Finally I have a mortgage I can start to pay off!

themadvix

Haha, her big brother was huge - 10lb maybe (I can't remember exactly)? My cousin is tall and has a large frame (no way of saying that without it sounding rude, but it's not meant like that - she's super fit, it's not fat) and her husband is tall and so they were expecting another big 'un. In comparison, 7lb is tiny! (And the last baby I held was born at 12lb and at 10 days old seemed more like a 3-month-old!)

QueenJess

12lb!!! Wow… 

themadvix

Somehow I'm still awake. All work caught up on and invoicing done, money shuffles made and money put into savings (woo, that's what happens with an uber frugal month, how exciting!).

Invoicing highlighted that while things are improving, work is still considerably under the volumes it should be. This month I was only £50 under my preferred base income, but next month is going to be much worse. So I underpaid myself by £275 to help towards that  - given that, I'm please with my transfer to savings too. Will try to cram in lots of platform work between now and 14th December when they pay.

Survey earnings this month:
£50 Yougov
£10 Qmee
£20 Prolific
£40 S&S vouchers claimed for electric blanket and vacuum bags (electric blanket is a big win and long awaited!)

(£25 Onepoll - not received yet - so that'll help next month!)

I'll do a proper breakdown of budget categories tomorrow and see how frugal I managed to be. Could do with continuing that really but December seems a bit tricky for that (given that we've invited 10 people for Boxing Day!). At least presents are budgeted for and I'm going to try to come in under budget for each of them too. Have already saved on 3 homemade ones (as long as the bulbs come up!).

Have a good evening all.

Chiglepig

QueenJess said:

12lb!!! Wow… 

I think you mean "12lb - Ow!"

themadvix

Morning all,

Lol @Chiglepig - you're probably right. 

So the figures are in for my uber frugal month and they are enlightening. If I leave out the £48 spent at the zero-waste shop before I started the challenge (which was my intention), I spent £100 on food, so double my target budget. Some of this was spent on having my Mum, Niece and Sister round and then my BIL and his fiancee round, but less than £20 of it. Some of it wasn't just food - but I am working from my CC bills rather than receipts (e.g. I know my pre-November £15 shop at Sains, which I've included in the figures did also include 2 packs of loo roll, so that would affect that). But the reality is that splitting it down further doesn't actually reduce the amount spent, so I'm not going to nitpick over this. Interestingly milk and Riverford came to £45.75, which is just under the estimated budget for this. I meal planned and we ate pretty frugally (i.e. lots of pulse-based meals) in November, so I'm not sure I'm going to be able to reduce this much further. Swapping the veg box to two-weekly deliveries has worked well though and is a saving, so will be retaining this.

In other categories I spent:
* £3.35 on parking (would say this is a little bit high and doesn't include Qpark Hyde Park, which came under social spending as it's definitely not normal (it's £15 for two hours)!)
* £88.25 on cats - did a big shop for food, litter and toothpowder, plus worming tabs from the vets. Food, tablets and litter are budgeted for by DH, so not technically my spends and certainly not this much as standard
* £0 on clothing, health/toiletries, garden
* £7 on household - the extra of my Argoose order after vouchers applied - electric blanket and a giant vacuum bag for spare duvet (naughty cat had eaten the previous one...)
* £17.50 on a refurb for the key fob for my car (from car maintenance fund)
* £55.53 + £22 on social - this included London to Brighton spends (pub drinks, milkshakes, Hyde Park parking), DH's birthday (lunch, train, cocktails (the £22 as I sent this to DH in cash as he paid)) and it was my turn to buy the tea with Brownie friends (£6.30).
* £2.98 on personal spends - new wristband for my fitbit as it had fallen apart
* £21.48 on cards - this included all birthday cards until Jan, an (expensive) card for DH and a new baby card
* £44.62 on petrol (this was technically before the Nov challenge started) - I still have just under half a tank
* £85.49 on gifts - some of this was budgeted for from present fund, some was my 'fun money' (which is now empty!) as it was my ticket for the O2 and some was unbudgeted for baby present.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the 'other' spending - i.e. not food. I kept my focus on what I wanted to achieve through the month and it paid off. Food is tricky though, especially as I don't want to compromise on packaging/organicness (where possible) and ethics. My zero-waste shop is very reasonable for most things, but the £48 spent included two bars of chocolate (@ £4 each) which I should not have bought (I was far more restrained yesterday - and thought ahead and ordered the bar needed for Christmas presents on the supermarket order, where it is cheaper and we get a discount). However, the deli at the zero-waste shop has just reopened, so more restraint will be needed going forward. She has delicious focaccia and sourdough crackers - fortunately she'd run out of both yesterday!

