Like a rubber ball !

Different_Corner

Thank you for those recommendations, added to Amazon wishlist, after some perusal of reviews. Also fancy this one
Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life by Ariel and Shya Kane.

But will be good and wait until I've cleared more clutter.

Am very happy to wake up to three Amazon sales this morning and a result on an ebay item that went for £58, been cluttering up my utility room for years.

A mountain of ironing awaits me and a real humdinger of a clear out elsewhere in the house.

Am also emabarking on a little 100 day challenge for myself. I'm cr*p at challenges but on the 31 st of July I want to have £200 cash saved in one of my piggies, why ? Just to prove I can do it and then put it in my ISA. Plus this diary will be just over a year old and I'll start a new one

Then move on to a bigger challenge. Say 1000 days to DFD ? I dunno. All I know is I'm looking to the future now, something I haven't been able to do for a while.

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Good for you DC. Have a good day and enjoy the present as well as looking forward to your future!

Different_Corner

And the ironing pile grows ! Non event yesterday. Weekend project I guess.
Progress on decluttering, with each layer of stuff dissappearing I feel better.

But, DS1 split his trousers this morning, with two weeks left until he 'leaves' I just hope his last pair will be up to it. (I can't sew - let's not go there..)
DS2 school shoes giving up too, so the paypal account just got a thumping. I used to buy a pair for £20 they only ever lasted 2 months at most - false ecomomy. These size 10's should see him through to the October half term..ok...who am I kidding ?

More decluttering this weekend, who knows what I'll find ?

savingholmes

hi DC glad that you are feeling more positive. I know the feeling on the school trousers.... When my DS was finishing primary school his shoes were wrecked - so I told school wasn't buying a new pair as he always grows over the summer... they let him get away with trainers....

Different_Corner

SH, that was good of your son's then primary school. Wish more simple logical decisions could be made like that. Don't know if his secondary school rules are anything like ours. Turn up in a unsuitable shoes now and it's black slipper like things. I do understand though why such rules have to be made.Thankfully new shoes turned up yesterday and all is well.

Well I beat the ironing mountain yesterday morning and while I was at it chucked out a load of the boys clothes that would have been quite worthy of ebaying. But having tried that particular category before I find it quite a thankless, non profitable exercise. So the charities have them.

Returning to budget sheets today. We've been eating the bulk buys/batch cooking out of the freezer this week, but I as ever I managed to spend over £60 on top up shopping. That's £60 I don't have, it makes my ebay sales dissolve into nothing. I really am going to have to try the cash thing for groceries. Once it's gone...

Keep on keeping on..

InaPickle

Go on DC - you can do it! :T

Different_Corner

Right new week new attempt at this budgeting thing.
Two CC need paying and car tax, throw in looming utility bills, council tax and water rates early in May and I have my work cut out.
Oh and we have to eat...

savingholmes

hi DC sounds like things are tight this month for you. Is everything on direct debit that can be - I find that simplifies things for me.

We have 2 accounts - a bills (fixed payment account) and a spends account. that way all the fixed bills get paid first and we have an overdraft facility on our spends account but not the fixed bills one....

hypno06

Your month is sounding very much like mine DC. But remember that if you had not had the ebay/amazon sales, it would be looking a whole lot bleaker, so things are not so bad!

I too have an account just for bills and then a "housekeeping" account which then covers groceries, petrol, entertainment (yeah right), school trips etc.

It is just a case of finding what works for you - goodness knows it has taken me long enough to find the right combination for me!!

Different_Corner

Good Morning
Thanks for tips girls.

I am now a one bank account sort of a girl. Got myself in a hell of a tizz when I opened a cahoot current account a few years ago, ended up with two overdrafts and a flexible loan.

My paydays vary each month, hence being scared of Direct Debits and although I have an overdraft facility I was using it to the max. Funny thing is I never, ever went over the OD limit, even to within 10p - so clearly I have the skills to manage !

But my budgeting marathon and number crunching mission have me organised. I do have an e-savings account with my bank, Every month I will put away £100, this is for all utilities and it is ALSO an emergency fund. At present there is £250 in there. I am prepared for the onslaught of bills.

Amazon and ebay are going extremely well, with a further £66 this week.

Snowball is stuck at April 2014, but at the moment I'm aiming for Christmas 2013. I have an old snowball saved (pre LBM) In October 2007 I owed £36975.42, today £26,761.92.

4k of that is thanks to reclaiming PPI. But the rest is me, all me !

I am on the right road.