The Ultimate February Challenge

Everhopeful09

Morning All,

I'm looking forward to this challenge, I need it to keep me on the straight & narrow! Even drafted a cash flow forecast this month! I'm on a temporary contract so being paid weekly and actually helps me budget easier.

Declared spends/budgets:
Food - £100
Petrol - £100
Beauty - use boots points or comes out of food budget, essentials only!
MOT - £££
Tax- £74.25 or £135 depends how much MOT is!
Trips - Friend visiting this weekend, will try to eat in & not shop! Trip to London & probably a couple nights out (will go insane if stay in with loved up housemate & her b'fd) - cost depends on bank balance & mot cost!

Eh xx

thriftylass

Still in a huff with BF. So this morning at coffee break I thought I need chocolate, and crisps, and ...half way up to the canteen I turned around, I'm not going to spend and ruin my first SFD with this. It might only be £2.67 but it's stuff for £2.67 I don't need. This month I'll just be more in his face about not spending (like I don't want a b'day present or tea) and making money to make up for his. So there..

At the least it makes me more determined rather than giving up on the month like in the past. Just have to sell more and hibernate more.

WantToBeSE

Hi all

Today is my 1st SFD :j

My budget for Feb is as follows:
£200-food (includes 1 trip to macdonalds. Although i think i may come in under budget for this) ALREADY SPENT £65.72
£100-Sons school trip
£20 pocket money
£60 petrol ALREADY SPENT £15
£20-half term activities.
£4 parking (for the 2 orthodontist appointments my son has this month)
£20-cleaning and personal items ALREADY SPENT £6.93

PurpleJay

Morning Everyone!!! Happy February - here we go!!!

I have just been over to the January thread to update. Now for February.

Declared spends/budgets.

Food and groceries (for 2 adults, 1 6yo and 3 cats): £200

Petrol (I can't drive for another 9 days at least): £100

Beauty: Will wait until March for hair cut. I have already ordered the following from Avon. Hair dye £2.80, bubble bath £1.20, 14 day skincare kit for holiday £2.40, beauty balm £4.90. Total £11.50.

Trips/treats: Lunch out on 4th with friend £12.00, budget for half term £30.00. Valentines lunch out with hubby £20.00 (will suggest we do this and split the bill instead of buying gifts). Pocket money £8.00. Skylander £8.00. Total £78.00.

Birthdays: 2 kids parties £7.50 each. £15.00. Aunty £10. Hubby £100 max (incl valentines card) - maybe less (no idea what to buy!). Total £115.00

Slimming world: £50.00 for 12 weeks membership (overdue as I haven't been because of my leg), 4 raffle tickets £2.00, 1 magazine £2.00. Total £54.00

Clothes: The boy needs school trousers, vests, pants, socks and shirts. Total £50.00

Dinner money: Paid up to half term so 1 week. Total £9.50. Football for March and school trip in Feb already paid for.

Vets: Kitten is at the vets for second lot of vacs this month but these are already paid for. Other 2 hopefully nothing this month. Total £0.

Total £618.00. Crikey it mounts up doesn't it?

Into one account go my tax credits and child benefit. These are used for everyday expenses along with any Avon profit which seems to get swallowed up here too.

In this account I have a number of 'pots' which are online savings accounts. I have £200 in total saved in the 'pots' labeled 'Hair/clothes" and 'Birthday/Xmas' so will take my beauty/clothes/birthday spends estimated at £176.50 from these bringing my total budget for the month down to £441.50 which should be doable.

My wages from my main job are taken up each month by our direct debits. They go into and out of one account. No council tax to pay this month and next should give me a bit of a safety net here.

Hubby and I keep finances separate and he pays board at a weekly amount but pays it in chunks when he eventually gets grant/loan money from student finance (who are a nightmare to deal with). I tend to use use this money for big stuff - car tax, mot, service, insurance, holidays, birthdays, clothes etc. I also have e-savings pots for house, car and mortgage as well as the ones previously mentioned. When hubby pays me something, I work out what his coming up and distribute it across the pots as needed. The mortgage one was opened with the intention of paying extra off the mortgage. This one has had £10.00 in it for as long as I can remember!