Right, back in a sec...

themadvix

DH and I have both been pinged from Saturday's adventures into London. 🙄 We both feel fine and have taken LFTs (I did one on Monday and we both did them last night - all negative). I've booked a PCR for me for this afternoon anyway. DH has gone on the train up north for work today, so no PCR for him. Neither of us has any symptoms and we're both fully jabbed, so hopefully we're fine. 

We went to the cinema to see Bond at last last night (Meerkat tickets, of course). It was excellent and lovely to do something different - we've not been to the cinema since Feb 2020. There were only about 10 people in the cinema so it felt very safe.

Work is very quiet for me currently, but I'm ever hopeful some platform jobs arrive. However, I have a long list of other things to do, should I get bored, including practicing making honeycomb for Christmas presents. (And generally deciding what I'm getting for people etc.). Unfortunately I've had the bad news that one of my big projects pre-pandemic is not likely to be returning, which is a pity. And my friend who had some work for me is currently signed off work for the fourth week and struggling to recover from Covid (despite being double vaccinated) - I need to ring her today (not about work!)

MS things:
* Clicks done
* Comps to do
* YG surveys - back to £5 already
* 1P surveys - £10+ again
* Came in slightly under budget on thank you present for L2B friends (and DH has taken it with him, so saving postage)
* Am registering on another (less specialised) work platform... needs must.
* Dinner last night was stir fry to use up some beginning to be past it veg (and make some space in the fridge!); tonight I'm babysitting so will have something quick before I go. DH will be back after I've gone, so I'm hoping he'll have a mushroom omelette as we need to use some mushrooms!

Gratitudes:
* Blue sky today - always lifts my spirits
* A good film
* Electric blanket (it's sooooo good!)

Have a good day all!

Karmacat

Spends analysis was really good, and really interesting (uh, especially tooth powder for cats!  Nice one).  Nearly all of them are essential if you're living a present day life - I'm glad to see you buy bulk cards too  .

Sorry you got pinged though!  Here's hoping ... 

Watty1

Hope pinging amounts to nothing.  Interesting to read the spends / breakdowns.  I know I need to focus more on that and it is so helpful to read how others do. Thank you for sharing

themadvix

Thanks Karma and Watty. Karma, I bulk buy cards when I'm organised - it's much easier and saves multiple trips to the shop/spending more when I forget at the newsagent over the road. Toothpowder is the easy way out - I'm not going to try brushing their teeth! 😮

Watty, it's not something I normally do, but it is an interesting exercise every now and then. And given that I'm pleased with the amount I was able to save, it may be something I should do more often - I'll keep it up for now. It's certainly brought more awareness to how much I spend in the different categories.

themadvix

Afternoon all (where did the morning go?),

Feeling a bit frustrated/deflated about work today. I have had several projects to do this morning, but none of them large (and for now I'm done, although expecting a bit more later this afternoon). It just isn't picking up like I need it to and I'm fed up of having month after disappointing month. I've contacted potential new clients to no avail, I've asked about former projects that have now dried up post-pandemic and I'm doing all I can on the platform (I did also register on Fiverr yesterday, but after looking at the profiles of others in my field it just felt like it was full of race-to-the-bottom types who charge virtually nothing and can't do a good job/aren't doing it as a profession - haven't posted a 'gig' on there yet as a result). Short of going out and getting a 'proper' job and abandoning my business, I'm a bit at a loss as to what to do. And I *really* don't want to do that (nor do I have any idea what I would do). It may be that I'll have to find a part-time job in the new year though. Hopefully only short term. The problem is, something like that then impacts my availability for my clients, which can cause other problems. 

(Really need my unwell friend to get back to work and sort out some temp work for me - but appreciate her health is more important!)

(Sorry, I don't expect anyone has any answers, just having a bit of a moan.)

Anyway....

Have ordered £20 of JL vouchers from RM survey rewards. Who knows when they'll arrive as the rewards company appears to be struggling, but hopefully before Christmas. I can use them in WR as well as JL, so for food for Boxing Day if need be, as well as presents. I bought Dad and fiancee's present yesterday from V1rgin experience days (10% off voucher used) and 2 activity books for Niece to start her present off.

MS things:
* Clicks done (won 26p on HW)
* Free bottle of juice from the milkman
* Work has been better today (but none yesterday at all!)
* Remembered to use other cc to get Airtime rewards on spend at Wilkos yesterday

Gratitudes:
* Enjoyed a Netflix recommendation for Charite last night while babysitting
* Niece was happy that I was babysitting (I only saw her for a couple of minutes, mind you!)
* Haven't had PCR results back but still feel fine (I should, I've had three jabs!)

Have a good day all.