I refuse to be skint forever!!

menina

Well hello and happy new year all! :beer: May 2013 be the year in which we make some good progress down the (somewhat rocky) path to being debt free :T

Firstly, an apology. I realise that this is a forum and therefore others will probably (hopefully!) read this diary. I do feel that my ramblings may not be all that interesting sometimes. Having lurked on this forum for some time though, I can see how helpful having a diary like this could be, so purely selfishly, I will be inflicting my ramblings on the MSE community, hence the apology!!

A bit about me....

Despite being an otherwise organised and rational person, I have always been terrible with money. Living for the moment and at times living each day as if it were my last would be a pretty accurate description. This attitude to life has landed me with about 9 grands worth of credit card debt and also a sizeable unsecured loan. Although, lots of good memories it has to be said...So, I'm 33 now, would like in the next couple of years to have a baby but with all that debt?? Not an ideal situation....

I've always liked a quick result, so I've decided to set my self a challenge for 2013. 30 weeks of frugality. I've calculated that living like this will shift my credit card debt and then I can have a think about the loan. It's going to be tough for sure as clearly I am in the habit of not being frugal in the slightest!! But it will be worth it for sure. I would LOVE to get those cards paid off!!

Bye for now x

Piquant_2

Hello and welcome to diary land! You'll get plenty of help and support here, a lovely bunch of people!

Piq

menina

Aaaah, so glad it's Friday! Am currently nursing a sore throat, watching celeb bb and pondering my money saving activities of the week.

I cycled to work until I needed a pump for my tyre (currently don't have one, will get a cheap one tomorrow). I bought my lunch from home to work, until today when I got completely bored of what I'd made- will sort out my kitchen cupboards/fridge at the weekend. So definitely baby steps in the right direction.

Have been perusing the quick grabbit board and have not given into the temptation to order a sanctuary gift set or any shoes from office. Both of which would've been very enjoyable and bargainacious, but would have involved spending money and plus I don't actually need either item. I would like to buy a pair of Toms for summer but am determined to wait a bit longer to see if I can get an even bigger bargain.

Now, how not to blow it all at the weekend. I feel that the aforementioned sore throat will quell the urge to venture out into the night, as I have been feeling more rough of an evening- every cloud hey!! I actually think I have enough to keep me busy close to home which will not cost any money or maybe only very little. The real challenge will come either when I'm feeling better, or when I'm bored of the cheap options. I'll be browsing your diaries for some tips if you don't mind folks!

Have a lovely evening every one, bye for now x

menina

Hmmm, ended up in the shopping centre today..

I went to pick up my order from M&S (placed before my 30 weeks of frugality). So I came away with that and also a pair of shoes from a different store. They were only £23 and something that I'd had my eye on for ages when full price (£80) and something that'll last me for years to come so I'm not feeling too guilty. And it's Saturday night. And I'm at home, about to go to bed and read a book!! So although I did buy the shoes, my spending is definitely way down on what it'd normally be for a weekend.

Things to do tomorrow:

Use O2 moments ticket to go and watch twilight. Think I have enough points on my Odeon card for hubby's ticket too.
Post my old winter coat on ebay.
Do not go to the pub under any circumstances!!
Cook at home. (Do not go out for a meal under any circumstances either!!)
Don't spend money on snacks in the cinema, go to the supermarket first.
Prepare some food for my work lunches.
Hopefully look back and feel pleased that I had quite a cheap weekend!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday night...

Bye for now x

DrSqueeze

menina wrote: »

Firstly, an apology. I realise that this is a forum and therefore others will probably (hopefully!) read this diary. I do feel that my ramblings may not be all that interesting sometimes. Having lurked on this forum for some time though, I can see how helpful having a diary like this could be, so purely selfishly, I will be inflicting my ramblings on the MSE community, hence the apology!!

No need for any apology, your diary might give other people some ideas and inspiration - so go for it. :T And good luck with your money plans.

menina wrote: »

So I came away with that and also a pair of shoes from a different store. They were only £23 and something that I'd had my eye on for ages when full price (£80) and something that'll last me for years to come so I'm not feeling too guilty.

Shoes are a necessity, and you seem to have a good quality pair for a good price thanks to careful timing, so congratulate yourself on buying sensibly. It means you won't have to buy a pair at full price when the sales have ended.

menina

Hello all, I hope it was a good weekend?

I have done my best to make it a money saving weekend so here's the breakdown:

Saturday:
Shoes £23.70
Cheese £2.75
Bike pump £4.99

Sunday:
Lunch for hubby and I- £15.70
2x beers for hubby (I had tap water!!) £7.40
Essentials from Mr T- lemsip, bread, ham- £6.20
Sunday papers: £2.90

Total= £63.64

On the one hand, much less than I'd usually spend. We'd usually go for a night out with all the trimmings and have a much more expensive meal out on top of this.

On the other hand, still more than I'd like.... I guess had I not bought the shoes it would only have been £40.

I must get that coat on ebay soon as I can.... Will have to be Tuesday now as I've a busy day tomorrow. First work, then a leaving do in a restaurant. I've budgeted £20 for that (but would like to spend less if possible) and that'll be my spending done for the week. Cycle to work, bring lunch from kitchen cupboards and won't be going anywhere social until Sunday evening.

Bye for now xx

menina

Quick update, just to help myself to really see where all my money is going!!

Monday:
£13 for hubby for his food etc- should tide him over to pay day though
£10 spent on dinner at leaving do
£3.49 lunch at work

Tuesday
£3.49 lunch at work
£7.49 rain coat (as seen on grab bit forum)


So I can see my taking food to work plan hasn't worked! Have also taken public transport to work both days. I've not included that in my spending as it was credit I had on my travel card anyway. In my defence, I've had a rotten cold and its been hard to get it together at times.

Back on track tomorrow I hope.

Bye for now x

menina

Cycled to work today, still paid £3.49 for lunch though. Have just cooked lasagne so I'll take that in for the next couple of days. And cycle- I guess I got there in the end!!

Got some money refunded to my card from a Christmas wine delivery that never turned up (£20). Also got a £10 goodwill voucher from the company. Nice to have some money coming back in...

Bye for now x

DrSqueeze

menina wrote: »

then a leaving do in a restaurant. I've budgeted £20 for that (but would like to spend less if possible)

menina wrote: »

£10 spent on dinner at leaving do

Look at the positives, you managed to keep the leaving do cost down. So that will offset some of your "overspend" on lunches. You could use this week as your "starting point" and try to squeeze costs next week by spending a little less by comparison.

Anyway, hope the cold's getting better and don't be too hard on yourself. Economising can be quite a lifestyle change and these things take a little getting used to.

mum2one

Hope your feeling better from the cold, it sounds like your doing really well, don't forget its hard to change when things become habit such as lunch at work, and money saving does get some getting use to.

Ramble as and when u need to, as I find with my diary where I don't feel like Ive done brilliantly on the mse front look at that and realise I did well maybe in a different manner xx

amyloofoo

Congratulations for all the good work and hope it pays off for you in 2013. I'm another poster who's concerned about finances before having a baby so hopefully your moneysaving and debt clearing can prove to be a lucky inspiration!