Im serious this time; the debt has to go!

Eyebright

Whoops I have been so busy the last few days, I haven't had time to get online to update my diary!

We have indeed got through the week using up stuff from the freezer, just did a small shop for a few fresh bits we needed and that was it. I've just done a big shop online at Tescos that has come to £46 ish, can't remember the exact figure now, but will get the receipt with the delivery. Had some Tesco vouchers come through the post on Saturday, so have put those to good use!

Just trying to eek it out to payday now, which is this Friday, have £20 left, and no plans to spend any of it. I've ordered food to for lunches to work in the online shop, and we are having salads for dinner, to help with our waistlines and because in this heat I don't want anything hot and/or stodgy! OH is away for the weekend, so it's just me...planning on no take aways and to have a quiet weekend at home.
I bought some much needed new clothes today in Primark (as I've dropped a dress size...now a 12 yay, well in tops, my bottom half is another matter...:rotfl:), so have no plans to go shopping. Well I've seen a pair of shoes I like, so I might splurge on them if the budget looks healthy enough!

Plan on making June a really frugal month, as May is always expensive for me. I've set the DD to pay off the CC at £80, but with the drop in the Gas&Electric I think I will put what I'm saving there to the CC, help get it paid off sooner!

Car tax is due this month on OH's car. He no doubt has not got anything saved towards it, so will see what I have in the car savings account I have and help him out.

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend! xxx

Eyebright

LAM2011 wrote: »

hi Eyebright

good to see you back and plodding along. I need to renew my gas/elec so must remember to look at TCB! Last year I made £300 through various things on there.

Always nice catching up with family but I know what you mean about everything back to normal.

have a good week.

Thanks for stopping by LAM, TCB is new to me and very exciting! Am going to check on there before I make any purchases online from now on, and when I need to renew insurances, phone contracts etc...

Eyebright

Life is so hectic at the moment, I'm struggling to get on here! I did really well this week though, and managed to keep spending right down.
I put £2 into a funeral collection for a work colleague who passed away a few weeks ago, but other than that I didn't spend anything Monday to Friday which I'm chuffed about!

So I finally got paid yesterday and the plan this morning is to go over budget and tweak it until it's perfect! I want to keep spends right down this month as I mentioned in my post a few days ago. The challenge is when my SIL rings and asks if I want to go shopping! She knows my OH is away this weekend and bless her, but she seems to think it's her duty to keep me occupied, and for her that means shopping!

My mini challenge for this weekend is no take-aways. I have plenty in from restocking the cupboards and my waistline will thank me for not having any, as will my purse!

Right I really need to blitz the housework, so I'd better head off...

LAM2011

I am finding it the same - hectic but not in a good way. I am shattered so glad its a long weekend.

We need to cut back on takeaways - my OH is terrible - his way of helping out with cooking is getting takeaway!

Eyebright

I know that feeling LAM! OH has a rule that he doesn't cook at the weekend, which runs from Friday evening to Sunday evening :eek: so if I'm working the weekend or just generally shattered and tell him he has to cook, we end up with KFC, chinese or an Indian!!!


Didn't go out at all yesterday, and managed to resist a take-away. Put a pizza in the oven instead! So still bad for my waistline, but at least it was a NSD after all that.

I spent an hour yesterday moving all my money around, putting money for all the bills and household expenses into the joint account, putting money in my various saving pots. From this month the gas&electric bill finally (down to £77 from £125) drop as we have finally paid back the arrears we ran up! :T Yay! One debt gone...

According to my spreadsheet, my money for bills, usual debt payments, petrol, food and savings comes to £1058. 67. I got paid £1415.61 this month, so that leaves £356.94. So where on EARTH is this money disappearing to each month?! Without fail I end the month with a few pence left! So, from this month I am going to be superstrict on my spending. I have allocated myself £125 for misc spending this month. That will include any take-aways, trips into town for a mooch (usually resulting in a splurge in Primark...), chocolate, ebooks etc. So I should end the month with £231.94 in the bank, which would be fantastic and I could put that towards debt payments etc. I really am going to try and account for every penny this month. I could get my debts paid off so much quicker if I can make myself live on £125 for treat stuff. I rarely go out so it should easily be doable.

Oopsy I think this post has rambled on long enough! Best get up, dressed and face the day with my new frugal mindset!

Eyebright

So, I've made a dent in my treat money, with £10 spent yesterday for dinner out down t'pub! Also makes it a spend day, boo! Does eating out for a meal count as a take-away?!

I've decided to keep track of my Misc spends and NSD's in my diary, so will record them at the bottom of each post. My month runs from payday to payday, so will go from the 25th to 25th of each month. I'm working today which is slightly depressing, but it reduces the likelyhood of me spending anything and as a bonus it's double time! I only work from 8.30 to approx 12.30/1ish (depending how busy we are), so I will still be able to enjoy the afternoon. OH gets home today, yay!




