to save as much money and keep my life as organized as possible 25 November 2009 at 6:52PM in How much have you saved? 160 replies 30.5K views

x_karrie_x

Helloooooooo,(((( echo echo))))...... Its so very quiet over here! Right i really want to keep a diary so i can keep track of every penny i save and to keep the rest of my life on track and organized. So a little bit about me, my name is Karrie and im a 42 year old single mum, to two teenagers, iam in the fortunate position of not having any debt 'yay' and really want to keep it that way. i work full time as a manager of a Post Office and my dream is to be able to move to cornwall when my lovely daughter finishes her education in about 2 years time. Finding a job wont be to much of a problem as i can get transfered with work. So over the next 2 years i want to save as much money as possible to be able to put a deposit down on a house and i really love my holidays so i want to be able to go away next year as well. Okay back soon with some organization of how im going to make my dreams come true! xxx

nanatopsy

Well done Karrie. Now it's in writing you have to do it! You've started well by finding this super site, but a word of warning, stay away from the Grabbit forum.... so many bargains it's hard not to spend!
Good luck, trying hard myself but needs a lot of willpower!:beer:

x_karrie_x

Ok, back again as promised. thanks for stopping by nanatopsy and i agree the grabbit forum should only be viewed with both hands tied tightly behind your back so nothing can be bought


Im having a very productive organized day as lucky me has 4 days off work, yay! So i have made the most of this time and started organizing my world. I have taken a good long hard look at my budget and after all my bills are paid, iam able to save a minimum of £350.00 a month, but i know i can save more, so ways i am going to do this are

1. I allocate £55.00 per week for food on a Thursday anything that is left over on a Wednesday night goes into a pot till the last day of the month then transfered into savings account.
2. Save £2.00 coins in a sealed tin to be opened on Dec 1st 2010 or when full.
3. Save any silver coins in a sealed tin.

I also allocate myself £100.00 a month spending money, any of this left over on the last day of the month to be put into savings account.

I also need to get into the joys of ebaying as i have loads of treasures that i could sell. But i think i will leave that joy untill the new year as with Christmas, sorry didnt mean to swear being the busiest time of year for me work wise i dont need any extra pressure.

Talking of Christmas i am so looking forward to it this year. last year was pretty grotty as i split up with my hubby 2 days before. But as they say time is a great healer and im so much in a happier place than i was this time last year. I have almost finished my Christmas shopping which is a first as im usually running round still on Christmas eve. I have £240.00 left out of my christmas budget and like i said ive almost finished so a bit more for the savings account hopefully.

So onwards and upwards im going to wrap a couple more prezzies before tea and then whilst tea is cooking sort out next weeks meal plan and write a list of what i need from mr t's. xxx

x_karrie_x

Evening all, especially those hiding in the shadows!

I have been thinking today that i need to set myself a target, to aim for over the next 2 years. I already have £12,500.00 in my dream come true fund and i think i would like to have £20,000.00 by Dec 2011. So i think i need to aim for about £11,000.00 as i also want to go on holiday next year and the year after. Next years holiday is going to cost me a fair bit as im planning on going on a cruise around the carribean, probably feb/10 as ive heard thats the best time to go. But if anybody reading this has got any advice or feedback of the best islands to visit i would be very grateful. Im very excited about this holiday as its been on my wish list for ages.

Plans for the weekend are to venture into the loft where no woman has been for at least 6 months and find the Christmas tree and decorations, no easy feat i can tell you.:eek:
Also need to visit Mr Ts and stock up for the week, and do the usual weekend chores.

So i wish you all a happy Friday evening and i shall return tomorrow with an update. xxx

x_karrie_x

oops cant believe i spelt caribbean wrong.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

s4mmy

Hi Karrie
I hope that you managed to get the decorations from the loft. We never put ours up until after dd's birthday next week. Have a lovely weekend.

x_karrie_x

Hello, havent updated as i've had a horrible few days in bed with the flu, its been really yuck, but think im on the mend now and will hopefully be back at work tomorrow.