But usually I overspend So while I am not currently in debt, due to a safety net of savings kept after buying our current house 3 1/2 years ago, I will be if I carry on at my current rate of spending!

I want to take control of my money, stop overspending and ultimately get my savings back up.

I have started doing a food inventory this morning as one of my biggest spends is on groceries. I though I was quite good, I buy own brand and value products and don't feel I go mad... but... I do hoard food. My fridge, freezer and cupboards are stuffed. I failed in Dec and Jan to run down my food cupboards as planned and managed to spend £290 in Jan with hubby topping up, bread, milk and goodies (at least £10.00 a week) so probably £340 spent in total. I am horrified at this :eek: I used to think I spent about £60.00 per week but in reality nope, who am I kidding

So, I am going to go now and finish my food inventory and do some more meal planning and pop back to post some more. I am going to take control. Who is with me :T:T:T

I will aim for 15 spend free days as we have half term which will make doing more tricky. I will make sure I take my lunches to work when I go back. Off now to re read the first post and update my sig. Then more planning! xx

mayfair1985

Goooood Morning!

Off the starting blocks for what I think will be a weird old month for me! And we're starting the right way... A SFD!! Woop!

Also, did a bit of number crunching and I got my figures a bit out last month, meaning there was an odd £60 in my account that could go on CC this morning. Happy days!

Looking forward to another month with you lot

his_missus

Hello all!

Count me in! A bit late on the uptake and haven't been around much this past week or so but work has been really busy and it's at work I usually catch up with MSE.

Grocery budget has gone a little haywire recently - Hubby shopping on his own is not a good idea! - so back to both of us doing it on Thursdays. Including the cats and wine (as we don't go out) I'm looking at £60 a week so £240 for the month (gosh that seems a lot)

Again I also plan to pay at least £500 off the CC and put away £100 into the rainy day pot.

Only 2 nights out planned - pizza n cinema night with Hubby and a day out with a friend on the 25th (that will be my £10 treat day - craft shop here I come!)

SFD for me

karmachilovething

So I'm starting to get my mind into UFC - Take only what you need!

And it's a good mantra for me this month because I'm moving out of my current rental, and so it's a good opportunity to clear out things I don't need anymore (or never did - asparagus pot anyone?!)

It's also where I've been at for a while now - quality over quantity. Wardrobe clear out makes getting dressed so much easier, it's quite addictive. And now I'm starting on my paperwork - aim for this month is to digitise all of my bank statements and back up on CD. Then I'm shredding the paper copies (free packaging for packing china etc :money:)

I think that lightening the load of stuff is making me feel so much better. I don't need these things. And it reminds me I don't need more things . . .

Although having said that, partly because it's a new month, my inner loz cat is saying "Can I haz spendy now?!" I want to start the month on a SFD, as I think that psycologically that would be good and helpful, and as I know tomorrow won't be SFD I want to save the spending till then. That amazing D0minos pizza cashback/voucher code trick is calling me though. I'm gonna be strong.

NinjaSavingKat

Karma - I am doing the same thing. I have to move in three months and am using the time to eBay my little heart out. There are clothing bits I need rid of, cuddly toys (??), paperwork to shred, Dvd's to sell. It is therapeutic and I just don't want to have to have 3 van loads again. Addictive though..;-)

rosiecheeksblossom

:oWell, im the muppet not the council:o, phoned them about community tax bill and when I changed my payment date in Sept they didnt take sept's payment and just added it onto the end of the year i.e. Today!!!!
So I have £72 less in my account as I went and paid £72 off a cc thinking it would be a payment free month of the community charge. So as I had budgeted february to within an inch of it's life, I really dont have the money to make up this downfall apart from going overdrawn. BUT I DONT WANT BANK CHARGES!!!! so need to make this up somehow.
And been spending today food, lunch and Im having tea out tonight. Also went to WW today and lost £10(money not weight), but it was found and the lovely leader will give it me next week.
Will update my sig later but its not a good start to the month.....:whistle::whistle::whistle: xxxx

karmachilovething

NSK, yep it is addictive. I think there must be a fairly high level of addictive personalitie son theis forum :rotfl: it's just a matter of getting the right addictions!