How to survive the month at the end of the money!

EmilyTee

New year New diary!

I have a good job, I work long hours and I own my own place.. but I’ve been a bit hopeless with money, I lurked on here for a while and although I wasn’t an active poster I managed to pay £4k off my debt using this site but I'm sure I could have done better... towards the end of the year I slipped up and got lazy

So this year I want to try and get as much of my out goings down, to help pay off the debt.

I pay £700 to my debt every month plus £219 to my student loan that’s nearly half my monthly salary –

I basically work 2 weeks every month just to pay for my debt

– and that thought right there sobered me up :beer:

So how – I’m not going to survive going too hard core some of you MSER'S are amazing but I am weak… I tried hardcose and fell off the wagon spectacularly previously so baby steps..

· I’m going to look at my bills more closely.. Car Insurance… Contents Insurance..Telephone bills…. Etc unfortunately sky and the phone are in contract til October next year (they did get reduced but the locked me into new contracts)

· I will allow myself £130 a month to go out which will include 2 luxuries – the gym and my horse riding which I will limit to twice a month. Not very MSE but when you live alone and your friends live 100's of miles away it’s my “me” time. This comes to £84 a month and gets me out at least 3 times a week leaving £46 for any birthdays or nights out with friends (this should be fine if I’m voucher smart and max my student discount opportunities)

· Currently I spend far too much on food for one person I aim to make as many lunches and dinners from scratch and as cheap as possible – reading the “feed a family of 4 for £7 for a week£ thread I could potentially cut my food bill to as little as £28 and I want to try and do it using as much veg as I can with Mr A's special 6 and I’m going to get freezing

· I’m going to continue with my “no more beauty products til I use what I have” project which I think will manage for a least a few more months

· Ebay will be adorned with everything I thought I needed and didn't I have to much "stuff"

Please feel free to join in the madness...

Will I surcome to food poisioning trying to actualy cook?

Will I make a million on Ebay?

Who knows....

And so it begins...... :T

Skinnylatte

Good luck EmilyTee

EmilyTee

My name is EmilyTee Commander of my home… General of my two moggies….. Loyal Servant to my debts…. Mother to a murdered Chilli Plant…. And I will have my Vengeance (on my debt)!!!

Yes I am a JANUS WARRIOR!!!!

(sorry watched gladiator last night)

(well….just waiting for my number from Ninja Saving Kat….so a warrior in waiting…kinda)

Last night I had a surf and came across the Janus challenge some of it I already do and some of it seemed alone the lines of what I need to do it’s for the whole of Jan and basically involves:

· 20 NSD
· Fixed food budget
· Downshift brands in your shopping
· Lunch to work every day
· Exercise 3 times a week
· No beauty spends over £10 (well I’m trying to go £0)
· No purchasing Alcohol
· No entering restaurants, cafes, takeaways and corner shops
· No additional outings other than those already planned

So at the moment I have 11 days til pay day, So I’m going to do this to pay day and then again next pay day.

I have £140 to last me.


I have recently done my food shop so hopefully I won’t need anything. I’ve got loads of veg from xmas that I’m going to make into soup for lunches it’s the dinners that are going to be tough so I’m going to have a read of the Old style thread for ideas

I’ve got half a tank of petrol left which I’m going to try and make last

I have a late team xmas lunch today and a hen weekend to pay for (accommodation and flights already paid, fortunately she is preggers and her other friend is skint so its mainly laying around a pool for 2 days and she knows my money situ so we’ve agreed cheap is the way forward)

I have the gym to keep me occupied and 1 riding lesson booked an paid for

So targets for this week (Saturday – Friday):
· Gym twice
· Riding lesson
· Start Couch to 5k run app
· Ebay Pandora charm I found from Ex
· Ebay Karen Millen Boots
· Complete Uni Paper
· 6 NSD

mooomin

Good luck Emily

I've been on this site for quite a few years now, and paid off almost £10,000 of debt at its worst. I'm debt-free now but have also signed up as a Janus Warrior as my hours have reduced at work and I'm only guaranteed employment till the end of March to boot :eek:

The key to success is to keep posting, even if things are going wonky. You can only learn from obstacles.

I've subscribed now!

Midgie

Good luck Emily!

EmilyTee

Evening all


What a beautiful day!


