Walking the walk...

E2006

Hi HL, thanks for reading. Hope you are well. A spending diary is a really good idea. Im on slimming world at present and having to write certain things down really deters me from having them, I guess it would be the same with spending!

In terms of debt, Ive added 2 extra debts to my signature - not entirely sure why i didnt at the start, but i guess its because I didnt really class them as debt as such. The argos card is being paid off anyway and will be gone by xmas - but having it in my signature will keep me focussed and motivated. The debt is made up of two purchases, which are each on a but now pay in 6 mths. So basically are not incurring any interest. One was a hoover as mine broke, the other a notebook laptop when mine packed in. I shopped around and got decent deals on the products. One plan ends oct this year and the other december this year, but they should each be paid for by the time interest becomes payable.

The OD, well I never really saw this as debt! Duh! Ive been in it for so long that its normal to see a minus balance. I only pay £7 per month for it so its cheap, but at the end of the day its £84 per year that could go in my pocket! So the plan is to gradually reduce that back to £0. Being able to do this is depedent on sticking to budget though - my biggest challenge!

Ive been reading some diaries that have really gotten me motivated. Im going to pay every spare penny towards whichever card Im focussing on - at the minute its the virgin card. I have around £9 spare in my bills account (I have a seperate one for this and for everyday money, petrol, food etc) and all of the bills and OD charge have gone out this month. Im going to pay this to the virgin card. Im also owed a cheque for £60 from a halifax CC that I paid off and they still took the DD:mad:. That should arrive around next week so that can go towards the v card, and then finally, I have a spare change card - I will take that to the post office montly and pay that off the v card too!

Money is money, whether its brown, silver, gold, or paper, and every penny will take me closer to being debt free!!

E2006

Manic day at work today!! I was really tired too as a friend and I went out to the pub last night :beer:. We run twice a week usually, but as she is off on hols, and we just wanted a natter we decided to go out for a couple of hours husband and child free. It only cost me £4.30 so that wasnt too bad for a lovely night.

DH and I dont have any hols booked for during the 6 weeks, although we have a couple of child free weekends away coming up. We found a holiday though today, which we thought about booking. Its somewhere we go every year, but usually over a weekend (Fri-Mon) and usually out of school hols when its a lot cheaper. Anyway, the price for school hols wasnt too bad, but in comparison to what we usually spend it wasnt great either (£500, compared to £300 ish). Anyway, DH told me to book it - we have spare cash every month that pays for hols and xmas (but doesnt build up in the savings acc because we always use it - but it enables us to have our hols etc without resorting to the cards), anyway, I filled the booking form in with my card details etc, and got as far as hovering over the 'sumbit payment' button, and just couldnt do it! All I could think about was my plan for paying off a chunk of the debt by christmas, and how far that £500 would go, and that was it! Im really chuffed, because I usually wouldnt have hesitated to book the hol. In my mind was the thought that this time next year I could be debt free if I keep this up, and the amount I will be able to save (£1000 per month) will enable us to have whatever hols we like!

So we are not going away with DS during the summer hols (but we did have a week away in June so he isnt exactly missing out) but on the days off that we have planned we will do some nice free/inexpensive things with him, which tbh, he will love just as much.

E2006

My virgin balance was £1765.17, and as I had some left over cash in my account ive rounded the card down by £5.17. So now the outstanding balance is £1760 :j

E2006

£12.22 to argos taking the balance to £450 :T

E2006

Another manic busy day at work. At least the time passes quickly. Having a cheeky glass of wine and sharing a pizza with DH

Work have released a new car scheme. DH and I have had our eye on a new car for a few months now. Our car is paid off this month, but things are starting to go wrong, and it eats the petrol, so needs changing. Anyhow, the car we have had our eye on is really quite cheap via the lease scheme, and is deducted before tax and NI contributions, so works out even better (as well as the main bonus - no credit!!). If I go for this, then we can sell our car, and will get around 2.5K which will pay a chunk of the debt off, and also will enable us to change the cooker (which the hob is cracked and the handle snapped) and dishwasher (which doesnt work at all). Im quite excited about the prospect.

I bought DS 4 pairs of jeans today. He is growing so fast bless him, and trousers that fit him a few months ago are now so short. He hasnt increased in waist size though, so I have to go for adjustable ones! Anyhow, 2 pairs were £6 each, and then 2 were £3 each, so £18 for 4 lovely pairs of trousers! Hoping they last him the year out, but the rate he is growing I cant be sure :question:

Pay day one week tomorrow. Cant wait! I must get the rest of DS's uniform - I have trousers and shirts but need jumpers and shoes.

Bought another christmas pressie yesterday. The D store are having a sale, and I got a lovely minnie bag for £3.99. I also got a matching wash mit for £1. I will fill the bag with sweets, and I have a book from the work book club to go with it for my friends little girl. Im hoping to have most of the pressies bought before December. Last year I went so over budget, and Im determined not to do the same. I have lots of things that Ive bought gradually over the year in a 'gift box' in the spare room, and every thing has been in the sale (for example slippers from next that are half the original price, a bag for my sil that was half price in Accessorise etc).

Fudgefund

I'm really impressed by how organised you are buying Christmas gifts in August! They all sound really thoughtful as well. It's that kind of organisation that will get you out of debt in no time. Good luck.

