WTBSEs 'Starting From Scratch' Savings Diary.

TM6

Feeling a tad bit sad - it is our last night in St Ives before we head back up to Yorkshire tomorrow.

How I will miss walking our mutt on the beach

WantToBeSE

TM6- I hope you had a nice last evening in St Ives yesterday? how was the drive home?

Thanks, Cathy Its something I have wanted to do for a long time. I have received the forms etc in the post today and will attend the induction day next Friday!

So, payday today It feels strange not to be transferring money over to my savings account! But I have £400 in my current account, and that will have to cover ALL bills until i get paid, which should be 4 weeks from now (28th March). My 'wages' from the agency will cover food money, plus the money earned from my private client (£60 for 4 weeks) will cover gas and electricity and child benefit (£134) will cover petrol to get to work.
So, fingers crossed it wont be too bad!

cathybird

Fingers crossed for you. I bet you will be fine though.

How are you going with your psychotherapy enquiries? ... I'm just curious really. It sounds like it could potentially be a very interesting and productive career.

JoJoC

I'm sure your month will work out just fine it's always the first month that's the worst when you change things like this.

I thought I was going to be able to save more money since it's payday today but I've changed three direct debits to the start of the month instead of mid month and this month is the first month it'll take effect so I'm double paying them basically because I only paid the them less than two weeks ago!

Plus, husband still hasn't been paid for those extra jobs! That's over £500 now and he just says that he'll get paid when he goes back to do the finishing touches. Don't know when that'll be but I want the money in our bank NOWWWWW!!

Sorry, starting to sound like a petulant child now.

Are you still on target for your May goal WTBSE? Even with the change in receiving your money weekly?

JoJoC

Also, I just added the £150 that should have gone to council tax this month to the savings account and added £3 to the tin.

The rest is being saved for all the big DDs that come out in the next few days.

When husband gets paid on Tuesday, I'll be able to transfer around £200-250 I hope! That'll start us off nicely for march.

WantToBeSE

Hi Jo. May goal? Which one is that? I cant remember

I am hoping to be able to save more money each month. I have reduced my shopping bill by £30 a week, and my new car is using significantly less fuel than my old one!
I used to put £35 a week in my old one, and it would be on the red by Friday. However I put £30 in on Monday and its still up to 2 notches! Wooo!!

Cathy- the psychotherapy enquiries are pretty much on hold right now. I have worked out how much I need to save up to do the courses (£9K) but I will be able to pay in instalments per term. I have decided that it'll have to wait until my youngest goes to secondary school in 2016. I am happy to wait, it'll give me chance to save up, get a 'proper job' and find out the modality that i'll work in as a therapist. I suspect I will go for what I have experienced, which is IPT. But I also know that with the governments introduction of IAPT, CBT work will be easier to find. Long term though (I eventually want to set up a private practice) I think IPT is the way for me to go.

J0- it sounds like hopefully you'll get a decent amount in the savings pot soon! Especially if your hubby gets paid from those jobs soon

What is everyone up to this weekend? I am letting the teenager sleep in for as long as he wants today. Generally when I allow this, its about 1pm before he gets out of his pit!

JoJoC

The one in your signature! Your goal of £2k by May!

I have every confidence that you'll get there

I didn't quite reach my end of Feb goal, but it should be met by Tuesday so that'll do me.

2016 really isn't that far away actually, so it'll be something to look forward to and aspire towards.

I'm sure your eldest is delighted at having a lie in. I've forgotten what a proper lie in is!

We've not got anything major planned for the weekend. Husband is working today so my son and I are going to visit my grandparents. Think we'll just have a quiet night tonight. Then tomorrow we're off to Frankie & Benny's for breakfast with some friends! There will be mine adults and a toddler so you can imagine the chaos. Other than that, just getting the food shopping done tomorrow afternoon.

That's great that your car is using less fuel too! All the more money for your savings pot! We spend a fortune on fuel (£200 per month but we both drive to work) so I always grudge that cost.

WantToBeSE

JoJoC wrote: »

The one in your signature! Your goal of £2k by May! .

:rotfl: :rotfl: Oh wow, I am so not with it this morning! Hahaha!!
I am not sure if i'll be able to hit that target. We'll see. It depends on how much I spend when we go up to visit Longleat. I am planning on taking a packed lunch for out day at Longleat, but it's the evening meals on Friday and Saturday that I am concerned about. There is a little chef on site at the Travelodge which we could eat at. The room itself only has tea and coffee making facilities. I was actually thinking about taking some pot noodle style things to eat in the room for 1 of the nights. Not very healthy, but cheap enough and its only a 1-off.

Any idea, anyone, to keep food costs down for that weekend?

gallygirl

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Any idea, anyone, to keep food costs down for that weekend?

My biggest tip would be don't sit in a hotel room and eat a Pot Noodle!!!!!!!

You're spending a lot by your standards on the break (sorry, I don't mean that to sound patronising, you know what I mean) and I really think you should spend a little more and really enjoy yourselves. No need to go mad - I can't remember when you're going but there is a new Wetherspoons opening in Warminster at the end of April and they do nice good at very good prices. For an extra £30 max you could have a really nice meal and drinks, then a stroll round the town (not that I've ever been - it might be a dump :rotfl:).

Alternatively, there are lots of supermarkets nearby so you could get some fresh stuff and have a picnic? Or you could be really cheeky and take a full size suitcase with your microwave in :rotfl:.

JoJoC

I like the suggestion of the 'room picnic' for one of the nights.

You can pack plates and cutlery etc and go to the local Asda (I'm sure you said there was one nearby) and get things like cooked chicken portions (legs, wings, thighs etc) which will still be hot, pick up a sliced tiger loaf and some butter, pots of coleslaw, pasta, potato salad, some cocktail sausages, scotch eggs etc and make a bit of a feast of it!

Could that work?

Otherwise, when husband and I went away late last year, we arrived really late and couldn't be bothered getting ready and going for dinner so I just nipped out to the local Chinese, got a takeaway and asked for some plastic forks while I was there. We took it into the room and we were totally stuffed for £15 we just ate out the containers.

On another note, keep your May target in your mind. Even if you don't quite reach it, it's still a fab target to strive towards!