Fed up of being the family's Money Muppet

roxy7699

I think the main thing is that you managed to stop yourself on ebay, you could have realised afterwards. You also have a good plan so this month should go well.

scotdebs

Hi FalseEconomist just stumbled across your diary - welcome and good luck with the debt busting

I too have a lovely wardrobe of clothes all to fit someone a couple of dress sizes smaller than me:rotfl:

Me and Dh were also very guilty of wanting everything NOW and never saving for the things that you KNOW are coming car tax, birthdays etc - I am now queen of the online savings accounts - I have one for car, birthdays, Xmas etc etc am starting to get a bit addicted

Have subscribed to see how you get on :-)

FalseEconomist

scotdebs wrote: »

Hi FalseEconomist just stumbled across your diary - welcome and good luck with the debt busting

I too have a lovely wardrobe of clothes all to fit someone a couple of dress sizes smaller than me:rotfl:

Me and Dh were also very guilty of wanting everything NOW and never saving for the things that you KNOW are coming car tax, birthdays etc - I am now queen of the online savings accounts - I have one for car, birthdays, Xmas etc etc am starting to get a bit addicted

Have subscribed to see how you get on :-)

Lol, just finished subscribing to your thread then pop over to find you on mine!

It's been a bit of a spendy day- but at least have managed to get the rest of DS's school uniform in Asda. Was so tempted by school shoes in there for 9 pounds, but if there's one piece of parenting dogma I can't shake it's that you don't mess around with feet- so it'll be off to Clarkes for a £50 hit soon....

Am also going to become queen of the clubcards. Going to go on line and register with shell, toys r us and co op in a minute. Might look into nectar points too (am clearly just having withdrawal symptoms at having to dump the credit cards and am filling my purse up with look-a-likes )

Keep having fantasies about winning the lottery. I'd buy a massive house. And a personal trainer. And a gorgeous car. Apparently in my fantasies I'm really shallow........and I don't even play the lottery

scotdebs

With you on the shoes ds1 has flat feet and a really narrow ankle I just cant get away with cheaper shoes for him- that said I bought clarks "jack nano" shoes last year which lasted him the full school yr so feel I got value for money - identical pair now purchased for this year:rotfl:

Thanks for subscribing look forward to you keeping me on track:beer:

Pippilongstocking

scotdebs wrote: »

Hi FalseEconomist just stumbled across your diary - welcome and good luck with the debt busting

I too have a lovely wardrobe of clothes all to fit someone a couple of dress sizes smaller than me:rotfl:

Have subscribed to see how you get on :-)

Just what that lovely person said. :rotfl:

My clothes are always the odd size - when the tags always have an even number.

Maybe they just shrink in the wardrobe.

Goodluck with it all!

FalseEconomist

Ok ok , I'm an Aldi convert! I mean the customer service at the tills is more Guantanemo Bay than Harrods, and it's slightly disconcerting to find walkie-talkies mixed in with the cucumbers but that aside they had everything I needed and I only spent 66 pounds which is literally half what I'd normally spend at Tescos and this included things like 44 nappies, which normally add a tenner to the bill on their own.

Had to laugh, dropped the kids with their dad at work, did the shop then picked the kids up and Mr F innocently enquired 'did you have a nice break?'. Oh yeah, it was right up their with a mud- pack and a full body massage!!

Anyway, I bought too much and my (quite little) freezer is full and I have about three loaves of bread left over (I got excited by the prices and bulk bought). Living up to my name again!!!

FalseEconomist

So you can plan and plan and plan..... Then someone cancels your night shift on 24 hours notice and suddenly you're 140 quid down for the month. Hmmm. Still, have switched plans with talktalk. Still paying the same a month but now get tv too and a 50 pound lovetoshop voucher- so that will cover my littlest's birthday present.

