In the words of Yazz...

Fudgefund

You are definitely right about the free apps PLMBL, I am a fool! I do find it strange that mobile games are even marketed towards three year olds, we are living in strange times.

Back for a quick update as I've been busy this week and not had chance to pop on. The budgeting is still going well but I have hit a massive snag which leads me to rue my decision not to have a small emergency fund (although I maintain I'd struggle to manage it anyway). After getting pretty fed up with laundrettes/lugging washing home we've agreed as a house to simply buy another washing machine. However, housemate number 1 has announced this today and that she's found the perfect one in the Argos sale, which ends on the 12th, three days before I get paid. I am going to have to tell her I simply cannot give her the money but I imagine she's going to moan a lot about this and probably have a good sneer at my finances. It's really frustrating - we've been sans washing machine for a couple of months now, why wait until three days before we both get paid?! :mad:

The annoying thing obviously is that I do have £60 sitting smugly in my account but that is for the blooming hotel for the night away with my Mum that I'm absolutely dreading. A lovely turn of events all round. :cool: I get paid in one week's time, I cannot wait to briefly have money even if it's not mine. I will definitely be keeping up my £60 a week budget, that's worked really well.

Mood wise this week I've been a bit out of sorts, although I've slept a lot better. I suppose it's just an emotional hangover from the weekend, I've also been eating far too much. With what seems like very little effort I've regained my 3 pounds again so I'm going to have to concentrate this week on getting rid of them again! Going to the seaside tomorrow, that infamous bastion of healthy eating. Oh dear.

Fudgefund

Evening everyone

Another quick update, after an expensive weekend on the coast with only my Mother for company. It went well actually, no fights, just the driving British rain right in our faces for a 4 mile walk up and down the promenade. Money wise I stuck to budget, although I forgot for some bizarre reason to factor in how much it would cost me to get to the seaside so I'm £16 down on what I thought I would be. This week is going to be as tight as my size 16 jeans, but I should get through, just four more actual days to go. I have my food and only need to pay for transport for 3 days, so I'm not unduly concerned. I can't wait to be paid, mostly to see my credit card go under the £2000 mark for the first time in about, ooh, seven years. :j

A big argument with DE blew up yesterday, he met up with my Mum and had a massive freak out because she suggested an activity involving her, DE, me and my 3 year old nephew in June. Apparently this hit his commitment nerve full on (although for some reason him suggesting meeting up with my Mum didn't have the same reaction). After we had despatched said Mum back to the train station we had a good old row in the middle of a traffic island in the rain for a good twenty minutes. I basically told him I wasn't willing to put up with his rubbish anymore and he needed to stop pretending this was a new relationship because we both know it's been nearly four years. Nothing annoys me more than when he won't refer to me as his girlfriend, it's ridiculous. Anyway, he apologised and now here I am, on a Sunday night of all nights, in his house. I think everytime he does anything like this I'm just going to have to speak my mind and not be afraid of what happens. There's no point in holding onto a relationship if you don't like what's going on. I keep hearing MuffinTops' phrase 'if you feel he isn't cutting it', in my mind and it gives me a bit of courage.

In other news I'm super annoyed with Orange who have decided to put my monthly phone contract up by the princely sum of £1.50 a month for no extra benefit. I'm amazed they can do this, but apparently they can so I'm just going to have to be annoyed by myself. :mad:

please-let-me-be-lucky

Good for you for sticking up for yourself :T

Glad things went ok with your Mum though Xx

*Robin*

Hello Fudgie, :hello:

Lovely to see you posting - think I missed a couple of updates recently and was getting a bit worried.

Is DE your on-off boyfriend [OOB]? If so, glad to read that you're changing the dynamic of the relationship, ie. not letting him walk all over you..
Still sounds like he's got some growing up to do though - arguing in public isn't good, and neither is denying your four year connection.. :mad:

..Remember you don't need him in your life; if he plays up, just remove yourself even if it's earlier than you'd arranged. After cutting short a couple of visits by leaving rather than arguing, even the thickest bloke [which I doubt he is] should get the hint.

Fudgefund

Thanks PLMBL and Robin. :A

DE = 'Dear Ex', but yes, he's also an OOB too. I am having to do a lot of foot putting down at the moment but a lot of it is establishing boundaries again. He certainly does have some growing up to do - he's three years younger than me, but he essentially is good at heart. I did threaten to leave him on the traffic island and go home but he asked me not to so I accepted his apology. In all fairness he appears to have taken on board my point about our over-arcing relationship and the fact my mother can't be expected to !!!!! foot around him!

