Carry on Questing

Souk08

Well done on all your cleaning and decuttering XXX

Lula-Hula

DD & Bessfriend have now become Guides which could be useful in some ways; but also means that it could cost me a small fortune :eek:. The year's itinerary shows at least 3 overnight trips, one weekend away & a whole week too. On the other hand ... Lula could have some fun

Today has been NSD 13 so only 2 more to achieve target. The bleak weather has helped as both DD & I like warmth & home comforts & rarely get bored over a weekend if we've been busy during the week.

I've been dong some calculations & it seems I've made a good start on being frugal. I dont count rent, bills or debt repayment as 'spending' as these are all essential expenditure, I do count groceries, household items, parking, services such as window cleaner etc & things not included in my funds.

So far this month/year I've spent £220.14 + another £35 on Guides fees & subs but as that came out of funds it doesnt really count .

The only funds that I've been strict about topping up are the Gas & Electricity ones & the Car Tax one. I havent mananged to to keep up with the others but will replenish as soon as I get paid next week. Not sure whether to open a new account for this purpose or continue with cash & envelope method hmmmm :think:

Ham & cheese toasties beckon

bye for now

xx

Lula-Hula

*Groans*

now wish I hadnt had that ham & cheese toastie apart from feeling bloated, I've probably regained the 4lb I worked so hard to lose. My body is telling me that it doesnt like bread, cakes & biscuits & that it just wants things like chicken, salad, veg & nuts. Oh, & it was most insistent that it wanted a Gordon too .

Just checked my current account & realised there's a spare £20 in there so I made a payment of £23.48 to CC2 to 'tidy up' the balance again.

Forgot to mention earlier that the Virgin bill is in & at £35.77 it's less than last month . It seems that using the mobile for any calls during the week is working well - & not calling abroad is working even better .

I do sometimes baulk at a whole year of living so frugally but as long as DD gets to do any trips, clubs, hobbies or outings that she wants then I'm just going to have to get over it & keep busy so I dont get bored. As Horace said, it'll soon be allotment time again :j

Lula-Hula

NSD 14 :j

I am amazed at myself, but true to form I have regained 2lbs instead :mad:

Oh well, perhaps when I am finally DF I'll treat myself to a bit of liposuction :rotfl:

Pretty much a good day here; made some soup & also hobnobs but these were mainly to give to my dear grandmother who we visited this afternoon.

I'm just decluttering the last of a bottle of tonic - then no more booze until next weekend. I somehow have to lose 3lbs in the next 7 days :eek:

I've decided to apply to open an instant access savings account with my current account provider - I'll be able to shift money between accounts so easily & as long as I keep a record of what I pay in & to which fund it goes, then it should work fine. Right now, it's too easy to just 'dip in' to funds when I have no cash & despite my best intentions, it rarely gets repaid.

I've just paid another £100 off Barclaycard & need to do a bit of 'tidying up' on the balance when I make the next payment.

House all clean & tidy - washing & ironing done, clothes hung out ready for tomorrow morning, bathed & washed hair, gradual tan & body lotion applied & toe & finger nails filed & polished. I'm ready for the week ahead

Tomorrow should be a NSD but need to whizz to local shops on tuesday, must not forget that I only have about £4 left to spend ...

makeup

Sounds like you have had a productive weekend. Good luck with the frugal 2010 plans, you are doing well so far. Can't believe how little you've spent this year.:j

I'm all set for the week ahead, planned my outfit ready for tomorrow, sausage caserole made for lunches for days ahead and done some washing.

Lula-Hula

Thanks goodness today is over.

Was in work with little to do all morning as no one else was in the office & no one had left me any indication as to what needed to be done. So frustrating.

Hit my NSD target today but that's now tempered with having just blown about £20 on a call to family living abroad. Sadly not for pleasure; trying to get systems in place to help another relative out - very very frustrating & will undoubtedly cause family friction but I cannot let that be a reason not to proceed.


Had a bit of home job work to do & I really am finding it very tedious now. I'm keeping motivated though & today my thought was that on mondays next year, we can go to the cinema ( £5 a ticket cheap night ).

