Learning to Live on Less!

Kirri

Been reading the whole of the diary in bits over today, just wanted to say it's very interesting and focused and I love the way you've listed all the things to do, very inspiring

White_Iris

Well I did get a little bit of painting done yesterday, just a few areas that I wanted a different colour to the rest. Next will be cutting in around the edges before I get the roller out.

We went to a new playgroup this morning and it was fab. It's in the next village at a Sure Start childrens centre. They run free, drop-in and play sessions in purpose built rooms full of great toys and completely toddler proof. I do feel a bit guilty about not supporting the local group but that costs £2.50 a time and it's in our draughty, dark, not at all child safe, village hall. I always feel completely frazzled when we leave but today I was totally calm. So calm in fact I've come home and baked a huge batch of choc-chip and raisin cookies!

flowertotmum

Hiya..i took my dd to a surestart centre before she went to nursery..it was lovely..lots of things to do and free..modern facilities..even a coffee bar for mums with access to the little library..fern loved it and so did i..very very child friendly..my iris is starting to go to some of the little play groups and its still as nice..
I have a to do list too..its posted on the old style board..lots of things but i want to do it for very little money..
Glad you got your shower curtains clean..
ftm

White_Iris

Last day of the month, so lets see how I did sticking to my mini-monthly resolutions...

White_Iris wrote: »

January resolutions...

Finances

• Increase emergency savings to £150 DONE :j
• Increase personal savings to £100 DONE (well nearly!)
  
• Get winter clothes listed on eBay DONE

House

• Clean oven DONE
• Paint dining room Started - to be finished in Feb

Personal

• Switch to de-caff (once I've finsihed off my big jar of regular coffee) Bought it but had a lot more ordinary coffee than I realised, so haven't started it yet - have switched to sweetner rather than sugar though!
• No snacking in the evenings Hmmm, no comment
• Make an effort with hair and make-up even if I'm not going anywhere Could do better!

Not bad - financially I did well but the personal resolutions were a bit of a flop. I'm trying to get my head around the end of the month banking/balancing. What with the washing machine, holiday deposit, boiler service and yesterday having to take the dog to the vet for an orthopaedic referral (:eek: - fortunately only had to pay the insurance excess and an admin fee, the vets are claiming directly from my insurance) there has been a lot of money moving around and I'm still waiting for some things to be paid. At the moment I'm in a bit of a muddle but hopefully the waters should clear in a day or two and I'll have a better idea of how much I have left over (hopefully a bit!).

I'll be back with my February resolutions later.

White_Iris

February resolutions...

Finances

• Increase emergency savings to £250
• Increase personal savings to £150
  
• Save £50 towards summer holiday

House

• Paint living room
• Paint dining room

Personal

• Switch to de-caff
• Plan a route around the village, go out for a walk at least 3 times a week and record progress on phone app.
• No snacking in the evenings

White_Iris

White_Iris wrote: »

Decided to use the 'spare' council tax money in feb and March to boost the emergency savings - if all goes well I should be at £500 by April :-)

Well this isn't going to happen in February as I need most of it to cover the dog insurance excess. Hopefully should be able to add the March payment to the savings pot though.

Itsadogslife_2

I have to say my poor pooch has gone of the 9 year old threshold and I have had the renewal come through from Tescos this month and it has gone up by £10.00 per month to £40.00 :eek: I know for sure that we have not used £400.00 per year in vets fees, but I think "what if" she needs something like an orthapedic referral so I feel to nervous to cancel it.

I am failing miserably with the snacking too but my excuse is you are supposed to feed a cold.......

White_Iris

Itsadogslife wrote: »

I have to say my poor pooch has gone of the 9 year old threshold and I have had the renewal come through from Tescos this month and it has gone up by £10.00 per month to £40.00 :eek: I know for sure that we have not used £400.00 per year in vets fees, but I think "what if" she needs something like an orthapedic referral so I feel to nervous to cancel it.

I am failing miserably with the snacking too but my excuse is you are supposed to feed a cold.......

Our dog's only 5 1/2 so hopefully it'll be a little while before the premiums reach that level but if she's still fit and active I think we'd still keep up the insurance. The orthopaedic vet said that they carry out procedures like hip replacements at any age (as long as the dog is healthy enough to cope with surgery) and that type is surgery can cost thousands! We'd never be able to afford it without insurance but I agree that £40 a month would be mighty painful!

White_Iris

OMG - just ordered some heating oil and the price has more than doubled since we ordered in August... £630 for 500 litres :eek::eek:

We really need to get this house sold and more somewhere smaller and with a gas supply

White_Iris

Ok so I weighed myself this morning (:eek:) and while it's not quite as bad as I thought, I have put on about 5lbs since before Christmas and I'm about 22lbs heavier than I want to be. We're visiting some friends mid-March and I'm aiming to be 8lbs lighter by then, leaving me with a stone to go before the summer.

So, starting as I mean to go on, I went on the first of my 3-walks-a-week around the village. I was hoping the route would be about 2 miles and I used an app on my phone to track it - it was 1.97 miles and I did it in 38 minutes (pushing my two little chunks in their monster pram). Tomorrow I'll try and add on a little bit extra so I do the full two miles and also try to beat todays time.

I'm really feeling it now - completely pooped! It's quite a nice tired though - physically tired not stressed-tired or not-enough-sleep tired - hopefully as my weight drops and my fitness improves my energy levels will perk up.