Getting a Grip on 2013

Cinny91

Hope everyone has had a good weekend!

I finally got that darn spreadsheet done! Also set up a loose budget for next month, and had a little talk with OH about his wage flip. Looking at it brutally honestly, we need to save £1,200 to get us through that month. So I've decided to not switch my car, even though it'd be a straight swap value wise there's extra insurance and road tax which we just can't afford considering it's not a necessary.

OH is going to talk to his bosses tomorrow about making sure it's 100% going ahead. If it is we'll be putting the loan account on hold, focusing on saving that £1,200 up before the end of April. It will be hard but we both seem more motivated from the talk! We're going for a £20 a week budget for Groceries which will be an extra £80-100 a month to save. We'll get there, it'll just be a bit more difficult than expected and it might mean we aren't debt free until December. Yikes!

Cinny91

My Dad is on the warpath today and has enlisted my help. In all honest I think he's having a bit of a crisis in thinking he'll be retiring in x amount of years and is wanting to work a thousand times harder to somehow ward it off! He's gone to a car auction tonight, with the idea of buying and selling cars. I have the very strenuous task of valeting every car as the end product and keeping them clean until they sell. That, I can do! Was seriously worried he was going to ask me to do something more technical. I mean, I know how to check oil and other levels, top bits up and change my filters (thank you super scrimpers!) but no more than that. He's also going to be fixing up our family rental properties (the more I type the more I seem to be coming off as middle class here, I'm really not!) to sell on. It's another case of bring the only female offspring who's interested in the family company in to clean, but it all leads to extra money at the end result. It's a work for free for now, get paid when the money comes in. But it'll mean some very irratic but hopefully decent sized payments coming in so that's some new exciting news!

Bad news is Ryder's paw is bleeding again! Not very much and it stops very quickly but I had a near heart attack after he went out for his morning business! He's still at the vets for le snip on Wednesday (which I'm hopefully going to be able to pay for in cash without touching the EM :j) so I'm going to ask them to look at it then for me. Today marks 20 days since it happened. It should be healed by now!

Had a little weekend of victory. OH and I both totalled up our wages and I made more than him last week. And not just by a little, by £40!:T It was a one off thing though, the joys of scrapping. But on an average week now. If I work my maximum hours. I'll only be £10 behind him on the wage front girl power etc etc!

Will admit that with working extra hours my de junk challenge has stopped, if not died a frosty death, these past few days. Need to get back on top of that! FlyCinnying is going well too, the house is spotless which is so nice. Spending diary is 100% up to date to the penny, and today is a NSD. Doubting I'll reach 15 by the end of the month but I can try! Back to feeling super positive. Reading my last 2 posts back I seem a bit aimless and glum. Not good!!

Cinny91

Yesterday went far better than expected! Ryder's OP cost £82.50. Well, well below what I thought it would be. Spent over our challenge on the food shop - although our grocery spend for the month so far is only £86.66. Number of the beast but that I can deal with!

Getting my wages for job no 2 paid into my bank now. Will make saving a lot easier. Looking forward to February when we can start making a dent on saving that creepy looking £1200.

Not a great deal else to report. Still waiting on the musicmagpie money, that's taking a lifetime! Hoping I'll be able to pay the full amount of my road tax next week, will be a big accomplishment next to all the vet bills and extra gas. If it wasn't for the accidents, and the general unprepareness that would have been £377 to save this month. So that's a big positive to focus on for next month!

I've been looking it through, as I want some more goals for February and I think I might set a target of getting the EM account up to £1000. It's a little bit, if not majorly out there. But I've worked out a plan for £300 from my wages. Then we have our council tax break (99% sure we do anyways?) so there's another £115. We'll just have to find a way to magic up the rest!

Birdie85

Hope Ryder's not feeling too bad about his ordeal!

You're doing so well with all the savings and paying things off! :T I'm sure you'll hit £1k in February no problem.

I'd forgotten about the Council Tax break, whoop whoop! Nice things for Birdie!

The note you put with the book made me LOL BTW! :rotfl:

Cinny91

I thought you'd like it, Birdie!! And thanks, I hope we manage it!

Thought I'd do a quick update before I go to work. Having acupuncture tonight after work so I'm hoping I don't react badly to it.

Got paid the "big" 4 weekly wage from Job No1, so I've put £75 to one side for my personal bills next month, and I apparently have my H&M account to pay to the princely sum of £20.64. I thought I'd been really cheeky and got away without paying, I must have clicked on account rather than card when I bought those clothes in December. Damn and blast it! Also put £11.93 in my car (I can't be the only one who puts a seemingly random amount in their car to get rid of loose change?!) Need to update my spread sheet again! Looking forward to adding everything up on Wednesday and see how the month went. I feel like such a derp.

Also my Mum, Sister and I have decided to do a craft fair in April. My Mum selling knitted things, my Sister selling these stupidly adorable sock bunnies she makes and I've settled on baby bibs and felted mug cosies. So I've spent £17 on felt, glue, mugs and bibs. But if everything sells for what I want it to there should be a little profit!

Actually have some spare money this week. I feel all... minted. It's only £22.25 but it's nicer than a slap in the eye. OH gets paid today too so I'll update all the bank account totals and everything else later.

