London Dreams

MoneyQueen

Start of a new month - this one will run from 23rd Oct to 22nd Nov. This one is going to be expensive as we have a special anniversary this month. I have ordered a present for DH which costed £111.16

In addition, I ordered some LED tea lights for £3.65

Expenses under various heads now are

Monthly Expenses

Parking: £5
Grocery: £1.10

Yearly Expenses

Birthdays/ Occasions: £111.16
House Maintenance: £77.45

MoneyQueen

It seems I did manage to open the tesco 2% cash ISA before it was withdrawn. i was filing in the application form but lost internet connection in between and the next day it was withdrawn so assumed I had missed the boat with that one. But apparently I was at such a state in the application process that I had saved the application when I lost the connection. They sent me a letter yesterday to confirm that the account has been opened at 2% :j. All I need now is to fund it. As DH's account is at 2.5%, I am going to fund that first and then this one.

I have also found the missing £56 in one of my handbags yesterday. Apparently DH had put them there so as to have a bit of cash in the house and conveniently forgotten all about it!!!! The only issue now is that I have found £110 instead of £56!!! I am assuming I had done a bit of mistake in counting it the last time I did it.

I have also invested in a £7 jeans from primark as none of my clothes will fit me till I loose the post baby weight. I am a size 10 but could only fit into a size 14 jeans now :eek:. Atleast, I will be out of my maternity clothes/ jogging pants now. I have 22 lbs to loose

There have been a few other expenses but I need to check the receipts for them

MQ

mouche

You're doing really well MQ and are so focused, it's impressive. I am going to try and keep track of everything spent as well. I do already but not in quite as much detail as you do and I can see how the detail would be useful.

I'm sure you use your own tracking methods but I have found the toshl app very useful for tracking spending.

MoneyQueen

Thanks Mouche

I used to use "Spending Diary" in the pre-IPAD era on my laptop and now use an App called "Spending" which I have found to be alright. Though I am planning to go old style and use an actual diary as I already spend too much time on my ipad/ iphone and secondly, I have got a diary which is just taking space in the bedside drawer. I have downloaded TOSHL though and will have a look. Thanks for that.

MQ

MoneyQueen

DH's present has arrived and stupid amazon have sent it in its own box so the surprise element is gone as DH received it and instantly knew what it was. I am so disappointed with Amazon as I had specifically mentioned that it was a gift. In addition, the box also didn't contain the message with the gift that I had asked them to include with it :mad:

MoneyQueen

I have had a look at some of the receipts now and my dad spent £3.17 in Aldi yesterday for some fruit and salad. I haven't paid him for everything that he has spent while he has been with us but am including that in the expenses. In addition, DH also spent £48.07 for fuel for the car. £5 was spent on car parking. Around £65 was spent in B&Q by DH but he doesn't know the exact amount yet and has left the receipt in the car so I will add that later. I also bought a top in size 12 for me to go with the new jeans from Next for £25. I am sure it will still fit me even after I have lost the extra weight hence have invested in a good one as i will be wearing it for long unlike the size 14 jeans. I have also transferred £2,234.94 to DH's Cash Isa account taking the total balance to £3012.87.

Various expense heads as of now:

Monthly Expenses (specifically for this month)

Parking: £10
Grocery: £4.27
Car Fuel: £48.07
ISA savings: £2,234.94

Yearly Expenses (running totals from the start of the year)

Birthdays/ Occasions: £111.16
House Maintenance: £77.45 (still to include latest B&Q's spend)
Clothes shopping £215.23

DH's work has also arranged for short term counselling for both of us as we are not able to cope with the sorrow. My GP thinks it's too early for counselling as everything is so raw at the moment but I am willing to give it a go as we are not able to sleep much at night and I cry most of the day. DH couldn't control himself at work when someone who didn't know congratulated him on the birth of our son and asked how our son was doing and to share some photographs. I just need to phone them so that they can assess our needs before they schedule the sessions.

MQ

gallygirl

I hope the counselling helps you both get through this difficult time x

MoneyQueen

Thanks gallygirl. I so hope that they work for DH's sake at least.

I haven't been able to post end of month balances before pay day so the following does include this month's pay. To keep it consistent, I will always update the balances after the salaries have gone in the current accounts. I also noticed that I hadn't included the cash and current account balance in the start of the month update so have added them now.

DH's credit card: - £114.81 debit
Mortgage: - 57,377.85 debit

DH's Cash ISA at 2.5%: - £11524.17 credit
DH's this year's Cash ISA at 2.5%: - £3012.87 credit
My 5 year cash ISA at 5% until July 2014: - £8779.28 credit
DH's 5 year cash ISA at 5% until July 2014: - £12867.95 credit

My 1 year bond at 2.75% that is maturing on 13th Oct 2013: - £3154.54 credit
DH's 5 year bond at 4.12% until November 2014: - £3781.76 credit
My 5 year bond at 4.12% until November 2014: - £3499.54 credit
My 5 year bond at 4.4% until April 2016: - £5346.20 credit
My regular Saver at 4.5% which has matured: - £3106.54 credit
Dh's regular Saver at 4.5% which has matured: - £3106.39credit

Current Accounts: - £1341.06
Cash (Notes + Coins): - £351.65

Totals

Cash ISA: - £36,184.27 credit (A)
Non ISA Savings: - £23,687.68 credit (B)

Debts: - £57,492 debit (C)
Current House Value: - £145,000 (D)

Savings Goal for House Deposit: - £274,000 (E)
Balance still to save in six years: - £162,804.32 (E+C-B-D)

Will update my signature now

MQ

MoneyQueen

I have not been able to find the receipt from B&Q in the car but my dad thinks it was £69.90 so that's what I am putting it in as.

Various expense heads as of now:

Monthly Expenses (specifically for this month)

Parking: £10
Grocery: £4.27
Car Fuel: £48.07
ISA savings: £2,234.94

Yearly Expenses (running totals from the start of the year)

Birthdays/ Occasions: £111.16
House Maintenance: £147.35
Clothes shopping £215.23

Jevvers

MQ I just read back through your diary. I am very sorry for your loss, what terrible grief you must be feeling. It's still such early days and I'm sure any counsellor will tailor their advice to your situation. All the best and look after yourself
J