Jamiedodger's 2010 Journey

JAMIEDODGER

ps. have yet to try the milk as still have a little skimmed to use, but will let you know the verdict x

JAMIEDODGER

Finally got round to making some Twinks:) The last batch is in the oven right now and the first two hidden away so the kids can't feast:D The smell is so nice!!

Boiler men turned up and fixed the leak:) There is still a bit of work left to do like making good the ceiling so I will now have to wait until the ceiling has dried out from this last leak before that happens. They still need to fix the gate, I have a feeling the workmen are going to be around for a while yet!

Made breakfast pancakes for me and the kids this morning from a recipe I found on the net.....fab! They went down really well with the kids and it was nice to give them a hot breakfast, will def be making these in the winter months.

Going to be browsing the web today for some more tasty things to make:)

beanielou

You have realised there is a wee problem & you are addressing it so result

JAMIEDODGER

Thanks beanie:)

Off out tonight with a friend for dinner:) £10 for the sitter and hopefully no more than about £10 for food and drink. I am hoping to nip to Tesco too and pick up a couple of things for some baking tomorrow:D The twinks went down rather well and I am going to make some other bits out of my bero cookery book!

Spirit_2

Jamie - I totally agree with the easy to slip back into debt - it is why I continue to hang around DFW and read diaries - I am debt free..but have to stay here to stay solvent.....think I might be a 'lifer'.


By the way what is a twink?

JAMIEDODGER

Spirit - Great advice! You have done amazingly well to pay off all that debt:) A twink is a hobnob type biscuit, the recipe came from MSE member 'Twink' lol

Morning all:)

Brummiebabe - We all liked the purple milk:D So that will be what I am going to buy from now on! Fab tip and thanks again x

Had a really nice evening out last night with my friend, Spent just under the £10 mark as budgeted. Yay!! Nipped into Tesco after and bought some more baking bits, eggs and milk, bread, fruit and veg. Spent a total £17.85, really pleased! Will update signature in a bit. I am still left with just over £100 to last until 31st so 11 days very doable.

Dinner will be egg night tonight, I have some mushrooms to use up so I will be having omlette. DS1 & DS2 are at their dads for dinner so only three of us to cook for.

I am still trying to work out how to get back on track with my money. As of 1st September I will no longer be using my credit cards as part of my cash flow. I will take them out of my purse and start using my debit card instead. This might take me a while to get back on track but hopefully, by visiting here each day I can get back where I was again!

brummiebabe

JAMIEDODGER wrote: »

Brummiebabe - We all liked the purple milk:D So that will be what I am going to buy from now on! Fab tip and thanks again x

That's great - it's quite a saving isn't it!! Sainsbury's also do an orange top one which is much cheaper (but not as cheap as Mr T's purple one) - oh, and I can's take full credit for the tip - I heard about it from someone on MSE :money:

JAMIEDODGER

Morning:)

Off to Tesco this morning, ex is looking after kids when he brings eldest two back. I have a list although it isn't a huge one! I spent a lot of yesterday going through my accounts and working out how I can deal with this mess. As I said yesterday, I will be only using my debit card from 1st September, all other cards will be put away. I had been dipping int and out of my overdraft lately, which is only a very small one but still a debt nevertheless. I have worked out I can also be back in the black by 1st September too, this gives me a good starting point.

What I find the most worrying is although I paid everything back each month, if my income was suddenly to stop I would be in trouble very fast! I want to avoid this at all costs. It would be lovely to have a little money in reserve so that in an emergency I wouldn't have to worry.

I am planning on using any leftover money from the grocery challenge (if there is any) towards paying something back. A lot of money will be saved by purely being more careful with what I am actually buying:)

I can't believe August is almost over! Nearly the end of the summer holidays. It has gone so fast. Weeks fly by these days, I must be getting old:D

hypno06

I too am having to focus on what I am spending over the next few weeks, and I think it will be a very useful exercise. Sometimes it does us good to have a really tough patch, to remind us that it is, indeed, something that we have to work on for the longer term, and that there is no such thing as a quick fix!

I too will be a "lifer" I reckon!

We have the cheap milk too when we can, as it makes such a difference in cost, but no difference in taste - I like skimmed, the kids have semi, so with the cheap milk no one feels cheated!

Have a good weekend x

JAMIEDODGER

Thanks Hypno,

I am shocked I have managed to get myself back in trouble again, this happens when I take my eye off the ball (everytime) I think there is a lesson to be learned for me here:D It is not going to be a huge deal for me to get myself sorted, I know what to do and how to do it, it is just if I had kept a watchful eye on things I wouldn't be in this situation. I am still working on my budget, making sure I have accounted for all planned expenses for the next year and given myself targets to get back in the black. I was really happy when I didn't have a worry about money, it takes a lot of stress away. I want to get back to that happy place:D