My Spending Diary

jessicamb

Right then, since its payday heres this months budget:

Income: 1478 (includes £50 old expenses one-off)

Mortgage: 350
Mobile: 13
Gas: 35
Electric: 30
MRP: 15
Car Ins: 31
Co Tax 48
Water: 15
Loan: 98
Broadband: 15
Home Phone: 30
Bt Refund: (20)

Total Bills: 660
Overdraft: 150
Egg: 320

Remaining Income: 348

This is to buy food and everything else for the next month.

I'm on the DFW grocery challenge so hoping to come in at £70. Must get into making packed lunches for this to work though.

Given up on the cigarettes so thats £120 a month that I dont have to spend - I really wish I could have done something nice with the money this month as a celebration but I paid for house insurance instead (very DFW but not so much fun).

I need to start putting some money away each month too as I've got some big bills due in the next couple of months (flat management fee, TV licence and anything else I've forgotten about :eek: :eek: I reckon I need about £500 through September/October so I could really do with saving something from this months wage to avoid a panic next month.

The back in the black challenge will hopefully come through too - providing nothing drastic happens and I can keep the spending down.

Its hard to believe - two months ago I was scared about having 'only' £600 to live off. Now its nearly half that. I'm still too scared to go for the benefits challenge - I cant go that low - but its a good start.

Freebies haul this month is negligible (where are all the decent ones??)
Pigsback vouchers earnt: 1 (gone for an Arcadia one for a change so I can put it towards some new clothes)
Quidco cashback earnt to date: £67, cashback received: zilch

Hope everyone else is having a cheap day/week/month. :j

jessicamb

Well hello there ladies and gents

Thought I would update as I havent been doing much talking for a few days.

I seem to have caught the malaise that everyone else on here has at the moment and am very despondent about DFW. Just cant seem to get motivated at all. I'm sick of being broke and I want new shiny things.

As such I've been a naughty naughty lady and partaken of just a teeny bit of shopping this month to make me feel better (which is completely temporary I know and not a solution). If I have to confess: £20 in Boots today on !!!!!! (shiny new nail varnish & non shiny face powder), £20 during week on !!!!!! in Co-op (well special offers and some wine) and then £30 or so on some lovely Lush products. Hopefully this isnt as bad as it sounds - it wont make me too broke (I hope) but I'll have to be a good girl for the rest of the month.

Only another three weeks until payday :eek:

This just gets boring - I feel like I've done so much to be DFW - even stopped smoking (and I know it was the right thing to do) but I cant see any real effect yet. I know it will come in time when I get some money saved up to pay the loan, I should even be able to pay the big bills I've got coming up soon if I get saving. I'm just fed up and I want too much too soon I think :mad:

Ah well - I reckon I've got £150 to last until pay day. I'll have to avoid the shiny things until then. :rotfl:

On the bright side - if I am a very very good girl I should be able to meet my target and have at least zero balances in the bank and on the credit card when its payday - heres to being back in the black :beer:

Sorry rant over - I'm just not feeling very positive at the moment.

scottishspendaholic

Hey Jessica,

Sorry to hear you are a bit down. After all the initial flurry of beoming a DFW, its boring being in it for the long haul - isn't it?

I know you are in the DFW Grocery Challenge (and doing really well!) - but would you think about maybe setting yourself some more goals for August - they don't have to be spending related, but maybe to keep your mind off money - this could be:-

* earning more pennies on Pigsback and Quidco

* going for a walk every evening

* learn to make some new meals (if you can cram it into Grocery Challenge!)

...you get the picture.

This might help keep you focused and make you feel a bit better?

Love

scottishspendaholic x

P.S. Brilliant news on being back in the black next month!

P.P.S. Enjoy the Lush stuff - I'm v. jealous!

jessicamb

Thanks SS

You might be right - maybe I need a new challenge for this month. I'll have to have a think about it tomorrow.

jessicamb

Back by popular request.... Well ZTD anyway

Life in Jessicaworld ticks on as usual - but is slowly becoming more and more MSE/OS. Even friends/family/colleagues/random people on the street now comment on how 'frugal' I can be :rolleyes: . Well when they are being nice - otherwise they just call me a [EMAIL="tight@rse"]tight@rse[/EMAIL].

Amazing new MSE finds include - Home Made Baileys :drool: Which I must make a few test batches of before letting anyone else have a taste :cool: , matched betting (kerching!), free bingo tickets which I won on (double kerching!), Home Made Xmas presents (but good ones not naff ones ) and half of Xmas shopping done in Woolies clearance sale/through free vouchers/serious money off deals etc. On a very good note all my profits are either reinvested or put in saving account (for lump sum payment). Quidco tracking is also looking extremely healthy mainly due to opening bookmaker accounts.

Debt wise no major improvements have been made - but I am just about still in the black if you count the money thats out at bookies (for the matched betting thingy) and a huge wadload of expenses that I get back this week even after paying out a huge bill that I though wasnt due for another month:j . But I need to be a better DFW now and spend a little less .

Ooh I almost forgot - gave up the cigarettes too, thank you Mr Allan Carr


So there you go


:A



Oh and incase I dont get chance before then :xmassign:

LookingAhead

WELL DONE on quitting the fags Jessi! That's sooooo great.

ZTD

jessicamb wrote:

Back by popular request.... Well ZTD anyway

Is there anything [STRIKE]less[/STRIKE] more popular?

jessicamb wrote:

Amazing new MSE finds include - Home Made Baileys :drool:

What's that then?

jessicamb wrote:

Ooh I almost forgot - gave up the cigarettes too, thank you Mr Allan Carr

Well done for that!

See - told you stuff had happened...

southernscouser

And you accuse me of not updating my diary! :rolleyes:

moozie_2

Surely the most important update is that Jess is kicking yellow man a$$ on the matched betting challenge at the moment, isn't it?

Go girl! :j

southernscouser

Oh like that is it? :rolleyes:

I'll remember that!