PennyGrabber's Path to Pecuniary Positiveness!!

PennyGrabber

This is my diary, where I will list how I am doing in my path to being in the black. Each day, I will try and add something that I have done to save money/earn money/etc, and something positive. A lot of financial issues, for me, are to do with emotions, and I need to sort this out so that I can have a good relationship with money.

Considering I have two children, run a home, pay bills, buy food, run a car, have hobbies, etc etc, I have a very limited budget. I have almost £2000 on my credit card, but no loans. I am aiming to pay this off as quickly as I can, and then save a few pounds here and there. Oh, and pay extra on my mortgage.

Last year, I was privileged enough to have a bit of extra income, so I paid £300 each month extra on my mortgage. That brought the balance down really quickly, and I would love that to continue, even though it will have to be to a lesser degree.

There is loads of stuff in my house, stuff that I don't use, don't need, and can't be bothered to clean!! So, part of my debt-free journey will be to sell a lot of that stuff, so that I can pay off the cc, and save some money.

Positives for the day

- admitting my debt
- saving some ham for pizzas (in the freezer)
- taking the children out for a bikeride, without taking my purse out!
- sorted out my clubcard vouchers - will have more than enough for a trip to Longleat in the summer hols

Speaking of purses, I have rooted out some extra purses that were just hanging around in my wardrobe (!!), and they will be for different pots of money each month. I will have a fuel one, a gc one (already do that, and it works really well, hence trying the others), an entertainments/pocket money one, and a gifts one. I also have a holiday fund pot I put money into and a Christmas pot. The plan is that every time I'm paid, I divvy out the money, and then I know how much I have. Any extras left at the end of the month will go into savings/paying off the mortgage. I will keep some of the extra money aside, though, for example, August is an expensive month for entertainments, so I will save some underspends to allow for this.

It would be lovely to have your help and support on this journey, and thanks Cleggie for doing yours first and giving me the strength to do mine too!

PG x

Suffolk_lass

Well done PG. I'm loving the positive messages for the day.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck with this.

I've just confessed to myself that the timing of the new shower this week (catastrophic plumbing episode) means I won't clear the 0% purchases card by the time it ceases to be 0% so I've just applied for a new one and all gc will be on that for two months so that the other one is paid down as quickly as possible. If I raid the emergency fund for a month I might manage to pay it off.

You sound much more organised than I am. I might have to follow you and Cleggie for a while and consider this myself.

SL

EverTheOptimist

Hi PG

Just popping in to say hi :wave: and good luck with your journey.

Well done for focusing on the positives, great start.

Have subscribed and will be popping in to see how you are doing.

I also have seperate pots for different expenses. My main purse has 3 sections, weekly spends, petrol and GC. Entertainment/ birthdays/ xmas and car expenses are all in seperate accounts. It definitely keeps me focused and makes sure i have enough money for the things i need to do/ pay for over the year.

ETO
x

Lovethenight

hi PG,

just popped over from the GC thread and wish you all the best with your goals. Having them written out and focusing on the little steps you take each day towards them is fantastic and looking back as the weeks progress is sure to inspire you further.

Thanks so much for sharing them with us so we can be inspired too!

Lovethenight

Long_tall_sally

Hi PennyGrabber. I have also popped over from the grocery challenge and look forward to reading your diary. Best of luck!

Coxy11

Good luck PG! *subscribes*

PennyGrabber

Thanks everyone!

Well, I went to bed last night feeling really positive, and woke up the same today. My boiler was supposed to be fixed today while I was at work, but the guy has to come back tomorrow with a part... Good job I have such a great neighbour to look after my key for me!

We went to a$da after school today, and I didn't buy an item of food at all! The reason we went was to spend the rest of the children's Christmas money. DS wanted to buy mario for the wii, and DD wanted to look at the girlie stuff! Both very happy with their purchases, so that was good.

Positives for today:
- no food bought at sm today
- used up the rest of the dinner from yesterday, just had to cook pasta
- I made porridge for the very first time today I've always bought micro packs, or ready brek, so I think I can save some money there in the future! I followed some advice from the gc thread and soaked them overnight. Thanks OP for that!
- used up a tin of peaches from the stash for pudding just now
- used up a tin of tuna for sandwiches for today and tomorrow

I'm going to have to save some extra cash somehow, as my boiler is leaking non stop now. Mid Jan, it was filling a celebrations tin once a week, and now it's filling my whole bath every day!!:eek: I dread to think how much that's going to cost. I'm really frugal with water, always have been, and my monthly bill is currently £10. I pay for boiler care, and it's still taken the best part of a month for them to come and sort it out. I think I'll be writing a letter to have a word about that!

I was going to make myself a chilli for dinner for tomorrow and weds, but I've found a tin of stagg chilli in the cupboard that is ood, so I'll use that instead. Saves cooking time, effort and money, and uses up another tin or two from my pantry!

I'm really looking forward to the day when I have all my food in one place, and I know what there is. Enough for a couple of weeks is ok, but I could feed us all for months and months... It's crazy really, as I only feed the three of us four times a week! I think that's another reason my food buying got out of hand - I was buying for us all for the whole week, even though that's not what I cook for! I meal plan, but still buy too much! Well, up til the beginning of this year, that is. I know my stocks have gone down since then, but it's hard to see, as the mountain is so big anyway.

I think tonight, I'm going to sort out 10 things that I don't need any more, and put them into my car boot/ebay bag. I'm also going to look at my birthday book and see how many birthdays I have coming up, and start thinking about what to get them/how much I'll need.

Thanks again everyone for joining me here - I will be much more likely to stick to this knowing I have such wonderful supportive people watching out for me. I'm off to see Cleggie now!

PG x

sistercas

ive also popped over from the grocery challenge to give my support , i will follow your diary with interest x

TheThriftyScrumpers

Hi PennyGrabber

Wishing you lots of good luck on your DF journey, sending hugs. I have just discovered selling sites on face book, they are set up by area and you need someone who is in the group to add you as a member. You just post a pic of what you are selling and how much you want easy as that. No fees and a quick result. Maybe something like this would be good for you? I just sold some jeans and a top that dd had grown out of and now have £16 in my holiday spending money fund!

Xx

PennyGrabber

So, what have I done today?

Well, I went to BK instead of having my nice chilli. Oops. In my defense, I have no heating or hot water right now, so I was feeling a little blue (ha ha ha!!).

Didn't go to a sm though, and won't tomorrow as I have someone coming round to talk about solar panels on my roof. The ones where you pay for them, then sell the units back to the grid, not the free ones where you just save off your bill.

Positives for the day:
- no sm
- saving money on my hot water and heating!!!!
- put £15 into my holiday pot
- my boiler is no longer throwing money, I mean water, down the drain

On a different note, I was happy today as the date is palindromic. Cool!

I will be going to bed really soon, with a cuppa and the leccy blanket on, so I don't freeze my bits off tonight. Not quite so positive as I was before, combination of the boiler thing, and the fact that I get paid on the 23rd, therefore I'm on the last couple of days of my month, and I have worked out that they are never my happiest days. Actually, this in itself is a really good discovery, because then I know it's not me, or the depression, it's just the end-of-the-month-blues.

I handed in my portion of a baby shower gift today. A list went around, of things we could sign up for, and I signed up for one of the cheaper things. I figured, she's going to get it all anyway, and I'll be supporting her (emotionally) when baby comes. In a past life, I would have signed up for about ten things, thinking the more I gave, the better a person I was. I have learned that this does not hold true! I must say, I'm not stingy either, just happy finding a balance.

Tomorrow is my last day before payday, so I will check OLB, sort out balances, and prepare for the influx of cash. Yeah right!! You know, I wish tax credits and child benefit were paid monthly instead of four-weekly, it would be so much easier! I'm very grateful for them whenever they come, but monthly would be sooooo much better!

Night all,

PG x

PennyGrabber

Good morning!

So after a rather chilly night, and not sleeping too well, what will I be doing today?!

I have already checked OLB, and I have transferred £3.39 into into savings account, which was left over from my bills account. This is the last time I will do that now, as I have averaged out all of the bills into monthly amounts as some are quarterly or annually. Now I shouldn't have any leftover money, and I won't have any big bill months.

I am waiting for a call from the boiler people to tell me when they want to come and fix my boiler. Because my children are not under three, I'm not considered an emergency case!!!:mad:

The children asked for boiled egg for breakfast, and normally I would say no, but as I have some eggs dated the end of this week, I said yes, so less possible wastage from that. I also did an extra one, hard boiled, while I was doing those, so that's their sandwiches sorted for tomorrow too!!

Today will be a frugal day. I'm debating whether to buy a preserving book for £6, book people are in at work, and it would make good Christmas presents (doing the recipes not the actual book!). We'll see, I have to do it by tom if I want it.

Not planning going to a sm today. Forgot I have the children today though. Their dad normally has them for dinner then drops them back, but he can't today, so I am feeding them. I'll do bolognese pasta bake; took the mince out of the freezer just now, and it'll be ready to cook when we get home. I love NSDs!

Hope you all have a frugaltastic day today!

PG x