My Olympic Challenge

Lewby

Hi PAP, I can't believe that it's February this weekend. I feel strangely excited about having a new spreadsheet page!! Things have gone well this month, I've kept on track, have spent so much less on groceries and haven't wasted any money. How good is that!!

A few small things have cropped up - I hadn't added haircuts into my budget for the kids and they've both needed them this month and I also forgot about the tv licence which is on quaterley dd. Huge improvements made though in managing our money .... and my OH has moved miles!!! He has even started selling things on ebay and is thrilled when he sees that his items have bids on and have gone up!

Will post more over the weekend as I am home alone tomorrow ..... so lots of chance to catch up on here!;)

Lewby xx

retrocircles

Glad to hear your OH is on board! Mine is sort-of, but I want to get him more involved.

Lewby

Well what a luxury! It's saturday afternoon, the house to myself and NO COLLEGE WORK TO DO!!!!!!!

It feels a little strange not to have 'studying' hanging over me. For the last year, even when I haven't been studying I have felt guilty about not doing it. Guilt no more! I can lurk on here to my hearts content..... well after I've cleaned the house, put the washing out, sorted the ironing ........ lol.

It's 31st January and I'm still on track. Well done me! I have stuck to my meal planning, have got rid of the overdraft, have kept my spreadsheets up to date, have been making overpayments to the cc's, have the local supermarket staff wondering where I am each day and have lost 4lbs. The wieghtloss isn't great but if I lose 1lb per week I'll have reached my target by June - ready for my summer clothes!

Keeping a diary has been really useful. Just popping on to see if I have had any visitors motivates me, as I get distracted by other threads and diaries and find so many inspirational comments on here. The PAD thread is amazing. I can't believe how much debt we have shifted this month. The economy will never recover if we keep paying off the debt and reduce our spending anymore!

I have reflected today on how lucky I am to have my head just above water, able to make my min payments and live. So many people are facing hardship through redundancy at the moment, can't meet their commitments and are inevitably getting into more debt. Each month the min payments go down, even if only by a couple of pounds, and that extra can be chucked at the bigger pot of debt, all heading towards paying it off ..... I so can't wait!!

Off to browse a little more now ...... hope everyone else who started with good intentions on 1st Jan is still here. 1st Feb tomorrow .... another month closer to June 2012!

Lewby xx

MissOptimistic

Hi Lewby - I can really appreciate what you are saying about being glad you have your head above water and can meet the minimum payments. Hopefully that will be us now that I have this new job, before we weren't earning enough each month and drawing a few hundred quid off one of the cards to see us through the month - Now I need to start reversing things, and get it going in the right direction again. I have been meal planning and find it much better knowing what we are going to have for tea each night - I have been thinking of getting a slow cooker, so that tea is all but done when i get in from work but I haven't decided yet.
Glad you are optimistic about February and 2012 will be here before you know it! It sounds like you have lots to look forward to with the lighter nights and decorating your kitchen.

Lewby

Hi Miss O - A slow cooker is great. I love putting things like sausage casserole on in the morning and then walking through the door at night and smelling the meal ready and waiting. I have experiented lately and now add butter beans to the casserole to bulk it out cheaply.

Well we've had lots of snow and the schools have been shut for 2 days which has gone down really well here. I worked from home today but seemed to spend most of the time drying out clothes as the kids came in soaking wet but wanted to go out again 20 mins later. They had a great time though and we have a lovely snowman in the garden. It has cost us more to be at home though as the heating's been on for two full days and also the kids have eaten like mad as they have been out in the fresh air!

I went into town this afternoon with my OH as we needed to buy a new shower head and holder as ours fell off yesterday and we are lost without the shower. That was £21 that hadn't been in my budget. There are also a couple of birthdays at the weekend which means £10 in a card for each. It makes you realise where the money goes when you are keeping a spending diary. I've realised today that I don't like spending money now if it's not in my budget. I almost felt cross about having to buy the shower bits .... how weird is that!

Feels strange having had a day off in the week. It feels like a Sunday .... nevermind, only 3 days til the weekend again!

