Diary of a (hopefully)reformed shopaholic

LivvyLoo_2

Hi Yellow,
I was exactly the same before MSE days, spent £400 after a photoshoot with Pixie photos. We go about 10 photos and only had about 4 on the walls. I managed to take DD's dress back but I have had to pay £3 to have another one sent home as I work full time and don't have time to go to the shop again to pick it up...surely they should send it free with it being a fault.

I have taken my Pandora charm back and swapped it for one I really wanted, had to spend another fiver but figured that wasn't too bad.

I have ironing to do today and I need to pop to Al***, OH is obsessed that we go out somewhere when he finishes work at 3...its raining and horrible here, he can't understand how its nearly then end of the day for DD at 3 and I need to get prepared for work and nursery tomorrow.
It just feels like hard work but I guess its going to be hard work after being apart for so long.

I have £40 left in the food budget as I spent £10 in M&S yesterday on a few bits for lunch and milk....should last me if I spend £10 a week.

xx

savingholmes

yellow and LL - confession - we spent £1200 pre MSE days on one massive picture - £660 of us as a family - and lots of small ones (that we may then have broken copyright law on and blown up to bigger sizes elsewhere!). Altho I think we were nuts to have spent £1200 - we could have probably bought 3 or 4 X £75 photos and had them blown up - I would happily have spent the £300as they are great quality.

Now tho - I still haven't got round even to printing the ones my friend took for free - as I've been waiting to be back at work and in full pay before printing them!

LivvyLoo_2

Thats made me feel a whole lot better SH ha ha! We were all at it. Just think there are people out there still spending thousands on pics, the photographers must be loaded.

I am just checking in before bed, DD has got an awful cough and we were up a lot in the night so hopefully she will sleep better tonight although I can here her coughing her little head off now. She has had some honey and lemon tixylix and it seems to work for an hour or two...which is better than the other tixylix's which don't seem to do anything.

Been out with OH today, we had a lovely time. I think that after yesterdays honest chat its cleared the air and now I know how much he does love me and how much he wants it to work. Time will tell I guess.

We ate out (£15 each), the prices in the pub were astronomical for sunday lunch, starters were £6 and even OH said he wouldn't pay that...so we didn't have one, we went for an ice cream instead £1.50 each.

Spent £17 in Aldi so £7 over budget for the week, its going to be really tight for the next 2 weeks for me but I can do it!

Weekends damage...
£27 on groceries (out of grocery pot)
£12 on DD clothes (out of DD clothes pot)
£22 on eating out and pandora...(the whats left pot although I think there is £16 left in entertainment pot)

So with the shoes I bought I have £100 left for the month in the everything else pot if I leave the £16 for emergencies. 2 Weeks until payday, can't wait to see my pots full again.

xx

savingholmes

Good that you had a good time together as a family.

Well done on making your money last so well.... I still have lots of room for improvement after 3 years with MSE! LOL

yellow3

glad you had a nice time with OH LL, hope DD gets better soon its awful when they are ill.

you are doing really well on the money front and the seperate pots seem to be working a treat.

yellow x

LivvyLoo_2

Hi Dairy,
Thanks everyone for your comments...I feel like I have managed to make my money last but at the same time feel like I should have more left (am I getting greedy now?). I think I need a bit more of a comfort blanket, its my own fault because I bought all those clothes...oh well, at least I am dressed smart.

DD was up coughing all last night again poor thing. As soon as the weather gets cooler she gets a cough, she has been tested for asthma but the inhaler makes no odds, when she was a baby she had a constant cough and it was even worse as I couldn't give her anything.

Today its raining and was pitch black when I got out of my pit. Plus its Monday and I have meetings back to back all day...will need a glass of wine tonight (any excuse ).

I have just bought a watch strap (£11.50), have been meaning to do it for ages as all the white leather has cracked on mine and when I was shopping at the weekend I felt like DD and I were the Clampets. DD's beige pushchair is filthy and I have tried cleaning it so many times but you can't take it all apart, the light in the jewellery shops made it look even worse and there was me with my old weathered jewellery.
Pre MSE I would have just bought a new watch!

Anyway I have just checked my spends diary and I haven't updated it since last Monday :eek:...v naughty. I am going to do that now. It appears I don't have £100 left for the month I only have £85 (minus £11.50) as I forgot about the meal I had last Thursday lunch time. You see, not filling in my diary has just bitten me on the bum!

x

savingholmes

Hi LL - it takes a while to build new habits... still great progress compared to where you were pre-MSE.

I got round to taking a watch back to be fixed the other day - I found the warranty I bought on it - so hopefully will get that back in the next couple of weeks - it was a 40th birthday pressie. It's much better to fix these thing isn't it than leave them sat in a drawer somewhere!

LivvyLoo_2

Hi SH,
Yeah definitely...it will be like you have a new watch. I take all my shoes to the cobblers now too...I used to just buy new pairs when they needed repairing!! Shocking isn't it?

I had to giggle at work today, I bought a new bag in New Look on my birthday and it goes really well with a pair of shoes which I paid about £80 for pre MSE. So I wore my new ensemble to work today and 3 men seperately noticed my shoes and said how nice they were...have been wearing them for years. It then got on us on to the convo (with each man individually) about how they matched my bag and my belt. Funny how putting new things with a different outfit can make people think they are new, and the thing that made me laugh was actually discussing my outfit and fashion with men.

Made savoury rice from scratch tonight to go with my breaded chicken and coleslaw...it was yummy.

xx

LivvyLoo_2

Morning Diary,
I feel like I have spent the morning filling in cheques for DD's nursery, I filled out the cheque for her photos (£36.75) and then when I left nursery they gave me a form to fill in for some ceramic decorating the kids will be doing in November... £9.50 for a bauble. All coming out of her account though as thats what its there for. She has a savings account too which I put money in every month, I can't find her paying in book though and I have cheques from her birthday to deposit.

Accounts look OK, although I have had to move some money out of my Holiday pot into the Bills account to cover the last 2 bills to come out, as I paid extra money for car insurance...needed £35. I will replace this with any grocery money I might have left over at the end of the month.

I got my car tax update through yesterday, £115 for the year, so I will take it out of the car pot. A man at work has taken a look at my tyres and he said its best to get new ones before the snow as although they are legal there isn't that much grip left. OH looked at Dunlops and they are £200 each! I won't be getting Dunlops then.

Going to the cobblers at lunch to take a pair of shoes for heeling...have left my sandwich in the fridge too so will pop home and get that on the way back so I don't have to fork out for lunch.

Tonight I need to put the washer on
Sew DD's tights as she has a hole on the bottom and she has only worn them twice.
Cook tea - Half a Pizza, spirals and coleslaw (needs using before it goes off)

Nothing else to report.

BFN X

savingholmes

Hi LL - how lovely about the compliments!

I got complimented on a dress today I bought for half price in the sale and told I glowed - even tho I felt the opposite!! Was wearing some freebie makeup from b00ts too

Sometimes if you buy your shoes in the sales - it can be cheaper to replace than resole or reheel... I've started to learn the sale timetable now so rarely buy full price