my 'getting back on track with life' diary

Hovel_lady

Well done on your NSD :T
We get out the money we need on/just after payday and that's it. When it's gone it's gone. We have money for housekeeping, petrol and "pocket money". It's all keep seperately. Everything else is paid by DD.
Also helps if you leave your cards at home. Spending cash concentrates the mind wonderfully!
Good luck xx

Wordsmith

Missbookworm wrote: »

Im going to start trying to log on here everyday and record my spending- if its written down ill be more likely to account for it i suppose!

If you use a notebook to write in your spending you will have it all in one place and it will have more impact, and if you write it down pretty much straight away then you can't forget the odd little thing. Then if you want, write it on here because you will feel more accountable. If you are any good at spreadsheets, you could use that and let it tot it up as you go along - a great demotivator!

Missbookworm

Thanks hovel lady- thats exactly what i was thinking of doing! we are spending about £240 a month on food and £200 on petrol, and ive budgeted for £20 each (me and hubby) spending money each week so on monday im going to draw all of that out and then leave my cards at home!!!
Wordsmith- thats a really good idea, ill keep a little notebook in my handbag and then i can write in it when im out and about- its so easy to forget where the cash goes!

Missbookworm

Payday! yay.
well we actually got paid on saturday evening but as we could just about manage until today we have ignored that big lump sum in the bank account! just done my bills money transfer, and working out how much cash i need to draw out today to do my envelopes.
day off today think if the weather holds we will go to the park for a little picnic and then this afternoon i will have to go and buy some food!also put loads of stuff on ebay last night so hoping to make about £100 on them- does anyone know roughly how much £100 in sales will incur in charges?

Missbookworm

Well, its been a productive few days
I did a big food shop at aldi, got a huge trolley full and spend £70 but i have written a list of all the meals i can make out of my shopping and it is at least 2 weeks worth so im happy with that.
Other spending has been:
tues:petrol in both cars £100 but both completely filled
weds: £44 for an exam (my last one!!)
drinks and fish n chips £10.50 for me and hubby as the children we at my inlaws for the night (we had to get out of the house if we had a child free night!)
yest:my eldest son needed new summer shoes and managed to get some lovely ones in the brantano sales for £8
oh and also our hoover broke hubby managed to get the right part and fix himself tho. part cost £5.99 but far cheaper than a new hoover!!
today should be a nsd as i am at work till 5pm, i have lunch with me that my OH kindly made for me this morning
I have £10 in my purse and im going to make that last as long as possible, im aiming for weds!
im going to post my meal plans on here so that i stick to them! i also have a list attached to my fridge so that hubby can get involved in the cooking! (he is a teacher so is off on school hols now)
right the meals i have for the next few weeks are:
Roast chicken
Thai chicken curry
Sweet & sour chicken
Beef stew & mash
pasties with the leftover beef stew
beef tacos
Hm pizzas (enough base mix for 3 meals)
Veg stiry fry
Chicken goujons and wedges
Quesadillas (enough for 2 meals)
soup and hm rolls
Pasta bake (enough for 2 meals)
pesto pasta (enough for 2 meals)
Toad in the hole (enough for 2 meals)
Sausage and mash (enough for 2 meals)
Jacket potatoes (enough for 2 meals)
Wow i make that 24 evening meals so im well chuffed with that! should onyl need bread/milk/fruit/ veg for the next few weeks
yay

Hovel_lady

That's very well organised :j
We also put our meals plans on the fridge. Saves having to think about what to eat every night.
Glad hubby managed to fix the hoover.
Have a lovely day xx

Missbookworm

had a good weekend, had a family gathering on saturday morning and spent the afternoon in the garden, so only spent £2 on milk, bread and lettuce. then sunday we went to a local art project/ country park with the inlaws. managed a nsd yesterday as my lovely mother in law bought us a round of drinks whil we were out AND made us all a lovely brunch back at hers for lunch.
Just had to spend the last of my cash (the rest went on parking over the weekend) on some tent bits for our camping holiday ina few weeks time- def money well spent tho as we need our tent to stay up!
quiet day planned today, going to get the paints out for the boys to get creative with and im going to make an onion tart for tea from that 'feed your family for a month for £100' website that a lot of people talk about on here. hope it turns out nice! Wasnt even on my meal plan list so all free food as far as im concerned!

Missbookworm

Ok. Its been months since I last posted
Shamefull I know
So over the last few months we had our camping holiday, and my cc now has a balance of £4894
Really need to get back on track with mse!I have been ebaying like mad, made £40 last week and £25 this week, all of which is sat in paypal earmarked for xmas presents!
Also, volunteered to take on an extra few hours at work which should bring in about £80 extra a month! Every little helps, even if I am exhausted.
Spends wise, went food shoppin last night and spent £26 which should last us until payday (which is tues)hoping for a nsd today, just got to post 3ebay parcels (does that still count as a nsd?!)
Going to have a look at the challenges on here after work tonight
Happy days!

Missbookworm

Well I've had a lovely day today. Didn't have to work in the end so today was the start of nearly a week off for me
Posted off my last ebay parcel and let the boys choose some sweets after school, so total spends for day was just under £4. Me and the hubby also resisted takeaway after a long hard day and instead opted for a homecooked meal! We must be changing our ways.
The only thing to put a dampner on my day was my credit card statement. Grrrrr. £76 in interest alone this month. Not good, but I have appied for 3 balance transfer cards and got rejected
So not sure there's a lot that I can do about this horrible interest. Grin and bear it and get as much paid off as possible!
Its my eldests birthday tmr so looking forward to a lovely day together; it won't be a nsd as we are taking the boys out somewhere for dinner- nothing fancy but a bit of family time and a treat for all of us.
4 days until payday and I can make some overpayments on my card