My Spending Diary

jessicamb

Not much to report today

My brothers just finished a uni course and got a new job so I made him a chocolate hedgehog cake to celebrate - very DFW and yummy!

Got a few bits for Grans birthday - including a freebie bubble bath from Boots. Voucher hasnt turned up yet so paid cash (but that just means I can get a few little treats for myself later).

I was very good in TJ Hughes too - 15 minutes I must have spend lusting after some Benefit stuff in there. Amount spent on !!!!!! I don't need: Zilch :A This money saving is getting addictive.

On a storecupboard challenge this month - aiming to stick to £120 for all groceries this month. Had to do a big shop today for basics so spent £33.34 + wine £15 but doubled up on loads of stuff like soap powder that were on special offers so come the armageddon I will be in plentiful supply of clean clothing, toilet rolls etc. Not one penny spent on rubbish though.

Heres to a DFW month!

Amazon takings up to £45 with £10 coming in from E-bay so only another £150 to go to clear projected OD when HSBC cut off the interest free. Fingers crossed for some more Amazon sales soon.

gallygirl

jessicamb wrote:

Not much to report today

My brothers just finished a uni course and got a new job so I made him a chocolate hedgehog cake to celebrate - very DFW and yummy!

Got a few bits for Grans birthday - including a freebie bubble bath from Boots. Voucher hasnt turned up yet so paid cash (but that just means I can get a few little treats for myself later).

I was very good in TJ Hughes too - 15 minutes I must have spend lusting after some Benefit stuff in there. Amount spent on !!!!!! I don't need: Zilch :A This money saving is getting addictive.

On a storecupboard challenge this month - aiming to stick to £120 for all groceries this month. Had to do a big shop today for basics so spent £33.34 + wine £15 but doubled up on loads of stuff like soap powder that were on special offers so come the armageddon I will be in plentiful supply of clean clothing, toilet rolls etc. Not one penny spent on rubbish though.

Heres to a DFW month!

Amazon takings up to £45 with £10 coming in from E-bay so only another £150 to go to clear projected OD when HSBC cut off the interest free. Fingers crossed for some more Amazon sales soon.

Well done jessi you're doing really well. Cake sounds yum - did u use choccy buttons for spikes? As for your shopping - am personally hoping armageddon does not come this month as am down to last 2 toilet rolls (just as well soap powder supplies at + armageddon levels....:rolleyes: ), also only 4 tins of tuna as opposed to emergency level of 6. However, supplies of curry sauce and garlic bread holding up well. Could probably cope.

jessicamb

ali007 wrote:

Well done jessi you're doing really well. Cake sounds yum - did u use choccy buttons for spikes? As for your shopping - am personally hoping armageddon does not come this month as am down to last 2 toilet rolls (just as well soap powder supplies at + armageddon levels....:rolleyes: ), also only 4 tins of tuna as opposed to emergency level of 6. However, supplies of curry sauce and garlic bread holding up well. Could probably cope.

Thanks Ali

Yes - choccy buttons for spikes, eyes and nose. Forgot that you should use icing sugar for buttercream and made it with the granulated stuff but everyone ate it.

I thought I was the only one with emergency tuna - try as I might I cannot have less than 6 tins in the house!

jessicamb

Well in true DFW style I have just sold my copy of Martins book on Amazon!

:money:

Sorry Martin but I could do with the cash.

jessicamb

Thought I would do a quick update as I havent put anything down for a few days.

Well the spending diary fell by the wayside this week so I'll have to pick that back up next week.

In terms of spending I am becoming as tight as a ducks bottom - I've had a second light bulb moment where I've realised that my spending habits are totally psychological along the lines of "I need it and I need it now". Surprise surprise the world doesnt fall in if I dont go rushing to the shops. There are a few bits that I would quite like to get but I just cant bring myself to part with the cash (not that I've got it this month anyway but it would historically have gone on the cc (now clear and staying that way)).

After being a little :A all month I decided to treat myself (this is my only treat this month) so trotted down to Boots - wow its boring when you realise that nothing they sell is going to magically enhance your life. Anyway after walking round for 20 minutes I settled on some new make up (3 for 2) and some leg wax - vouchers paid for most of this so £5 there. A new top in Tesco £1.50 (would previously have been sooo much more cos I would have had one in every colour at that price. I was looking for a real bargain but Mr T and I have different ideas now about what constitutes a clearance price) two books for £3.73 and a pack of playing cards for £1. So halfway through the month and the grand total I have spent on treats is £11. Strangely enough I don't have the desire to spend anymore - in fact its more fun not spending.

Pizza for tea - I refused to pay £2 for a ready made one in Mr Ts so I bought some bread (27p) and some mozzarella (35p) to make my own. I can hear a strange nagging voice in my head though telling me that i should have switched the bread maker on for some dough - at this rate I will be making my own flour in 12 months time.

