The Adventures of a Debt Defying Diva

sassychick2014

Morning hon

Sounds like your February was a success considering! I've not even dared look at my budgets yet as I know I went way over.

The sweets & flowers for your neighbours sounds a lovely idea, I'm sure they'll love them.

Have a great day! x

RainbowBridgeReturns

Thanks Sassy, yes things could have been a lot worse and, in a previous incarnation, a month like that would have put 5 lb on me and £500.00 on the overdraft, so we have progress ....

Whoppee to the 1 March 2014, sunny weather and a whiff of spring in the air.

I have set my budget and it is looking like this:-

Grocery Shopping £350.00
Trousers and Shoes for me £40.00
Gym £54.00
DS treat days £15.00
My treat days £15.00
Orange Mobile £1.44
Mum £0.00
DS Mobile £9.75
Auntie £20.00
DS Clothes for D of E £40.00
Hair (DS and I) £65.00

1. Grocery shopping - A five week month and I have nothing left in the freezer, so I think £350.00 is reasonable. I am going to use up the £70.00 of money off vouchers that I have from Waitrose, which gives me an average weekly Waitrose spend of £60.00 and another £10.00 for any additional items. I have planned my meals for the month.

2. DS needs quite a number of items for a couple of Duke of Edinburgh awards trips in May, so I will buy some in March, April and May at the best prices. I paid for his actual trips last year, thank goodness.

3. I am starting a new, regular mystery shopping assignment in March, which will require a pair of dark trousers and flat black shoes, so I will look around to get the best buy here.

4. No money is needed for mum as her accounts are healthy this month! I have budgeted for coffee or lunch, each week, when I meet up with dear aunt.

5. My mobile bill is low because I complained about some unfair charges, in December, and they have refunded me.

6. Treat days for me will be a hike up skald law, in the Pentlands, with DS, and a day out in the city attending an art lecture and window shopping, lunching at my favourite restaurant. Both these events are scheduled.

By sticking to this budget I will be able to save £250.00 and that will be the start of my Emergency Fund !!!

Goals:-

This month I will:-

- Completely overhaul my wardrobe as per Sassy's suggestion
- Drink moderately on no more than 6 occasions
- Stick to my gym and spa schedule
- Achieve an emergency fund of £250.00
- Really enjoy and savour my two treat days!
- Stick to my budget

Here we go!

RainbowBridgeReturns

All the plans are in place, the spreadsheets are ready to go, I just need to implement them and turn my spreadsheet green. I am going to post three key things that I want to do each day to reach my goals, they will take priority:-

The first stage of my wardrobe overhaul, will be to clear the washing baskets, they are bursting at the seams again.

KT 1. Put three washes on and out to dry.
KT 2. Organise/do 3 cinema audits = £36.00 t'wds emergency fund
KT 3. NSD/AFD/1300 tracked calories

in_need_of_direction

Let me know how you get on with the three tasks and don't forget to be grateful for your achievements.

RainbowBridgeReturns

Thanks again for stopping by INOD, good advice, as always x.

Today I have decided to tackle the issues with my 'supervisor' at work. In reality she is 'self employed' like the rest of us, and she should just be responsible for allocating the work and sending in our time sheets, for which she gets an extra £10.00 a day. She is a person who likes to introduce rules and regulations for everything, and now acts like she is the HR Manager for a multi national company (the irony of the situation is that 5 years ago, before redundancy, she was).

After checking with the area manager, it would appear that she has gone way over her remit. I have been debating, with myself, whether just to keep my head down and go with the flow, but this is a mistake I have made many times in the past, and I have probably left this situation to brew for far too long. I have talked through a different approach, with DH, which is to achieve what I want to, while still keeping her on side. I have the key points listed, but we shall see how it goes....... It may not be pretty.

Today's goals.

KT 1. Try and peacefully resolve above situation. This will help with my goal of curtailing my overeating, drinking and spending tendencies.

KT 2. Body Pump class today - Help with bone strength and health goals.

KT 3. BSD/AFD/1300 tracked calories - one more wash on - Organisation goal

I have decided that NSD's don't work for me, as what I am really trying to achieve is to stay within my budgets and plan, rather than to avoid spending. So I am going to try for 31 BSD, which means Budgeted spend days. I qualify every day that I am within my planned spend and budget.

