Cleggie's frugaltastic journey to financial freedom!!

cleggie

Good morning!

I had a LOVELY lie in today, until 9.20am! A side effects og the ADs is that i wake up most mornings at about 4am-5am, so it was so nice to get a decent lie in!

Checked my OLB, which was exactly as i had expected, 47p in credit :rotfl:. At least i am not overdrawn, which is the main thing!

PG&MM- talking about medicines and cold/flu remedies, i hardly even buy 'proper' brands, i always buy the cheapest available. I read a thread on here once (before i started posting reguarly but sti lurked!) that was about medicines and a few chemists and pharacological people commented, saying that when it comes to paracetomol/antihistmines etc, the cheapest were just as good as the most expensive!

Florenceem- nawt wrong with being a boddy boots when i ts needed!

Not sure what we are up to today. I know i need to get some exam revision done, but not a lot else apart from that really.

Suffolk_lass

cleggie wrote: »

Checked my OLB, which was exactly as i had expected, 47p in credit :rotfl:. At least i am not overdrawn, which is the main thing!

PG&MM- talking about medicines and cold/flu remedies, i hardly even buy 'proper' brands, i always buy the cheapest available. I read a thread on here once (before i started posting reguarly but sti lurked!) that was about medicines and a few chemists and pharacological people commented, saying that when it comes to paracetomol/antihistmines etc, the cheapest were just as good as the most expensive!

Well done with the olb - very impressed that you know exactly where you are. I accidentally showed od for one day in March and it was 12p. I know it is a pittance but I hate paying fees to banks and interest on cc - and would rather go hungry than do so. My transfer did not show for a day - must have missed that 12.00 deadline you referred to.:mad:

Paracetamol in the red banner pack from B00ts is 16p for 16 tabs. Best value I have found and definately work. I have had probs with counterfeit medicines from one of the local pharmacies so I am a bit funny about where I go now but I can def' vouch for these. I make my own version of Lemsip with a squeeze of lemon juice, a squeeze of honey, hot water and the paracetamol. Just occasionally I also take one of DH hayfever things that make me sleepy to go to bed as this ensures I sleep with the hm lemsip!

Have a good day - we are driving 450 miles later to DM in southern Scotland for a couple of days. We are leaving later in the hope that the snow-closed roads have re-opened!

cleggie

Am definitely going to have to break into that emergency £5 this morning as i am desperate for milk, and there is not a chance in hell that i will do without my cups of tea!
Seems a shame though, as its 'payday' tomorrow (CTC a day early due to easter) and i really wanted to make it last!

I also get my CB tomorrow. Its normally a Monday i get it, but with it being easter Monday and Good Friday, i will get it tomorrow instead.
So, £100 of that will go into my xmas/car/birthdays fund (ISA) and £34 will go into my emergency fund.
Feels good to know that i am making steps towards a more secure financial future!

Florenceem

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Well done with the olb - very impressed that you know exactly where you are. I accidentally showed od for one day in March and it was 12p. I know it is a pittance but I hate paying fees to banks and interest on cc - and would rather go hungry than do so. My transfer did not show for a day - must have missed that 12.00 deadline you referred to.:mad:

Paracetamol in the red banner pack from B00ts is 16p for 16 tabs. Best value I have found and definately work. I have had probs with counterfeit medicines from one of the local pharmacies so I am a bit funny about where I go now but I can def' vouch for these. I make my own version of Lemsip with a squeeze of lemon juice, a squeeze of honey, hot water and the paracetamol. Just occasionally I also take one of DH hayfever things that make me sleepy to go to bed as this ensures I sleep with the hm lemsip!

Have a good day - we are driving 450 miles later to DM in southern Scotland for a couple of days. We are leaving later in the hope that the snow-closed roads have re-opened!

Thanks for the HM lemsip tip.

cleggie

I contacted DWP a few months ago, in regards to a social fund loan i had taken out with them when i was on benefits 18months ago. I had never heard anything about paying it back, so contacted them to arrange re-payments.