I've had the CC2 statement today & although I've earned £1.71 cashback this month, I had to spend £ 385.45 first -all repaid but still not good. Might be best to just avoid using it altogether :rotfl:

Applied for the new savings account today & should hear back by the end of the week. I think I'll feel more in control if I just transfer funds money across on pay days, rather than saving it in folders. It's probably not that secure having bundles of cash in the house either, especially not if travelling tree cutters come calling with promises to transform my garden :doh:

The pile of paperwork is nearly an inch thick again & really should be dealt with .. but I cant be bothered as it bores me.

*stomps off in grumpy-huff*

Will return when in better humour ...

makeup

Lula - have you ever considered getting a 'calling card' to have in case of calls overseas. I know this was an emergency but might be worth it if you think you have to make calls again soon?

I was seeing a guy for a short time who was in America and it saved me a fortune. I used to be able to get a £5 card for £3 and it would last ages. On the card is a special number to dial (normally a 0800 number but they also had an 0207 number which I used on my mobile as was inclusive minutes) and then you dial a special code which is on the card and then the number you wish to call.

Where I live there are a lot of places to buy them, they sell them in all the newsagents etc.

If you go to an area where there are a lot of people who have family overseas then you can probably pick one up there (ie not posh parts of town!!!!!)

[Deleted User]

Hi Lula,

Well done on the NSD's and reaching your target, I've still got a few to go yet but am getting there

With regard to calling overseas have a look on the internet for cheap international call numbers, I called my friend in South Africa last week and got a number that was £3 a minute.

Have a good day

Tea
x

Lula-Hula

Hello,

thanks to both makeup & PurpleTea for the overseas phone numbers advice. I have seen the calling cards adverties in a local newsagent, will also look on t'internet, am with virgin so not sure if that can be overriden,( real word ?) but will defintiely have a look.

It's been NSD 16 here as have so much family stuff to deal with at the moment that we didnt get to the shops, must go tomorrow though.

The pile of paperwork is still an inch thick, I'm writing down all the clothes challenge spends, but havent got around to actually posting or updating, just not in the right frame of mind at the moment.

Desperate for a Drrrrrink just to obliterate grim reality but am pacifying myself with peppermint tea instead.

Having messed up one batch of hobnobs at the weekend which the birds happily ate, but even DD refused, tonight I tried to make some flabjacks - ooh freudian slip there :rotfl: I meant flaPjacks, I managed to burn them . The oven with no handle is not good for baking in. Its single minded heat or no heat temperature gauge is fine for roasting or plain cooking, but that's it. T'will be miraculous if I can make it to the end of the year without buying a shiny new one

Just watching Newsnight & according to some bod, 'the desire to reduce debt' could well send the country spiralling back into recession :huh:, 'we'need to keep the econcomy moving.

Oh well in that case, let's just all keep spending like crazy, keep paying that interest on our loans & CCs so the banks - who got us into this mess in the first place :mad: - can earn more money to pay those huge bonuses.

!!!!!! - *insert roll eyes & confused smileys right here* god forbid that the already-overpaid, should have to drop their standard of living :eek:

I am all out of words so suffice to say : :mad::p:mad::p


Zzzz

Lula-Hula

Work job is taking on a real shape now. I'm enjoying it & so far just about managing to step over all the trip wires that someone seems to be laying for me :think:. Had a chat with the guy who joined most recently before me & he reckons he was the scape goat for the first 3 months & it will pass.

After 4 NSDs in a row I could wait no longer, had to buy a present for the lovely lady :A who runs a club that DD was at for 3 years. Only £6.50 as DD insisted on making the card so my spends for the month now totals £226.64.

There has been a complaint about the lack of yummy treats in the house so I may have to blow that £4 I have left & buy some more sugar for another attempt at flabjacks, this time will stand guard ready to evacuate them at the first sign of overbrowning.

Not all bad though, as it appears my recent baking escapades have led DD to consider safety in the home. After school today she asked why we dont have a fire extinguisher :rotfl:.