No major plans this weekend. I'm working tomorrow, and taking Ryder for his junk check up. Sunday I'm going to help my Sister clear her wardrobe out, get some things on ebay and steal the rest for myself. :A And then we're staying up for the Royal Rumble Sunday night, or should that be Monday morning?! Will stay away from posting on that day as I'll be fueled my Monster Ripper and talking more nonsense than normal Hope everyone has a good one!

Cinny91

Phew, got all my spreadsheets up to date this morning!

Things are looking pretty hopeful for me getting my car tax paid in one chunk too :j I'll drink to that!

Spent most of the weekend getting my etsy shop set up, and I have things listed too. Have a couple more things to fire and get put up there, hopefully by the end of today.

Decided to curb a massive fear too. Singing in public! I'm asking everyone and anyone for help towards buying a guitar. I used to play a little when I was about 12. But my plan is to learn some of my Sister and her OH's favourite songs to sing at their party over here (or wedding, if they decide to get married here again!) After speaking to a lovely friend (known on here as Zig, I know she's creepin' :hello:) I've decided as this year won't be spent doing amazing things in terms of the places we want to travel to, or the things we want to do, I'm going to make a big effort to get the small things done I've always wanted to do. Opening an Etsy shop, learning the guitar again. I haven't sang in public since I was about 11. 10 years ago!

OH got a follow up meeting tomorrow so we're not staying up for the Royal Rumble. However, we're staying up tomorrow night after I get in from work (About 9:30pm) so we'll be up till about 4 am regardless, as we'll end up watching the follow up Raw. I was looking forward to it, but I can't complain. Everything's he's doing at work now has the potential to double his income, so roll on May if that works.

Got that pesky bill paid and all the accounts sorted. Phew! Have put £10.77 into the EM fund to kick start the £1200 (£500 in February) Double checked my bill money for February and it's all systems go. Which I like very much! All we need now is money for food and savings.

Ryder is 100% discharged from the vets No more weekly check ups, he was such a star too. Wagging his tail, sniffing everyone. Sat perfectly in the waiting room, then we got moved away from an "aggressive dog" that wasn't MY dog into one of the vets rooms. And he sat perfectly again, wagging his tail when the vet walked in! :T

kansaskitty

Hey Cinny, glad to hear you're really focusing on some goals, Etsy and singing sound great, how wonderful to have two talents! You've also used your FlyCinnying to help your sister too, so it must be going well/addictive!

It's a shame about the Rumble, but you'll have the night after to enjoy together and like you say, at the moment income needs to come first. It'll all pay off in the end my dear!

Love the way you said 'better than a slap in the eye'. My Granddad always used to say it's better than a slap in the face with a wet lettuce leaf! I love that one. Although I said it to someone the other day and they said 'oh I don't know, that sounds quite refreshing' !!!

Glad to hear Ryder is all perfectly healed, and I know how proud you must be that he wasn't the disruptive dog, it's a big moment isn't it!?

KK xx

Cinny91

kansaskitty wrote: »

It's a shame about the Rumble, but you'll have the night after to enjoy together and like you say, at the moment income needs to come first. It'll all pay off in the end my dear!

Exactly! And even better when we actually manage to go watch it live. When the debt's gone and we're building up wealth and deciding where we want to travel and things we want to do, it's pretty high up on the list. Well, after Wrestlemania!

I get that saying from my Gramps, actually. OH says I come out with really weird words/sayings though. Like "Got to keep wolf from t'door" "Close but no cigar" then I say scrattin' fettlin' rawpin' ... and generally use words for completely different meaning than I'm meant to!

Was 100% a big moment. He's always so naughty, and I know he's only being playful, but with his looks and size people just think he's aggressive. And in all fairness, his bark sometimes makes me jump too when I'm not expecting it. Was trying to sneak a nap in yesterday, was all snuggled down on the sofa with my slanket, drifting away into a nice little world of dreamness and then BOOM, next thing I know Ryder's launched himself onto the sofa and I've got 37kg of animal pinning me down. I think he's been watching Cat Wakeup videos on Youtube while I'm at work..

Paid from Job No2 today, and while I've borrowed £40 from the bill account (to be paid back on Friday, honest!) it's all systems go for a years road tax. Very pleased with that!

Pulled up lots of yummy sound recipes for us to try next week. Mainly Mexican or classic southern recipes - what can I say?! My idea of meal planning with purely new recipes to fool OH sure is working Need to sneak 5 minutes before I leave work to get a list written up. Hate shopping "blind" now!

Bad news is I've caved on getting two tattoos I've been mulling over, planning and re-planning for a while now. I've put the deposit down (a princely £5 ) and this time next week I'll be getting all nervously excited! I've been promised it won't be more than £75 on the day, so it will mean our savings take a hit. But as I don't go out out with my friends half as much as OH does, or take from the budget for smoking etc, we decided I deserve a little something something Hoping I'll still be able to save about half our weekly target, and still make our goal of £500. Will post pictures as part of my creativeness on the Ultimate's February Challenge FB page!

Birdie85

That's a fab way to show off your creativeness Cinny! Talk about committing to the challenge! Keen to see what you have done and you're right, you deserve a treat from time to time.

Good old Ryder being all well behaved at the vets! :T Hope he got extra cuddles and treats for that! I take it he's forgiven you for le snip last week?!

squinky

Fab news on the etsy shop and well done on singing in public. Great start to 2013