think it is, although it might take some time to build it up again. We will know better how things stand at pay day as Christmas will be over and all of the associated spends will have been sorted. I’m going to try and budget a Christmas pot for next year - we didn’t have the stretch to do it this year but I see no reason why one cannot be sorted for 2018.

I wish we could earn more money! DH had a promotion a year ago which isn’t permanent yet (he is on a Temporary Responibility Allowance to account for the work he’s now doing) but if he gets this job on a permanent basis there will be another (albeit small) pay rise as the TRA only pays 10% higher at the moment.

I’m looking at other jobs but I am aware that although my job doesn’t pay that much, the flexibility I have is invaluable. I do not have set work hours (ie. 9-5) I can work from home, if I work over my hours I can claim my time back in Flexi time which basically means additional holidays. My job can be stressful at times but I’m worried the grass would not be greener on the other side and I’d miss the flexibility I have. We are not starting a family yet, but when we do, my current position would be ideal because it is flexible enough to accommodate childcare and I could request term-time/part time. They’re very big on having good home/work balance and really promote it which is the one most single thing I love about my job.

So any new job that pays more would have to have the same benefits, which would basically mean a promotion where I am now, rather than elsewhere.

I may have put my Christmas tree up when he was out this week!! Oops. :beer:

Monday 11th December

I did not want to get out of bed today! It was so cold this morning, lots of ice, snow stopped looking pretty and now resembles frozen sludge. Recipe for broken bones in my book!

I've had a good day at work, left early as I know tomorrow I will be leaving late. We did end up having a spendy day though as we've practically ran out of loo roll so on the way home went via Mr A and topped up. We also got some salad bits for lunches and some reduced bakery bits.

DH is making dinner so tonight I'm having a (fairly) relaxed evening although I need to make sure the following chores are sorted before bed:

- Clear Kitchen/wipe down surfaces Done
- Make packed lunch Mostly Done - my !!!8216;Apple knife!!!8217; is in the dishwasher so will chop up my apple in the morning
- Run dishwasher Done
- Check what clothes have dried and put them away Done
- Put one load of washing in Done - jeans are in now
- Quick go over of living room/dining room to make sure it stays neat Done - I gave the fireplace a little hoover too!

I'm now exhausted and will soon be off to bed with my Kindle I think. I was finished by 9:30 PM :eek: