My 2020 Vision

XSpender

Winging my way to Northern Scotland and making use of the free wi-fi on the train.

The bedroom makeover is complete and looks fab. Huge amount of carp chucked out and house almost back to normal.

We have overspent this month (seems like a theme popping up on quite a few diaries ) and have planned a frugal February. I received my first 6 weeks pay this month and a little lifestyle inflation occurred which we are very aware of and is being nipped in the bud.

It is DH birthday in 2 weeks but we have gone halfers on ins@n1ty as I want to get fit and DH needs to loose about 2.5 stone. He will get a small present from DS as well as we are cutting the amount we spend on birthday gifts this year. We will also go for a meal probably but this will be from the entertainment/misc budget.

We also have a do at my work but travel, accommodation and free bar covered so hoping not to spend anything on this Oh and we have concert tickets and will need parking for this but I might have an idea where we can park for free a shortish walk away.

I usually budget about £1000 for living expenses a month I.e. Food, personal spends, haircuts, entertainment and misc. so will be focused on cutting this down significantly this month. Under £700 would be good, £500 would be amazing:)

I will spend sometime on the return journey coming up with a Frugal February budget and plan to achieve it.

XSpender

Busy morning planned as DS has a swimming lesson and I will have to drag him to the hairdressers with me as DH is at work. I am planning to park at Mr T and get the metro in as it will be cheaper than parking. I also have a £3 price match voucher for Mr T I will use on a few bits when we get back to Mr T. I will do my shopping list while DS swims.


Pay day for both of us yesterday and DH got a little more than expected and I got quite a bit more than expected as I have received a small pro rata annual bonus. Money shuffle done and small op made(bigger than usual) as well as a chunk off my CC which has gone up this month with our overspending and, a bit of DH's CC and a big chunk in the ISA for the repayment of the secured loan.


I am working on £850 for everything this month. It seems high but includes a suit for DH to wear to my works do next week and I am keeping the personal spends the same as DH has a couple of social events lined up. My personal spends will be used to pay for a ticket for a show and for tea with a friend.


We are planning a quiet weekend; final sorting out of the bedroom stuff that still doesn't have a home, laundry, [EMAIL="ins@nity"]ins@nity[/EMAIL] workout tonight and a long dog walk tomorrow (depending on the weather). We have a light covering of snow and it is very cold and icy in t'north.

XSpender

I'm not sure my budget is going to last this month and it's only the 1st!!:eek: We seem to have done nothing but spend money this weekend and I am finding that this healthy eating and losing weight is having a negative effect on my bank balance:eek:


I have spent my personal spends on a jacket, jumper and new boots. The boots were in the sale and exactly what I was looking for I am feeling much better about myself having lost 6 lbs and wanted to look better too.


I also bought a new dress for work as I have only a limited wardrobe since I started work again and could do with a couple of extra pieces as I don't often have the time to wash something between trips away.


It's DH birthday next week so I have bought his presents (within budget) and we also bought him a dinner suit for next weekend. It worked out cheaper than buying a black suit and I don't think he would have felt right in a black suit instead of a proper DJ so a little bit of budget saved there.


I have wanted a George F grill for ages but wanted the large one with removable plates. I cant use the grill in my oven as it just smokes and sets the smoke alarms off and makes the food taste awful. We have a griddle pan but the non stick isn't as good as it was. Arg0s do them but they are £70 and DH thinks they are a bit flimsy. We are following a high protein low fat diet at the minute and really need to grill our meat. We found a different make with double plates that grill or griddle so after a long think over a fizzy water;) ordered it yesterday and picked it up today. I will be using it tonight to grill rather than roast our chicken, Monday to grill HM turkey salsa burgers and probably every night this week :rotfl:


Our shopping bill was huge too. It did include £30 on 3 for 2 vitamins, a freezer stock up for DS and quite a bit on shoe polish, shoe laces and some stuff to try and restore an expensive pair of DH trainers. I nearly fainted at Mr T as I cant remember ever spending that much even at Christmas. I think I will try a Mr T order next week as I always spend more when DH is with me and we have a lot of meat now in the freezer, we just need fresh fruit and dairy. Hopefully we will be able to come in close to budget by the end of the month.


We still need to go to the tip, tidy up, cook dinner and do an insanity workout today. Phew, so much for a day off:rotfl:

gallygirl

XSpender wrote: »

I have wanted a George F grill for ages but wanted the large one with removable plates. I cant use the grill in my oven as it just smokes and sets the smoke alarms off and makes the food taste awful. We have a griddle pan but the non stick isn't as good as it was. Arg0s do them but they are £70 and DH thinks they are a bit flimsy. We are following a high protein low fat diet at the minute and really need to grill our meat. We found a different make with double plates that grill or griddle so after a long think over a fizzy water;) ordered it yesterday and picked it up today. I will be using it tonight to grill rather than roast our chicken, Monday to grill HM turkey salsa burgers and probably every night this week :rotfl:

Ah yes, the George Formby grill according to Peter Kay's nan :rotfl:.

XSpender

Early start this morning so just managed to limp through my workout before tea, chicken cooked on the new griddle:smileyheaJust having a cuppa and then off to bed ready for another early start tomorrow.


Updated the banking spreadsheet and made a payment to the coffers from paying less childcare this month and a teeny tiny tilly tidy.


I have had 2 NSDs and should bag another tomorrow, in fact I shouldn't need to spend anything until Saturday's taxi to the airport.


We also don't need to do a very big food shop this week as there is loads in, we are away at the weekend and I am away a fair bit next week. Since we spent a fortune in Mr T last week I am hoping to spend twenty quid max this week.

