Back to Black - XSpender's 6 Year Plan

MissKJ

Xspender, welcome to the diaries.

Have you time to post up your SOA and see if someone can think of something you havent?

XSpender

Hi JC

You are right about having the odd thing to look forward to. I don't think I could stick to my plan if couldn't have the odd treat over the next six years!:rotfl:I admire people on the diaries who cut everything back and do everything they can to earn some extra cash and clear their debt really quickly but I don't think I could do it.

I have been over to read your diary too! I can't seem to find any instructions on how to subscribe to the people's diaries I read. I am sure I will work it out!

Hi MissKJ

I will post my SOA later today. Thanks for the reminder. I just need to bite the bullet and get on with it!:o

XSpender

Ok here goes!!


My Income £1630
OH Income £1450 can vary but no less than £1400

TOTAL INCOME £3080

Outgoings

Mortgage 470.00 Interest only due to reduce July but saving goes to IVA
Life Ins 18.32
Car Ins 27.67 1 car as other is a company car
House Ins 28.91
Council Tax 102.00
TV Licence 14.50
Water 29.20
Gas & Electric 125.00 Just gone up £30! This is first year I have worked from home
BT line only 13.43
Sky 52.00 Sky HD and movies and sports, sky talk and broadband
Gym 42.50 I use this 3 times a week
Mobiles x 2 30.00 1 is contract mine is work moby I just pay for personal calls
Contingency 120.00 includes car tax, dentist, dog vacs and £50 for emergencies
Diesel 100.00 x 2 cars
Groceries 260.00 I can get this down to £220 includes dog food, toiletries etc
Clothes 10.00 OH work trousers, underwear, dry cleaning not new clothes!
Hair 80.00 this is hair for both and waxing for me.
HP 128.00
IVA 621.00 Sometimes a bit more or a bit less depends on OH wage
Secured loan 430.00

TOTAL OUTGOINGS £2520

£560 Left over for entertainment, savings and paying off the secured loan

The above looks really good, but I have worked out that, since Feb, we have actually spent:

£150/month sports equipment and clothing (both training for a marathon)
£190/month entertainment (OH has had £200 for a planned weekend away and rest is nights out or cinema)
£150/month house and garden (including new patio, black out blinds)
£140/month on cash taken out of bank and no idea exactly what spent on

We have also spent the money that was allocated to the contingency so we have nothing saved which I am worried about although doc vacs and car tax not due until Feb next year.

Please feel free to comment and make suggestions or highlight anything I have missed out. (Be gentle with me!:p)

Thanks

XSpender

prada_man

Hi XS

wot about council tax :question:

£80 for hair & waxing :eek:

XSpender

Doh!

Thanks Prada Man I will edit the SOA to add in council tax.

I knew someone would mention the hair and wax figure:o. This is a hair cut for me and one for the OH. I used to have blonde highlights every 6 weeks but have gone back to my own colour with the aid of a home dye every month or 2.

As for the waxing I am alergic to anything else but I think I do need to maybe reduce some back from 2 weekly to monthly which would save at least a tenner.

Thanks

XSpender

Fire_Fox

XSpender wrote: »

Phew! Pay day has finally arrived!!:j

I have been away for a couple of days with work and have ended up spending £20 on drinks, lunches and snacks which is annoying but necessary. Airport food is neither healthy nor cheap!

Away this weekend so will need to pay for a meal on Saturday night and drinks/snacks on the train on the way home. I am competing in a sporting event and won't be able to pack drinks and snacks either and will need to eat and drink quite a bit before I get home.

Hair 80.00 this is hair for both and waxing for me.

£150/month sports equipment and clothing (both training for a marathon)

Hope you don't mind me commenting on this - I am a qualified personal trainer, so I try to eat healthily and cheaply when travelling.

I always carry an empty sports water bottle, which I refill at every opportunity - ask and most places will provide you with tap water alongside a purchased drink or meal. If possible I carry half a bottle of high-juice squash, which would be ideal for a modest sugar hit before and after your sporting event.

Food wise - dried fruit, mixed nuts, better quality cereal bars/ homemade healthy recipe flapjacks, tins of tuna with a ring pull, low fat cheese portions, brown pitta bread and some fresh fruit all travel well. Sometimes I even prepare a meal that I freeze and take out on the morning of travel.

