I'm tackling my debts in 2010

emmie26

Well packed lunches are a HUGE success, my son could not wait to go back to school because of his lunchbox, I don't even mind making it at night it is fun to think of little things to put in there, to get past the food police at his very strict school I sneaked 2 malteasers in with his grapes , which just added to his excitement (he is 4 and easy to please).

Have managed to get a full weeks shop including things for the lunchbox for just under £50, which makes me think that the £200 budget for the month may be doable, I would like to try and nip to aldi before I go to Tesco to see if I can get cheaper fruit and veg next week.

Petrol budget on the other hand is way to low, I had not even realised how much I was spending on petrol until now so far it is only the 5th of the month and i've used £60 of the £80 budget I have currently got a full tank but the car is being over used at the moment because of the snow, as OH tries to cycle most days the 20 mile round journey to work but obviously has needed a lift to and from work the past couple of days which has added a good 40 miles a day onto the clock, I'll have to have a look at the budget to see if there is anywhere else that I can reduce the spend to add to the petrol budget.

It is OH's birthday tomorrow and the free PS3 should be delivered before 9pm tonight although I am a little concerned as it is now 8pm and still no sign, this is the price you pay for saving £200:T! I think I can live with it though.

InaPickle

It sounds like you are getting there, Emmie. You have a few trials (e.g. the petrol), but the lunches and free PS3 sound really good value for money. Well done and keep it up! :T

emmie26

What a revelation, up until now I have been dragging my husband along for the money saving ride, however today there has been progress :T

It is his birthday! the free ps3 arrived and went down very well indeed, several cards also arrived from OH's family, they had asked me what he would like and I suggested money for clothes because he has lost quite a lot of weight so nothing fits him, as suggested they gave him £350 worth of clothes money, this is where the shock happened I said "wow we could go to chester in a couple of weeks and get you some new clothes", and he said "No its £350 extra we can put towards the CC's, after all when am I going to wear new clothes, all we are going to be doing this year is working, I'll wait until we are debt free and then go and have a guilt free splurge" I was shocked to my core!:j

I'm really excited though now cause I really feel like we are in this together, partly I think he feels some responsibility to put lots of money towards the bills cause we are paying one of his high interest cards off first, but we have been in a similar situation before when we were both really hyped up to get debt free and that was when I was pregnant with our first child and we managed to clear all of our student debts in 6 months. They were a lot lower than our current debts and we had a lot more spare cash but we were a formidable duo back in the day.

On a guilty note I did splash out on a takeaway for his birthday £16 but I feel this was well deserved after free pressies.

I have agreed to go out with some friends this weekend to the cinema so i know I am going to be spending a good £15 but I fell really bad because I haven't been out with them all over xmas, partly I have been putting off going out with them, they are both friends of mine from school and whereas I am now settled down with 3 children, sorry, a husband and 2 children :rotfl:! they are still young, free and single and think nothing of spending loads of cash (although I know they are both in loads of debt). So I am feeling a bit apprehensive because I am telling everybody that I am having a frugal year and somehow telling them would seem like admitting to failure in some way, I can't explain it very well but I really think this weekend will be testing!

I am thinking about the future and a time without debt loads now as well, if we can save the money in the budget that we are currently putting towards debt we should easily be able to afford to take the children to disneyland, that is really keeping me motivated.

InaPickle

Well done - that sounds ace!

As for going to the cinema, you say that you are going to spend £15. That sounds like quite a lot for a cinema visit. Is that just for the tickets, or for the tickets and drinks/popcorn etc.? Perhaps you can find a way to reduce the cost if you aren't going for drinks either sides of the film by saying you are 'trying to loose the pounds you put on over Chrsitmas' and not buying snacks? You could perhaps try to smuggle something in your bag (preferably something that looks low-fat/calorie) to back up your story and/or just buy a diet soft drink which would seem to fit as well.

