Smart Mart - Health, wealth and happiness

Smart_Mart

Just having a cuppa coffee and a muffin before I get packed and have a shower. As I said last night, when I come back on Monday, that will represent a year of this diary going and I'm going to do a quick review of the original S M A R T targets.

S - SENSIBLE DECISIONS

Must admit that this hasn't gone all that well really. I still make dumb decisions now and again and nearly always end up worse off as a result. It's really time to stop arsing about and get down to business and eliminate the daft stuff that I do. I reckon I could easily be £1,000 a year better off were I to take the sensible option. 5/10

M - MONEY ORGANISATION

I'm better than I was but still an awful long way to go. I've almost eliminated the damn bank charges that have plagued me for years but I've still had four of them in the past six months; that's a whopping £60 I've lost unnecessarily which hurts. That is roughly the price of a tank of petrol wasted...:mad:. The aim for the next six months is to get rid of charges completely although there is one due to come out next Saturday. 6/10

A - AIM TO DOUBLE BUSINESS

Again, I've only really done half a job here. The original aim was to get to £1,200 a month in income from last year's amount of £600 a month. Well I presently stand at around £1,000 a month which is good but another target missed, albei by a whisker. I have been given the number of the editor of the local regional paper with a view to writing for them - that would take me another few steps of the way there. 8/10

R - REDUCTION OF WEIGHT

I said this would be the easiest and I suppose in a way it has been although I haven't lost anything like the amount I wanted to lose. I am two stone six pounds lighter than a year ago which I'm pleased with but I'd lost that by July time really so have gone three months static. When I come back on Monday, it's straight back to work on that. 7/10

T- TARGETS

In line with everything else, okay but not great. For the first time in several years, my income will be static from November onwards. I've had to give up the paper rounds to do the other football club work and writing - there isn't enough time to do both. The papers were the only income I receive that actually varies so from now on, I know to the penny how much is coming in... a big help. The dates on all of these jobs are static too so I might even be able to prepare a budget... that's the first target.6/10

Right, off to apck and have a shower. Hoepfully, without putting too much pressure on myself, the next six months will see the financial clouds lifting a little. I need to be smarter in my decisions, smarter where my money is concerned and smarter when it comes to the weight loss.

Eager_Elephant

Hi Mart

Looks like things are heading in the right direction and you are so postive.

Hope you had a good holiday with the boys.

EE

Smart_Mart

Back from holiday today tired but very happy.

The weather was truly awful this weekend. Just fifty miles away, they had no rain but for us it hardly stopped. Friday night / Saturday morning was blowy as hell and I thought our caravan would end up in Sidmouth at one point....:D

But on the positive side, I love taking my little men away because they're such good company. Yes they argue because they're twins and twins argue and yes, they get me tearing my hair out at times but moments like at 9.15pm on Sunday evening make it all worth while. We had gone to the final end-of-season gameshow which was a giant quiz in the theatre and they absolutely loved it to the point of doing Y-M-C-A on top of a table in the show....:T

Anyway back to reality and a backlog of work today. Also went to see my older two children this afternoon and tomorrow, taking car to a freidns to look over it as it overheated on the way home today. If it's okay, will be going to Milton Keynes tomorrow evening for the football.

Smart_Mart

Forgot to add today's spends....paid my rent plus £40 on petrol (Tesco clubcard points), £3.56 on a minis-hop (milk, bread etc) and £10 on a McDonalds (yes, I know but it was quick and easy and I was short of time!!)....

Smart_Mart

Forgot the oil from Monday's spend... £6.50.

Yesterday worked from home in the morning and left for football in the mid afternoon, getting back this morning at 1am after a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat...:(

Spent £35 on petrol, £4.30 on tea, £1.45 on snacks in the car....:o

Today, I'm taking it easier - working from home, catching up on paperwork before collecting the boys from school and taking them to football training this evening. I've been shopping already spending £18.31 which shocked me as I got a lot for that. Had to spend (within that amount), £3.60 on stationery and another £2.44 on some ear drops as my left ear seems to have jammed!! Muller Rice yoghurts are also £3.00 for twelve at the moment so invested in some of them as well.

Smart_Mart

Probably the quietest day for a while after the excitement of football and holidays! Only did what I posted earlier and have been paperworking and websiting all evening too...

No more spends at all, off to football club for work tomorrow.

Smart_Mart

Thursday - working down at the club all day before returning home in the evening.

Friday - website work in morning, collected boys from school in the afternoon and chilled in the evening.

Today - went to Rushden to see the team win in the FA Cup (rather fortunately to be honest) and lost one of the boys coats at Northampton services....:mad:, so annoyed with myself, ah well.

Tomorrow - football again in the morning, resting in the afternoon, bed in a minute. Driven nearly a thousand miles since Friday of last week and feeling it too!!

Smart_Mart

Been a long week really after last week's non-stop driving.

Brief update as bed is calling but have started courier work this week, will be paid first week of December!! Football match was postponed but in time for me not to go down there.

Otherwise it's been really bad weather here, getting worse. Will update a bit more over the weekend.

Smart_Mart

Bed didn't come quite as quickly as I'd hoped last night. I was just off to bed when the older twin rang up. He couldn't settle in his bed so wanted to come over.

He stayed over last night but the poor mite had to come to do the courier work with me in the morning as I couldn't contact John to cover for me. Had him ready for school by 6.45am bless him....:o

Today went shopping this morning (£23.45) and worked on the website for the rest of the day. Tomorrow's boys' football match has been postponed because of the rain and Sunday's must be in doubt if we get much more bad weather. Off to see the men's team in the afternoon tomorrow though...:T

Contacted my landlord earlier this week too and I'm swapping back to paying him monthly from this month. I switched to fortnightly when the majority of my money came in every two weeks but now I get paid regularly on 20th of month, it is better that I get my rent cleared that day instead.

This should mean that for the first time in many years, I can actually begin to work on forming a budget. I'll go through all my outgoings, pare them down a bit and go for it, I think. I'll know pretty much to the £10 what I get paid every month although some of my writing jobs will be paid on an ad-hoc basis so might call that a cushion fund, ie not to be used unless an emergency. That way, it keeps it from my budget.

Also saw a couple of adverts on Gumtree tonight that looked interesting. One was for a freelance media researcher (souring human interest stories for magazines) and the other was for a proofreader. I proofread the football programmes now (part of the media job) and also run two websites as well so although no direct experience, plenty of indirect experience.

Anyway, five mornings of 6.15am starts has finally taken its toll so I'm off to bed now. Lie-in hopefully tomorrow with luck and another one on Sunday. Working for the courier all next week too then week off following week as he can only afford to pay me two weeks per month.

Smart_Mart

Can't shift the feeling of gloom tonight so will post more tomorrow or Tuesday. Not a particularly bad weekend as such, just a little down tonight...:(