Time for a change

WelshKitty85

We have talked about it several times and he says he understands but the conversation always ends with him in a strop because he feels bad about not working. I know he is applying for all the jobs he can, so that is not the issue. I have worked out the budget and we can survive as long as we need to on just my wages (including overpaying on our debts) as long as we stick to the budget. I think he agrees with me in principle, but feels like he is missing out on things. I think I just have to put my foot down for the rest of the month and go shopping alone from now on.

WelshKitty85

Day off today and finally got round to bathing and grooming the dog. He smells so much better now!

Also finished meal plan for the month and went to butchers to stock up. Got enough meat to last til the end of feb for £31, and that included some yummy steak that we had tonight - bargain!

Sent letter to tax credits yesterday with a proposed repayment plan. Included a cheque for the first payment, so hope they will accept my offer.

Car insurance due soon. Renewal was well over £400. Been shopping around and got it down to £260. Currently paying £37 a month so this will drop to around £25 - pleased with that.

Think that is all I have to report for today.

WelshKitty85

Not been doing too badly with managing finances. Got £20 tesco voucher in the post after booking a sun holiday. Was also given £20 from somebody that oh did a favour for. So, used this for shopping. After spending an hour online last night checking prices at various shops, managed to do a weekly shop for just over £40. Used the vouchers at tesco and got the rest from aldi. Think we are pretty well stocked up to last the week and my grocery budget hasn't been touched this week, so we should be able to splash out a little next week with what is left in my shopping account.

Got £41 in paypal now from various survey sites. Should be able to cash out another £25 soon too. Trying to save this until there is a decent amount in there.

WelshKitty85

Splashed out a little this weekend. Had a bite to eat and drinks out with friends. Also went a bit over budget on the shopping. We are well stocked up now though so shouldn't need so much next week. Overall, not done too much damage.

Back on track today. All meals from stores. Tonight was homemade lasagne 'ready meal' which was lovely!

Not heard back from tax credits yet. Hoping that no news is good news!

WelshKitty85

Exhausted today!

Worked my overtime last night at the event I was looking forward to. It was good fun, but the weather was awful so I was drenched by the end of the night! Will be a little boost to my pay next month though, so glad I did it.

Need to do weekly shop today. Have £48 left in my shopping account, which should be plenty for what I need.

Just ordered my travel money after using the mse comparison tool. Only a few weeks now til we go - can't wait!

Still not heard back from tax credits but the cheque has cleared, so I am assuming they have accepted my proposal.

WelshKitty85

Still plodding along with the debt busting. All accounts are up to date and balances are what they should be. Started slimming world this week, which has made shopping a little more expensive. Think this is because I am shopping for 2 lots of food though - healthy things for me and unhealthy for everyone else! I love my fruit and veg, but unfortunately, the rest of the family dont like it so much. I think we will have to make some compromises next week so I dont need to buy quite so much.

WelshKitty85

Not posted for a while as I havent had much to report. All accounts are where they should be. Back from holiday (seems like a lifetime ago already) and managed to stick to budget whilst we were away too. Still shopping in aldi, and oh has finally come to terms with it and accepted that he actually likes quite a lot of their stuff. Due my next student finance payment in about a month and have worked out spreadsheets for my expenditure up until September. This means I can start making overpayments as soon as it comes through, whilst knowing I still have plenty left to pay the bills. Still hoping to have a big chunk of debt paid off by xmas this year.

WelshKitty85

Ooops...I think I have been neglecting this diary a little bit!

Not had much to report over the last month or so and have just been plodding along, however...we have sold one of our cars today and replaced it with a cheaper run around, which means we can wave bye bye to one lot of car finance. The will mean we will be nearly £130 better off every month! The new car needs a little work, but the money that is left after paying the old car finance should be enough to cover it, so I think it is a good decision overall.

Also, I finish my current year of uni in about 2 weeks and will be able to do some overtime at work. I have worked out my spreadsheets until septemebr and have worked out that by the time I get next years student finance, I should have about 500 left over to take a chunk out of the credit card. I have already upped my monthly payments, so hope to get this cleared asap.

WelshKitty85

Right then...time to start tacking these debts again!

The last few months have involved a lot of change. We had a new family move into the street who were the ultimate nightmare neighbours and made our lives hell, to the point I was on edge every time I heard a noise outside and was crying myself to sleep some nights. So we made the decision to move.

We had to take out a new loan to cover the costs of moving and the new furniture etc that we needed. However, we will be able to repay this in full next month when I get my student finance payment.

The old loan doesn't have much left on it now and will be completely paid off by march. The credit card is almost below the 2k mark now.

I need to complete a new soa so I can see exactly where we are upto. I will try to get round to this today.

WelshKitty85

So, I have been working on my budget planner up until Xmas. The plan is still to pay off the loan when I get my student finance in 2 weeks time, but this is going to make things very tight until I get my next payment in January. So, I have got to work straight away and have listed some things for sale on Facebook. Providing they actually turn up for it, I have sold one item already for £70 so that will help.

The big challenge will be trying to cut down on the food budget. I know I have got to start planning every meal and making & sticking to a shopping list every week, with no little shops in between. It can be done!