Lewby xx

Olderbutnotwiser

I adore my slow cooker too, tomorrow there is chicken, pearl barley, loads of veg and stock going in it. Lewbs I've never put sausages in it what do you put with them?
Spready on a memory stick now you are talking :idea:
We were saying how like a Sunday it feels today too, the extended weekend has been nice (oops I mean working from home :rolleyes:) but I think we need to get back into it.
I don't like spending money thats not in my monthly plan but with three daughters there is always something unexpected:cool:
Do you use the snowball thing?

Lewby

Hi OBNW. More snow forecast for tonight here ..... kids have gone to bed praying that there is so much we can't get down the lane in the morning!

For the sausage casserole I part cook the sausages in the oven to brown them and then put them in the slow cooker with carrots, onions, mushrooms, a tin of butter beans, a tin of tomatoes and a vegetable stock cube or mixed herbs. It's lovely and smells so nice when you come home. We usually have it with mash, a yorkshire pud and peas. Making me hungry just describing it!

Feeling a bit bad today ..... fell into the 'popping into the supermarket' trap and came out £18 lighter! It's the BOGOF's that get me every time ... even though it's things that we use and I generally buy I still feel that I've committed a cardinal sin as I'm trying to live off what I already have in my over stocked cupboards!!!! I just can't resist things like jars of Ragu and curry sauce on BOGOF. I ended up buying 4 of each .... and cheese on half price (even though I have some in the fridge) and the soup my daughter likes because it was on 5 for £1.75 (usually 65p a tin) .... how guilty do I feel. And OH managed to get a pack of very nice Green and Blacks Biscuits in the basket as they were half price and he's going on a mountain walk on Friday so they'd be good to take for energy. I'm definately going shopping on my own in for the rest of the month!

Oh well better stay in rehab with the MSE Clinic!! Just when I think I'm getting over my spending addiction it rears it's ugly head!

Must try harder..... must try harder ...... must try harder.

Lewby xx

Lewby

A few days since my last confession ...... lots of snow, kids off school but normality returns today!

Had a very 'not DFW' weekend but at least it was planned, slightly controlled and no credit cards used. My MIL is really difficult to buy for and for Christmas I came up with the idea that we'd take her to Claridges for tea as her combined Christmas and birthday (Jan) present. Tea is £33 per head which seems a lot but having been was definately worth it for the experience, the amazing endless tea and the pleasure it gave my MIL. Unfortunately the cost didn't end there. We spent £25 on petrol to get to the train in Reading, £35 on return tickets from Reading to Paddington, £32 on taxis as MIL refused to use underground, as well as the tea which cost £112 with service charges added! So all in all a very non-DFW day .... but that's our bit done in terms of MIL for this year ..... and she so enjoyed it. At least I'd budgeted £150 towards it so not too bad overall. Still can't help thinking of the cc's I could have put it towards though!

Sadly my DFW mission is also thwarted by OH's car playing up at the weekend and now parked at our local garage waiting for it's diagnosis and estimate of cost!!!!! Why is it when you take two steps forward you always seem to take one back!

Nevermind, kids are back at school today and I have a day off work on holiday (booked it to recover from yesterday in London). We have made £143 on this weekend on Ebay so that will offset the extra London trip cost and hopefully go towards the car repair. Will package it all up and get it posted this afternoon ... and then find more things to list.

Must get on and do some housework. Having been away yesterday the house looks like a bomb has gone off.

Will pop back on here later though

Lewby xx

Olderbutnotwiser

Oh Lewbs your weekend sounds lovely, I've never had tea at a swanky hotel I quite fancy that And well done on the ebay front too, I really must get off my backside and start doing things like that.
The snow is pretty much gone from here now so all back to normal, I just seem to be living from one payday till the next atm
Happy Monday
xx

Naarwich

Just found your diary Lewby and loved reading through your activites from the end of last year...however I do worry about your unhealthy obsession with M&S!!

Congrats on the EBay selling...I love selling stuff there however it's the packaging up and taking to the post office that really grates me! :rolleyes: I just have to keep thinking of the money I've made to help motivate me!

Also liked your tip about the LOB. I have an Egg card with £3700 of credit available and may give them a call to see what sort of rate they'd offer me for a LOB...could well save me £££'s over the life of the balance.