New DFW - Now my diary!!!

LittleEmms

LOL!! Always welcome! x

They do say feed a cold, starve a fever - well that's my excuse

LittleEmms

MUST KEEP UP DIARY!!

Well yesterday - I went food shopping (fortnights shop) and spent £42.00!! I wrote a list, was determined, and was not distracted by the 'so-called' special offers!!

What a grinning idiot I must have been at the till when it came in at the amount I was hoping for - its been a while since that happened!!:D Loving the meal planning - helping me to have a nice balanced diet too!!:)

Here's to coming in under the petrol budget too this month (fingers crossed!!)

Numpty_Monkey

Sounds like your getting the hang of things:T

LittleEmms

Thanks Numpty.

I was a bit of a snot monster on fri/ saturday and hadn't kept a track of spending for a couple of days. Funny how out of control that made me feel for a moment.

Got my (bunged up) head together, back tracked through a couple of receipts - all being xmas (cheap) presents... and wrote it all down. I just checked bank online though and noticed I'm out by £30 car insurance I didn't remember to account for.

Tonights mission - to call vodafone - cancel phone insurance (muppet I am!) and lower tarriff.

Also what's your opinion (and anyone else:D ) on my washing machine insurance. The irony of everything is after writing about it the other day - I was in the doctors surgery - and read an article on Insurances - most of them being not worth the paper they're written on. However the washing machine one said most machines won't break within the first 6 years.... Mine has only played up once - and that was due to moving and the "movers" not doing it properly - the nice engineer still covered it for me.

My scary thing is - if I cancel it now - I'm probably likely it may go wrong?!?! as its at that age.... What do you reckon... ???

(Sad matter is I realised over 5 years - I've paid £525 to a rubbish insurance policy )

natsplatnat

:T Well done LittleEmms:T

As from this weekend coming, I am also going to be on budget for food shopping (see my diary for this weekends disaster!!)

You are doing sooo well and I know what you mean about not keeping track of things. All over a sudden I feel almost as panicked as I did when I hadn't opened the post for a couple of months! At least 2 days or so shouldn't throw up too many (if any) nasty surprises!!

Have a great week :beer:

Crap_with_money.com

Hey littleEmms,

I stumbled across you on EAMD's diary - so thought I'd drop by and say hi!

Well done on getting so many things on track in such a short time!

As for cheap Crimbo pressie's, try this site www.halfcost.co.uk another much wiser MSE'er recommended it to me, and I've saved a fortune using it this year! It can be a bit hit or miss, since it's a clearance site, there's not always consistency with what they have - but you just might get lucky!

As for telling your dad, if you feel he needs to know, then the best you can do is just be honest with him. I found it very difficult telling my dad too - he was quite old school, and very much of the opinion "if you don't have the cash for it, then you don't buy it...." - he predictably was shocked, gave me the expected lecture on learning not to be stupid with my money, and then offered to pay it off for me - which I refused. If your dad thinks you're only telling him so he'll bail you out, you just have to be firm, and make sure he knows that's not what you want!

Good luck with it either way - I'm sure it'll go much better than you're expecting

xx

SmileyG_2

LittleEmms wrote: »

Thanks Numpty.

I was a bit of a snot monster on fri/ saturday and hadn't kept a track of spending for a couple of days. Funny how out of control that made me feel for a moment.

Got my (bunged up) head together, back tracked through a couple of receipts - all being xmas (cheap) presents... and wrote it all down. I just checked bank online though and noticed I'm out by £30 car insurance I didn't remember to account for.

Tonights mission - to call vodafone - cancel phone insurance (muppet I am!) and lower tarriff.

Also what's your opinion (and anyone else:D ) on my washing machine insurance. The irony of everything is after writing about it the other day - I was in the doctors surgery - and read an article on Insurances - most of them being not worth the paper they're written on. However the washing machine one said most machines won't break within the first 6 years.... Mine has only played up once - and that was due to moving and the "movers" not doing it properly - the nice engineer still covered it for me.

My scary thing is - if I cancel it now - I'm probably likely it may go wrong?!?! as its at that age.... What do you reckon... ???

(Sad matter is I realised over 5 years - I've paid £525 to a rubbish insurance policy )

£525 would have bought you a new washing machine with change to spare.

I have £20 pm contingency to fix all my electrical items. In the end I had saved enough to be able to replace just about anything in the house. I might have been struggling with two items going wrong, but realistically I could live without most things except a WM. The only thing to make sure with a WM is if you live in a hard water area (chalky to you and me), you need to make sure you use water softener tablets (you know "washing machines last longer with Cal...")

Take the cost of a new item and divide it by 36. Save that each month and hopefully if you need a new one then the money will be there in three years.

Extended warranties make money for insurers out of the fact that people fear the worst and pay the price.

Make your own insurance fund!

Hope this helps

SmileyG

LittleEmms

Crap_with_money.com wrote: »

As for telling your dad, if you feel he needs to know, then the best you can do is just be honest with him. I found it very difficult telling my dad too - he was quite old school, and very much of the opinion "if you don't have the cash for it, then you don't buy it...." - he predictably was shocked, gave me the expected lecture on learning not to be stupid with my money, and then offered to pay it off for me - which I refused. If your dad thinks you're only telling him so he'll bail you out, you just have to be firm, and make sure he knows that's not what you want!

Good luck with it either way - I'm sure it'll go much better than you're expecting

xx

Thanks CWM!!

That's exactly it - my dad is old school!! He's so good with money and when he was my age - debt wasn't so freely available to get in a mess with... he had to save to get it first. At 50 years old, he managed to retire and head off abroad (wouldn't we all like to be there ).

I am going to try and sit with him when he gets here. I had a chat with him early this year about something from my past that came up in counselling and he was SO good about it, just sat, listened and was really there for me. I think I'm being wary for nothing, it's just that disappointment look - it still gets me and I'm nearly 30... :rolleyes:

xx

P.S - thanks for xmas presents tip! That's a great one!

LittleEmms

Hi Smiley

I completely agree - what a silly billy I have been - my concern is if I cancel it now, and it was to go wrong in the next few months, I have NO contigency plan at the moment (and no relative locally who could wash clothes for me!)

Because it is now at that age where it's likely to not last for ever - i'm in a pickle!! Do I bite the bullet - cancel the insurance and risk it, or start saving for a year and then bite the bullet??

Ahhh... the puzzling questions!!

Numpty_Monkey

I think white vinegar helps with the water softner thing aswell, the OS lot will be able to tell you

I think Smiley G has answered the point about washer insurence, thats where your emercancy fund comes in,
If your machine does break get free quotes for repairs, or even a second hand one
Yes i know about these things I went 5 months without one, had to take my washing round to my mams:o

I got a second hand one for £75 and 6 month warrenty