We are about to pull the purse strings soooo tight!

Alice_in_Poorland

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Its so easy to spend money isn't it - when you spend so long scrimping the need to treat yourself is always there.

When you left SC what was the plan for debt repayment? I know you were going to reduce BC but did all the other debts stay the same?
If you have £475 available for debts and are only paying debts £400 you need to find a home for £75 unless of course its needed to balance the budget/pay for DS' flights etc

Hi EE, all the other debts apart from BC and one other have stayed the same. We are currently paying £250 back for flights and other fees that were paid. We're also sending DS £300 per month for living expenses, foods, books etc. So we haven't got that £475 available any more.

I need to get stricter with the spends!!

Xx

Alice_in_Poorland

Thursday night I went food shopping, spent £70 between @ldi and cheapy shop. Got petrol £25 and £20 (2 cars). Also kids had 'golden arches' as a treat. Last weeks childcare was £50, and I took £20 cash out for lottery etc. So by the time you add DSs money and money towards flights repayment that nearly all of OHs wages gone.:(

This afternoon OH and DS have gone to a footie match. Tickets were free but we'll pay towards petrol and refreshments......that's the last of the £20.:o

This week I've pegged out for 3 days :T, only had the heating on for one night. Have had it on this afternoon as well for a few hours, DS3 had a friend in to play and he was cold.

Upto 6 NSDs.

I still need to -
Work out DFD
Get windscreen sorted
Build up emergency fund/savings pot
Have a closer look at budget......and stop trying to wing it.

Xx

Alice_in_Poorland

2 loads pegged out and dried today.:)

Have done meter readings. Bit concerned as we are £77 debit. Which means we have used £45 ish over the last 2 weeks. We've hardly had the heating on so not sure why it much higher than normal.

Spends today - new outside light fitting and bulbs. Small spend in @ldi of £9.

Have taken more cash out as I need to put towards a birthday collection at work and DSs bus ticket money.

Hoping for a good week with limited spends.:)

Xx

Alice_in_Poorland

Didn't go to exercise class tonight so saved that money. Will pay towards work bday collection tomorrow.

Came home and had a quick flick round with the vac, sorted all the washing out and put away (didn't do the ironing), cleaned down the kitchen and sorted some paperwork out. Feeling more organised now.

Had an update on Bcard loan, it currently stands at £678. Took this out about 10years ago. I'm sure it was for nearly £10k. I'd taken extended maternity leave and we were struggling financially. So instead of sitting down and working out a budget and cutting back wherever we could....we took out a loan. I think this is where it all started to go wrong. Never again.

Live and learn as they say.

Xx

Alice_in_Poorland

Has it really been that long since I posted. :eek: Hope everyone is OK, ready to enjoy a long weekend.

No specific reason why I haven't posted.....which is even worse I suppose. It's an accumulation of things, RL, time management, couldn't log in, blah blah blah. No excuse really.

I did think about starting a new diary but changed my mind. There's a lot of memories in this diary.:o

Anyway on the money front, we've now got a computer. DS really needed one for his school work, the only thing is we were trying to be clever and use open office which has caused all sorts of problems with DS trying to do his work. We're not tech savvy at all.

Have worked out that our current DFD is about 4years away. We have another 18months of DS studying abroad. Then we will have to payback money that other people have paid out for his studies, then there's his flights, which is a continuous cycle.

We are also trying to help DS2 with his driving lessons. He's got a trip away with family which we are contributing too. He is also doing his bit.

DS3 has needed new trainers this week. Still paying around £50 per week for his before and after school childcare. Thankfully only had to pay for 3 full days of care this holiday.

Totally lost my mojo with the spending diary/budget. This is a must do for me to get back on track, and keep a record of spending etc.

House is a tip, all apart from DS3s bedroom. I sorted all his clothes out yesterday, got a few things to sell. I have been pegging out loads, absolutely love it hehehe. Haven't had the heating on for well over a month now.......must do meter readings this weekend.

Food spends, very much out of control. Also eaten out and had takeaways, we really have fallen off the wagon here. I've put on loads of weight, the two have got to be connected.:eek::(

Me and OH still plodding on, because I haven't been keeping tabs on things we haven't really argued but that means that the spending is/can get out of control. For me it's about finding a happy medium.

This morning....as soon as I've finished this post I'm going to help DS2 tidy, sort his clothes out and generally clean his room.

I need to update our spending diary/budget but by posting on here is a first step to getting back on track.

Apologies for the rambling post. Basically typed anything that came into my head.

Must keep away from the abundance of chocolate that is accumulating in our house.:)

Xx

Alice_in_Poorland

Easter Sunday and it's really quiet in our road. Think everybody is chilling out eating chocolate.:rotfl:

Have done meter readings this morning. We have used £22 in 11 days, so that is more or less back to normal (£30 a fortnight).

Family coming round for dinner, food all prepped, Easter egg hunt all ready, house tidy and just a bit of chocolate has been consumed already.;)

Had a bit of a spend yesterday getting food stuffs for today and next week. Have done a meal plan so shouldn't need to get anything apart from milk......kids drinking loads of milk this morning whilst they've been eating their eggs.

Still need to update spending diary.

Hope everybody has a great day.

Xx

Eager_Elephant

HI Alice, Glad to see you back.

If I don't post regularly I always fall off the rails and end up spending when I shouldn't.

Glad to see you are still hanging out - for the past month or so I have been hanging out every day. at points my washing basket was empty and I was gutted as the weather was nice and I could have got a load dry!!!

Hope you managed to get DS2's room sorted.

I am just about to start my great bedroom tidy up which I appear to have started numerous times but still the bedroom is a tip and still I have boxes of stuff with no home.

Hope you have a fab Easter Sunday.

mummytogirls

Afternoon Alice,

Glad all is going well with you guys. I do think you need a break from the routine of everything money now and again

Also I was thinking whilst reading your post from yesterday that you do so well helping the boys out in what they want to do. Well done in helping them have great life experience whilst balancing everything else.

Happy Easter to you guys xx

brizzledfw

Excellently put Mummy...echoed by me.

Just catching up Alice...good to know you're OK. I am also finding it hard to be as frugal as I was at the start of the year...not entirely sure why. But need to find the frugal mojo again ASAP

Posting always helps for me as it's about focus and being accountable I think..

Alice_in_Poorland

Thank you for the posts, it does mean a lot to me. Hopefully I'm getting back on track. I must catch up on your diaries too.:)

Yesterday was lovely, ate far too much. Have had the last of the hot cross buns for breakfast. On a bad note, I have tooth ache. I chipped part of the tooth a few weeks ago, it's been ok but after all the sweet stuff over the last 24hrs if feels 'sore'.:o

Good to hear about the pegging out EE . I haven't done any washing today but have just done nearly all the ironing. I've left the school shirts...gggrrrr.

Mummy I noticed your updated figures in your signature, all looking good.:T

I certainly miss posting on here too brizzle. Because nobody in RL, other than OH knows about our situation, it's a bit of a release for me. Hope your frugal mojo makes a speedy return.:)

Today is going to be a bit of an all sorts day. Going to clean the hall carpet, sort a load of paperwork and clean the fridge out. Then off to the park for DS to try out the new skate park. Parking will be free as its bank holiday.

Have also looked at the budget for the next week. I had £89 in the other account which I've transferred into the current account. We have a mobile bill coming out of the account tomorrow, and the council tax (which used to come out of the account on the 5th of every month but I set it up too late to start coming out the 5th for the next 12 months....doh!!).

Roll on Thursday when OH gets paid and I can get back in control.

Xx