Debt free by 40 -- 19 Months and counting

StressedSteph

Verbatim wrote: »

How did the Mexican dinner party go?

Hi Verbatim

The Mexican meal went very well I think, everyone tucked in and I think they enjoyed it. They did'nt go home till 1am :eek:
Good news is there are lots of leftovers.

We are having Quesadillas for dinner tonight, which is basically the same but sandwiched between two tortilla wraps and cooked in a fryingpan.

I might freeze what is left for a couple of dinners in the week
I need to be very savvy with my dinners this week as I have no money to do my weekly shop after the Dinner party Tesco order.

I do have 90% of everything I need, I just need to make sure I make some cakes and cheese straws for packed lunches next week.

I sold 7 wreaths today at the Christmas Fair and I have another treatment booked at the Spa Monday morning. After that they will owe me £90.

Hubby is going to put the Christmas Wreath sign out at the bottom of our lane tomorrow so fingers crossed it will start to generate the odd passerby popping in.

Planning on spending most of next week making wreaths. I now have 30 on order and also need spares made up to cover extra sales.

I want to get as organised as possible as the Monday afterwards (8th Dec) my other job of plucking turkeys starts and i usually work as many hours as possible there which is about 32 hours for the week so it doesn't leave much time for wreath making.

Not much else to report. Would love to sell 20 more wreaths as that would be a profit of £500 :T after expenses.

At the moment I am at about £260 profit after expenses which isn't bad.

Signing off now, speak soon

lhead123

Hi Steph!

Glad your party went well. I'm sure you'll be able to stretch the food you've got. It's always possible when you need to

I tried envelope budgeting before discovering YNAB. I found it didn't work for me as I'd forget to take the right envelope so pay on card and then have to go to the bank to pay it back in or something....or i'd borrow change for parking or something similar and forget to put it back.....all in all it was a complete failure for me! :rotfl:

I'm the same as you with YNAB, I find I tend to use it in retrospect and adjust the budget as I spend.....I NEED to stop doing that! If I give myself a certain amount for food I really need to not spend any more than that!! :wall:

Do you have the app on your phone? I find that when I remember to look at how much I've got in a certain category I'm more likely to not overspend. I just need to make it part of my daily routine I think.

Hope you get some wreath sales from your sign. It's all extra money!

L xx

Ciaerda

Well done Steph I'm exhausted reading your post how do you have the energy you put me to shame xx

dawnybabes

I make chilli lasagne with any leftovers :-)

StressedSteph

lhead123 wrote: »

Hi Steph!

Glad your party went well. I'm sure you'll be able to stretch the food you've got. It's always possible when you need to

I tried envelope budgeting before discovering YNAB. I found it didn't work for me as I'd forget to take the right envelope so pay on card and then have to go to the bank to pay it back in or something....or i'd borrow change for parking or something similar and forget to put it back.....all in all it was a complete failure for me! :rotfl:

I'm the same as you with YNAB, I find I tend to use it in retrospect and adjust the budget as I spend.....I NEED to stop doing that! If I give myself a certain amount for food I really need to not spend any more than that!! :wall:

Do you have the app on your phone? I find that when I remember to look at how much I've got in a certain category I'm more likely to not overspend. I just need to make it part of my daily routine I think.

Hope you get some wreath sales from your sign. It's all extra money!

L xx

Hi Lhead,


Wow you have just hit the nail on the head for me. I have gotten into the habit of recording my spending retrospectively.
I get what I consider is lots of NEEDS!! and then go home and try to re-jig the budget to fit, which doesn't always work.


I do have the app, but I need to remember to sync it after each alteration on the computer, as it is often out of date when I look at it. Maybe there is a setting where I can set it to sync automatically. I will have a look.


Thanks hun xx

Ciaerda wrote: »

Well done Steph I'm exhausted reading your post how do you have the energy you put me to shame xx

Hi Ciaerda,


It was weird reading your post as I feel I am always mentally berating myself for being too lazy!! :rotfl:. I always feel I could do much better / more than I am doing. Maybe I am being too hard on myself?.

dawnybabes wrote: »

I make chilli lasagne with any leftovers :-)

Oooh nice idea Dawn, even after another dinner last night we still have tonnes of leftovers. I may freeze it all though as I also have half a Roast pork joint leftover which I could turn into a roast dinner today. Think we need a slight days break from Chilli dishes .

I will definitely make the chilli lasagne though. Nice idea.

I am spending the next week making wreaths, so I will put yours in the post at some point during the week. Will let you know when it is posted so you can report back as to how it travels

StressedSteph

Eeeek. I have put the sign down the bottom of the lane advertising the wreaths.


Abit scared about strangers turning up any time of day as I feel quite protective of our privacy up here, but it is a good opportunity to get sales come to us rather than me chasing them with Christmas fairs.


I only have one more fair next Saturday, as I am jam packed with work from the 8th and it is also Dd's birthday weekend on the 14th so had better not be off out working on that day.


Will be nice if the sign generates some business. We will see.

abba1772

Fingers crossed you make some sales with your sign xx

supersaver1000

Would you be comfortable leaving one or two down there with a money pot? A lot of the small holders do that here. I guess you would need something more secure than a tin for the money though.:)

mummytogirls

Ooohhh Steph, I hope the wreaths work for you!

Re the enveloping system, I think it works quite well. Problem with me is, I start it up and then never stick to it!!! xx

StressedSteph

Afternoon,


Phew had a terrible day yesterday and today. Father-in-law's vision went all blurry and was seeing double so he asked me if I could take him into A&E Monday morning.


We spent 8 hours in the hospital, moving around departments having tests. Horrendous. I had to sort someone to collect the children from school, they missed their clubs, we ended up having a quick takeaway for dinner as nothing was prepared and I was exhausted.


Had to take him in again for a 9am appointment this morning and have just got home and am having a coffee.


The Drs reckon it is something that will just go away on its own :mad:. So frustrating.


I am meant to be getting ahead with my wreath making but feel completely at a loss at to what to do now. Only got two hours before I have to pick the children up and I also need to sort something for dinner.


Think I will have to start fresh tomorrow morning with the wreaths and concentrate on getting dinner sorted and the house jobs caught up with.


Haven't even had time to check the bank balance.
Slightly annoyed as I have used up my whole weeks budget of fuel and its on Tuesday and I am also down with having bought that takeaway last night. :mad:.


Off to put a load of washing on and will catch up properly tomorrow xxxx