Yesterday's goals:-

KT 1. Put three washes on and out to dry. Done - house is like a Chinese laundry.

KT 2. Organise/do 3 cinema audits = £36.00 t'wds emergency fund - Done and I want to go and see 'NOAH' in April, it looks epic.

KT 3. NSD/AFD/1300 tracked calories - achieved.

I am grateful that I achieved the above and that DH and DS have a good sense of humour and seem to love me warts and all.

RainbowBridgeReturns

I am having one of my treat days today.

The plan and key actions are:-

Flat black shoes and smart, dark trousers for a new job – I am looking for quality at a bargain price. (Budgeted for)

Two mystery shops (£25.00) one of which is assessing clothes units in my favourite department store.

Lunch at a vegetarian restaurant (special offer)

Attend free lecture at the National Portrait Gallery - Richard Dadds Portrait of Sir Alexander Morison

Spend my free £20.00 voucher in Austin Reeds.

Soak up the spring sunshine in Princes Street Gardens

Yesterday's goals:-

KT 1. Try and peacefully resolve work situation. This will help with my goal of curtailing my overeating, drinking and spending tendencies.

The conversation did not start too well, but I held my ground and stuck to plan and by the end we had reached an agreement, which I can live with.

KT 2. Body Pump class today - Help with bone strength and health goals.

I did a Body Pump class, followed by a Body Balance class, and then a spell in the spa. I really enjoyed the combination.

KT 3. BSD/AFD/1300 tracked calories - one more wash on - Organisation goal - Achieved

I am grateful that I have my health, at the moment, and I pledge to do what I can to maintain it.

in_need_of_direction

You're doing well. The mini goals seem to work for you. Can you combine the Austin reed voucher with the purchase of the dark trousers. Not very bargain I know but a definite investment piece as their clothes can be true classics and very hard wearing.

sassychick2014

Morning!

I'm glad things seemed to go ok with your supervisor and that things stay well for you.

The mini goals are definitely working for you so maybe that's the way to keep going. All in all you're still doing so well and we're now into March so you should feel proud of yourself.

Have a great day! x

RainbowBridgeReturns

Thank you so much for your continued support and good ideas.

Yesterday, was lovely, and went pretty much as planned. I popped into Austin Reed's and would have loved a pair of their 'investment' trousers, but even with my £20.00 voucher, I would still have got no change of £100.00. I settled on a versatile cream top, which cost me £12.00 with discounts and voucher. There is a designer outlet village near Edinburgh and I have a few mystery shops lined up there for the end of the week, so I will see whether I can get my trousers and shoes there.

Walking along George Street, on a spring morning, is such a pleasurable thing to do, but I was acutely aware that parting with £1,000 here, in the company of some of the most expensive brands in the world, was all too easy, so I moved swiftly on!

The lecture was so interesting. What looked like an uninspiring picture of an Edinburgh Undertaker, turned out to be the story of a brilliant painter, who as a young man had travelled to Egypt, and believed he had become possessed by the Spirit of Osiris. He came home, horrifically murdered his beloved father, and was apprehended as he tried to murder another person. He then spent the rest of his life in institutions for the criminally insane and is buried in the grounds of Broadmoor. Nearly all his family members followed similar paths.

He formed a very close relationship with his Psychiatrist, who was responsible for many positive changes in the treatment of the criminally insane, and the painting is actually one of his Psychiatrist, set against the background of the River Forth, which the artist had never seen in person.

I love the way that one picture can be used to tell a fascinating story.

So I covered all my key things yesterday and I stuck to my budget. After expenses (Austin Reed top and some make-up) I am sticking £9.00 profit from MS's in the emergency fund.

Today:-

KT1 - Find CPP paperwork, read Martin's note, and stick in a claim for DH and I.

KT2 - Attend Zumba class tonight and chill out in the spa with a trashy mag.

KT3 - Phone Waitrose up and ask for a refund for my rotten pineapple.

I am grateful that I live on the outskirts of Edinburgh, which I believe to be one of the must beautiful and interesting cities in the world.

in_need_of_direction

I love Edinburgh and not just for the adorable pandas. Though I've been there loads of times I always get a jolt at the first sight of the castle. I was also incredibly fortunate to have been gifted a weekend stay a few years ago at prestonfield. If you haven't stayed or eaten there, it's def one for the long term indulgences.