£77,366.35 reasons to be debt free!

In_my_dreams

£126.90 made on Ebay :j:j:j:j
£74 to make for the rest of the month -

wantabetterlife

Excellent news on the ebay front:j. If you have any old mobiles lying around you can check if they are worth anything on mazuma mobile website, they tend to pay slightly higher than envirophone. I sold an old contract phone the other day and 2 days after i posted it i got a cheque for £34. Its really easy and they send you out the freepost bag. Definately worth a try! Well done:D
WABL

GVP_2

God bless eBay!

First time I've checked in on here for a while and it seems like you're doing really well and taking it all seriously (spreadsheets etc).

Keep it up

In_my_dreams

Hopefully NSD today, eating lunch from home, and the only thing I have on me is 20p so all temptation is removed.

We have had confirmation that DH's tax money is on its way to us but it's not as much as we thought. However, we had a chat and there are a few things that we really do HAVE to do in the house maintenance wise, i.e. leaky roof and we have decided to use some of the money to do these essentials which could end up costing us far more in the long run. We also need to make a will and have put it off and we will do this too. Anything left over will go to debt busting and I am also continuing the ebay mission!

In_my_dreams

Been a busy bee today. Posted all my ebay items and transferred the money from paypal to my account :j

Been scouting places for hay and sawdust for rabbit, can usually get it from local DIY shop - I asked that often for some they started bagging up the sawdust from the workshop and I would offer to buy it for £1 for a MASSIVE bag but now they advertise is, sell it and there's none left for me It was my idea!! So had to go and pay a stupid price at the pet shop instead :mad:

Teas all prepared as I am out running tonight so need to be organised.

Done all my flylady jobs and updated spending diary. It really has opened my eyes to what we spend and what on! The kids cost us a fortune, and all these little unexpected items really add up! Think me and OH will have to sit down at the end of the month and discuss whether budget really is realistic. Trying to do my real work so I can have some free time to do Ebay as I have some stuff to go on and there is still a shortfall for this month. I know I can't ebay every month to make up the shortfall but I am hoping to be a bit more prepared moneywise next month

We get paid a week on Friday and then I can update my signature and reduce the debt :j

InaPickle

In_my_dreams wrote: »

Think me and OH will have to sit down at the end of the month and discuss whether budget really is realistic. Trying to do my real work so I can have some free time to do Ebay as I have some stuff to go on and there is still a shortfall for this month. I know I can't ebay every month to make up the shortfall but I am hoping to be a bit more prepared moneywise next month

Well done! I'm finding that same thing with regards to budget adjustment. It's hard to figure out where to put the boundaries so that they are neither too slack not too tight. I'm going to have to sit down and have a serious think at the end of the month, too, although it's all my own spending and I don't have any kids to worry about!

Best of luck carrying on. x

Jo_R_2

Spending diary great idea. I always think just actually having it there makes you think twice about buying something - like "how bad am I going to feel later when I have to write this down?"

I am finding that having accounted for most things in various 'pots', that the spends I am having this month out of my 'pocket money' aren't more than I have to spend, but really are little bits and bobs. I figure if anything is left then that's a bonus to overpay on something, but if not then I haven't spent money I haven't got.

Example: I am a caffeine addict:o and was buying at least one bottle of fizzy caffeinated pop a day - and at around £1 a go, that's a lot over a year:eek: So now I factor that into our weekly shop and buy cheap own-brand cans which costs a lot less and do me just as well.

I find "we" (read: the kids) want snacks when we're out. So I buy multipack bars of choc for treats, and do stuff like little pots of raisins, and make bun cakes and take them out with us, along with drinks bottles filled up with cordial or juice - just means we don't end up buying stuff extra when we're out.

hypno06

It takes a while to realise just where the money is going, but each time you come to work out what you are spending on, it is a step closer to being sorted.

Creating realistic budgets is almost an art form - and one I have yet to master myself......although I AM getting better at it

InaPickle

hypno06 wrote: »

It takes a while to realise just where the money is going, but each time you come to work out what you are spending on, it is a step closer to being sorted.

Creating realistic budgets is almost an art form - and one I have yet to master myself......although I AM getting better at it

I'm with you on this one. I'm wondering how to account ofr 'special offer money'. Sometimes when I'm pottering around I find special offers on shampoo etc which work out cheaper in the long run if I buy a few at the time. I'm wondering if I should leave a few pounds to one side for that next month. There are just so many things to think about! :rolleyes:

Jo_R_2

InaPickle wrote: »

I'm with you on this one. I'm wondering how to account ofr 'special offer money'. Sometimes when I'm pottering around I find special offers on shampoo etc which work out cheaper in the long run if I buy a few at the time. I'm wondering if I should leave a few pounds to one side for that next month. There are just so many things to think about! :rolleyes:

I wonder about this every week - OH pays for shopping but gets paid weekly so ours is a weekly budget - if we had the money for shopping for the month all in one go I'd probably just go ahead and get all the special offers but it makes it a little more difficult when I'm going week-by-week.

Agree about realistic budgets taking time, I think you learn a lot through just even using a budget and refining it each month, it's like a work-in-progress budgeting is.