My attempt-at-being-honest-about-how-much-I-spend-in-the-hope-to-reduce-it diary

notenoughcash

Seeing as we're in July tomorrow and I was really naughty with my money yesterday and today I decided to log all my grocery and 'essential' spending in the hope that it might make me see where I waste it and where I can cut back.

I was going to start this yesterday until I went to the shop for some milk and came home with two pizzas a bottle of wine and chocolate. And then I was going to start today but I went and bought myself a jacket potato from a cafe at £3.20 for my lunch when I have potatoes in the cupboard. So it's now or never, from tomorrow I will not spend anything that isn't necessary.

Here goes........

sylviemylove

Good Luck. Its quite weird at first, a bit like giving up talking! But it helped me to imagine my mum in my ear every time I went near a till, saying, "Now do you really NEED that?"

notenoughcash

It's the corner shop that's my biggest enemy. I'm so so disciplined when it comes to clothes and any individual item that costs more than 3 or 4 pounds really which makes it even more frustrating! I'm going to try just taking enough cash with me to buy the top-up groceries that I need and leave my bank card at home and then there's less danger of me buying anything I don't need! I hope!!

notenoughcash

Ok, day one. I have managed to spend a big fat 0 so far today, I know there's time yet but I'm feeling very motivated right now! I've also just brought in a load of food from the veggie patch saving me about a fiver on what it would have cost in the shops. And I'm going to try and use some of the 'back-up' food in my store cupboard (pasta n sauce, noodles etc) before the more tempting food in the freezer so that hopefully I won't need to do a big shop this week. Running low on bread and milk but will wait until tomorrow for that as I have to pass tesco and will be cheaper than local shop.

moneymabel

Good luck with your challenge notenoughcash-i'm trying to do a similar thing so i know how hard it is!! you can do it :-)

notenoughcash

Ha ha, that really made me laugh!

Well mine is a co-op so loads of different tempting yummy expensive things there too. And I'm terrible at parting with my money in tesco, totting up every penny as I go round and tutting to myself when they've put the price up on everything, buy as many value products as I can get. But then I just lose it in co-op!

Quite a few people seem to be having a similar issue with impulse spending so lets hope if we all stick at it together we'll beat the spends!!!!

saver03

Hi and good luck with it. Love your title! I can also empathise with you as I am sure most of us can I went into Jack Fulton today to get fish fingers and fish cakes but then I just kept throwing stuff in my basket like a wild woman I was not happy when I had to walk home with 2 big bag fulls

notenoughcash

Ha ha, number of times I have to stop half way up the hill for a rest when I've done that. And I never seem to learn, you'd have thought if the basket is too heavy to carry round the shop then the bags will be too heavy to carry up the hill?!?!?

saver03

notenoughcash wrote: »

Ha ha, number of times I have to stop half way up the hill for a rest when I've done that. And I never seem to learn, you'd have thought if the basket is too heavy to carry round the shop then the bags will be too heavy to carry up the hill?!?!?

Thankfully I didn't have to climb a hill I don't think I would have made it :rotfl: Once I had 4 bags to carry home as I kept throwing in "bargains" and I refused to get a taxi as that would be wasted money, so by the time I go home the handles were digging in my hand and I could not feel my fingers but I too will just not learn!!

sam89

Hi Notenoughcash.

Good luck with your budgeting, I've just started a spending diary too so will be really interested in how you are doing ?

Lets hope we can both behave ourselves .

Sam,
x.

shopaholictiedtheknot

Hi notenoughcash, I am trying not to go into my overdraft this month, I have £200 left to last me till payday (25th July)

I have started a thread too - £304.71 to last me the month which is what I started with I am keeping a diary to keep track of my spending

Good luck with your budgeting