XSpender

This is the second month I have received my new salary and we have again spent more than intended.:o


The bedroom makeover has been finished and looks amazing.I have felt a little uncomfortable spending so much and not saving as intended.Some things were needed, or had been on the wish list for a long time like my new grill, and we also had some treats including concert tickets and some clothes and underwear for DH.


DH has enjoyed the freedom to spend a little and it is great to know there is still more in the bank as we near the end of the month than there used to be left over after we got paid! We need to reign it in a bit now though (I’m sure I said that last month) as I want to see the savings grow and get rid of the secured loan before our holidays.

Good stuff this month…..

Added a little to the coffers, now £222
Added £40 to the savings/op offset total
Paid £361 off the secured
Paid £900 off the credit cards and nothing spent on them.This is our new wardrobes and bedding paid for.
Paid £400 off our family holiday
Started the £2 savings off again with £12
Entered the GNR :eek:for a charity close to my heart or should that be my stomach
Lost half a stone :j

Not so good…

Overspent again on food.We are following a high protein, low fat diet and it is costing us more than usual as we are both trying to lose weight and get fit.
Didn’t pay off as much off the holiday as planned
Didn’t add a chunk to the savings pot as planned
Spent a lot of time ‘shopping’ which resulted in a lot of money spent
Considering using DH spring bonus for a October half term break

Plan for March

I have come to the conclusion that if I leave money in the bank it gets spent!DH and I have agreed that I will pay the following when we get paid:

A big chunk off the holiday so that it is PIF by March (due May)

£245 OP each month (saving to SIF secured)

£250 to the ISA (saving to SIF secured)

Minimum payments to the CC rounded up to the nearest £50 until secured SIF (end July)

Reduce the level of food stores (dry and freezer) to cut food bill drastically this month and increase the storage space for other stuff.May create a list on here.Boring for anyone reading but it will keep it in one place as I make a list then never update it.

Go back to shopping at aldee as most of what we need this month can be bought there

Keep a record of the food budget and re-join grocery challenge on old style forum

Track spending- I keep a record of what’s gone out/come in but want to understand better what we are spending our money on.
Keep away from the shops

The plan for March still allows for our personal spends and some family activities or tea out but it will be kept within budget

muddywhitechicken

Well done on the good stuff XS and a great plan for March :T

Once you free up some space in the freezer, will you be able to save money by bulk buying the protein items or are you already doing this already?

MWCx

XSpender

Thanks MWC


We have lots of odds and sods of meat (about a shallow freezer draw full) that needs using up but not much chicken which is what we eat the most of so I may use DMIL C0stc0 membership to stock up. I intend to cut the chicken breasts in 2 before I freeze as they are so big and we need to both be smaller!


I am on a train travelling through the Scottish highlands, the wi-fi is free and the sun is shining on snowy mountain tops. Beautiful. Even the tea is 30p cheaper before Edinburgh!:)

XSpender

Freezer – Kitchen
Meat
Turkey mince 200g
Chicken breasts 7
Pork loin medallions 8
Pork loin steaks 4
Pepperoni slices 6
Chipolatas 3
Pork mince 200g
Steak 1
Pork Saltimbocca 2
GF beef burgers 4
Lean beef mince 250g
Low fat sausages






Desserts
Lemon sorbet
Vanilla ice cream
Chocolate muffin GF

Other Stuff
GF puff pastry

XSpender

Smallish shop done at Aldee on Saturday; fresh fruit and veg, milk and yogurt, cooked meat, baked beans, cereal and a couple of household bits. Spent about a quarter of what I have spent the last 2 weeks:eek:


We had a very wet and cold walk yesterday, we gave up half way as the weather was too rough for DS who is still only 4. We had bought some proper walking boots for DS on Saturday afternoon and DH bought some new ones too. I say bought but with discounts, vouchers and what not DH's ended up free:D We were a bit naughty and used some of DH bonus to buy 2 new walking coats as we have decided that every Sunday we are going to do some kind of walk. I have been after a warm walking coat for a while as only have a thin waterproof which doesn't do much to keep the wind out. Again heavily reduced in the sale. Walking is my favourite activity and it is something we want to encourage in DS as we both love the outdoors.


My plan to clear the cupboard isn't going so well, I added more than took away this weekend but we have used up a RM toad in the hole, mini chicken kievs (Christmas buffet leftovers), low fat sausages x 6, mash potato x 1.5, some veg and oven chips from the freezer. Lots of comfort food there:o


I did use some GF flour, cocoa, icing sugar, milk chocolate and a few mini marshmallows to make a cake instead of buying treats for our walk. DS always enjoys a bit of cake making so we did it together, he's never interested in the decorating though. Once he's licked the bowl out he loses interest :rotfl:


Lost another half a pound last week and would like to lose another pound by the end of this week. I am away tonight in snowy Scotland and will be taking some bits from home and buying a salad and fruit for tea as I cant be bothered to eat out when I get there late tonight. The rest of the week I am at home so will be making low fat meals, avoiding carp and will try and get a swim in one night and one good walk this weekend at least. I have decided that I would be really happy to get to the same weight I was at my wedding 8 years ago which is 8 stone 8lb. I didn't diet for my wedding, I was this weight for years. I am 5 foot 2 and a bit so this is bang in the middle of the 'healthy weight' range for my height. I am giving myself until my holiday in August to lose the rest as it is over half a stone and I will be training for the GNR which should help:eek:


We have put on hold our holiday plans for October. We will take half term off but can't make up our mind about centr3 parks as it is just so expensive, even a weekend is going to cost £750:eek: We may just stay at home and have days out instead.