Back to Black - XSpender's 6 Year Plan

XSpender

Hi Katy!

The sickness is wearing off thank goodness but all I want to do now is stuff my face:rotfl:

Baby is due early May.

I find out about my job a week on Monday. I am quite confident that I will have have kept my job but you never know do you? The redundancy money would be lovely to clear the IVA but a bit tough with no company car and no job at the end of maternity leave!

Thanks for your positive words.

XS

XSpender

OMG I am starving! Is it a baby or a tape worm??

Managed to do a small essentials only shop yesterday to eek out the bits in the freezer to last until pay day which came to just under a tenner and a NSD today:j. However I have realised that we do not have enough dog food to last til Tuesday so that is another fiver I need to spend.

I have signed up for the store cupbord challenge to stop me buying stuff when I could be being more imaginative with what is in the cupboards although the 'meaty' bit of the freezer will be a bit empty by pay day.

Must do the store cupboard list tonight and plan some batch cooking for the weekend.

Not much else to report as regards specific tasks done but I can feel myself getting back into the old OS/DFW/MSE mindset. I have been working at home all day today and put another jumper on rather than the heating:A

XS

XSpender

DH is taking me out for the day on Sunday. It would normally involve a long walk but as I am preggers it will be a short walk with tea and cake:D

Checked the internet banking and I am £50 short somewhere so have had to move money from savings into the current account to cover the expenses cheque I have written although I don't think this will come out until after I am paid on Tuesday. Serves me right for not keeping a close eye on the accounts over the last few months, plus we have spent a bit this month having electric put in the garage.

This leaves us the following:

£6.59 in my purse
£55 in the current account
£10.40 in the 20p savings pot
£2.42 in the savings account

I want to have at least £500 saved in the account by Christmas as we will need to start ordering stuff for the baby in the new year. Christmas isn't a huge affair in our family and I do not want to be spending a lot of money that could be used towards baby stuff.

XSpender

I have decided to record my spending on my diary so that I can have a record and to keep my spending under control. If I have to write it down it will hopefully make me think about what I am spending.

I get paid on Tuesday so will start it then.

Had a lovely day out today when for a long drive into Cumbria and had lunch in a fantastic cafe. Will definatley be going there again.

Have had some success with using the stores up this weekend but succumbed to a take away on Saturday night due to not planning what to eat. What a waste of a fiver!

DH likes a beer on a weekend and that was another £10 so I am going to set a budget for this seperate to my GC budget and try and bulk buy and when it is gone it is gone.

We have some expenses coming up this month that cannot be avoided but are budgeted for. I am going to start the christmas shopping with my Mum but will get fed all weekend and DH is away in London for the weekend but the concert ticket and accommodation are already paid for he just needs beer and food money.

I am going to aim for 3 NSDs as a minimum each week in November and will also attempt to make £5/day. I would also like to save an additional £200 from the salaries this month. That plus the £5/day money will make a great start to the savings target.

XSpender

I was having a think about budgets and savings when I was driving up and down the motorway yesterday.

I find that because I have internet banking I find it too easy to transfer money from my two savings accounts to the current account if we overspend or need something and at the end of this month there is £2.42 left in the savings and, because my expense cheque has cleared, we were £32.91 overdrawn for one day before I got paid today. I hope I do not get charged and will ask for it to be waived if I do.

I need to set tighter budgets for other spends like I do with the GC budget. I find it helps me focus and keeps the spending in check. I also need to save for car tax, dog jabs and emergencies. This money gets put in the saves and then gets used for other stuff.

From this month I am going to try having sealed pots for different expenditure and add to them weekly/monthly a set amount as per my overall budget. I usually put away £70 towards annual bills like the car tax and £50 for emergencies so I will split the £70 into pots and keep the £50 in the savings account.

My other savings account will be used for savings for baby stuff.

I am also going to start using DH pay day as the start and end of our financial month as he gets paid on the last working day of the month and when I go on maternity his money will be our main income. This month because we have nothing left it will run from 27th Oct to 29th Nov.

I will also update my 'pots' and account balances/budgets on my diary every day or so like flying freesian does on her diary as if I show it all to you it will hopefully stop me dipping in to them.

XSpender

Had a call from some stupid girl at the IVA co yesterday saying I couldn't reduce my payment to them by the increase in my secured loan.:mad: She was so rude and had all the facts wrong about my case and the terms of my IVA and told me I would have to find it out of my contingency and that the creditors wouldnt accept it. They only get contected if it is going down by 15% or more. So if it was a £50 increase would I then have no contingency? It really annoyed me. She said she would speak to the IP and get back to me which hasn't happened as yet. Yeah, when you have read my file properly:mad:

I am worried enough about what will happen when I go on maternity leave.

DH heard about a possible job going yesterday which would be a lot more secure than where he is as he is constantly been threatened with redundancy after they cut his wages by £500/month. Fingers crossed something comes of it as it has to be advertised internally first.

Did some work on the budgets yesterday but need to tweak a bit before I have them right so will hold off posting them as yet. I also need to wait to see what DH wage is (probably tomorrow) before I can number crunch properly.

Only money spent has been £118.17 on food/dog food/beer/toiletries and household stuff from Mr T. This should last all month supplemented by a few bits and pieces, fruit and veg and dairy and £10 more dog food.

XSpender

Woo Hoo!:j I have kept my job:T

I still havent heard back from the IVA co so have paid the lower payment and see what happens.

The budgets I have set are working but I still need OH pay slip to get exact and he has been away for the weekend and I couldnt find it.

I seem to have spent a lot of the GC money for this early in a very loooooong month so I will need to rain that in a bit. I bought stuff for batch cooking but the bump is still tiring me out so didnt get as much done as I wanted to do yesterday.

No NSDs yet:eek: and no money made on the £5/day challenge either. Must get a move on.