Still on track at this rate to clear off the OD by August. Then its on to saving for the flat management fee (£375 due October). I'm also wanting to start chucking some money at the Tesco loan then to get it cleared off and I will be truly debt free (except the mortgage but baby steps at a time).

Overdraft reduction has gone well and I've managed to raise £80 approx in total from Amazon and E-bay to throw at this - so I think I'll only be £130 overdrawn by the time I get paid which I should be able to clear off next month.

Freebies haul has been particularly good since the last time I posted:
some rather nice looking Elemis stuff supposedly worth £13 (not IMHO but very nice for nothing)
a weeks worth of soap powder
some new baby moisturiser stuff
a little bag to put washing up tablets in (yes I will sign up for anything if it is free)
and nearly another voucher off pigsback without spending a single penny.

Hope you are all having a good DFW month.

gallygirl

Well done jessi, though sending off for washing tablet bag a bit TOOOO sad!!!
(though I have sent off for a Whiskas pack from pigsback although I don't have a cat..... I bet you've at least got a washing machine!!!!!).

I too had a wander round Boots today. Bought some hair tongs, £16.99 (old ones being posted back to Braun as a complaint, can't find receipt), bought a few bogofs so I could get above £20 to use extra points. Then used £5 No.7 voucher I got for buying that, and put £3.50 towards it and got new lippie . TBH am getting exhausted at prospect of shopping in Boots, is totally draining trying to juggle vouchers, offers etc! Would love to just walk in, by something and walk out again but just doesn't happen!!! Need No. 7 to do freebie make up & little samples again as need travel size night cream (actually, need industrial size but that's another story)

Enough rambling, well done again!

jessicamb

Thanks hun.

I signed up for the kitten thing too (well it was 95p through Quidco) and I dont have a cat. I dont even like cats. I will find a good home for it though.

jessicamb

Well just an update from me as I've been budgeting today and if I dont write things down I'll lose the papers and have to do it all again. This probably wont make much sense to anybody, its just a summary of my notes.

Income: 1428
Regular Bills: 680
Irregular Bills: 80 (covers basics)
Transfer to edy account: 550 - 3mth avg <300 (? reduce - check Aug/diary)

Leaves £118 available for overpayments/one offs.

Extra £50 coming in July paycheck (expenses already paid off) - transfer to irregular bills a/c (fees due Oct)

July pay - clear OD.

Upcoming:

TV licence £130 (Sep)
Fees £375 (Oct)
Home Ins (Sep) £120 - check should be £120 saving + £40 cb
Phone - cashback to irregular payments.

jessicamb

Well after that completely nonsensical post I thought I would translate it into something that makes sense:

HSBC CC = now clear yippee
Still got a deficit on the egg card to clear = £150 est by payday
Overdraft = £136 (should have been £100 but I've had another car insurance payment go out) this shouldnt change between now and payday.

Thus in order to be back in the black I need to come up with £286 from next months paycheck. I am getting £50 back in expenses (hopefully) so thats £236 from the actual salary.

When I reworked by budget earlier this month I worked out i had £118 to throw at debts without any great effort so I can use that this month to pay off the OD.

So thats precisely another £118 I need to come up with.

Thats £432 to last me next month after all the direct debits have gone out.

I'm on a grocery challenge with Lynz and Elantan so £70 as a grocery budget should go considerably towards this. I guess that should include lunches for work too - so todays motto is packed lunches rule! If you dont see me for a while its because I've moved down to OS to see what exactly can be achieved with some breadcrumbs a tin of strawberries and some frozen mozzarella.

Hoping also to give up the fags next month - I've been smoking duty frees for most of the year and now I've got to pay 'proper' money for them its just so expensive. If that works out I'll be sorted and should be able to make some overpayments too. That would be great as at the minute my DFD is 2009 and its only 3k - some people on here are clearing that before the end of the year so I'm desperate to bring it down a bit (a kind of reverse keeping up with the Jones' lol).

Fingers Crossed X

jessicamb

Well - two updates in one day from me!

Just changed the house insurance and saved myself a lovely £110 year. It wasnt due for renewal until September but managed to get out of it early without paying any penalties.

Plus I went through Quidco and will get £35 cashback.

Then - I paid it all in one go (to avoid 24.9% APR for paying monthly)

And paid it on the cc to get 1% cashback (and I will do my damn best to pay it all off next month to avoid interest).

So I now have £331 to live off until August payday to clear all remaining OD/CC balances.

Its gonna be tight!

Thats another £10 a month I can throw at the debts from August (now up to a whopping £128 pm)

Snowball now says I can pay the loan off by Oct 07 (starting overpayments in Aug). I bet I can beat that though.