Here for a while - a shiny new diary

originalmiscellany

I agree, mainly teachers and public sector workers are on here, we're all doing our bit to save as much as we can and to get ourselves in a good position to allow us to batton down the hatches when the bad times are upon us.

Being an OT's a great job, I have friends who are in that profession and really enjoy it. Pleased you've seen how much you can save by overpaying; that's a key incentive for many people I think.

cazzledazzle_2

Morning all! I've been up since half 6 this morning - my head has been swimming with things to do, so I thought I'd get up and crack on..... I've already done a load of washing, last nights dishes, been through my bank statements, and have managed to sew up a rip on the lining of my handbag - it's only been there for about 6 months but haven't found the time (read as haven't been bothered!) to do it!

cha97 - I've got 2 cats, so it was £52 each for booster and health check. Hhhmmmm, I think I might go in search of a new vet.
I completely forgot to include flea and worm things in my SOA, so that's another thing to pay for (they're so bloomin expensive!)

I like the idea of paying the yearly cost bits and bobs into a separate account - that way it doesn't seem like such a massive amount when the bill comes around - I might steal that idea.

wantabetterlife - hello fellow OT! I'm glad I'm adding to the numbers by being here! Teachers get everywhere don't they?!

Well, today me and OH are focussing on the garden. It needs a really good clear out - chopping down 2 trees, getting rid of an old playhouse that the previous owners had, and a scaffolding pole (used to hold up a washing line - I prefer rotary!) and moving the sheds about. I made the mistake in my last house of getting the garden landscaped (at a cost of about £3K - I was locumming at the time so money was v. good back then) - I was never really happy with it though, and having grown up a lot since then I really can't justify paying sombody else to do the garden when we're more than capable of doing it ourselves. There will be a bit of cost involved - patio, grass, plants, etc but there's no rush and we plan on buying things in dribs and drabs.

I think spends today will be minimal - OH will buy a paper, and more than likely get a bottle of coke and choccie bar (usual saturday routine, bless him!) We do need some meat and fruit, and I think I'll venture to the local greengrocers and butchers to see if they work out cheaper than tesco/asda.

Off to wake Mr Cazzle up so we can crack on. No doubt I'll be back later (I need a fix at least twice daily!) xx

Sepa74

Hi Cazzle! Welcome.

No one else has mentioned it, but you definitely need to build up a savings pot - depending on circumstances (how secure your job is) 3 - 6 months or even more of outgoings is recommended.

My cat's vaccinations are even more than Caz', so maybe I should do some research on vet prices too. Having said that, I have been told anecdotally that my vet is the cheaper of the two in the area. I wonder if vet costs are dependent on location. I live in London, which might explain why they are so high.

cha97michelle

depending on what i am getting for the cats i tend to shop online. Flea treatment i got in a bulk order before the VAT went up and while it was on special offer. Wormer stuff is less frequent so i mostly bob in the local pet shop when i remember. I also had to have one of my cats on a prescription diet which was costing a fortune from the vet, but i got that online too. I use the vetuk.co.uk website and can highly recommend the great service. I don't know id they are still the cheapest but they are quick and everything is always packed well.

We lost our boy who needed the special diet, so the other one has suddenly developed more gourmet tastes. lol. He's putting on weight to show it too.

Rubyspearl

hiya - was having a snoop at your diary and just wondered if you included in your SOA the HPC costs?

cazzledazzle_2

Evening all!

Cha97 - online is definatley the way to go - I'll have a look at the site you mention and see if they do the food. And I'll look for flea and wormers too, thanks.

Ruby - HPC reg is included under professional membership - I pay 6 monthly so divided the DD total by 6, plus added my BAOT membership onto it to get to that monthly figure.

Sepa - I'm really eager to start OPing, but I know that the sensible thing is to build a savings pot too, especially as OH's work is a bit precarious at the mo. Thanks for your comment. I might look into half OPing, and half savings, though not too sure yet. I'm not known for my patience, so I really need to look at what's best before jumping in!

Well, today has been pretty productive. 2 trees have been chopped and half has gone to the tip. We lost the will at about 4pm, so the rest is still in the garden ready to be taken tomorrow if it's not raining. We've also got a design of how we want the garden to look, so we've got something to work towards (and most importantly it shouldn't be too costly!)
We spent more today than I thought - OH decided to do the weekly shop, and £71 later he came home. That included £19 on his deodrant and razor blades (£14 on 6 razors :eek: - they're the best a man can get apparently!!) The rest of the food will (I hope!!) last the week.
Tomorrow will definately be a no spends day!

night. x

getmore4less

Tracking down that £700pm is important can't overpay/save untill you know you have it free.

I would target an initial savings pot of around £6k that would give 6 months expences cover if one of you lost your job. this will take a few months(from £1500) and will give you time to get the budget nailed down

A few ideas to consider.

I would stick a line in for house/garden you are spending on that so have a budget for it.

Add a line for car replacement fund
Car maintanence looks a bit low for 2 cars(eg when are the tyres due).
Car tax look low unless both in low tax band.

Mobiles can be reduced, using cashback deals

Move all the pet stuff including food to the pet line.

Groceries needs a bit of analysis, seperate out booze, maybe consider personal stuff as a seperate line if that tends to be high.

Do a clothes audit and set up a plan for what you will both need over the next 12months, agree to only NEEDS not wants for a year to use up what you have.
(if you want to go extreme you could use charity shops to make the money go further)


The budget is all about planning where you want to spend your future income so you are in control, breaking down a catagorie to give a better picture can help for those catagories that tend to be on the large side, so your groceries is an example, we had food, takeaways, meals out, as seperate planned spends because they were higher than we liked.

cazzledazzle_2

Thanks getmore4less. I'm definately sticking for a spending diary for a while to double check what we have spare and what is being frittered away. I also didn't even think about the car tyres! (and yeah, both cars are low tax).

Yesterday did turn out to be a no spends day - yey! Today I spent £48 on fuel, otherwise neither of us spent any more money.

The garden was cleared of trees and sheds yesterday - I think I did about 30 trips to the tip in the 2 days (that's one time I'm glad the tip is only at the end of the road!!) A very productive weekend, though now we're shattered. Will check in soon to update on spends!

Tabatha_Kitten

You are most welcome to pinch my idea of the seperate account for annual bills !
I dont take any credit for it, it was the first thing I learnt from my DFW days !
Remember to put a line in for car insurance too. That way you can pay it in one go rather than get wallopped for interest paying monthly.
Just one thing I want to ask Cazzle. Is that figure right for water ? £57.50 seems rather high.

cazzledazzle_2

evening!

thanks tabatha. Double checked the water bill (which came last week), and yep, that amount it right. We're not on a meter, so i guess thats the standard welsh water rate for my area. Not sure if I want to look into having a meter or not......

Yesterday, I spent £6.30 - part on lunch for the day (I was out of the office), and part on yoghurts and WW wafers to last a few days. OH spent £2 on a drink and choccie bar, so £8.30 spends yesterday.

Today, I had a NSD, but OH spent £3.50 on a drink in work and a protein shake after the gym.

Good news is that, after starting a new job on Monday, I got paid yesterday and ended up getting 3 weeks pay after being there just a day! I had to phone payroll and check it wasn't an error, but apparently it's correct, and it's just the way my start date fell, so bonus! I also get my full months pay from my last job at the end of this week, so plan on putting the money from the new job straight into savings.

OP isn't going to be happening for a while, until I can track down where the £700 we're meant to have spare is actually going, and until a little savings pot has built up, but I'm going to keep up with this to help keep me focussed.

Right, I'm off to see what utter rubbish is on the TV!