When I get home I have a few chores I need to finish off. I feel a list coming on :eek:, so....

• Finish off the ironing
• [STRIKE]Hoover upstairs[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]Empty dishwasher[/STRIKE]
• Dust downstairs
• [STRIKE]Check cupboards, write a list and do an online Tesco order[/STRIKE]
• Complete final piece of coursework for my work portfolio
• Update my total debts owed in my spreadsheet/post here online to shame me into trying even harder to clear them

Think that's more than enough to be getting on with, especially as SIL will almost definitely want to do something later!

Will be back later this afternoon to post about my debts and (fingers crossed), cross things off my list!

EB xx

NSD: 0
Misc Spends: £10/125

Eyebright

Just done Tesco online delivery, being delivered tomorrow between 9-10pm as that slot is £1 delivery, bargain! :money:
Spent £42.33, which should be enough food to last us this week. Was £44.33 including delivery, but I had a clubcard voucher for £2 off, wohoo!

Plan for this week, is Tesco weetabix for breakfast Mon-Fri, with bacon or egg sarny at the weekend.
Lunches will be tuna mayo sandwiches, piece of fruit and a yoghurt drink. Grapes for if I'm peckish on the bus home. Haven't done a meal plan for evening meals, but have a good selection in to make things.

Think tomorrow will do a chicken curry with added lentils to make it more nutritious and filling and serve with naan bread. Got some chicken in the freezer and a jar or sauce I can use. Will have salad a couple of nights this week too.

Unfortunately today was a spend day as SIL needed some milk, so spent £1.65 on that. She did offer to pay me back, but over the month it will even itself out, as we always doing something for the other! Will update my spend diary now. Hoping tomorrow will be a NSD!

Have a lovely evening everyone...EB xx

NSD: 0
Misc Spends: £11.65/125

Eyebright

Didn't do too well on my to-do list yesterday! Spent most of the afternoon at SIL's, drinking cups of tea and nattering. Though I did get dinner and pudding out of it, nom

Got the gym with her tonight after work, so I won't have time to do much of anything. Though I really need to finish off the piece of work for my portfolio. I'm hoping to try and finish it off in my lunchbreak today, that would free up my time at home. Got the exam a week today :eek::eek::eek: Have also realised I will have to pay out the train fare from my budget this month to get there. I can claim it back, but it takes a while for it all to be processed and paid. Today should (no, it WILL), be a NSD. I've made my lunch, and my gym membership is already paid for, and I will take my own bottle of water with me.

Aim for this evening is to work out an accurate total for my debts, and update on here and on my spreadsheet. Try and figure out some targets for getting the debts paid off too, so I have a timeline and goals to aim for. I'm hoping a target date and a goal will help to keep me focused.

Have a lovely day all.

NSD: 0
Misc Spends: £11.65/125

Eyebright

Wohoo, I can finally say I have had a NSD! Today no pennies left my purse, though I will have to spend tomorrow as the milk money at work is due, and I do use it occasionally.

I'm really tired tonight, I haven't finished that piece of work off either, though I have done some more towards it. Taking longer than I expected it to...:o

I have worked out all my debts now, the figures are scattered about in all different locations! But here goes, I may have to come back and edit this as I'm sure to muck it up or forget something!

Credit Card: £1441.99 (0%)
DFS HP: £972.67 (0%)
FIL: £9200 (0%) this was for the house deposit
Owing to the joint account: £139.05
E.ON arrears: £0 PAID OFF :j

Will update each month as payments (and hopefully overpayments) go out. I really want to clear our debts so that we can start making OP's on the mortgage. Ideally I would like to clear the mortgage as soon as we can as OH is older than me and I would like it sorted before he retires, preferably before so we enjoy our money we earn as opposed to using most of it to pay the bills and pay off the debts!

NSD: 1
Misc Spends: £11.65/125

Eyebright

Today was an accidental NSD! I forgot to put money in the milk money pot whoops, will do it tomorrow instead...

Just got back from my kettlecise class (free as I have a gym membership). OMG it's such a killer, I can hardly walk atm! Still it doesn't cost me anything and it keeps me out of mischief (and spending). I've finally finished my portfolio ready for my exam next Tuesday. So nervous!

In other news I'm doing some overtime at work tomorrow night, just staying on for an hour or so, it's all extra pennies in my purse! There's also a vancancy that would be a promotion up for grabs, currently mulling over whether in the inevitable stress a position of greater responsibility brings is worth the pay rise. Hmmm...

So...

NSD's: 2 :cool:
Misc Spends: £11.65/125