I made it to the gym for my first session of the year, I've eaten from the cupboard today and apart from a pint of milk I came close to my first NSD of the year! (tomorrow I'll do better)


This evening I intend to batch bake, have a bath, ebay before the free insertion ends and chillax


Tomorrow I'm going for a run! eek! and then I'm staying in doors so I can't be tempted to spend

mooomin

Hope you managed to get a few bits listed on Ebay - it's a job I often avoid because it's so dull

EmilyTee

Well I have had a good day on the health kick front no tea and I managed a run at lunch time. I popped my intake into the free tracker and I’ve only eaten 19 grams of fat today! I’ll eat more tomorrow though as my budget is 45g a day.. I’ve paired up with a guy in the office who is also trying to get in shape we will see if the added support keeps me in check!

I’ve also cut out of the tea rounds I’ve told them I’m going on to Green tea for my diet but it says me £5 a week (not a lot I know) but If I’m going to be serious about this I need to do it properly.. they were a bit funny at first telling me to get my green tea in, in the round but it stopped after the second round.. they will have to lump it!

I checked out a few of my rewards cards this afternoon to

I have £12.13 on nectar (and I’ve signed up to the ad thingy)
£4.40 on Boots

I will keep them, boots will come in handy for colds, I haven’t really read what I can spend nectar cards on..

Today was a spend day L I was a bit disorganized and forgot to bring some milk in with me for my porridge and tomorrow is going to be train fare so I’m struggling with my NSD.. so 64p spend on food but Tomorrow I am going to the gym and I have lunch all lined up, still have ¼ of a tank of petrol left and not beauty purchases GO ME!

Tonight I’m heading home to do some more study and washing JOY!

EmilyTee

Evening all

So today finally is a NSD!!

A few comments about the tea round but I’m sticking to my guns. £5 a week is £5 a week – that’s almost my bus fare. It just annoys me. It’s one person in particular and he is the stingiest person I think I’ve ever met, I wondered if he was on here but then he walked in with a £400 coat he bought so maybe not. I don’t understand why he is giving me such a hard time

I’ve managed to bring lunch in again today (go me) and I have the gym tonight followed by (unless I’m knackered) a run home on my couch to 5k programme if I’m knackered a walk!...

I’m in a bit of a mood today I think its possibly the diet and the fact I had a rubbish nights sleep – the storms were really bad and make horrendous noise all night added to that I have a chocolate craving – BAD I’ve been clean for a week tomorrow and I really don’t want to cave.. it will open the flood doors and the post man will find me buried alive in chocolate wrappers if just one square crosses these lips! Its only 3 weeks that all I have to try and tell myself! :EasterBun

Still I’m having quite a productive day at work and getting the boss in to ship shape which should help when it starts getting busy

DFD

· Packed lunch today
· Walk/run home from the gym rather than take the car tonight
· Did a calendar of potential spend days – think I should manage 17 no spend days this month if I’m good so 3 short of my target but if I do it I will be chuffed!
· Dug out a blanket from the back of the cupboard and stuck it over my bed – I’m going try and only heat the front room during the week ( I have set it on a timer for the cheap rates) as I’m not there during the day – the heater will keep the chill off and for the 3 hours I’m at home and then I’m in bed so the ones-ie and blanket should help
· Batch baked chilli last night J
· Started a under 10p jar and added any change I could find to it
· Cancelled my expensive car insurance renewal

EmilyTee

Hi All


Sorry I have been really busy!


so another 6 NSD
6 lunches to work
Shopping spend £34.80
Petrol £15.02
exercise another 3 sessions and im off in a minute :-)


so I'm doing ok, I've over spent on the food budget but my pay day is mid month so the stuff I've bought will last for the month with very few top ups, so really I've only spent £17 on food for the rest of the month

EmilyTee

Hi all

So my month has just started

So batch baked my little heart out this weekend and have stocked up the freezer. Enough lunches and dinners to keep me going.

This month is a ridiculously tight month due to work screwing up my wage packet. I’ve paid all the important stuff, and I have enough food to get me through the month with minimum top up but I have 4 dates for long planned dinners that I need to find the cash for. Work are looking at the issue but can’t tell me if I will get a BACS payment for the missing week of salary or whether they will make me wait til next pay! Fuming!

So taking account of where I am for the month:

Debt: £14,866.04
SFD: still 7/20
Lunch to work 11/21
Exercise 8/15
Food £35/30
Petrol: £15.02/£35
Beauty Spends £0/£10

Tesco CC - £7
Nectar - £12.13

Leaving me £77 for the rest of the month (25 days!!!) GULP!

I have 2 lunches, 1 dinner and a birthday party to go to :-/

I’ve managed to arrange 2 of the lunches at a place that does 2 mains for £10

That leaves me £57 for the dinner and the birthday party.. hmmm – might have to see what I can ebay…