WelshWoofer's Staying Debt Free Mission

WelshWoofer

Afternoon all!
I was up and out early - even though its half term I still wake up at 6.30am:eek:
So to make the most of the dry weather I decided to take the dog to the National Trust place near me for a good pootle around...



So already today I have...

• Walked dog around a massive estate - didn't pay for the extortionate carpark (£5!), parked up the road in a lane and went in over a stile!
• Went to Pets at Home for dog food - cheaper than Mr T and spent £4.50
• Been to Mr T for a few bits and spent £6
• Popped in to Matalan and nearly bought a pair of trousers but will think about it first
• Taken library books back and got a new one
• Been to Boots to get nicotine chewing gum - attempting to give up smoking again, just decided last night I'd had enough, I don't smoke too many (about 6 or 7 a day) but its yukky and I want to have completely stopped by the time I'm 40 at Xmas
• Didn't buy something from Greggs even though I was sorely tempted and came home and had a bagel instead
• Weighed this morning and have stayed the same this month even though I felt like I'd put on weight after coming off the pill:j

And still to do...

• Clean whole house
• Give kitchen a good clean
• Maybe mow front lawn if it stays dry (hopefully for the last time for the winter)
• Have a mini grooming session later- nails, face scrub, body scrub etc
• Walk dog again
• Make something from stores for tea - either a pizza or a chick pea curry and naan
• Maybe hoover out car
• NO SCHOOL WORK!
• Stay in and watch a movie tonight

WelshWoofer

Spoke to my sister today and have started my Xmas shopping. She always has a mixture of DVDs, CDs and books from me and gives me a list of things to pick off so its a mini surprise for her. Just had a look on the internet and have got 4 items for £30 including delivery so I'm quite pleased with that. Some are on preorder so I don't even have to pay for them yet! Although the Xmas present money is already saved and in a little account waiting to be spent.

Just mum, dad and best friend to buy for now.... at least I've started now;).

Off to find something on the sky planner to watch - have a good evening.

WelshWoofer

Just had a doing little jobs day so far..

Have mown the front lawn, taken the dog to the park, bathed and blow dried the dog, tidied the back garden, popped to Mr S for half price Dove shampoo and on offer hair dye, hoovered out the car and still have the ironing to do.

Have a reduced curry and basmati rice for tea picked up in Mr S whilst browing the reduced section.
Still haven't smoked - that's 2 days now......

jaffacakegal

Well done on the not smoking just think of all the money you will save!

WelshWoofer

Afternoon all! I haven't been around for a few days as I worked on Monday morning (extra half term revision sessons for the skiddiewinks) and then went straight off to South Wales to see family for a day or two.

I have been quite productive though surprisingly...

• Will get paid an extra £60ish take home for Monday morning:j
• Have now bought all Xmas pressies other than dad and best friend using saved up money (nice to know its not going to "cost" me anything this year
• Bought some bargain tins of sweets for Xmas (will be hidden in the spare room wardrobe!)
• Had a nice lunch out with mum and she paid:T
• Bought 4 tops with put aside bonus money - think one will be going back so will do that when I'm near the shops on Friday - now have some going out clothes for my new social life after the split:)
• Not used any food from home for 3 days - been fed by mum!

On the down side - I have used tons of petrol (mum gave me a voucher for 5p off to fill up to travel home with but it still cost a fortune for both ways:mad:).

Little things for today...

• Taken dog to the park after his epic journey home
• Will make tea from the freezer
• Checked bank so I can move money around to pay for all of the shopping spends but none of it has come out yet so will fiddle around with it tomorrow
• Have a LSD and a quiet night
• Whip the hoover round downstairs
• Have a nice bath later
• Check surveys (35p away from a £10 voucher)
• Do a bit of school work later

WelshWoofer

Just been looking at the budget for the rest of the month - 2 and half weeks to pay day. I have overspent on petrol this month so will need to economise a bit on driving if I can over the next two weeks to make the half tank I have left last until payday - a bit ambitious but I can but try!

I've also looked at how many food shops there are for me in November - 5:eek: starting this Saturday.
I'm going to try to do a monthly budget instead of weekly to see if it works for me as I tend to do a big shop and then a few smaller ones through the month. So I've decided that these 5 shops will cost no more than £150 in total - still averaging at about £30 a week but some will be higher and others lower. Will rejoin the grocery challenge on the OS board when the November thread emerges.

I think I have about £200 left from this months money once all bills are paid and the spends have cleared through the bank.
I'm going to try to do a frugal shop this weekend and try to claw back a bit towards a night out planned for Friday 4th with work colleagues (curry and drinks).
I'll stay in on the weekend but I'm meeting a friend on Friday evening for some food and a movie so will try to go somewhere we can use a voucher if she doesn't mind (I'm sure she won't).

I also borrowed some DVDs from family to watch when there's nothing on the telly to save on box office spends.

The only bad thing about having a new social life is having to pay for it!
Right I'm off to meal plan for next week's shopping and start a list - fresh food is the order of the day and some nice healthy stuff.

WelshWoofer

Just been having a bit of a browse of other people's diaries (I feel like a right nosey old b*gger!) and stealing some ideas.

I think its time to write a to do/wishlist for November whilst its half term and I have some time..... so here goes!

1. Paint bathroom using emulsion and gloss leftover from last lot of decoration (won't take more than a day)
2. Get leftover carpet from study laid in bathroom (its a guest bathroom really, I usually use the en suite)
3. Take lunch to work every day in November (apart from Thursdays when I get a free lunch, school dinners, mmmmm!)
4. Get dog's hair cut
5. Stick to £150 food budget by meal planning and sensible shopping
6. Not smoke!
7. Not purchase Sky box office movies - watch borrowed DVDs and read library books instead
8. Finish Xmas shopping using saved up money and try to find money off vouchers for the few things left to buy
9. Start buying a few things towards Xmas food (family are coming to me) with the weekly shop
10. Budget more carefully for things like nights out now I have a life!

All sounds dead simple doesn't it when you write it down!:rotfl:

WelshWoofer

Morning!
Another grey wet day here - not good dogwalking weather - poor pooch hates being soggy.:(

Not a lot planned for today other than schoolwork - will try to write the next 2 weeks worth of lessons over the next couple of days to give me a bit of time of next weekend after the first week back at work.

I managed to buy Dad's main Xmas pressie last night online - a posh golf shirt. Will maybe get a few small things for mum, dad and sister to give them more to unwrap on the day but the big things are now bought:T
Nice to not have to find the money this year - ebaying unwanted stuff and saving a bit has paid for the presents this time.

pixiechick99

Morning:D
I read your big list quickly - and I'm not long up, so still coming to life:rotfl: I read 'take lunch to work every day' as 'take dog to work every day':eek: I did a double take and re-read it...imagining your little pooch scuttling around school with you:rotfl:

I have work for school to do today too...I've avoided it for long enough, sadly half term won't last forever, it has to be done:D

WelshWoofer

pixiechick99 wrote: »

I read 'take lunch to work every day' as 'take dog to work every day':eek: I did a double take and re-read it...imagining your little pooch scuttling around school with you:rotfl:

The dog would love it! So would the kids - not sure the head would think that a bonkers bichon in GCSE revision lessons is a good idea though!

Have procrastinated all morning - had a dog walk followed by a warm bath (for me), finished my book, made lunch, generally faffed about - I have to get on with work NOW! Good luck with yours Pixie.