LBM in 2003.. What have I been doing since??!

brizzledfw

Lovely weekend so far..

- long walk in the wintry sunshine with OH, we did have a cup of tea and emergency chocolate bar to share and a pint at the end..but lovely frugal way to spend an afternoon, catching up
- OH coming out of jet lag well
- just paid in £135 to DD1's JISA..savings from her babysitting jobs. Proud of her planning and thinking ahead.

Not a sniff in sales and a spending day as I got my hair cut yesterday. Not AF either as had a pint...but all good.

Need to meal plan...left overs from freezer maybe..

Xx

brizzledfw

And.... about to start on my new journal

And.. used TCB for some train tickets this week as well as the railcard

And.. lucious HM pancakes for brunch.. everyone set up for the day

And.. sun shining and once again we are all walking to clubs... much better for heart and wallet

brizzledfw

So..as I sit in my new 'office' (Pr5t ) waiting for DD2..

I have started using my new journal..its lush but is a bit heavy, so will see if I can lug it into work (or not..) Anyway, I have been doing a bit of analysis AND...

The great news is that I can probably hit my savings target, or thereabouts. Cue: big cheer!! (Technically, because of a 'lumpy' income profile I haven't, but I am basing the savings target on my usual income, rather than this particular month).

The best bit about this for me is that it hasn't felt like a particularly frugal month, or a hardship, but its been a careful month. A month of weighing up options and compromising or substituting - say like yesterday when OH and I went for a walk in order to chat, rather than dinner out which is what we might have more usually done.

Looking through the budget report for January so far, things I am proud of are

1) the spends this month include a whopping £550 on clubs, trips, lessons (mostly have to pay a term in advance) and equipment for kids' activities and yet we are still on target
2) transport costs include a necessary trip to London for me and DD1
3) new supply of CLs (last lot bought in July)
4) restaurant spends are only £37 which is an absolute triumph compared to where I usually am
5) charitable giving continues at around £150 pm
6) includes everyone having haircuts
7) groceries so far are £445 and alcohol £18...lowest its ever been I suspect.

Analysis all thanks to YNAB reports, so easy to come up with various sensitivities and am sure about accuracy.

So, with 9 days to go...some more spends to come out for sure, including car spends etc but we are definitely going in the right direction and the best bit is that whilst I have had to keep an eagle eye on it, I havent felt trapped.

WHOOP

Just a pity that all the extra will be going on scrapping those pesky CCs, but oh well. When they are gone, they are gone!

brizzledfw

Know that Mrs FW would say I have could have done more...but this feels achievable going into February..which is important too. Plus with 2 teenagers to think about, we can't always make decisions which only suit me and OH, there are two other lives to consider and make joyful..

Sun_Addict

Well done Brizzle - and sometimes life is just too short for extreme budgeting.

Seasidegal58

Just catching up with your goings-on brizzle. Nice to hear that you are relaxed about January spends and the savings target looks good too! Will have to google the kleftiko recipe - love that dish!

brizzledfw

Thanks guys...all good really...and if we were to be able to keep up a 60/40 split on our spend/savings ratio in the months to come I would be one happy MSE'r..

We shall see, but if we pull it off, shows it can be done even in 'spendy' months. Its the stopping of the 'dribbling away' of small and what I call the 'f@@@ it' spends that'll make the difference I think.

Another insurance policy is coming to an end Have applied for a continuation to cover the mortgage on a decreasing level, but applied to a different company and went via TCB. Obviously more than previous as we are much older :eek: Anyway, needed to be done in case something terrible happens. Re the cashback, lets hope its quicker than the other folks who are still holding onto my £75!!

Selection of HM curries pulled out of freezer for this eve. Odds and ends left from previous meals. Naan dough in the BM and rice about to go into cooker. With some chutneys and some samosas on the side - it'll be a feast for a prince/princess

x

beanielou

All souding good
What are CL's?

brizzledfw

Sorry beanie .. contact lenses... I am very short sighted and these things have been my saviours since I was a teen (a very long time ago!)

Enjoyed Episode 3 of Taboo just now and a glass or two of red. A lovely Primitivo that I got for a very good price from a wine importer.. sometimes buying from folks with a local connection benefits you in more ways than one!!! It's a great wine and I will probably buy more soon. Less than a usual SM number too. So not a AFD but a good one.

Have meal planned for the week and it's largely using store cupboard and freezer food.

A good weekend, as ever much to be thankful for.

brizzledfw

AFD and an accidental NSD!! OH was meant to get a birthday present for a friend but didn't get around to it. So added to tomorrow and today was a NSD.

Still loving my heater airer. Thanks for recommending Alice