Just had a letter through the door saying that they have passed it on to a debt collection agency. I am gutted, as i thought the days of dealing with DCAs were over and done with

Its £745 and i dont know how much they will accept as a re-payment

cleggie

Have updated my sig to show my milk (and curly wurleys ) spend at Mr T. I am really pleased with my very low spend week!

Got a voucher for £3 off a £20 spend, but never spend £20 in Mr T! Oh well, i'll keep it as you never know!

rising_from_the_ashes

cleggie wrote: »

Just had a letter through the door saying that they have passed it on to a debt collection agency. I am gutted, as i thought the days of dealing with DCAs were over and done with

Its £745 and i dont know how much they will accept as a re-payment

Awwwww pants ..... ((((hugs)))) hun, there's always that "something" isn't there.:( Hope you can get a suitable plan set up without too much hassle.

cleggie wrote: »

Have updated my sig to show my milk (and curly wurleys ) spend at Mr T. I am really pleased with my very low spend week!

Got a voucher for £3 off a £20 spend, but never spend £20 in Mr T! Oh well, i'll keep it as you never know!

I love curly wurleys rediscovered them a while ago in one of the £shops but have finished my supply .

Chuckling as I really struggled to get to £40 in Mr T today (had a £5 off £40 + £10 gift card) - 1st attempt was £38.80 - which is quite strange thinking about it as the "old me" would've spent that without a thought . Anyway, managed to scrape to £40.25 but another £5 off £40 till spit came off!:rotfl:

cleggie

Thanks Rising. I am trying to console myself with the fact that i have done it before (dealt with DCAs) so can do it again...but its not a nice feeling.

On the 23rd of this month i am paying off my old nursery bill, which is £100 a month. I think i might just agree to pay the DCAs back that £100 a month as i havent had it so wont miss it (too much). the only problem is that i am not sure what my finances will be after June, as i finish uni and am still unable to find any childcare for the kids while i work (when/if i find a job).
Looking at the worst case senario, if i end up on benefits there is NO WAY i will be able to afford to pay it back at £100 a month.

I just want to forget about the debt for a bit! Sorry, am feeling all sorry for myself, will give myself a good talking to and then just plod on as i am.

As its almost student loans day, i will be doing a 'big' food shop, which is when i stock up on the most expensive stuff. I have just decided to do this, as i think it'll be a massive help over the coming months.

cleggie

Can i just say how STUPIDLY excited i am to find out that i CAN name my bank accounts!!!!:j:j:T

Yes, yes, stupid, i KNOW!!! But i didnt relaise i could allocate my own names to my accounts!

So now have done that, and am also setting up a spreadsheet to track my 3 bank account balances and my food shopping!!

i stil have no clue how to calcuate totals on there, but i'll learn!

cleggie

Morning!

Received my CTC and CB into my account today.
Transfered £100 into my Xmas/car/b'days account, and transfered £34.80 into my Emergency savings account. Updated my spreadsheet (i have stolen Risings idea of a spreadsheet- although mine is tame compared to hers :rotfl:) STILL cant work out how to autosum, so am doing it by calculator, but thats fine, as long as i keep it updated, its all good!

Food shopping day today. I have found out that a 30 min drive from me is a town that has a L!d and a Mr M. I normally have to drive 20 mins to the local L!dl and then a further 30mins to Mr M, so no doubt i'll save myself some fuel doing it in the same town

Will withdraw £80 today: £60 for food shop, £20 for petrol.
That will last the week. I am a bit worried about the petrol, as its 139.9 here at the moment, its so ridiculous! but living in a very rural small town, i HAVE to make sure i can get to the SMs etc, so have to make that £20 last a week.

Have written a list of what i need to buy, so i should be able to buy some extra mini eggs for Easter, since the kids and i opened the mini eggs the other day !!