I had a good day spending wise, £1 to a homeless bloke I felt sorry for because it's so cold. I read a very interesting article Russell Brand wrote at the weekend about how some people are just considerably more prone to addiction than others, and they deserve sympathy rather than contempt, and it struck a chord with me. Apparently he's trying to raise awareness of abstinence as a cure for alcohol and drug addictions for Comic Relief and he has had neither for 10 years which I didn't realise. I think if I'd been born into a different life my problems could be a lot worse. I really need to volunteer with that homeless charity and stop thinking about doing it rather than doing! I also spent £1 on some Cadbury's Eclairs (I so need to stop eating ).

Yoga was cancelled saving me £5, so all round not too bad. The washing machine issue has been put back to the weekend, so that's good news for me too. :T Still got to fork out £66 for the blooming thing but luckily this is my month off my hairdressing costs.

Fudgefund

Payday yesterday. :j

Having made it through Frugal February by a whisker, it seems March is going to present me with a whole new set of problems. I cannot wait until I get paid and the money isn't already spent. The washing machine ended up costing me £70 with delivery, and I have spent £55 on train tickets home for Easter (I put off buying them after the horrendous weekend with my Mum a few weeks ago but my Dad talked me into going home again). This means it's cost me a bit more than booking further in advance, but I'm not going to dwell on it. I failed massively last month in my final target - to not let my overdraft charges take me over my overdraft limit so that's another £43 to find this month but I am DETERMINED to do it this time. One positive thing is that due to my budgeting and leaving my money in my account week by week, my overdraft interest is only £22!! It's usually roughly £27 so I'm really pleased there. The big news is though that I am...

In the 1's with my credit card at £1700! The last time I saw a 1 in front of my balance I was 23! This makes all the whinging worth it. :rotfl:

I keep thinking back to my mad month in late Jan/early Feb and it makes me realise how easy it is to slip into old ways. I am trying really hard to learn a lesson from this and to use it to keep me on the straight and narrow.

This weekend I have zero plans as everyone I know it seems has left the city, leaving me on my own. I'm using this time to save and I feel quite replete sorting some stuff out and trying to eat vegetables. I had a good cry at Comic Relief and gave £10 which I won't need to worry about until I get my phone bill next month, and I'm about to start the long tidy in my bedroom. It's so nice having the house to myself.

please-let-me-be-lucky

Brilliant news about being in the 1's for your credit card :j Well done.

It's free listing weekend on eb@y this weekend and the last chance to beat the post office price increase when posting after they sell. Bear that in mind when you are tidying your room. Anything surplus to requirements can be stuck on eb@y and if it doesn't sell, nothing is lost Xx

Fudgefund

Thanks PLMBL. I have to say though, I have a fear of eBay and have never sold a single item on there. I talked a good game somewhere near the beginning of this diary I think, but I still never did anything. Some of the more proactive members of this forum would probably have a field day in my bedroom and the lifetime of rubbish contained therein, but for now it stays where it is. Most of the things I could sell are clothes that no longer fit - seems too much like giving up all hope.

And on the subject of weight... me and DE have come up with a plan to hopefully both lose a bit. He is by no means a chubber, but at 6ft he weighed 11 stone when I met him, and he's now up to 13 stone which leaves him just short of overweight on the BMI scale. He's like to lose his belly, and I'd like to lose my, well, everything, so we're in it together. The plan is to have our first weigh in on Thursday and write our weights down (I am dreading this, I've never ever told him how much I weigh and to his credit he's never passed any comment). From there on in everytime someone loses a lb, a pound goes into a jar, and the first person to lose a stone gets the money. If any weight is gained, the person has to put £2 into the jar. I'm hoping someone else knowing what I weigh will spur me into action. I'm also hoping DE finding out I'm over 15 stone won't spur him into walking out the door. :rotfl:I will keep a record on here of how I get on.

I've spent £10 today on more groceries, so looking good for keeping under budget this week. Also cleaned the bathroom, done my bedroom so all that remains is to polish my halo.

please-let-me-be-lucky

Even more reason not to buy multipacks of chocolate bars! You will need every spare £ to pay for your lost lbs! Double whammy!

Love the fact you still need to polish your halo :rotfl:

MuffinTops

Hopefully that can also motivate you with the walk to work, thereby gaining even more.

Well done FF. That's a big step forward in both your journey and your relationship. You're doing great!

MTx