Didnt manage to get the decorations down from the loft s4mmy so it looks like i will be putting them up this weekend. Hope your dd, has a lovely Birthday by the way:j

Savings wise its been a good week and im off to a flying start:D I got paid from work on monday and had some back pay what was owed to me, so out of Nov wages i have been able to save £350.00 and out of the money i get weekly i can save £50.00 this week. woohoo!!!

My food shopping came in at £39.68 for last week so i have put the odds in my change pot and the other £15.00 is in my savings account. So the grand total saved so far this month is £415.00.:D

Plans for the rest of the day are to meal plan for the coming week and then hit Mr T's. Also going to see if i can get a couple of things still on my christmas list. So onwards and upwards have a good day everybody! xxx

EC12345

Hi Karrie, I'm finding your thread really interesting. Hope you keep posting.

Like you I am also trying to save really hard - this year set a target of £1,500 by the end of the year - very nearly there. Next year, like you, I want to set another savings target - maybe £2,500 - a lot less that yours - but really hope I can stick to it. Like you, we have no debt whatsoever.

I will be reading your posts with interest.

Emma:beer:

x_karrie_x

Hello just a quick update before i jump in the bath.

Well done Emma on nearly reaching your target. I would really like it if you could keep me updated with how your getting on with reaching your targets over the next year as it will help to spur me on

I went back to work today after my bout of flu, feeling really tired tonight as it was sooo busy and im still not 100% yet. Good day money wise though as i managed to have a NSD.
Yesterday in Mr Ts i spent £42.77 bit more than last week but hoping i wont need anything else food wise until next weeks budget.

Also spent £45.00 on some Christmas prezzies so that takes my Christmas present budget down to £195.00.

So my plans for tomorrow are
work in the morning till 1pm
Having my haircut in the afternoon
Need to get a couple more prezzies and get them wrapped
Have some friends coming round tomorrow night for a few
drinks and a catch up

Right im off to drown in bubbles for an hour. Lovely!!! xxx

EC12345

Hi Karrie, just read your posts from the beginning again. Did we know each other in a previous life.;) Like you I also have a savings pot that we put money in out of our shopping budget. Next year we are off to Venice for the weekend - it cost just under £700. I said to my husband we can only book it if we cut down on shopping and other treats and put the left over money in the shopping pot. I think we booked it about three months ago and in "the pot" there is, today, £410.My husband used to laugh at the pot but when he saw there was over £100 in there sometimes, he wasn't laughing and now thinks it's great. Like you, my husband also collects £2 coins - he has nearly £100 so this will be added to the pot - we still have another three weeks before the end of the year - used all my nector points for shopping yesterday so really a "free shop". Any money left from my grocery budget will go in the pot for defo.

We've had the shopping pot now nearly for three years - a lady who I sit next to at work told me about her pot and so I started one myself. It's amazing if you cut down your shopping bill how much you can save - even if its just a fiver a week. I also sold loads of old dvds and books that I haven't watched/listened for ages and sold some old mobile phones I found lying in a drawer - all of this went in the pot.

My new savings target is going to start 1 January 2010 - just £100 off my target for 2009 so unless something goes horribly wrong - this will be coming out of my December pay packet.

Good luck with your challenges - keep posting. Will be reading to see if I can copy any of your ideas.

:j

voiceofreason

x_karrie_x wrote: »

Helloooooooo,(((( echo echo))))...... Its so very quiet over here! Right i really want to keep a diary so i can keep track of every penny i save and to keep the rest of my life on track and organized. So a little bit about me, my name is Karrie and im a 42 year old single mum, to two teenagers, iam in the fortunate position of not having any debt 'yay' and really want to keep it that way. i work full time as a manager of a Post Office and my dream is to be able to move to cornwall when my lovely daughter finishes her education in about 2 years time. Finding a job wont be to much of a problem as i can get transfered with work. So over the next 2 years i want to save as much money as possible to be able to put a deposit down on a house and i really love my holidays so i want to be able to go away next year as well. Okay back soon with some organization of how im going to make my dreams come true! xxx

Well done setting a target - good luck!