Hypno's spending diary for June.....

hypno06

Sorry :o:o

beanielou

Its ok
Now had a CHOCCOLATE rice crispie square & twas lush
Happy Friday.

Karmacat

Caramac. Caramac. Oh my word, I *still* love caramac. Mind you, my chocolate consumption got to be really addictive - I realised I was buying my stash in 3 or 4 shops, so no one shop assistant saw what I was eating. Thats Bad!

hypno06

That's not BAD, KC - that's NORMAL :rotfl:

chevalier

One of the joys of where i live in NZ is that i simply can't justify having coffee when i am out shopping. my house is literally around the corner from the shops - less than 5 mins walk so no excuse for having one when I can walk back.

Plus one of the few silver linings with DS1 having a milk allergy is that i often HAVE to take pack ups to outings because I know that there will be nothing that he can eat, cos eg all sandwiches have cheese in them or are made with butter...

But I agree unneeded spending is tough to deal with. I am sure it has struck you that your avoidable spending to spending is £1 for each £4 approximately. Ie every fiver you spend about 20% is avoidable....

not sure if I should have mentioned that ....
chev

hypno06

That's the whole point of doing this, or indeed ANY spending diary - If I can save (or if anyone can save) 20% of what they are spending, then that is going to make a significant difference.

Often, if you look at people's SOAs when they join, if they could save 20%, they would be breaking even, able to start overpaying their debt, and not having to borrow more!

So, very relevant, and the reason I need to address my own spending!

Different_Corner

hypno06 wrote: »

Todays spends are as follows:

Calculator for DS for school - £6.89. The one he has been using has OH initials scratched into the back with a compass, from when OH was at school - OH is now 43, so the calculator has been used daily for 30 years!!! Not bad going, but now the 1, 4 and 7 don't work so it was time for a new one. If we get as much use out of the new one we will have got our money's worth!

Hypno
This made me smile. My two have been taking my scientific calculator for school/homework. And yes it too has my name and form scratched into the back. Checked on ebay the other day and it's worth £12 after 30 years ! I can't actually recall changing the batteries..As they say they don't make things like they used to...

mineallmine

:T:THypno, just found your thread. You are brave to post your spends. Also pat on the back for realising you need to monitor/review your spending, that's an achievement in itself.

I used to watch a programme on BBC3 which would make you do "cold turkey" for a week and survive on very little - say £30 or something

A few tips from reading your posts:
- petrol - do you buy this at the cheapest place, nearest to you? Also have you checked your tyres recently, a little bit underinflated means more fuel used. Also check your boot. Is there anything in there that you're lugging around unnecessarily?

- snacks - mmm like me you have a sweet tooth. I used to buy chocolate bars (own make ones from Asda, like snickers) and freeze them. So when I wanted a fix, it lasted a bit longer!

- treat yourself to a nice flask or two. Stock up on some nice hot chocolate. The cost of this is probably the same as 1 Costa drink. See buying a flask and stuff as an investment to avoid spends at Costa etc.

- to avoid unnecessary spends at ski events could you limit your cash? Or put some emergency money (say £20) in an envelope? I find if I have cash I simply have to spend it.

- could any of your kids do a paper round to support their ski fix?

You're making me think about my spending :eek:

Karmacat

I must be *very* heavy on my calculators - in the last 25 years or so, I must have gone through a dozen :o:o

But at least my chocolate consumption is normal :D:D

hypno06

mineallmine - hello!

We only take a certain amount of cash to ski races - but even so, it really is money I can't afford.

I have sachets of fake cappucino for work - they cost £2 for 10 coffees, so significantly cheaper than the real thing. I've been doing this for about a year now, but I still hanker after the coffee that is served in the coffee shops that surround my office!

I also take a box of cereal in to work to have breakfast at my desk, to cut down the chance of joining in the Friday Bacon Buttie Club.....:rolleyes:

My flask is my friend - I often take a flask to ski races, but when you are out from 5am, you need rather a lot of coffee to see you through, and the flask is usually finished by lunchtime! Also, sometimes it just doesn't taste the same after a few hours, so in the afternoon, I end up buying my caffeine requirements to see me safely home.

Petrol always bought at Tesco - cheapest and clubcard points which we convert to deals.

My children both do paper-rounds.....in fact DS does two. DD also babysits.

And still we are spending more than we can afford......:rolleyes: