£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Week 26: day 4

Morning! Up slightly-less-insanely-early for yoga as DH is off again today (so another day of maximum work levels to try to catch up before he goes back to the office tomorrow).

I'm feeling very powerless about our pathetic budget this month - I feel like I have no particular means to improve our income, but also no means to cut our spends any further as there are certain commitments this month - children off school, holiday that we are committed to and want to actually enjoy, car service. Not a relaxing place to be.

Going for a coffee with a friend today, as both our DHs are off work for the day. I shouldn't really have agreed, but just feeling a bit frazzled and like I need a treat. I recognise this is Not A Good Thing from the point of view of debt busting - I generally try to avoid any sense of 'deserving' a treat as it's a slippery slope to expensive indulgences for me. Please feel free to give me a reality check if I start saying I 'deserve' things on a regular basis. But not today please.

Suffolk - will check out Morrisons and/or local health food shop for jumbo oats next time I need to stock up, thank you!

to do today
1. social media for work.
2. book surfing lesson.
3. unpack and tidy upstairs.
4. more laundry and ironing.
5. make quiche for lunches while camping.
6. 6hrs work.
7. batch cook macaroni cheese.
8. investigate making some homemade sandwich wraps - we go through clingfilm like it's going out of fashion, between covering bowls with it when bread making and wrapping up sarnies on days out. Also, in my hippy way, I don't like using that much plastic, in environmental or 'my food is permanently encased in plastic' terms.
9. book DH's trains for next week - I am away seeing one of my parents with the DC so he needs a weekly train ticket plus a ticket up to meet us at the end of the week.
10. check gas bottles - if we have enough for this weekend I might be able to avoid a trip to the camping shop entirely, which can only be good for the wallet.

to do this week
1. as much work as I can squeeze in - any extra earnings will really make the difference this month!
2. trip to the camping shop for gas, possibly sleeping mat, anything else that crops up as we unpack and clean everything.
3. car service - panic about the price and wish I'd been better about saving.
4. I'm sure I'll add more to this list as I work through my bullet journal lists today.
5. Ooh, talk to DS1 about his birthday party - he seems up for taking one or two friends on a day out to a trampoline place or climbing wall, need to discuss further.

to do this month
1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap. More than the £15 I managed in July would be nice.
2. Find ourselves with more than £228 in the savings account on 31st August.
3. Keep that overall spend figure down below £3,900 (baby steps!)
4. business planning and scheduling, so that I am ready to start making some immediate profit in September when DC3 starts preschool.
5. think outside the box with the food budget and keep a close eye on anywhere it might be going wrong.
6. Try not to need the child benefit money to balance August’s money, so it can go towards Septmber’s (it is paid four weekly, which is currently falling towards the back end of the month, so I have balanced the budget to work without it, and will aim to put it towards September’s income rather than August’s. We’ll see).