To new beginnings. To the pursuit of...somethingness.

MrsMoo2U

“For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.”

Given that there are so many new diaries at this time of year I thought long and hard about starting my own new diary. However, given that I ended last year on a high and intend to keep that vibe going I thought why not?

My previous thread " I have more than enough for my needs BUT I really want a landrover" can be found here

Starting the New Year with the news that Mr C's contract ends on 14th January which will, in one fell swoop, leave us with half the income we had before Christmas. However it also means that he will be home and we can live (if only for a short time) as a proper family again. It means that I need to seriously review my budgets and work out ways for earning some extra income.

I want to spend more time focusing on my money and my somethingness over the next few months. If I am to rise to the challenge of living as KC so rightly points out. Then I need to change my thinking, my outlook and most importantly my spending habits. I will use this diary to help me to focus on things. I also intend to resurrect my quotes part of the diary and will try to use them to help me to focus again.

I hope that people enjoy reading my endeavours to live a frugal but exciting life and I also look forward to lots of input and ideas. Back soon to post my aims and objectives for the coming year.

Ellidee

Yoo hoo Cheri ! :wave:Happy New Diary

MrsMoo2U

Health

• take more exercise (as well as the walks with Moo)
• eat proper meals and stop making do with snacks
• see hobbies for mental health and sanity

Home

• prepare flat for rental - by early February - this will free up over £500 per month
• place flat with a lettings agency - Mid February -
• set up an account specifically for the income from the flat to convert to mortgage payments - will ensure that all bills will go directly from that account and I will know that it is paying off the mortgage and also the part of the credit cards that formed part of the deposit
• declutter OH house and make it feel like my home - need to get Mr C on board with this. It may help to generate some income if I can get him onto ebay
• paint and decorate OH house - will help me to feel more at home, help to rent or sell the house when the time is right
• finish the garden - as above but will also help to keep me sane

.

Relationships

• Make Saturday nights date nights with OH. This will increase our quality time together - want to be creative with this one. Think up romantic/fun but inexpensive things to do.
• Make regular phone calls to brothers and sisters - at least once per month - links to my health and sanity.
• Make sure that I keep in touch with old friends - links to health and sanity
• Make some new friends in the area that I have moved to - links to health and sanity

.

Career

• Arrange some jobshadowing with external organisations to increase PR knowledge
• Make more contacts to increase my networking
• start enjoying it again!

Travel and Entertainment

• Set a budget to ensure that I have 2 small trips and one longer trip per year
• Set a budget to ensure that I can still go to the Proms
• Arrange at least one outing per month to the theatre or other venue

Hobbies

• join the local travelling library and start taking out more books
• try one new recipe per week
• continue with shabby chic furniture renovations
• take a photography course.
• start to use the sewing machine more

.

Money

• start doing the survey sites again - earned a fair bit from this last year
• do money neutral special occasions
• make some presents
• menu planning

Challenges
January

• research and buy a new car

brought to you in conjunction with Cheery Inspirations!

MatyMoo

Woohoo - happy new diary

Loving this: Cheery Inspirations! :T:T:T

Sorta sad about: OH losing his job, but more time together has to be a good thing (insert confused smily)

Looking forward to: Helping with new recipes and date night idea's :j

Maty

Pippajo

Happy New Diary! Very focused and very upbeat (not using the word positive )

Can't wait to hear more, x

little_h_2

Happiest of Happy new diaries!! :j *clicks on subscribe!*

good luck with everything, sounds like you have done a lot of thinking. i think your targets look great, and seem very achievable too which is half the battle!

my aims are similar in the friends/family contact and travel/entertainment headings so i shall be keeping my beady eyes open to shamelessly steal ideas

Cheery_Daff

:j :j :j For new diary and cheery goals

vasseur

Happy New Diary! *subscribes*

hypno06

I too am doing the "one new recipe per week" thing - I love cooking but got out of the habit. My new house has a kitchen/diner so much more sociable.....I reckon that means it is time for me to unpack my recipe books and start enjoying cooking new things again

I look forward to comparing

MrsMoo2U

OK, Money Post

After paying all of the bills and the CCs for the month I have a grand sum of £167 to live on for everything else. Bills are mortgages, utilities, insurances, OH car loan and phone bill. I am not allowing for receiving any income at all from OH as of this month so my wages have to pay for all of it. I think that £167 is a good sum to live on. OH will only be at home for 7 nights out of the whole month so no need to spend a great deal there. I may have to reconsider booking my photography course, but as I am struggling to get there and back without a car (buses stop into the village at 6pm and the course only starts in town at 6.30pm -8pm) I guess that is one less thing to worry about. Bit disappointed though as this was going to fulfill two of my aims - meeting new people and increasing my personal development. The next course only starts in May. It costs £20 return in a taxi so that is a no no too.

So I now need to get on and do some meal planning and work out a very organised budget. Not before I continue clearing out the office though.

MrsMoo2U

Had a very lazy evening last night - watched the latest DIY SOS on Iplayer - balled my eyes out again !

Busy bee this morning. I have been playing travel agent again and sorted out the travel arrangements for Mr C, mini Mr C and MR C friends trip to Kitzbuhel in 2 weeks. I really must start charging commission. Last year I save him and his pals over £200 in train fares and this year I have saved them going on £400 in hotel and travel fares. I have spent hours on the internet and pouring over train timetables. Thoroughly enjoyable. I love everything to do with travel and even enjoy sorting out other peoples. In my last job lots of people used to ask me to help them to find deals for their holidays. I think it comes from my (very sad) interest as a teenager in collecting travel brochures and learning all about surcharges in the small print!!!! This coupled with the belief that I was going to travel the world as a career didnt really get me very far in the end.

The office is now decluttered. All of my post holiday accounts are finalised and I was well within budget and actually still have some euros left. I wonder if I can persuade Mr C to buy them off me at a good rate I have resisted the urge to look at train fares to Prague in the summer as I know that I would have thought what the heck and booked it. In the current financial climate that is a big no no.

I am now building myself up to the big declutter in the lounge, there is junk everywhere and the only place for it to go is in the current junk room that was designated as the guest room finally after 6 years earlier this year - only to become the junk room within weeks of the departing guests. I am sure that these rooms have a mind of their own.

good thing about being off work and at home is that I have now had 3 NSD days in a row.

Back to the fray methinks.