Mrs. P's Diary

MrsPorridge

Tuesday

Mopped kitchen floor, cleaned bathroom

Packed lunches made and in fridge.

Bit of a danger zone coming up though - have to go to Tescos tonight as DS is cooking at school tomorrow and need to get some ingredients. Will try and not get sidetracked into buying anything else!

MrsPorridge

DH's payday today - together we have checked our bank account and looked through and re-jigged the SOA. As its our holiday at the end of the month we need to save as much as possible so we have some spending money.

It was good to go through this together and makes me feel a lot better.

We will do this again on Friday when I get paid as well and then in the middle of the month and just before the end.

buddiebabe

Hey MrsP hows things?

Horace

Hi Mrs P just catching up - how was the coddle?

MrsPorridge

The coddle was lovely Horace and one recipe I will be cooking again!

I've gone a bit off the rails - DH and I just looked at our SOA against money left and its still almost 3 weeks to pay day! We knew this was going to be a difficult month but I did go a bit mad and bought some material and a handbag and I'm also having my hair coloured on Saturday. So its belt tightening time again - we're going away for the half term week and I'm trying to gather as much spending money as possible. We are self catering and will make packed lunches and try and eat out a couple of evenings and weather permitting have some bbqs (we're going to Wales to fingers crossed for the weather)!!

Its just so easy to take your eye off the ball isn't it - we really do have to watch every penny. At least we have caught ourselves back in time and limited the damage.

I must be stricter with the food shopping - I have got a freezer full of food and still buying stuff so I'm falling back into my bad habits. Back to meal planning which I have let slip lately.

MrsPorridge

Just had the most horrendous shock of all. Last few months have been in and out of the overdraft. Have just printed off three months worth of bank statements, marked up the "food" bits and found out that we are spending on average just under £600 per month on food - my SOA shows £180:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Just think how much I could have saved the last 3 months if I hadn't been over-spending on food.:mad::mad: I am so mad. Almost every other day there is an entry for Tescos or Lidls, small amounts a fiver here and a tenner there.

Even worse that is only the times I used the debit card - it doesn't take into account the cash I use to buy food.

IT STOPS NOW.

MrsPorridge

My two freezers are chock full with food - well we will eat all that and empty both freezers before buying any more. Even if we have to eat funny combinations.

to make matters worse we are on holiday week after next a week self catering in Wales. We don't have that much spending money - now I know why. If I had been more disciplined these last few months we would have had the money. Well we are going away at the end of August - another week self catering in Scotland - I will start now and make sure that by then we will have a decent amount to spend.

I'm still really mad with myself.

MrsPorridge

Things not going too well moneywise am back in the OD.

Am now going to try and focus on the positive things and try and start using my diary again.

First aim is to get out of my OD and back on the MSE wagon.

This week:

packed lunch already made and in fridge - nice healthy salady things
aiming for an NSD tomorrow
enough food in house to last for at least two weeks - try and see if I can stick to that
aiming to do a boot fair on Sunday (weather permitting)
try and look at MSE website every day to keep my motivation going

Positive stuff:

got two new CCs last week and immediately cut them up. (note - must contact CC companies and ask to cancel accounts).
feel motivated to get OD back under control

Things to start doing next pay day:

meal planning - this has slipped for the past few months and again I am over-spending on food big time - lots of visits to the shops and buying lots of stuff and getting side-tracked.

check my bank account most days (at the moment slightly scared to look)

MrsPorridge

OK - today I have managed my first NSD in I don't know how many days so I'm well pleased.

lunch all done and ready for tomorrow

checked my bank account and although it was badly overdrawn was certainly not as bad as I had thought - now I just need to get cracking and get it under control

Aiming for another NSD tomorrow.

buddiebabe

Hey MrsP glad to see you back :j its horrible when you fall off the MSE wagon it always seems like a struggle to get back on but in a few days it'll be like you've never been away!!

In saying that its been a while since i've updated anything really need to get a move on!

Congrats on your NSD here's hoping it will be the start of many

Buddiebabe x