Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

killerpeaty

75 days! Not sure I believe you. Pretty sure 5 minutes ago it was 2019.

newgirly

I know it’s gone so quickly this year in many ways, especially compared to last year! 

Cath a film with cookies sounds good 😬

I think I’ve decided on a challenge until the end of the year, it is achievable but compared to my spending levels of late it is a challenge 😆 especially as it will be in the most expensive time of year. Xmas is always budgeted towards gift wise even if I do go over a bit, but we do tend to spend more buying and doing things 🙄

So it’s a £20 a day budget from Monday making a total of £1500 until new year. It’s for everything except the breaks we have planned this year which will be from the holiday budget. So food, petrol, Xmas extras, days and nights out and a haircut for me next month! 

To make this all easier to manage I’m switching to using a debit card for expenses ,the credit card is fine but they won’t change the statement date to the first and it irritates me to not be able to start each months budget on the first. So I’m setting aside £1500 from the offset and oping everything else which is not bills or the holiday budget allowance until the end of the year. 

I’m hoping this will simplify the running of things and I need to get back to being better at updating figures and keeping an eye on any costs which might be getting too high. The idea to spend on travelling was to trim the fat everywhere else! This means getting a month ahead instead of behind not using a credit card, so that will feel like an added cost in the budget. 

Hopefully by new year it will all be running like a well oiled frugal machine again 😁

South_coast

I felt like last year flew by as well though! Even the three months where I wasn't working went by in the blink of an eye - just as I'd settled into it, I got a new job 🙄! 

The £1500 challenge sounds good, now you've got me wondering what my average daily spend is 🤔 Nothing at all lots of days I reckon, but then I'll drop £60 on petrol and ruin it!

newgirly

I’d love to know what everyone spends per day sc, perhaps that is something that could be tracked from new year although I’d probably give up after the first few weeks. 

Finally went to see Bond today, I had to wait until it wasn’t so busy as noisy people drive me nuts in the cinema, I shan’t comment on the film but it was nice to get out. It was a shock that a normal 2D ticket is £15 now 😱 I  still have a pass so it’s fine but ouch! Plently of films coming out soon I want to see so I will get my money’s worth 😬

South_coast

That's a crazy price, NG 😮! The prices at our cinema have gone down, it's now £4.99 as opposed to about £9/£10 before. It's one of the big chains, so I thought they had all done the same to try and get people through the door. No-one's going to be encouraged back at £15!

newgirly

You would be surprised sc, it’s been very busy which is why we waited to see bond as it was almost fully booked, and there are 16 screens! They all have armfuls of drinks and popcorn too usually 😱  It’s fine in the week though and we know which screens and times are best to avoid people, we hate other people in the cinema 😆

First day of the spending challenge today and I’ve spent : 

£1.97 birthday card and sellotape 
£49.17 Lidl food shop including German biscuits for tomorrow’s bake off German themed week 😬
£18.50 New everyday black bag and Xmas fluffy socks both for me (primarni) 

The bag and socks were offset by a couple of jumpers I bought previously and took back.

Total spend today £69.64 minus £25 refund of jumpers £44.64/£1500 budget spent.

Dinner was leftover bean chilli for me and leftover roast chicken curry for dh as well as value pizzas for the others topped off with extra cheese and onions. Weigh in day today and somehow I managed to loose 2.6lb this week 🙂

themadvix

Hmm… anyone else think they’re rather playing to the best bakers’ strengths this year?! But I didn’t realise it was German week this week - will break out my lebkuchen recipe today 😁

killerpeaty

I would like to go to the cinema, I think the one in town is £5 a ticket (has been for years to encourage people in, there isn't any parking and the nearest parking is very expensive so I guess they don't get a lot of people in) so I might go there one day.

I'm awful at spending at the moment. Good luck with your challenge Ng!

newgirly

Hi Vix, perhaps they are but the only week I want to see is Xmas a week and a showstopper Xmas cake! We had some lebkuchen and some very nice butter German biscuits with sugar from Lidl,did you bake in the end? 

Hi kp, £5 is good! We have a £5 one in a nearby town but when I last went a few years it was rammed with kids and people on their phones, it’s a busy city centre though so that might be why, looks like there a few good films coming out soon now. 

Forgot to update last might (updating daily now finally!) yesterday was a NSD, went to the forest for a walk with my aunt and then made her lunch, she brought me over a beanies coffee advent calendar which was a nice surprise 😁

Need to collect a parcel for best friend which has arrived for her at Dunelm and she currently sunning herself in Mauritius lucky thing, might go today as I’ve not much to do really. I can look for some Xmas ribbon or twine nearby while I’m there as I’m using brown paper this year to try and be a bit better with recycling. 

newgirly

Collected the parcel today and after going everywhere for twine I gave up and bought some ribbon from the range, proper ribbon that can be reused so not too naughty 😁 Total daily spend today is £26.12:

8 x 15m rolls of ribbon (£1 a roll) 
roasting tray half price £7
Brown paper £3
plant food £2.75
felt tips for writing on brown paper for Xmas 89p
washing liquid £2.49
Cheesy footballs for Xmas £1.99

Also bought some logs for burning at centreparcs when we go £4 for 4 , I think they are the correct ones you are allowed to use, I hope so as I don’t like buying anything there if I can help it! Think I’m only going to book a couple of very cheap activities too, maybe badminton and table tennis perhaps. We are not too adventurous so it saves money 😂 

I’ve been looking at this years figures for the mfw challenge and I’ve dipped slightly lower than my already given op figures as I’ve taken form the offset to live on for £1500 challenge, it will be more than made up but it’s annoying so will need to update at the end of the month and make sure I’m in the black again. I should hit this year target ok though which is the main thing I guess.