January's Big Financial Freeze!!!

nannygladys

Hi everyone, just lost my post:mad:

Anyway gist was: updated sig with a couple more nsd's and feeling a bit down not being able to afford a holiday this year when all at work seem to be booking theres, roll on 2014 when I can perhaps afford one:)

Anyway onwards and upwards, slowly getting there, get paid this Friday but budgets are to last until end of January so I hope I make it:)

We all seem to be keeping positive about this challange and I am looking forwards to the February one:D

Jxx

gien

I've been keeping my head down and continuing down the frugal path.
I'm a bit depressed about next month which will be tight again, but taking heart from actually realising how little we have spent this month - the budgetting and planning have paid off and my bills have been very little.
Payday is Friday so things ease a little then, but I still need to keep an Eagle eye on the spends.

Oompa_Loompa_2

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Hi all

Feeling down. Had worked it all out to the last penny and was going to pay £300 extra off the cards at the end of the month. Then I noticed the tyre on the car seems to be going flat so I called into the garage. Yes I have a nail in my tyre but it desperately needs replacing - and so does the other front tyre. £120 gone.
Off to look at my spreadsheet and see how I can juggle things. I dont really want to dip into my paltry emergency fund - I am trying to get the balance built up! Ah well.

Chin up. These things happen and it's just bad luck, but it's frustrating when you are so keen to meet a target to bring your debt down and kick it into shape.

Think of this as a temporary blip - like the dieter who has one bad day but gets back on track the next (the alternative is letting one bad day ruin the whole diet, when the one day doesn't really matter, but the OVERALL EFFORT is what counts!)

NinjaSavingKat

Good Day to you all!! L2B I laughed out loud with that comment about the kitchen looking like a hamster cage!! Brilliant!!

People seem to getting RIGHT on top of the budgeting which is what warms the cockles of my NSK heart! It does take time for it all to work out and some persons way of doing things might not be the way you do...Siouxsie I think it's cause I am tired your post confused me but I think I know what you mean... I think you do you configurations the same way I do as my wage changes on a monthly basis, I have the basics worked out before the BIG DAY then it's a mad scrabble to get it down to the last penny. I am an honest to goodness down right boring scrooge and if there ain't money there for it I am not going, not paying, not visiting, not contributing and not joining in.. so there! :rotfl:

I am rid of my CC and Overdraft and yes it is a great feeling but every little counts and for those that are finding January hard just wait until I kick your derrière in February...
......KIDDING!!!..:rotfl:

I have some serious long days ahead of me, praying snow doesn't keep me home bound at the weekend so I can earn some extra money. That will mean I am working for at least 12 days without time off.. MONEY MONEY MONEY....:T:T:T

Yorkshirelass your safety is more important and these car issues ( bike issues for me ) come up ALL the time. Don't feel bad, I had to pay £120 in December cause I dropped my bike in the snow when I KNEW full well I should not have gone out and THEN had to pay £70 for a train ticket for the week...Grr!

Abundant I go through herbal teas like fresh air. Buy some honey and stir it in .. they taste lovely. SO much better! Leave out the take outs and get yourself some more rice cakes...:rotfl:

Lion I am loving the pizza dough making. I am lazy and just use large pitta breads.. weedling out alcohol will take time and yes it is a large portion of your budget. As you move down the line you will become more ruthless and cut down or get super cheap wine... better still Abundant has some herbal tea bags you could use...:p

Fluffy I want one of those bags a lot and would get a black or brown too. Gotta be one of those that you can use with any outfit. Good choice!!...

Right I need to hit the hay... more soon folks.. Keep me updated on all your shenanigans.... another NSD for me thank goodness..

Onwards and Upwards!!

Cranny44

Just a quick check in here...

Just had a tot up of the spending :eek:..... and not as bad as i thought considering i havent had a beady eye on it for most of the month..

Currently at £239.76 of my £295 food and petrol budget and just over a week to payday so should be do-able just need petrol tomorrow which will be about £25 and milk/bread/veg at weekend.

Although i cant say that for my sales shopping.... new warm clothing for me ond OH including nice long craghopper coat came in just over £300 and my boots/M and S sale bargains have covered most of my birthday/mothers day/and xmas 2013 pressies for £180.66 My local tat shop also had a sale on Hallmark cards and i bought £17 worth which also covers all cards needed for the year. I have reasoned that i now dont have to go out for last min pressies/cards and risk spending way too much..

As for budgetting my money its a hard one as DH gets paid weekly on a friday and i get paid monthly (last working day) so some months are def more flush than others especially if i dont get my travel sheet in on time ..

I try to work out what will be coming in we run 2 accounts my wage goes into one and his into the other - this is because we always used Halifax but our local one closed and DH was still paid by cheque so we had to open another one with local branch of santander so could get cheques cashed without travelling 20 miles to pay it in, luckily he gets a BACS payment now. So i work out DDs from each ac - one is mortgage and a CC and mobile phone, petrol and shopping and rest general DDs come out of other account. I have to do it this way so that each wage covers as much as possible. I then work out whats left from each account for the month and divide this into a weekly amount i then pay onto 2/3 credit cards. Its probably not the most effective way but i like to make weekly payments it keeps me going more than just once a month as i feel its such along time inbetween i get fed up easier... if that makes sense - psychological i know .

I struggle mostly with the NSDs as i like to go walking on an evening and call at Mr Ts at yellow sticker reduction time :T and so have to forfeit NSDs for this - but i like yellow stickers in my freezer more:D

Sorry that wasnt a quick update but i feel cleansed now after my confession........ :rotfl:

Oompa_Loompa_2

Cranny44 wrote: »

I struggle mostly with the NSDs as i like to go walking on an evening and call at Mr Ts at yellow sticker reduction time :T and so have to forfeit NSDs for this - but i like yellow stickers in my freezer more:D

Sorry that wasnt a quick update but i feel cleansed now after my confession........ :rotfl:

Me too! If that makes you feel any better!! :rotfl:

Kerfuffle

NinjaSavingKat wrote: »

Fluffy I want one of those bags a lot and would get a black or brown too. Gotta be one of those that you can use with any outfit. Good choice!!...

Thanks. I don't often do colours, although my handbag is red as it's made out of a recycled fire hose, but generally all my stuff is either black or brown. I'm just too cautious . I'm feeling pretty heated as The Satchel has been sitting in the Fedex facility in Calgary since Friday morning :mad:, I'm struggling to keep things in perspective at the moment

Cranny44 wrote: »

Sorry that wasnt a quick update but i feel cleansed now after my confession........ :rotfl:

Feeling better Cranny44? Good

nannygladys wrote: »

Anyway gist was: updated sig with a couple more nsd's and feeling a bit down not being able to afford a holiday this year when all at work seem to be booking theres, roll on 2014 when I can perhaps afford one:)

No holidays for us this year either, I'm on a mission to leave this debt in 2013 and not drag it into 2014, if that means going without a holiday (again) then so be it . Don't get too down about it nannygladys, we'll get there, one month down just eleven more to go.

Well we had a hat-trick of posters feeling down just now, hugs to YORKSHIRELASS, nannygladys and gien and anybody else who needs one. It's hard, but babysteps and we'll get there together.

:grouphug:

beckyboo1980_2

Morning everyone!
Clocked up NSD #18 yesterday so only 7 more to go till I hit the magic 25 - yay!!!
Been such a different month so far to the past few years. I get paid on Friday - we live for payday. By now in past months, wages have probably run out weekend just gone and any extras would now be going on the credit cards. This month, I have no intention of even touching my wages until the 1st Feb. I have plenty of petrol money left, even with our big visit to family 3 hours away this weekend and even though food has gone over, I should only need to spend a tiny amount more before the end of the month for milk/bread etc... So thrilled!
Started doing some projected calculations for the month ahead last night and had to keep doing them because I thought I was doing them wrong. Most months I make minimum repayments on the credit cards of approx £240-£260 plus at least £100/200 will have been put on the credit cards when we ran out of money at the end of the month.
HOWEVER, this month, I have just calculated that we will be able to pay off, wait for it........................................................................................................... £1000!!!!!!! Thank you, thank you thank you Kat for this amazing challlenge! I never thought that possible! AND, I won't have put ANYTHING on the credit card this month :j:j:j:j:j:j:j!
This is slightly tinged by the fact Mr Boo has just been made redundant and so I know that until he finds another job that pays somewhere near what he was on before we will definately be back to minimum payments and I don't even know how we are going to manage that at the moment. However, I feel like my whole attitude to money and spending has been completely changed and I feel as though I am starting to develop the tools to at least me in control as far as humanly possible. Determined to not to lose track as the minute that happens, things will start spiralling again.
Thank you sooooooooo much to all my fellow challengers on here. I feel like you are my little team of cheerleaders behind me everytime I say no to spending on something unnecessary. The support on here is amazing and reading about everyone's highs and lows has been an absolute lifeline. My new addiction is reading about how well we are all getting on as opposed to spending on unnecessaries!!!!
Lots of love to everyone. Keep safe and happy.
Beckyboo
XXXXX:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

nannygladys

Thanks Kerfuffle, I know its only a blip about the holidays but it just makes me realise what a fool I have been with money the last 10 years, I was left two decent amounts of money that slipped through my fingers on holidays, clothes and eating well, when if I had been sensible I would have paid the mortgage off and saved for my retirement in a couple of years time, instead I can only expect the state pension and the house isnt paid for until 2014:( I know its no use looking backwards and I have to keep positive but somedays its more difficult than others. One good thing that has come out of my problems is that my DD's are more sensible than me with money they save for what they want , have no debt (well uni fees) and even manage to save some, and thats all three of them:)

Anyway onwards and upwards, at work tomorrow after 2 days off, not looking forwards to it:(

Jxx

mayfair1985

beckyboo1980 wrote: »

However, I feel like my whole attitude to money and spending has been completely changed and I feel as though I am starting to develop the tools to at least me in control as far as humanly possible.

Was thinking about you t'other night! I'm so glad to hear you say the above. Nothing was ever won with a bad attitude (not saying yours was) and we'll be here for you, every step of the way!

Popping in for another confession. *deep breath*

So pre this i used to get my nails done, twice a month £30.00 total. I hate having grubby stubby nails. I've had plastic for as long as I can remember. An expense that had to go. So my l,ast time was just before christmas and then that was it, promise.

Anyways, the guy did them really well and they've only just got to the point where they are ready to come off. And I had a massive wobble last night and thought, 'I could just have them once more and start again next month'. But I went out at lunchtime and found a nail varnish that I saw and loved on someone else. IN THE POUND SHOP!! So I bought it. £1.00. Still not a necessity but I don't have any nail varnish or anything indoors, I've never needed it.

Do I need to say three hail Martin Lewis' to repent?

It could have been worse.

*Breath out*

So as they payslip is almost here, i've been doing some number crunching. We have a lot of things on next month that I refuse not to do. 2 more birthdays that are biggies, one long overdue night out. If I tell my Hubs no new shirt next month he might divorce me (to be fair he's bought 2 in 5 years). So may not be as great as i'd hoped next month, but shall still plow on none the less.

Happy Wednesday!