This debt must go

starnac

:hello: to EH

Money meeting was very productive. For the first time in a while DH was very open about money and we had a good chat.

May is going to be a tight month out of choice. We are going to try not to spend unnecessarily in order to improve our cash flow a bit. We have meal planned for the first time in months and DH went and did the food shopping, kept to the list and only spent £49 :j this is good as DH has awful trouble sticking to a list :cool:

Yesterday we went to Cardiff to spend my birthday money. DH and my mum had given me money to get some new proper running trainers. So I went yesterday to have a gait analysis done and buy new shoes. That done and I had some money left so I treated myself to a new watch strap as mine broke a while ago and I am lost without a watch on.

I did spend £8.50 (:eek:) in a coffee place as a treat for the two men in my life. DS enjoyed his "tea" (warm milk) and DH enjoyed having a posh coffee. I had a cup of tea and he mugs were the biggest mugs I have ever seen. They were nearly the size of my face!:rotfl: I shouldn't have caved really. We could have waited til we got home but there we go.

DH thinks it's hilarious that the day after our money "we need to be more conscious of our spending" meeting we went out and I spent £75 on new trainers (birthday money) and DH spent £129 on new glasses (needed and saved for) :rotfl:

EssexHebridean

Good luck with your spending during May - we're also consciously stepping back from spending where not strictly needed this coming month - we have a Hebrides trip coming up which means both May & June will be low invoicing months for me, so we need to hold onto as much disposable income as we can!

With the amount of running you're doing spending that birthday money on decent footwear designed for the purpose sounds like a sound investment. You only get one pair of feet after all - pays to be good to them!

clearmydebts

Good luck with cutting back. We will also be trying to do that over the next few months. I find it so hard though, as there is always something cropping up.

Sounds like a lovely day out with your men!

starnac

Okay chaps. End of the month money update. Unfortunately it's not a very good one this month. I'm pretty disappointed by the amount paid off. but I suppose it gives me something to beat in May. The upside is that we are now sub £8k so that is something I suppose.

So here goes

January
Paid off £700.42

February
Paid off £454.97

March
Paid off £635.29

April
Paid off £352.82

Total 2014 £2,143.50/£9,827.73 or 21.81%

Greying_Pilgrim

starnac wrote: »

Money meeting was very productive. For the first time in a while DH was very open about money and we had a good chat.

:j:j:j YAY :j:j:j

starnac wrote: »

DH thinks it's hilarious that the day after our money "we need to be more conscious of our spending" meeting we went out and I spent £75 on new trainers (birthday money) and DH spent £129 on new glasses (needed and saved for) :rotfl:

Aw, I can see his thinking, but actually, if it's pressie money and saved up money then you've 'consciously spent it' very well :T

Plus well done with the £49 grocery spend. Only what's on the list :T

Greying

Cheery_Daff

Not very good month Starnac?? You paid off over £350!! :j :j :j That's amazing - £350 that you'll never have to pay again :j And yes, a nice little challenge to beat that in May :j :j And sub £8k is FAB!! Be nice to yourself

starnac

clearmydebts wrote: »

Sounds like a lovely day out with your men!

It was CMD

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Plus well done with the £49 grocery spend. Only what's on the list :T

Greying

Thank you. DH is not known for his list reading skills

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Not very good month Starnac?? You paid off over £350!! :j :j :j That's amazing - £350 that you'll never have to pay again :j And yes, a nice little challenge to beat that in May :j :j And sub £8k is FAB!! Be nice to yourself

Thank you for saying so cheery it just looks a bit pathetic compared to the other months so far.

EH I took my new trainers to run club last night and they were fab. I had a great run. Hopefully it's a good omen for my 10k at the end of the month.

starnac

I've seen a few May Challenges on different people's diaries. I hope they don't mind that I am going to do my own :cool:

The loan balance currently stands at £7,684.23 in an ideal world I would love to say I'd clear the £684.23 plus 1p to round it down to the next thousand. But to be honest I think that would be too much of a stretch.

Last month I paid off £352 and I was pretty disappointed with that so I think my May Challenge needs to be to beat that figure. As you know I have a *thing* for round numbers so let's say £400 That should be doable. I think. Especially as we are tightening our belts a bit this month in an attempt to stop unnecessary spending.

Okay......off we go :T

starnac

Personal spends that I know are happening this month

Piano lessons DD - £20 only 2 lessons this month due to bank holiday and half term
Dancing DD x4- £20
Run club x4 - £10
Nursery DS - £168 2 days a week so that I can work from home
Hospital parking DD appt - £2.20
Chippy - £3? I'm taking the youth club to the chippy next week as a treat. This will be tea for me and the kids
Cardiff 10k parking - £5? can't remember how much it was for the MoRun but it wasn't cheap
2xbirthdays - £5 this is a maximum for both presents as I hope to either make something or have something suitable in my present drawer.

That's all that is showing up in my diary for May

The childcare costs and DD's activities are budgeted from my main account. The rest will need to come from my spends account.

EssexHebridean

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Not very good month Starnac?? You paid off over £350!! :j :j :j That's amazing - £350 that you'll never have to pay again :j And yes, a nice little challenge to beat that in May :j :j And sub £8k is FAB!! Be nice to yourself

^^^^

See that? Cheery is ABSOLUTELY right - don't be beating yourself up, and never mind what it looks like compared to other months - add them all together and then LOOK AT THAT FIGURE! :T:T:T

May challenges seem popular... :whistles: :rotfl:

Can you track down any street parking to save yourself the cost of the parking for the 10k? I know it's tricky in cities like Cardiff, but it's often there if you don't mind walking a bit further. Whereabouts in Cardiff do you need to be?