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redofromstart · 1 September 2017 at 2:41PM

I like the table tops/legs from the swedish emporium of meatballs. Simple and economicial enough to replace either if needed. Although I never leave having just bought the thing I went for and I have to factor that in. How did you get on?

lcc86 · 2 September 2017 at 8:57AM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

I am glad you have started up your savings accounts for things you want and an emergency fund. It just makes budgeting so much easier.

Keeping any underspends as a buffer is a good idea but if you find you underspend a few months in a row I think I would increase the payments to the debt to get rid of it sooner.

Thanks enthusiasticsaver, I'm glad now that I signed up for the 365 day challenge as it's given me a decent starting point. By the end of the year I'll have in the region of £645, I'd like to get it to £1000 at the start of next year after the debt is cleared!

lcc86 · 2 September 2017 at 9:02AM

redofromstart wrote: »

I like the table tops/legs from the swedish emporium of meatballs. Simple and economicial enough to replace either if needed. Although I never leave having just bought the thing I went for and I have to factor that in. How did you get on?

I stuck to the list exactly! I looked up everything I wanted to get beforehand and found it all. There's so much temptation in there, I'm sure they make you walk through the entire shop just to torture you. I got 2 large dinner bowls (dropped the last one on Thursday and smashed it) at £4 each, table legs at £10, a monitor stand for £20 (that was definitely a cheeky purchase), and a desk tidy for £7.50. £44.50 spent, I took £30 from the house fund and the rest from my unallocated weekly budget.

lcc86 · 4 September 2017 at 4:28PM

Saturday and Sunday were NSD's as expected. Mostly spent Saturday inside, did a coat of paint in the living room and general tidying up, set up my study space etc. Then off to dinner with OH (his treat). Was really, really nice.

Sunday I finished the living room (with the exception of the feature wall), and then went horse riding. Kept it relatively short as it was raining, just did 45 minutes in the school.

Today hasn't been a NSD, bought a drink this morning (not needed but just wanted a little pick me up as I felt knackered) and also picked up some chocs for work colleagues. I also have chiropractor again today so need to pay for parking. I have managed a 40 minute walk this morning plus a 20 minute one at lunchtime (trying to compensate for being naughty with the chocolate!).

lcc86 · 5 September 2017 at 8:58AM

Feel knackered today! Not sure why, even managed a bit of a lie in until 7.30, but don't think I slept all that well.

In a bit of a predicament at present. I start my masters in a few weeks and they want payment by the 17th. I've applied for my student loan but the first payment isn't until October. So I applied for a 0% purchase credit card to enable me to pay for the module and then repay it once the student loan money comes in. However I applied for the card in mid-August and haven't received any paperwork. I've chased them and they reckon they've resent it, and they definitely have the right address, but I'm running out of time to sign it and return, then get the card in time to pay by the 17th. I've got an offer on my emergency credit card for 0% purchases until Feb, with a 1.8% fee, so I'm just wondering if I should bite the bullet and do that instead. I don't want to risk leaving it till the last minute, not have enough time to get the finances in place and then lose my place. The OU keep emailing me chasing payment too. I don't particularly want to pay more interest than I have to (I think the 1.8% fee works out at about £40) as I'll have interest to pay on the student loan itself but it's starting to feel unavoidable at the moment. I think I'll give it a couple more days to see if the paperwork arrives and if not I'll call and ask them to cancel just for safety's sake, then pay on my current card. I really wanted to keep the student loan stuff separate to my personal debt just to avoid confusion but it looks like that may not be possible...

Today I'm off to a meeting in London then will get the train over to work from there. I get to claim the cost of the travelcard back so might as well use it for the entire commute. Just to update my totals, I've had:

3/18 NSD's
4/20 healthy days
£11.40/£20 spent on toiletries

lcc86 · 6 September 2017 at 9:08AM

So I bit the bullet and requested the 0% on my current credit card, hopefully it'll be sorted in the next couple of days. The one I applied for still hasn't arrived and I can't risk leaving it much longer, especially if the card were to take even longer to arrive. So now I'll have my OU fees mixed in with my personal debt, which annoys me, but I know that a. it's 0% which is the best it could be! And b. it's only until February. I get the first payment in October so can get rid of half of it then. It's annoying that the university expects payment before the loan comes in, I did some research and it's one of the only universities that has this policy. Seems silly to expect students to stump up the fees up front - surely if I had the money I wouldn't be applying for a student loan in the first place?! Ah well, it's hopefully all resolved now.

Today I'm working from home so that's 2 days of not using the car now which all helps with petrol costs. Yesterday was a NSD and today should be too. Shopping is being delivered later but I never count that as a spend as I have my own 'food' pot (is that cheating?!). Better crack on with some work.

lcc86 · 7 September 2017 at 6:23PM

The money transfer has all been completed so now I can pay my uni fees, will log on and do that in a minute. Not much else to report tbh, been another NSD and healthy day. Just back from a run after work, only 2k but better than nothing! Am starving so I think an early dinner is on the cards then I'm going to settle in for some tv. Am watching Top of the Lake (series 1) atm so will try and get another episode of that in before OH comes home.

lcc86 · 8 September 2017 at 5:28PM

No NSD today, have paid for parking at the chiropractor and am also about to go out with some colleagues for a leaving do. I'm driving and will probably stick to water but there will be food involved. Not really in a particularly social mood today for some reason so may make my excuses early, especially as it'll take about 90 mins to get home, but it's good to get out every so often.

lcc86 · 9 September 2017 at 2:58PM

Had quite a good time in the end last night, spent £11 on food and £1.40 on parking. I was home by 11 and it took much less time to get home than I'd thought so positives all round.

Today I've painted the feature wall and spent a good hour doing as good a job as I could of cutting in, the contrast between the two walls colour-wise is massive so I had to get it right! However now that it's done, it means the entire flat is decorated (only took 10 months from moving in!) so I'm really chuffed. I also wasn't 100% sure of the colour but now it's done I love it

I was going to go to the shops but I'm going to have a bath and spend the rest of the day pottering around so today will be a NSD.

We've received our latest service charge bill, £182 each which is due at the end of the month. My house fund stands at £612 so I've got more than enough to cover my half, but it will mean the fund will dip below £500 for the first time in months. In my head I want to keep it above £500 whenever possible so I'll have to make sure I don't spend anything for a while until I've topped it back up - easier said than done however as we're having a roof survey done next week and I have a suspicion that the roof needs replacing :eek: it needed doing before we moved in so it comes as no surprise. On the plus side at least all the flats have to contribute which helps keep costs down.

Right, time to hoover, clean my aquarium, the kitchen and bathroom, and then bath time!

lcc86 · 11 September 2017 at 9:47PM

Evening all

The weekend is well and truly over, they seem to go so quickly these days! Didn't bag any more NSD's as I bought a new toothbrush and a couple of other bits yesterday. Today I bought a wrap for lunch - very unlike me as I rarely buy lunch, I even had my lunch with me but just didn't fancy it today. Back on track tomorrow however. I also had to fill up with petrol today as well.

Went riding yesterday which was great, really enjoyed it and OH walked along next to me so it was nice to spend some time together. Today I managed a 45 minute walk before work and then 30 mins at lunchtime.

Current totals for the month now stand at:
6/18 NSD's
9/20 healthy days
£18.92/£20 spent on toiletries

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