Kicking the debt

4greenbottles

The £10 a day is really helping me to focus on our debts. A trip to the cinema would normally include sweets and drinks and then a nandos or Frankie and benny's on the way home. Not today, I'm proud to say. Just bought a 99p French stick for lunch with the chicken soup as no bread in the house.


£13-92 sat I my wallet and am planning to keep it there as long as possible. Have meal planned and sorted out free entertainment all weekend so think we should be good :-)

Had to walk the dogs and finally found 2 batteries (weird size) for my kitchen scales so spent another £4.....leaving £9.92 now.

4greenbottles

Wow our first ever no spend day and it feels great! We had a busy morning and lovely afternoon and spent nothing all day! Quidco car insurance (£30) landed into my account today with a random little £13-75 from my hubbys employer. Not complaining though, transfer it all to the joint account and now have a very healthy £433-28.

Going to visit family for 4nights towards the end of the month, so I'm trying to stick to the £10 challenge as much as possible for rest of the month. Will need some fuel as 4hour drive down and home but not a lot of spends. I'm hoping to gave £200 left on pay day to put towards a washer fir the rental house.

Kids don't need anything for back to school ad already got shoes and all their uniform. No other expenses planned until pay day so just fuel, food and something to keep to kids amused. It's amazing how much everything adds up though! Trying for another nsd on Sunday day as need bread and milk again tomorrow.

4greenbottles

Well the £9-92 didn't stay in the wallet long and have git a confession that I've blown the budget! Needed wash powder and loo rolls and ended up spending £33.26 today :-( a little disappointed but fruit and veg rack full, plenty if cold meats and stuff for the kids to nibble until we go away.

I've not thrown a single bit of food away this week, so know our cutting back and meal planning is working. It's amazing how much you can get for your money in lidl:-)

Can't dwell on the over spend too much, it's happened and were still doing ok. Took the kids to bowling with our free tickets and spent nothing! We sneaked in crisps and fruit for them and I had the last bits of fruit from the bowl. We never go bowling because it's just too expensive to certainly made the the most of it.

I nearly forgot have done a deal with the kids. I normally give them their pocket money on a Saturday but have agreed I'll keep hold of it and put it towards a treat on Friday. They've been doing loads of extra jobs to earn money and I owe them £2-40 & £2-30. I suggested a Lego treat but they still need to earn extra for chores and use next week's money too ill pay the difference. I'd normally just buy it for them, but they've agreed to sacrifice their money too. It sounds daft but it'll save me around £8 out of the £12.

4greenbottles

Today is a nsd and a house-gutting cleaning and catching up day. Hubby away today so I need to make the most of having a few hours to get caught up.

Am going to do a to do list and see how we get on :
1:30pm coffee break list isn't not going well! Why is it you start a job and then find a hundred more? Kids had lunch and now happily playing out on scooters, I've just had a coffee and updated list, regrouped and focussed on the jobs i'm supposed to be doing.
4:10pm coffee break (should be vodka after starting in the kids' room)

1 online banking
2 sort wallet bin/keep receipt &**& cleared out three handbags in the
hall to be put away**
3 read with kids
4 change my bedding just need to remake after airing
5 vac room *dusted, gutted and all toys sent back upstairs...grrr I hate the daily toy migration down to the coffee table) hall done*& decluttered shoe rack, tidied away extra shoes and bags not in use and hall rack dusted and cleaned* stairs n landing and my bedroom
6 sweep kitchen and stream mop
7 ditto ds loo
8 bathroom
9 put 1/2 load ironing away
10 feed kids lunch
11 drag kids into their room and beat them until tidy (only joking but need to gut wardrobe sort new uniform, started doing other jobs so hot in there we've abonded for another day! left re-arrange toys, sort books)
12 cook roast pork and trimmings all prepared and smelling yummy!
13 tidy kitchen all worktops wiped down and everything where it should be!
14 bath n bed time kids
15 dust ironing board and start the mountain
additional jobs!
empty an re-fill dishwasher, tidied out cupboard undersink whilst looking for dish wash salt, found brillo pads so scrubbed and cleaned top of cooker and all the bits, 1 load of washing done, pegged out and bedding gone in. Emptied all bins and sorted recycling.

