Time for a change

WelshKitty85

Squirrelly wrote: »

Hi WelshKitty, congratulations on degree halfway point! My hubby takes his penultimate exam tomorrow as he is due to finish his in June. I have so much admiration for people who go back to education it is bl**dy hard work but so worth it. I hope you are getting lots of support x

And I totally agree on school trips

Thanks for the words of encouragement. It really is hard work, but I must admit I have really enjoyed going back to education, meeting new people and realising how many opportunities are out there. Well done to your hubby too!

WelshKitty85

Weekly shop today. Managed to stay in budget but tried L!dl today and wasnt as impressed as I was with Ald!. A lot of the shelves were empty and there wasnt much choice. Think it will be back to Ald! next week. Aiming for lots of NSDs this week.

WelshKitty85

Pay day today. Got £10 more than I was expecting. Not much, but every little helps.

Ordered & paid for oh's passport today. Paid the extra £8 for check & send just for peace of mind. Its 8 weeks until we go away so wanted to make sure it wont be delayed.

Had car ins renewal through @ £470. Had a quick look at some comparison sites and have got it down to just over £300 already. Hopefully will get it down even more before it needs renewing next month.

Checked shopping budget today and only have £80 to last the next 2 weeks. It will be tight, but we should just about manage on that.

WelshKitty85

Weekly shop done. Spent £50 but that includes meat from the butcher which should last 2 weeks. Just over £30 left for next weeks shop. Will have to meal plan, use up left overs and cupboard supplies, make a list and stick to it. Its going to be tight but I'm determined to stick to the budget.

Started having a tidy up and clear out. Binned loads of junk! Anything that might sell, I am going to list on facebook but whatever doesn't go in the next few days I will just take to charity shop. I just want rid now so my house starts to look tidy again.

WelshKitty85

Meal plan for the week:
Mon - chicken, bacon & mushroom pie (leftover chicken from sunday roast)
Tue - chicken curry & naan bread (last of the leftover chicken)
Wed - sausage casserole
Thu - pasta bake & garlic bread
Fri - part baked baguettes with goats cheese, bacon & onion marmalade
Sat - burgers, chips & onion rings
Sun - roast chicken dinner

Dont often eat breakfast but have bread for toast and cereal in stoees in needs be. Lunches will be mainly sandwiches and soup.

WelshKitty85

Finally heard back from tax credits and they have reduced the overpayment by over £600, so I now only need to pay back about £250. Still not great, but much better than what they originally asked me to pay back. The letter they sent doesnt tell me how or when I need to pay though! It's just so typical of tax credits office, they just seem so disorganised!

Managed to stick to meal plan so far this week. Had to do a little top up shop for essentials, so may have to borrow some money from next months budget to do this weeks main shop on the weekend. I only have about £20 leftin this months budget! All other expenditure is within budget this month.

WelshKitty85

Not much to report, but want to keep posting in my diary as the thought if having to declare any overspends here helps to keep me on the straight and narrow!

Checked bank accounts and spreadsheets today and my budget is pretty much spot on. Going to write to tax credits about the overpayment and offer to pay a small amount in feb & march then pay the remainder in April when I get my next lot of student finance. Since they haven't advised how or when to pay so far, I am hoping they will accept my offer.

WelshKitty85

Quick update...

Checked paypal account and have had £28 paid in from various survey sites.

Got a little overtime next month. Realy pleased about this for a few reasons
1. Extra money
2. It involves working at an event that I wanted to go and watch but couldn't justify buying tickets for. I will get to watch the event for free in between working!
3. It loosely relates to the degree I am doing so I might make some good connections there.

All steps in the right direction so feeling rather pleased!

WelshKitty85

AAARRRGGHH!!!!

It's only the 2nd of Feb and we have already spent far too much of this months shopping budget. I now have less than £120 to last til the end of the month. I have done a meal plan for the rest of the month and think we should be able to manage it, but I'm just so fed up of being the only one who seems to be cutting back. I'm sure oh thinks I'm trying to punish him and I dont think he understands why I am trying to budget! I'm desperately trying to cut back where I can so that we can repay our debts quicker but I'm starting to realise that I cant do this alone!

Igamogam

Time to sit down and have that conversation - not easy.