Champagne Lifestyle Lemonade Budget (My attempts to get debt free by April 2010)

Sun_Addict

I was so tempted this lunchtime in Sainsburys when I saw a really nice jumper reduced to just £2.10! I've got £10 left in my personal spending money which I refuse to break into and I kept thinking about it BUT I walked straight past and didn't do it! :j Determined not to break my resolution!

beanielou

You are stronger than me.
£2.10 seems good to me.

Claw_back_money

Well done on the temptation! £2.10 is a great deal for a really nice jumper - but if you don't really need another jumper then suddenly the deal isn't so good is it! And if you want to be under £200 more than you want the jumper its a whole lot easier - :A

Cheers
Cbm

Sun_Addict

Hi all

Payday today :T at last!!!

Paid £85 off my debt today!! Leaving me with a total debt of just £184.55!! :j Determined to pay this off by the end of February. Am putting every last effort into achieving my goal. Hoping to pay some more off by the end of the week when OH gets paid and DD tips over her board (after she's got over the fact I've put it up by £5 a week!).

Claw_back_money

Sun_Addict wrote: »

Hi Lucky Charm and Cbm - all I do to make the curry is chop up a couple of sweet potatoes and a large onion, bung them in the slow cooker (or a pan) with a carton of passata and a tablespoon of curry paste (I use Madras or Vindaloo but you can get milder ones). I cook this for around 5 hours in the slow cooker or until softening in the pan, then I add a tin of chickpeas and a whole bag of fresh spinach (but you can use frozen) and then cook for just a very short time longer just to heat the chickpeas and wilt the spinach. That's all it is. If I don't have any curry paste I use curry powder or mix up some spices but I find the paste so much easier. This makes 4 small portions so you can adjust if necessary.

QUOTE]

We had this last night for tea - I was a bit worried as we don't have a slow cooker but did it on the hob and it was wonderful.
:beer: Thanks :beer:

Your total is fantastic. Hope DD gets over the increase in board - she's a bit old for slamming doors and sulking isn't she - phew!

Cbm

Sun_Addict

Hi Cbm - so glad you enjoyed the curry It's my favourite one and really healthy too! Will report back on DD's board rise next week! She is officially the world's oldest teenager at 23 and still sulks and slams doors!

Have been sitting and working out a budget for when the debt free day dawns and, with the help of a budgeting website, I've come up with the following percentages of total monthly income:

35% for ALL bills - totally everything bill related
10% for groceries - this means I may have to cut back very slightly
15% for savings - yes SAVINGS!!!!!!!!
15% for travel costs - this is for OH's diesel/tools/van service/repairs
25% for spending - for everything else

This should work out quite nicely and I will be reviewing my percentages on a monthly basis to make sure I haven't strayed. In fact the bills percentage should be coming down this year as a chunk of the mortgage gets paid off in May courtesy of endowment policy so for the remaining 7 years the mortgage will run the monthly payment will be a lot lower. I'm also overpaying gas and electricity to catch up from when they weren't taking enough money to cover usage, so this should go down too. Of course I will be very good and the extra money will go into the savings pot and not on holidays!

Claw_back_money

You've got me thinking now - how much of our income goes on bills. 35% sounds very low, but I may be pleasantly surprised when I do ours.
I'm not sure I understand this 'saving' business - I wonder if there's a thread on it to explain :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

How long until your holiday - must be just round the corner - lucky you

Cheers
Cbm

Sun_Addict

Hi Cbm - holiday is 5 weeks on Monday, can't wait. It's weird going on holiday in the winter, I can't seem to get in "holiday mode" like I can in summer.
Percentages thing was just a guide to how much the website thought you should be spending in each area - I rejigged it a bit to suit us. Our mortgage is very low so this is why we fitted in nicely with the 35% for bills. Fortunately we bought our house when they were dirt cheap and we were both very young. Love your comment about saving!

Found a great menu planner and shopping list on the Love Food Hate Waste website which I shall be using in future. At the moment I'm trying to use up stuff we already have in the house. DD is a bit of a fly in the ointment with menu planning as she works different shifts and she often changes her mind about what she wants to eat at night. She usually cooks her own food due to shifts and is often to be found in the kitchen just staring into the freezer looking for I don't know what to appear. OH is a doddle as he only likes a few things and isn't very adventurous with food - although he's quite boring to cook for as he won't try anything different. It's a bit like a cafe in our house with everyone having something different.

Claw_back_money

My DD was like that when she was at home, I never knew if she was eating here or not, and she'd suddenly be 'oh I can't eat carbs' :eek:. I'm veggie and OH is not, but now its just the two of us in term time he tends to say don't bother. Having said that he's got lamb chops for tea (a treat). Its much easier now than the various combinations we had going on before! And we've cut down on waste too - I hate to think of what we used to waste before. What is the website like you were looking at?

Cheers
Cbm

Sun_Addict

Hi everyone!

Cbm - website is worth a look - it's www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.

Well OH got paid today but unfortunately nothing left for paying any more off debt. Also not been able to put anything away towards holiday spending money but should be able to do this all in one go next month.