Right that's my day sorted, have a few craft things for kids to do whilst I run around before lunch to keep them busy.

4greenbottles

What a bit busy and productive day! Have just made my bed and fallen in. Got most of the jobs done but still have some to start Tom's to do list. Good news it was a nsd today.

Plan for tomorrow
1 online banking
2 withdraw £40 to last until Thursday night
3 no or very low spend for the day
4 read with kids and practice time tables
5 dust vac stairs and landing
6 dust vac our bedroom
7 continue gutting kids room and vac
8 go to docs
9 steam mop Ds loo & bathroom
10 keep ploughing through the ironing and put away
11 do a stock check of fridge freezer and cupboards
12 meal plan
13 cancel insurance policy for boiler on rental
14 email my solicitor with couple of sales queries
15 update excel sheet until Dec with expected outgoings

Looks like another busy day but am loving the lists. Helping me stay money and life stifling motivated :-)

4greenbottles

EDIT - DIDN'T GET DONE!
continue gutting kids room and vac
keep ploughing through the ironing and put away
do a stock check of fridge freezer and cupboards
meal plan - not done yet but having corned beef hash for tea

DONE :j
online banking (no money in, but no money out)
cancelled insurance policy saved £43 per month
emailed solicitor with couple of sales queries
updated excel sheet until Dec with expected outgoings
dust vac our bedroom now shiny and clean
go to docs - waste of time, wanted to give me more painkillers :mad:
steam mop Ds loo & bathroom
withdraw £40 to last until Thursday night
no or very low spend for the day
read with kids and practice time tables
dust vac stairs and landing

Not had the best start to the day. I didn't sleep well and i'm in agony with an old ankle injury. This getting old lark is pants! I'm pleased i'm off to see the doc this afternoon, so they can see how bad it really is.

Have had a lovely long soak in the bath thinking about meal planning and how to save on the shopping. I think I need to nip over to the OS board and get some tips. My freezer & store cupboard is rammed, but every time I look I don't see a meal. Need to get a grip and use some of the food up, make some space and stop buying random curry sauces we'll never eat because they're cheap!

The kids jumped in the bath after me, so saved some hot water for the washing! (oh joy more ironing to add to the pile) :mad:

Definitely no spend for me today, but looking forward to getting the £40 out just to see how long it will stretch. It's supposed to last until Thursday, but after the £22 overspend, I'm hoping it might do until Saturday. Better get on the tinters and get bum in gear with the meal planning!

4greenbottles

Am finding keeping this diary is really working and my home and finances are getting cleaned up! I'm a bit of a binge cleaner and leave until the last minute before someone comes round. I managed quite a lot yesterday, although I need to update yesterday's list.

No to do list today, it's just a working progress now :
- Already check on-line banking and CB arrived so lovely surprise
- kids room again - enough said!
- Iron, iron, iron and put away (have 2monster baskets now and running out of clothes)
- Clean kitchen floor again - god I hate having a cream floor and muddy dog!
- do a stock check of fridge freezer and cupboards
- continue to be a domestic goddess and keep our home clean and tidy!
- cash in my £10 win on lottery ask for £2s so I can save in it in the jar and resist getting anymore tickets (saving £2 a week)


Today's planned spending :
- take kids swimming (cheapy offer at leisure centre £2 for 3hours and I'm going to watch) £4

- get another key cut so f-I-l has a spare (hoping £4 or less)

-food shopping, only buy what's on the list (bread,milk,dish wash salt,my yogurts,cold meat, cheese,squash,tom ketchup, bacon, oranges and grapes) £20ish?

