Squeaky spreadsheet diary

elantan

I'm the same tiglath, I was asked if I wanted to join the secret Santa in work, my reply , if I won't spend £10 on a present for the man I live what makes you think I would spend £10 on someone I can't stand, went down like a lead balloon that did lol

Tiglath

Just stunned myself at how lovely couscous is; I'd never really had it, and DH has always sworn he'd never eat it again on the grounds that it's like bland mushy sand. Did a 100g sachet of lemon & coriander couscous from Lidl (39p bought a couple of months ago) with a couple of lamb steaks from the freezer and roast Mediterranean veg (onions, mushrooms, peppers, carrots). Yum scrummy yum - if I do my own couscous from scratch from a 1kg bag and jazz it up a bit flavourwise, it's going to cost a whole 7p for a 50g portion ... I'm officially in love, and my tummy doesn't feel heavy the way it does after pasta, bread, rice or potatoes. Couscous + bits for work lunches here I come! I'm thinking shredded remains of roasts, stirfry veg, chopped dried apricots, nuts, pesto, fresh herbs from the garden, lemon juice, dressings ... it'll be a great way to make meat stretch further or make it completely veggie and still satisfy DH's enormous appetite. I feel like I've won the jackpot

lurvlyloz

loving you diary tiglath.

good luck

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Tiglath, we are fans of cous cous as well. Easy to do and mmmmm. Loads of variations and the kids love having left overs for lunch, as well as me :T

Best wishes Tilly

Tiglath

It's funny how all this is changing me in the space of a few weeks - this really is a genuine LBM, not a halfhearted one. I feel (happily) as if I'm living my life with a magnifying glass at the moment focusing on the very small things and literally counting pennies. I'm logging every single thing I buy. I think it's outrageous that the local Tesco have increased Reeses butter cups from 59p to 62p since September as that's my weekly treat. Their yellow sticker stuff is now not much of a bargain because they're ramping up the 2 for £5 type things and the reductions aren't spectacular. Their loss - they were a huge bargain when they first opened in July (probably a deliberate play to draw new customers in), but they're not fooling me because I can look back over groceries I've bought and prices I've logged since August.

I've done away with the concept of a weekly personal allowance completely but will allow myself little treats if I really want them within the household budget. I know food prices have been increasing for the past year or more, but I'm finding it pretty easy to shop for less with weekly meal-planning and shopping around. I'll happily walk 10 minutes to a different shop to save 18p on 4 pints of milk. It takes me back 20 years to when I bought my first flat and fed myself for £10/week. If I only need £10 for shopping, I'm not taking out £20 and I'm not paying by debit card. Dealing with cash means I shop really carefully. I'm much better dealing with tiny stuff - wouldn't know what to do with an investment portfolio.

I get a huge kick out of being organized - I find it really exciting. Who'd've thought I'd manage to reduce my overdraft by £200 by December payday, not take on any new debt since September, reduce the OD by a further £300 by the end of January, plus pay off 2 debts completely with a further £800 before Christmas? It seems quite unreal. Of course life could throw it all in the air, and I'll deal with it if it does, but I have a roadmap now and know where I'm going.

One tab on my spreadsheet acts as a diary and I list all the things I need to do the following day; I wouldn't trust my Blackberry and I'd rather see it on a spreadsheet. I transfer details to a little jotter and pencil in my bag if I need to so I don't forget anything.

I'm sleeping better than ever before, which really helps, although I miss the hour or so of reading I used to do before sleep; I'm zonking out early every night. I'm working my way through lots of free Amazon personal finance books courtesy of eReaderIQ - some are better than others. The only slight anxiety is the overdraft, but if they decide to yank it before I've paid it back in May, I'll try to negotiate something, and each month I reduce it the less of a disaster it would be. I admit I'll breathe more easily when the overdraft is gone. It pretty much all feels under control and I have peace of mind (and the balls to say No if something optional comes up that I don't want to do).

Yesterday was insane at work dealing with shipping counterparties on very tight deadlines - I managed to nibble a piece of cheese for lunch because I didn't have time to go and make toast for my tub of spread, and I eventually managed a bathroom break at about 3pm. Thankfully days like that are reasonably unusual.

I've planned my usual 2 weeks off from New Years Eve as I'm covering Christmas week, but unlike every previous year I've decluttered most of the house already and have my 'life plan' updated on the computer and already in motion, so those 2 weeks will be spring cleaning and relaxing (and possibly batch-cooking as I have my cooking mojo back). If weather permits, I'll start to reclaim the garden ready to grow veg.

Tonight is free dinner - DH's Hindu friends have invited us to an open evening at the local temple for storytelling and dancing. Should be interesting.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Morning, what a brilliant few weeks you've had and that feeling is amazing. How is your DH getting on with it all?

Tilly

lurvlyloz

Good Morning

you sound so positive and is great to read.

Good news that your new year will start on a positive note & carry on your excellent work fromt his year

Tiglath

DH is mostly just watching. He's always left the joint financial stuff to me (he only deals with the car - I don't drive, his personal debt and our charity donations) and I suppose it's a vote of confidence that I have the freedom to sort it out the way I see fit. I set the tone for our home life really; I suspect the woman does that in many a relationship, because I feel like the CEO of House Tiglath, on top of being the main earner. It mirrors the way my parents did things, for some reason - Dad got pocket money and left everything to Mum, and DH comes from a family line of strong energetic women and quiet men. Some guys just want a life with no dramas, whereas I'm the resident control-freak who feels naked without a list. He doesn't do lists but he does respond visually. A few years ago I got a huge piece of lining paper, pinned it to the table and drew a pie chart of the various areas in our life - we both added the kind of things we wanted and valued, and he was very enthusiastic about that. It may be time to do that again.

We do discuss things like changing insurers and buying big items. The financial side is a part of the whole 'life change' I've been going through the past couple of years. Lots of major medical stuff, 3 operations - the last spinal surgery 3 months ago. I reached the point where everything in my life needed to be overhauled because middle-age hit me like a ton of bricks and I was ready to just walk (or hobble) away. I knew if I didn't act we'd still have tens of thousands in credit cards and loans by the time we retire 20 years from now.

As long as he knows that his opinion is considered (or if I'm at least clever enough to give that impression ) he seems happy that I do the research and have a plan to dig us out of our hole and back into the light. He'd only really moan if he went hungry; if I dropped dead he wouldn't know how to feed himself properly and it'd be KFC every night. He thinks vitamins happen to other people. Once my debts really start going down, he may start the odd discussion on how he could do similar, and I'll be ready for that with practical suggestions. For now I'm deliberately not asking him things like what the current balance on his accounts are, but I do look at his statements when he leaves them lying around (and he doesn't have a problem with that). It's all in the tone of voice - if I start to hector he'll get snappy, but if I'm enthusiastic about finding a better deal for item X or managing to pay off debt Y, he's happy too.

Tiglath

Very pleasantly surprised - DH just handed over his latest bank statement and he's reduced his overdraft by £500, mainly by not spending as much on diesel. He won't do online banking and is never sure what's still to come out of his account, so apparently always errs on the side of caution. That's my boy

rising_from_the_ashes

Tiglath wrote: »

Just stunned myself at how lovely couscous is; I'd never really had it, and DH has always sworn he'd never eat it again on the grounds that it's like bland mushy sand.

I know - I was the same - and I love it now!:)

Tiglath wrote: »

DH just handed over his latest bank statement and he's reduced his overdraft by £500

:T:T Well done to DH!

You'll get there ....