Pollyanna

ChopinonaBudget · 28 July 2014 at 9:00PM

Stuck to the meal plan tonight (falafels from the freezer, sweet potato mash and peas, very nice!)
A bit of petrol spent on getting to the summer school but now I know where I'm going I'll walk the rest of the week. Also a bit used on getting to friend's house to feed a moggy; that'll be for the rest of the week too.

Quite impressed with how this is going so far. Early days, but it's a start...

ChopinonaBudget · 29 July 2014 at 7:07AM

Paid £100 off the smile overdraft

might manage another bit from that before the end of the month but I'm not sure yet...

ChopinonaBudget · 29 July 2014 at 8:12AM

£27 came off the halifax card today

slow but sure wins the race! I'm impressed I can manage to clear anything this time of year, to be honest. Usually I'm struggling just to keep body and soul together with minimal work coming in till September. I'm not out of the woods yet as money doesn't really come flooding back until November, but I've got lots of private teaching till then

I'm now acutely aware my signature may not quite add up correctly as I'm trying to keep figures in my head whilst changing it on my phone. I'm not that bothered though as I have a much more accurate spreadsheet on my laptop

ChopinonaBudget · 29 July 2014 at 8:13AM

Oh and I've added £20 a week 'misc' to the budget, so that'll do for odds and sods

ChopinonaBudget · 29 July 2014 at 8:41AM

Oh and I've raised my fees for September, effectively giving myself a £1k payrise (sort of, it doesn't quite work like that, but it's a rough figure). I tend to only raise then every two years minimum by £1 then I don't have to fart about with 50p etc rises every year.

ChopinonaBudget · 29 July 2014 at 7:39PM

Just to remind myself...

Things I am changing:

1) No more ad hoc MacDonalds all over the place - £4.00 odd here there and everywhere add up to an awful lot over the course of a month

2) No more ad hoc eating out at the local creperie because I'm feeling too lazy to make lunch (£15 a go for me and daughter, ouch!)

3) Stick to my £20 per week 'misc' budget for odds and sods, and anything left over (HAHAHA) goes back onto the debts

4) Save enough money each year to pay my sodding tax bill instead of a) paying it on the credit cards, or b) saving half then raiding it in an emergency and paying it on the credit cards

5) Cut down on printing costs (massively! OUCH! :eek: )

I'll add to this list as I think of stuff

Oh and,...

6) Unless it's covered in my 'personal allowance' of £20 per month which will just about allow me enough money to get !!!!ed occasionally with friends, no alcohol for 18 months :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Now THAT's commitment to the cause.

ZTD · 29 July 2014 at 7:53PM

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

Just to remind myself...

Things I am changing:

1) No more ad hoc MacDonalds all over the place - £4.00 odd here there and everywhere add up to an awful lot over the course of a month

If they're here, there and everywhere, they will add up to an awful lot over a week.

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

2) No more ad hoc eating out at the local creperie because I'm feeling too lazy to make lunch (£15 a go for me and daughter, ouch!)

Ouch indeed.

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

3) Stick to my £20 per week 'misc' budget for odds and sods, and anything left over (HAHAHA) goes back onto the debts

How's this for an alternative? Since your misc budget now has "entertainment" mixed into it, why don't you roll it forward, so whatever you don't spend this week gets added onto next week?

That'll mean you don't have to raid anywhere when stuff breaks. Unless of course, you have stuff that breaks on a nice regular schedule, and not all at once. In which case I want it.

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

4) Save enough money each year to pay my sodding tax bill instead of a) paying it on the credit cards, or b) saving half then raiding it in an emergency and paying it on the credit cards

Start now.

Have you started? :rotfl:

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

5) Cut down on printing costs (massively! OUCH! :eek: )

How do you anticipate doing that? What do you print?

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

I'll add to this list as I think of stuff

Oh and,...

6) Unless it's covered in my 'personal allowance' of £20 per month which will just about allow me enough money to get !!!!ed occasionally with friends, no alcohol for 18 months :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Now THAT's commitment to the cause.

It is indeed - a public commitment...

ChopinonaBudget · 29 July 2014 at 8:23PM

ZTD wrote: »

How's this for an alternative? Since your misc budget now has "entertainment" mixed into it, why don't you roll it forward, so whatever you don't spend this week gets added onto next week?

That'll mean you don't have to raid anywhere when stuff breaks. Unless of course, you have stuff that breaks on a nice regular schedule, and not all at once. In which case I want it.

ah, I hadn't actually factored in 'stuff breaking' I'm in rented housing, so there's nothing massive that can go wrong, apart from the car, and I'm experimenting with costs for that at the moment as I have no idea how much to put by (I was without a car for many, many years, so I'm out of touch with car repair costs)

Start now.

Have you started? :rotfl:

I have! It's not much but it's a start! I'm about to go through the accounts and add it up as I've made a stupid mistake and opened a savings account with Nationwide whom I owe £5.5K on a credit card to, so I'm emptying that and trying to find one without right of offset. Not easy with my many £K debts spread over many different banks! :eek:

How do you anticipate doing that? What do you print?
Mostly stuff for students. They can print it themselves now. I'll email PDFs instead.

It is indeed - a public commitment...

LOVE THE PICTURE!!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

ZTD · 29 July 2014 at 8:55PM

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

ah, I hadn't actually factored in 'stuff breaking' I'm in rented housing, so there's nothing massive that can go wrong,

PC?

To be honest, it's usually the little bits going all at once, like needing a new mattress and a new TV together. Life seems to happen like that, rather than furnishings engaging in suicide pacts...

ChopinonaBudget wrote: »

apart from the car, and I'm experimenting with costs for that at the moment as I have no idea how much to put by (I was without a car for many, many years, so I'm out of touch with car repair costs)

With a car, if it's less than a couple of hundred quid, then you probably could have done it yourself.