Conversley, it might be worth spending the cash if it's the only time you will be going out in the foreseeable future as it means that you feel like you've had a treat and would galvansie you into more MSE activity!

emmie26

just looked and tickets are £7 but apparently there is a need to go for cocktails before, I have already paved the way by saying that I am driving as I am working the next day, what I may also do is turn up pretty late for the cocktails and just grab a lemonade although realistically in the wine bars that they go to this will be about £3-4 think I will just take some of the xmas choccies from home and just say I'm trying to get rid of them. It shows the change in me that I am now feeling guilty about spending £10 on a night out :rolleyes:

On a good note I have got 4 extra shifts so far this month, am not looking forward to actually doing them but the pay in february will come in most handy!

I can't believe that at the moment I still have £85 left to last me until the end of the month and that is with my husbands birthday, I don't know what I spent my money on before, most days I spend absolutely nothing and the days when I do now I have to think long and hard about it and normally it comes out of the joint budget for example food shopping or petrol, I think I must have spent an absolute fortune on eating out and coffees out cause that is really the only thing that I have stopped doing, my friend says I'm like an old lady cause I keep reaching into my bag to pull out a wrapped up mince pie or some other goody to nibble on rather than buying anything

I'm off to one of my extra shift this afternoon so I'm hoping that it's an easy one cause I am at my actaul job now for the next, oh my goodness, my next day off is on the 20th january because of all the extra shifts, at least I won't have chance to spend any money :A

emmie26

Not long got home, very tiring shift but just thinking about the money makes it go quicker, hubby is on his new ps3 and is enjoying it very much meaning i get a night off his sexual advances, if I'd have known that I would have got one sooner!

InaPickle

emmie26 wrote: »

Not long got home, very tiring shift but just thinking about the money makes it go quicker, hubby is on his new ps3 and is enjoying it very much meaning i get a night off his sexual advances, if I'd have known that I would have got one sooner!

But if that's not always desireable, make sure the controllers get 'lost' for an evening!

emmie26

A couple of months ago me and OH applied for a loan so that we could get some new windows, this was accepted and we had the window company come around and measure up etc, however, with all of the money saving activity I have made a big decision and we have cancelled the new windows and decided not to take out the loan. At first I was gutted because we had got so far along with the new windows and I've had to then go back to everyone and say that we couldn't afford, which is true. The neighbours will not be happy because we have the worst house on the street and it would have improved it no end, but if we don't have the loan I think it makes it much more likely that we will be debt free by the end of the year and then we can save up and have the windows replaced one by one instead of all in one go.

I don't have the exact figures of our current debt but I think that it will be about £11,000 instead of the previous £16,000, I'm looking forward to doing the update at the end of the month because I think I will be pleasantly suprised because we have a lot of 'spare' cash this month to throw at the debts due to xmas and OH's birthday money.

I'm doing really well with the shopping budget I've joined the grocery challenge and am desperately tried to spend only £200 a month previously this was closer to £320, the first week I spent £49 yesterday I went and spent £46 and this included the weashing powder for the month and cleaning products and a big stock up of the freezer, at this rate we will have some money left over which can go towards the petrol budget which is sadly lacking.

I think I'm doing quite well at the moment I can't believe that we are only on day 9 of 2010 as I feel that I've done quite a lot. :T

emmie26

InaPickle wrote: »

But if that's not always desireable, make sure the controllers get 'lost' for an evening!

i'm not sure this situation would ever arise!

emmie26

Went to the cinema with the girls tonight, it was as challenging as I thought it would be;

1. Girls are going to prague next month am I coming?

2. What about V festival in AUgust - tickets are only £150

3. Don't just have coke, have a non-alcoholic cocktail

There is only so many times that you can say no without seeming like a real party pooper, I really would like to have a weekend away and go to v festival but not as much as I would like to take the children on holiday abroad and thats all I keep on thinking to myself.
In the end managed to spend:

Ticket £7
Car park 90p
Coke £1.65
Declining all requests of holidays saving £500 plus.

So all in all a good night and it was good to see the girls!