On the up!

BlueCrayon

Just think of moving as one big MSE task, you'll save a fortune sharing the bills.

I agree with the mystery shops, I did loads of them when I lived in Manchester, especially as I went to the surrounding towns a lot for work. Where I live now it is just not worth my while for a few quid.

Get that clutter binned and get moved over, its worth short term stress just to get it done with.

BC xx

snozberry

You are right - mine and my furbabies moving in day is Tuesday. Just need to move my bed (which will become theirs) and we are done. We have tried to do it so that they can have a few extra days of freedom and won't be stressed out too much. There will be lots of normal-to-them smells in the new house you see. It won't be too alien and weird.

In other news ...

I haven't been very MSE savvy this week at all. I don't want to know how much I have spent but I know that it is a lot. All of the birthdays (bar one) are now over and done with until October. The older nieces and nephews become, the more expensive their taste becomes and, as I am their only auntie, I tend to spoil them. Maybe a tad too much but they are good kids.

I deliberately didn't hit yesterdays sw@gbucks target because I am becoming too obsessed with it and I need to force myself to spend more time in the real world. I actually think that some of the people on the sw@g board are chatting bol lox half the time anyway. Some of them average 400 bucks a day. If they are not fibbing then they are spending every second of every day on it and that isn't healthy.

In nicer news, however, I have smashed my £2 coin goal. I'm going to keep on collecting them and see how many more I can acquire.

snozberry

I hate moving house. I hate it with a passion. I haven't even got the prospect of a good ole fashioned soak in the tub to look forward too because he hasn't got a ruddy bathtub!

snozberry

£152.78 / £168.84 (including MS and Quidco check-in!)

I was paid today - yayy! But, looking at my grand total above, you can see that I have missed my target despite waiting for another two MS shop payments. Boo! Better luck next time

I have no CC debt, no overdraft debt but I still have the silly Student Loan over my head (still haven't got a reply from my letter of complaint) and the dreaded BL (which is £6,300 and a few pence). Next week, when my chappie is back at work I will ring the bank to request details on making over payments. My plan is to make double payments a month with anything else being a much welcome added bonus.

I am still waiting for my expenses to be paid and I have got to hammer ebay because I cannot believe how much tat I have. It was such a struggle to move!

BlueCrayon

Sounds like the move is pretty much complete then, well done you survived!

Ebay is tedious but it does the job, stuff gone and money in the bank. If you've got lots of small bits, especially duplicate bits now you've moved in together like kitchen things, could you do a car boot sale? It means you've got to get up early but its all done and dusted in one day.

Boo on the no bath! Have lots of chocolate instead.

BC x

snozberry

Oh I have eaten lots of chocolate over the past few days lol

Ok. This is the payday month that I have looked forward to for months and months and months because this is the one where my mortgage has dropped by over £100 and I have no car insurance to pay for two months. I have got to avoid being complacent because my outgoings are a lot less. I just know, that if I don't do anything about it now, that I will fall into the trap of not thinking about my money and becoming spendy again. I cannot allow this to happen. I just can't.

I already can't be bothered about MS, I haven't listed a jot on eb@y and my NSDs are diabolical at the min. I am, fortunately, in the black, my CC balance is nil and I have more than enough in my bills account.

In short, I need a massive kick up the backside!!!!!!

In other news, we have a food budget - the money is in a special jar in the kitchen and we are meal planning. I'm actually very good in this department. I just draw the line at rubber chicken! I am back at work soon and I know that I will continue to take a packed lunch. I will have the odd sneaky trip to the sandwich shop but my trips there are nowhere near what they used to be.

right - must finish my swa@gbucks and my shopnscan f00d diary

BlueCrayon

Just think how nice it'll be to be rid of that loan, stick the balance and the monthly payment on your cards so you look at it every time you spend and think of being free of it. No more paying money out to someone for absolutely nothing!

If you can pay the loan off early how much would you save in interest? What could you buy with that?

I got complacent as it was just the small amount remaining, and as a result it has stuck. Don't do the same.

Glad you're all settled in but I don't let you get complacent with this debt missy .

BC xx

snozberry

I'd save loads!!!!

I was awake for agesss last night wracking my brains about ways I can cut back and save more. I am back at work next week so I am going to give myself pocket money. If I move the excess over to my savings account (and out of harms reach!) I can repay the extra off my loan at the end of the month (just in case something happens). I think that this is one plan of action for me to follow because it is easier for me not to spend when I'm not at home lol

snozberry

omgg I just went to pay my final water bill online. I was just about to press send when I realised that my account was in credit! Doh! One quick phone call and a cheque is on its way - woohoo!

I also rang my bank to enquire about extra payments. Would you believe that in this modern day and age they won't accept extra payments on their online banking facility??! How silly! I have to either telephone them, send a cheque in the post or pop into my local branch instead. Well, I will do a combination of telephone or pop into my local branch.

Ok, I pay £156 a month in my standard payments. I need to find at least £156 for the day before payday I already have £21.58 from the water board heading my way

I can do it!


but the hoovering won't do itself

ETA: Just opened a separate savings account with my bank purely for extra loan repayments. I moved the odd pounds and a lot of pence over so I have £10.64 in there, excluding my money owed from the water board. I thought it best to keep these funds away from my emergency savings account.

snozberry

Well, tomorrow is my final day of this goal:

Easter - 1st September goal
Surveys, cb, ebay, SNS & MS £471.13/£300

I have made £643.68 from the start of the year but £708.60 from when I started this diary [STRIKE](have to update it when I post this because I need to go back and add the amount to the total)[/STRIKE].

I want to round up this years mid year total to £1000 so I need to make £356.32 between 1st September to 31st December. I should be able to do it if I pull my socks up and try, try, try!

I also need to focus on my £366 in 366 days challenge. I did have £50 but it has gone so I need to start again. I will take money from my allowed spends. I have £15 in my purse so I have kept a fiver and have moved the tenner to a spare money box.

I should, in theory, manage to find all of the extra money because my outgoings have dropped and we have a strict grocery budget.

Just completed the shopnscan food diary. I always say to myself that I will never ever complete them again but I always end up signing up to do another week.