What are you spending the £150 a month on?? For marathons you will need two new pairs of running shoes a year at £80 each pair. Tesco do little running back packs with water bladders for £7.50 ... I have a full sweat-wicking wardrobe but never pay full price: TK Maxx is good, as are several online stores.

I get terrible ingrown hairs from waxing, and have very sensitive skin but bought an epilator last year. Absolutely brilliant - ten minutes a week to do my legs, same again for other bits! :T Cost me £30 (half price offer) and had paid for itself within two months.

XSpender

Hi Fire Fox

Thanks for your comments and tips on my SOA.

I ended up having to buy 2 lots of trainers for me as I had not been sold the right ones for my over pronation (I think that's how you spell it) and I had no winter running gear as a novice runner so I did overspend in this area.:o

I too have an epilator but find it more painful than waxing. I think I will give it another go though as the waxing is just sooooo expensive and I only get my bikini and eyebrows done every fortnight.:eek:. If I could cut it back to once a month and use the epilator once a month it would be quite a saving.

Thanks for the useful tips about food when travelling. I travel a lot with work and always end up having to eat carp and expensive airport food. Being a veggie the choice is limited too. I like the idea of cheese potions, pitta and fresh fruit and with some Twinks hob nobs with added dry fruit as well.

Cheers

XSpender

XSpender

The spending diary is working well. I even managed to keep all the receipts or make a note of what we spent when we were away this weekend, even the £2.40 on two ice creams!

Managed to get £20 knocked off our hotel bill this weekend as we didn't have breakfast as we left so early. I didn't think they would offer such a big reduction but I was happy to accept it:p

Also spent £27 on a 2 course meal each at a cheap italian when I was budgeting for £40 so that was a bonus too.:T

When we were out yesterday I said to the OH 'Ooo I could just drink a nice latte' OH said Ok we will go and get one then said later on he would rather not waste £6 on 2 coffees when we might be desperate for that money at the end of the month.

The last 2 months we have really struggled at the end of the month and I was really chuffed:D with him that he was thinking like that as I am the one who sorts out all the money stuff and have felt under pressure when he gets annoyed that there isn't any money left to go out or buy food. He also needs some new work trousers but have agreed to wait until the end of the month and see if there is any money left, if not we will get them next month.

Used my £12 voucher at Tesco and have stocked up. The freezer is stuffed and there are plenty of tins and dog food in. Have almost £40 left of the budget to last until the 26th but won't need anything but milk and fruit. Now the Marathon training is finished I will have more time to do batch cooking and plan meals.

We are almost one week after pay day and there is £353.98 in the bank after all the bills have come out and I only need £40 of that for the food budget. We would normally have less than half that left but I am trying to pace myself thoughout the month and hopefully have something left over to go towards the secured savings.

XSpender

XSpender

Right. I have taken a leaf out of prada mans book and have come up with a weekly task list when I should have been working!!:o


This weeks tasks

• Meal plan for the next 2 weeks
• Make a list of what is in the cupboards and freezer
• Buy and plant some cut and come again lettuce
• Have 4 NSDs
• Pay cheque into secured savings from sale of old mobile:T
• Housework (this needs a list of its own!)
• Make a start on the ironing mountain
• Walk the dogs - dependant on legs otherwise neighbour will take them out
• Bath the dogs
• Try a run if the legs are back to normal
• Eat 5 a day:A
• Finally list scuba gear for sale (hasn't been used since 2004/5:eek:)
• Sort out scuba gear in case someone rings up about it

I want to see what I can do up our income as well. We both are salaried so no chance of overtime and I won't get a bonus until 2010 as recently changed roles. Will look at the up your income board and investigate surveys and stuff but they seem like a lot of time for little gain. I would like to do the £5/day challenge next month so will have a practice run this month to try and raise £100. Not much I know but it's a start:o

10 minutes of work to do then I am off to start the housework.

Today is the first of the NSD:T

Enjoy your evening

XS

jacey98

hi hope you are well.

spending diaries are really good i have been writing mine done for quite a while (before i came on here) and when i look back at the things i have spent on but dont need its insane i could have paid off my cc easily by now!!!!!

i also do a list for the week of things that need to be done and it is very satisfying to cross things off......although the put stuff on ebay has been on my list for about 5 weeks now!!!!!!!

jc x