meal plan in progress
tonight l/o beef hash&veg adults and gammon joint & veg out the freezer for kids
Wednesday- lo gammon spag carb with random few onions rings out freezer
Thursday - see needs more planning, freezer and tin surprise

So that's my day....mission be a domestic goddess, amazing mother to smiling and happy children, a gorgeous wife and a keen shopper only spending £30 out of the £40 in my wallet. Let's see if it can be done :-)

beanielou

I'm sure it can be done

4greenbottles

Thanks Beanielou, I'm sure it can. Just need to stop being a spending, lazy housework hating slob and get a grip lol!

Spending total for the day :
swimming - was £5-00 as a special inflatable today, but even so great value to keep the kids busy with the bonus of wiping them out. £5-00

Key - ordered a new one but it's a weird one that has to be ordered and won't be here for a couple of weeks. It's around £6 but pay when it arrives.

Food Shopping- shopped between co-op and aldi today and picked up some deals in co-op....organic bag of bananas 25p, cathedral cheese half price, muller yogurts 6for £2 and Robinsons squash £1. Picked up the rest of the bits in aldi, but forgot the dish wash salt but did grab some cooked chicken on impulse. £16-37

Lottery money - collected £10 yay....but I did surcome to a bonus lucky dip on tonight's euromillions £2 which was stupid! I've put the £10 into our £2 savings jar to give it a boost. The £2 has to come out of our £10/day spending and I think it was £2 well spent as it's made me realise it's a waste of money! (Hopefully, I'll be posting later saying it was the best £2 I've ever spent...keeping everything crossed) £2-00

It was going so well until a friend I've not seen in months aske if the kids and I wanted to grab a coffee....with money in mind managed to all have a drink and a got a sweetie for the kids. Wasn't expected spending but was lovely £6-10

Total spend £30-47 / Balance was £9-53 in wallet, but change contained £2 and I can't spend them, new family savings rule! So I've now got £7-53 sat in my wallet to last until end of Thursday.

4greenbottles

We're having a lovely lazy day today with the children and not spending a penny. Have only out a load of washing on and dropped my friend to the docs as she's not driving at the minute. Just enjoyed lunch and planning on a lazy walk down the river with the dog later. It's a NSD today and my wallet has been in my handbag since yesterday! I do need to get dish washer salt, but thinking it can wait a couple more days as am out all day Friday and then off to family for the BH. It won't do any harm me washing up, I just don't like it lol!

Tonight is about ironing, ironing and putting away. The pile (or should say mountain) is now as tall as our youngest. I've got an array of rubbish to watch on tv catch up so the plan to plough through and get it done!

Still need to get bum in gear and do stock check for meal planning, but realistically don't think I'll get time until we're back from family. Tea tonight is spag carb with the left over gammon, and store cupboard bits and going to use the onion rings up out the freezer.

Need to get the kids to pack a few bits of toys to keep them busy when we're away and I need to plan clothes. Think I'll put them straight in the case rather than put them away after iroining.

Our local leisure centre are doing a coaching course and need children as guinea-pigs so I've signed my two up for a few swim lesson tomorrow (Normally £5 each)

I'm hoping tomorrow will be another NSD and then I've got the £7-53 to add to our £10 daily money so we can get an ice-cream and chips on our family day our Friday.

Am now in the habit of checking on-line and banking and it's great seeing no money flying out the account. Looking back over the last 9 days including today and I think our spending is an all time low.

9 days = 4 NSDs / £109-21 spent during the other 5.

Was aiming for £90, but I knew it'd be hard going trying to keep the four of us fed with enough fruit and veg, feeding dog and keeping the kids busy. A normal trip to see a film would be £22 for tickets, £15 sweets & popcorn and then £45 in Frankie and Benny's so as a family we'd normally blow £80ish on an afternoon of entertainment! I'm really proud how well we've done and know the £10 a day could work if I meal plan and the children are back to school.