Also there may be a little change of plan. There's a masters course I really want to do- was going to put it off for a year but my husband is being very encouraging about me doing it now. The first year is 1800 so would obviously put debt payment back a bit, but the more qualifications I get the higher my earning potential when my baby starts school and I return to full time work. Eeek- don't know what to do!!!!

elsien

I have another suggestion if you have time (which you may not as your life sounds quite busy). Have you ventured onto the competition part of this forum yet? I do need to warn you that it can be a lot of time spend for very little effort due to the numbers of people now having a go, but I tend to do the odd hour or two while watching tv of an evening.
It can be a nice way of getting the odd unexpected small treat, I also enter for prezzies for kids in the family and people I know, and things I might be able to ebay. It can also be very disheartening - I had 6 months this year with not a single win, then last month I got a £500 cheque and a £50 beefeater voucher. Nothing ventured and all that....

FalseEconomist

I've been very quiet this month, but that doesn't mean I have abandoned the debt-free ship. On the contrary this month has been really fraught with trying to juggle the bank accounts and cash flow, and have a life at the same time- and it's still ten days til payday!!! Work have been a nightmare, keep cancelling shifts so I've had to use my holiday pay to get by- just hoping this lovetoshop voucher turns up soon so I can get my little one's birthday present.

So far we haven't incurred any charges on banks or cards- everything has been paid on the nail- and I'm really excited by that- its a massive leap forward in organisation for us all.

I've applied for this course and am waiting to hear back- still not sure if its the right thing to do, but the way I see it- when my daughter goes to school (still 4 years away) I will want to work full time- the more I can do now in terms of qualifications and experience the better placed I'll be to get my ideal job then.

I've basically been a student for the last decade- English degree followed by two years of a nursing degree (before deciding I didn't want to be a nurse!!) then a degree in counselling. This is my chosen career path and I want to specialise in children and young people. I volunteer for a childrens counselling charity at the moment and with a masters degree I'm hopeful that I could get a really interesting and rewarding career on the go.

However, it's not all about me- and I need to make sure that my kids an husband don't suffer because I'm pursuing my goals. Hence the need to take responsibility for the money.

It's funny, I was inspired to start a diary because reading other people's ones, their months seemed to fly by and they are paying off debts left, right and centre, but of course in real life a month of budgeting and worrying about money is an awfully long time, so it's made me even more impressed with those who have dedicated months and years to it.

Anyway, enough rambling- onwards!!

FalseEconomist

Did some exercise tonight for the first time in ages. (Actually last night- it's around 5.30 am and baby decided she wanted to get up for a chat, but still feels like the middle of the night to me). Has helped me to feel a little bit more focused and in control- was really turning into a sofa-surfing slob. It seems like I can't be focused on more than one or two things at a time, e.g if I'm doing well with diet and exercising then the housework and budgeting go to pot- or if I'm doing great at batch-cooking then coursework doesn't get a look-in. Oh well, time to face up to the fact that I'm not superwoman.....

Been working out next months budget plan- which is basically the 'pay all the bills and scrape by on what's left' budget. I'm uncomfortable because there is JUST enough money to do this, but no spare at all to go into any sort of separate funds- eg car tax etc, so when tax and not come up in October- well I guess we'll be eating beans on toast for a month!

I have to say. I'm looking forward to school starting in sept. my son starts school this year and I can't wait to get some sort of structure back into our weeks- although it's such a slow start and he doesn't do full time til just before October half term (!). I'm sure I'll be spending less on trips and petrol though.

We have managed to have some nice days out this summer- had a group on for a steam train ride that I'd forgotten about and had to be used up so that was fun (Ds1 is train mad!). Most of our trips out however have been to parks as he loves anywhere he can ride his scooter . I'm annoyed with myself as we spend a yearly subscription to a local wetlands park (which is actually a great place to go with the kids) and I haven't been once this summer! Maybe will still squeeze in a visit.

Haven't heard from the course yet- I am still in two minds about it, really really want to do it but really really don't want to stretch the budget tighter- which it will do.....

The one thing I'm really proud of myself with this month is how regularly I've been checking the bank balances- daily most times, and how I've opened every single piece of post as it came through the door. Might not sound a lot but to anyone who has been money-phobic at all they can understand what a step forward that is. - now, how can it be still 8 days to payday?!? This month is SLOW!!!!!