Smart Mart - Health, wealth and happiness

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Happy New Year Smart Mart. Well done on your journey thus far, and heres to a very positive 2010!

Smart_Mart

Thanks PAF, still reading your diary and finding it a great story...thanks a million!! Hope you and your little girl have a great New Year too, you certainly deserve it!! :T

Day of sorting things out really. Boys stayed over last night and went back at 10.30am. Went out and delivered 254 newspapers, popped into Sainsbury's and spent £13.30 on a few bits and bobs, stuck a tenner on the gas card and £15.00 on petrol.

Sitting here at the PC tonight and flitting from here to watching the telly. PC is in the front room so can see both at once . Once was tempted to turn the spare room into an office but this suits me better.

Just bought DS3 a new pair of football boots off E-Bay (£8.59). Have held off and held off until now but he complained last week they were a little too small so need them really. Looked in Sports Direct earlier, cheapest there was £15.00 so this is a bargain. He'll only have to play one more game in them now.

Will do December's spending record shortly being that I'm not looking to spend any more money tonight!!

Smart_Mart

Here's this month's figures compared to last month's. December's are in red...

Rent - £1,200 £280
Housekeeping (food + other shopping + mini-shops) - £263.80 £201.60
Fuel - £255.00 £186.00
Twins presents - £144.73
Gas - £85.00 £86.00
Virgin bill - £49.49 £60.97
Football tickets - £35.00 £18.00
Tea/lunch out - £28.65 £54.77
Household misc - £23.75 ( set of bedding, set of four mugs) £18.95
TV Licence - £23.75 £23.75
Quiz nights - £17.40 £6.50
Cards/presents - £13.66 £152.38
Haircut - £12.00
Fireworks night - £11.00
Debt repayment - £10.50
Stationery - £10.22 £2.20
Football stickers - £8.00
Postage - £6.42 £5.58
Laundry - £6.00
Football programme & lottery ticket - £5.00 £3.00
Car Wash - £4.00 £6.00
Parking - £2.00
Advent calendars - £2.97
Bank charges - £1.85 ( withdrew money from an ATM that wasn't free) £1.75

In addition, I also spent this month...

Football training & Match fees - £30.00
Car Insurance - £24.00
Round of Golf - £10.55
Boys Football Boots - £8.95
Game Memberships - £8.90 (part of Christmas prsent really).
Christmas Fayre - £6.00
Clothes - £2.00 (a pair of socks)

Smart_Mart

Obviously there should be a few comments of explanation here...

• My rent payments are up and down at the moment as I was well behind then a little behind. Next month, I should be all square again.
• Pleased with the housekeeping. Still not down to £150 which is the target but now I have a freezer, this should negate the need for as many mini-shops as normal.
• Fuel is down on last month. Only went to one away game out of three which helped. There's only two away games in January, one in London which I'm not going to and one in Liverpool which I am (and possibly sharing the journey with someone else). Will be looking for a similar amount.
• Gas meter steady, Virgin bill up a bit.
• Football ticket - tried a different method of dealing with this which saved me £22...:D.
• Meals out was disappointing even though £20.00 of that was the works Christmas meal. Must do better.
• Household expenses down and a tenner of that was a refilled cartridge.
• Quiz night down a tenner partially because we won two of the quizzes meaning the drinks were free for pretty much all month.
• Cards & presents. Slightly inflated here. The twins presents from last month obviously didn't count as they only have one birthday a year. However the annual event that was Christmas came along with a friend's birthday too so that bumped it up a little. £150 for presents for four children isn't bad, I don't think.

The rest of it speaks for itself. I'm pretty sure that I can still make savings here and there, January should be a "normal month" to all intents and purposes. The top two items on the extras list should have been on last month's; the game memberships are all part of the twins present; the Christmas Fayre was at their school and went towards their presents for other people and finally the round of golf!

scrooge2008

It looks like it is heading in the right direction.

Hope 2010 brings you all that you wish for Smart Mart.

Smart_Mart

Well here's my first post of a spanking New Year on my road to discovery...:D

It's cold here, had a frost last night so will warm up by doing some newspapers this morning. The boys are coming around at 2pm for the weekend - no football tomorrow as to go there would cost £26 for tickets, £50+ for petrol plus other stuff and I want to start the new year on an even keel with money in the bank!!

Here's a list (shamelessly copied from BBAM's thread). I say copied, I mean the idea is copied. I haven't got any guinea pigs to hoover out for a start...:rotfl:

1. Deliver 223 newspapers
2. Clean boys football boots ready for Sunday
3. Write an archive article of 1,000 words for football programme
4. Hoover around the house.
5. Get two loads of washing done.


I have other stuff to do but I'll be chuffed if I can get these five things done today.

See you later

waterwatcher

Hi Smart Mart

Just a little something that pops out for me when reading your diary, hope you dont mind the suggestion. Now you've got a freezer you can cut down on your 'mini shops'. I freeze milk in the container and then take it out the night before when stocks are running low. This has stopped me from picking up those few extras that fall in my basket eash time I pop in the shop. You can do the same with bread (especially when loaves are yellow stickered!!) Might help you with the impulse buys?!

Smart_Mart

Hi Waterwatcher....:D

I'm not rhe biggest fan of freezing bread...it never seems to taste the same once it comes out but I take your point. I've now got the option which I didn't before.

Speaking of mini-shops, spent £2.37 earlier in a small Tesco's on a loaf of bread and a tub of low fat spread. No sweets, no cakes, no nothing else - just bread and spread....:T

As for my list, delivered the papers and have cleaned the boys football boots. Did one load of washing so far, haven't seen the hoover yet though.:rolleyes:

Smart_Mart

Smart_Mart wrote: »

1. Deliver 223 newspapers DONE
2. Clean boys football boots ready for Sunday DONE
3. Write an archive article of 1,000 words for football programme
4. Hoover around the house.
5. Get two loads of washing done. ONE LOAD DONE


I have other stuff to do but I'll be chuffed if I can get these five things done today.

See you later

Not the worst of starts, nor the best of starts. :rolleyes:

The article is better off waiting for tomorrow when (a) I feel creative juices flowing and (b) I've sourced other articles for the programme that are more urgent. I'm still looking for two other subjects so I'll spend the rest of this evening looking for them.

Just chilled with the boys this afternoon. Football is 50/50 tomorrow with the weather and their own game on Sunday must be in doubt so this weekend looks like producing more time than I hoped which is good in some respect.

No other spend today, just the £2.37 from earlier on.

Smart_Mart

The football match has already been postponed this morning which means more free time today :rolleyes:

My five-to-do today are....

1. Write 1,000 word archive article for programme
2. Do the prep work for the celeb interview on Monday.
3. Source contributors for other articles, emails sent last night.
4. Hoover around house.
5. Do that elusive second load of washing.

As yesterday, more to do than that but that will be a good ending.