E2006

Thanks Fudgefund. Im really trying this year. Last year I bought everything at the last minute and not only did I struggle for ideas, I also spent way more than I had planned. I love Christmas, but at the end of the day its all over in one day - all that money gone! (God I sound like a right scrooge dont I hehe). So far its working out well.

Just checked my credit expert report and got sooo cross at Egg! I paid off the card in May (there was only just over £8 to pay after a transfer). Anyway, a matter of days after I paid it off, they applied 50p interest. I didnt know this until today as I logged on to check the account was clear in July and it was. Anyway, the bu***rs charged me the 50p interest, when I didnt pay it (because I didnt know about it) they entered on my credit report that I had missed a payment, then wiped the payment out taking the balance back to £0 but leaving the entry on my credit report!! Ive rang and moaned and the girl said she will email the people who deal with this to see if they can resolve it, but doubts it! :mad:

Shopping tomorrow morning. I sat and planned my meal plan to make sure I only get what I need. Meals for the week are as follows (and are all home made as im following slimming world at the min:

Sat - SW cheese burgers with spicy wedges
Sun - Meatballs in tomato sauce with wholewheat spaghetti (using the other half pack of mince)
Mon - Turkey cottage pie with sweet potato mash
Tue - Jacket pots, beans and cheese
Wed - SW quiche, chips and beans
Thur - Rest of the cottage pie
Fri - Im out at a wedding night. DH and DS will probably go to macdonalds - pricey I know, but its a one off.

Just enjoying a glass of red wine now. DH has gone out (to a friends house but he is driving so its a free night). Im about to put DS to bed, then relax in front of a DVD.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend x

E2006

Need to look at my weekly budget!! Food shopping today came in at just under £65. I shopped all over for it (Al**, Farmfoods, gome bargains and Mr A). Had I bought it all in Mr A it would have cost me so much more. I know I can get it lower though and need to because my weekly allowance just isnt enough! Our weekly petrol costs £60 :eek: for both DH and I, and theres just no way of reducing that. Add to that a food shopm and thats £125 of our £130 weekly budget gone. I dont have an entertainment fund, and this is where im going wrong. I thought the weekly budget covered that - talk about head in the sand!!

Anyhow, DH is shouting for help with the tea (burgers and chips mmm), so must get off...!

E2006

After yesterdays budget eye opener, im starting a grocery and petrol challenge once I get paid next week. Ive added both to my signature. Ive cut the food budget from £60/£70+ which it has been coming in at before now (as we always need to replenish fruit in the middle of the week but end up with loads of extras spending at least £20+ on needless things) to only £50 per week, so I need to come up with some budget meals. I know a lot of people bake themselves, so I might need to start that for midweek treats for the boys rather than buying biscuits etc. Ive also been doing sw for a few months and ive been buying a lot more meat than i used to as well as a lot more fruit which has pushed to cost up.

In terms of petrol, Im hoping that by filling up rather than only putting in the allocated amout weekly will average out over the month and mean that slightly less is spent. I have only shaved £5 per week off this amount.

If I can stick to these figures, then that gives us £100 per month entertainment fund - not much but more than we have at the minute!

I have a few little spare zip purses in the house, and I will put the food/petrol money in one of these each. I think that by paying in cash will be such a deterrent to buying unnecessary items! Im quite excited about the challenge!

Starting our first MSE meal tonight - Ive bought dried pizza base mix. I always have cheese in the fridge, and pasatta/tom puree in the store cupboard as well as onions etc in the fridge. This week Im making roasted veg couscous for my lunches a couple of days, and the left over peppers and mushrooms will top the pizza. I also have some bacon left from breakfast this morn so that can go on too. It was only 57p for a box of 2 portions of pizza base mix, and the rest of the ingredients nothing given that I already had them for other meals. So much cheaper than buying a ready made pizza .

We off out to MIL's for sunday lunch today - so a free meal there too

E2006

Still on the subject of the budget....Ive gone through all of the receipts from yesterday and have written everything down, along with the price in one of three columns: breakfast/lunches, teas, and other. This way I can see exactly where the money is going and where to cut back. Well this has been a real eye opener, but not unexpected to be honest. I spent £18.59 on breakfast/lunches, £22.67 on teas (but to be honest some of this will cross over into next week) , and £35.47 on other! This list covers loo rool, shampoo, and cleaning products, but also other none essential items like sweets, wine/lager, and other bits of luxuries like face creams/wipes etc.

So, the lions share is going on 'other' stuff, but to make matters worse, DH just 'popped' to the shop around 30 mins ago for a pack of cheap batteries, and came back £16 lighter :eek:. He bought newspapers, wine, crisps (despite my diet!), and expensive batteries :mad::mad: This is despite the conversation earlier about how, if we really tighten our belts we can make real progress both with savings and with debt busting.

So the 'other' pot, comes out this week at £51.97 :eek:. After paying for DS's swimming and climbing yesterday, and by the time I have put petrol in both cars, this weeks spends will come to £180+, over £50 over budget! Now I realise how we live like kings for two weeks after payday and paupers for the rest of the month!

I didnt go mad with DH, but just read the figures out to him, and he too was shocked at the balance. Hopefully once the purse system is in place next week he will realise this needless spending needs to stop.