Fighting Frugal! (As opposed to fit, because lol)

Olliegami

I don't know how many times I've started something like this. I've done all the big changes, the cancellations and things like that, but for the first time I actually have an emergency fund (Thanks to some inheritance money I got at Christmas, thank you, Great Granny. )

I've spoken to a very close friend about my money situation, and we've decided that I'm going to try and keep to a budget of £40 a week, for everything. After the bills and outgoings of course!

Mostly, I envisage using this diary as a way to talk about the ways I've been saving money. Hopefully make a couple of friends along the way and share as many ideas and overcome as many obstacles as possible!

Here's to a new diary, and a new year!

Olliegami

I work as a Teaching Assistant in a school, and have recently had a month off in total. With the school holidays, and with depression two weeks before that.

I'm a bit anxious about going back on Monday - but I resolved to 'organise' my room and all the things I wanted to do before I go back. The pills are working now (hooray) and I've just been sticking a few bits and pieces on eBay what with them having free listings at the moment.

I have a huge list of things. Not sure if I should share them or just GET ON WITH IT.

First off, I'm off to get these Auctions live!

EmilyTee

Good luck! x

Olliegami

Well, it's pretty much been a week on this frugal diet, and I think things are going pretty well!

I managed to dump a load of stuff on ebay, and work has been going great. (Which I am loathe to say because that's tempting fate, right?)

I got paid for my second job today, so I'm going to pop that cheque in my bank. Not sure yet if I should put it in my savings or my current account to transfer to one of my debts... After using the debt snowball calculator again and finding out my DFD isn't until September 2017, I'm thinking that it might be wisest to throw everything extra at that.

HOWEVER, and there's always a bloody however. I have a friend coming to visit from Australia for a few days next week, and I'm going to London to meet her, before dragging up here to sunny Lincoln (lol). So... I'm thinking that might get expensive if I'm not careful, but maybe we can have fun frugally! (haha)

Olliegami

This weekend has been-- pretty good in all.

I got a lot of jobs done, and I don't think I went overboard.

I kept a record of everything I've spent this week:

10.50 - Weekly bus ticket to work
£6 - Coffee with my friend.
£3.76 - Lunch from the Spar. I forgot the kitchens weren't open at work.
£4.62 - Groceries
£11.99 - ... Last night's KFC. I paid. Sort of my turn to.
£2.60 - Postage; I had to return a faulty ebay purchase
£10 - Starbucks top up. I didn't need to, but it'll sit on my card.

I kinda of also bought that Plain Lazy deal. The one that was £35. I also bought 18 bars of Nakd from their website because they are delicious, and I also paid for a trip to the top of the Shard for next Saturday.

.... Totally not including those in my proposed £40 a week budget, but I went well over anyway. By £9.47

HOWEVER, I made money this week too?

£15 - Sold an old rabbit hutch
£10 - Dad bought me a scratchcard for Christmas that I cashed in
£2.80 - A friend bought our group a lottery ticket for the New Year's draw which I won on, and I cashed that in too!

I'm going to try and stick to £40 again for this week...

But I think the week after I'm just going to have to watch the pennies. Oh well!

Olliegami

Well!

I've just dropped my Australian friend off at the train station. Sad times, but I'm sure we will meet again, and we're in contact online so it's not so bad!

On the plus side, it means I get to start a new pay day month with a fresh start and I am setting myself the biggest challenge I've set myself yet!

With only the money I took out the other day for 'stuff' and the money my friend gave me for things I'd bought like train tickets and stuff I have a total of £95.

My goal this month is to leave my debit card alone... and see if I can make it through the whole month on £95.

If I can manage it, it will mean that my main account will no longer be in my overdraft! At the moment my overdraft is about £500, and as of THIS MINUTE, my current balance is -£499.98.

So, we'll see. Being on top of my overdraft again will definitely be a confidence boost, then over the next few months I intend to get rid of the overdraft altogether and just live within my means.

It's going to be a challenge, but I think I can rise up to it! =P

Olliegami

WELL.

My plan to live on £95 until the next payday hasn't quite gone as expected.

I now have £35 in my wallet BUT, I have paid upfront £21 for school dinners - which will pay for 10 dinners.

I've also bought a weekly bus ticket, which cost £10.50

I sorta caved and bought a new set of headphones as the others broke. They were £9.99.

I think I also bought a round of drinks the other night at the pub, and I've paid for things like postage of eb@y parcels and more envelopes and things from Poundland.

Don't think there's anything else I've spent. I tend to empty my change into my moneybox the moment I get home.

On the plus side, I have £32 in my paypal account, and there is one eb@y item ending tonight which has been bid on, and one that ends mid-week which already has bids on it.

Today was a NSD and I'm hoping that I can keep the expenditures to a minimum by playing on my games and things for the rest of the month.

We shall see!!!!

Olliegami

Things have been going pretty well!

I've managed not to take any money out of either of my accounts, and I'm still living off the money I had in cash.

Despite what I'd hoped - living on £95 just isn't going to work this month I don't think. Much more preparation needed, but I'm going to try my best to keep at it.

On the plus side, I have a few people coming to collect some things I've sold on a Facebook Local selling page - so I intend to use the money I earn from that as 'spending' money.

Other than that, I have some more auctions ending tonight. One sale, which is better than nothing, and tomorrow an auction which has 28 watchers and 12 bids up to £14.49 will be ending which is very exciting!!

Olliegami

Pretty sure it gets said at the end of every month, but I really cannot believe that tomorrow is the last day of January!

Getting closer to the Spring is always a great feeling, I just hope it brings with plenty of happy days for everyone, it's so easy to feel down about things like the weather at the moment.

Aside from having lunch at work, which is £2.10, and I've pre-paid, I also spent 90p sending off an eb@y parcel that ended yesterday. I'd feel bad for claiming today was an NSD, but I know I've had better days.

Tomorrow won't be an NSD either, as I've got another e@bay thing ending today which already has bids on, but I'm excited to see how much it will go for in the end! At the moment it's reached £20, with 14 bids, and has about 4 hours left to go - so we shall see!

Today I also found out that I can purchase bus tickets for longer than a week, which was quite the surprise. I'm going to wait until after the half term now to get one, but that should save me about £1 a week, but it all adds up! That, and it will be better to be able to budget like that. Not having to pay for bus tickets out of a weekly 'cash' budget might make me feel better about how fair the budget I set is!

After posting stuff I decided to go on a roadkill hunt. Wasn't until I got home that I found 1p right under my housemate's window. It was good exercise though, if nothing else. =P

Olliegami

I realise it's pretty bad to be playing scratch cards, but I just have to share a story.

A friend bought us all scratch cards for Christmas, and I won £2.

So, I bought two more thinking - well, it was never my money in the first place.

I won another £2, so I bought two more.

Then I won another £2 so I bought two more.

Then I won £1, and bought one more.

I've just won £5. Think that's 3 for the pot, and £2 on two more scratch cards (Can't stop a winning streak, can I?)

Also, I went to Starbucks today with my free reward (I know. Starbucks is my guilty pleasure. ;;) I was just about to get myself a piece of carrot cake to go with it, and the gentleman I had been talking to behind me in the queue paid for it instead! Which was incredibly sweet of him. I don't think that's happened to me before!

Then on my way home I found 5p on the floor.

All in all. It's a good day. =D