Cheery's buttling diary: tea in one hand, plant pot in the other, running shoes on

Cheery_Daff

So...

Looking back at Feb and March, it seems the main culprits are:

'Treating foods'
eg 'I'll just pick up a packet of quorn sausages on the way home'. This will now be coming from the food budget, or not at all :P Also includes slimming world cereal bars - will organise cheapo versions to come out of food budget in future :P

Tea and cake/lunch in cafes
some of this is genuinely meeting up with pals for a cuppa (which is fine), but a fair bit is buying extras while out on fieldwork if I haven't taken lunch (or enough lunch). From now on - NO! Either I take it, or I claim it, or it comes from the food budget (if I've had to buy eg fruit because Mr cheery hasn't gone shopping), or I don't have it at all.

Magazines
Country Living subscription already paid for and everything else I can manage without

Clothes
don't *need* anything at all, anything I do buy is charity shop but I might try to limit my idle wandering around these...

Races, haircuts, candles, birthday cards etc...
all expendable (athough I AM going to enter a race for life which the whole of my family seems to be doing!)

Gym membership
easy peasy, won't rejoin. I only *need* it for swimming for the next 5 weeks (until triathlon!) - I can run and cycle outside :j

Slimming world
already paid for next 3 weeks, and if I'm not at target by that point I shall declare myself at target anyway and then I can go for free :rotfl:

Donations at meetings
this is mostly Al Anon - we're a small group and have to pay weekly room hire, so I usually end up donating about £10 a month - not too bad considering the benefit I get from it!

I feel embarrassed having this as a challenge But right now it really *does* feel like a challenge, which is quite embarrassing :rotfl:

Anyway, there we are, and I shall keep track of progress. Off to look at diary and see how many NSDs I can squeeze in

Cheery_Daff

Potential spends this month

Sun 6th - family Christening, NSD??

Mon 7th - working at home, slimming world (paid for) - NSD??
Tues 8th - fieldwork (will take lunch), then Al Anon (small donation) = £2
Wed 9th - fieldwork, then theatre (tea and biscuits from joint treats fund) = NSD??
Thurs 10th - fieldwork, then friend's band in pub = £5?
Fri 11th - no plans
Sat 12th - all day Al Anon business meeting - donation and raffle = £5?
Sun 13th - Al Ateen meeting - donation = £2

Mon 14th - fieldwork then slimming world = NSD??
Tues 15th - office then al anon = £2 donation
Wed 16th - fieldwork - NSD??
Thurs 17th - fieldwork - NSD??
Fri 18th - no plans
Sat 19th - no plans
Sun 20th - no plans (really, all weekend?? How very unusual! :rotfl: )

Mon 21st - bank holiday, no plans other than slimming world
Tues 22nd - work, then al anon = £2 donation
Wed 23rd - fieldwork = NSD??
Thurs 24th - work = NSD??
Fri 25th - meeting friend in town for cuppa/lunch = £10
Sat 26th - no plans
Sun 27th - my birthday = NSD?? (will demand treats all day :rotfl: )

Mon 28th - off work, no plans
Tues 29th - in office, then al anon = £2 donation
Wed 30th - fieldwork - NSD??

So according to that, 10 NSDs should be fairly realistic - they're all days when I'm fully occupied with fieldwork/in office and should be taking a packed lunch!

Roughly £30 worth of stuff allocated there, plus £15 race for life entrance fee. Also wanted to sign up for an online workshoppy thing which is £32 - oh dear, that's £87 gone already!! :eek: :eek:

I've got £30 in my purse already, so tomorrow I'll get another £80 out and split it into 4 envelopes - I think that leaves me, er, £33 in the bank should anything else crop up...

Surely I can't be so pathetic as to not manage this?!

Cheery_Daff

Ok, entered race, so £15 spent. Will update signature then go away and leave you all alone :rotfl:

Karmacat

Wow! With that amount of forward analysis, you're *bound* to manage it! You know, a certain standard of living comes with a certain cost - and that standard is well within your income - it sounds like by making conscious decisions, which you excel at once you turn your mind to it, this "problem" will disappear. Like, not claiming for food you have a right to claim for. Or paying for food out of the food budget, rather than out of your personal £200 - you can do this! And you're not pathetic, even if you don't! You want to do it, you have a preference to do it because then you can free up money to be spent elsewhere, but its not **essential** - if you had to do it, if you had to save for a life threatening operation that wasn't funded by the NHS, for instance, I bet you'd hit the nail on the head every day.

Good luck! Keep going on the analysis :j I love reading about it - erm :o:o probably because when I make plans myself, I don't do enough referring back and analysing myself :eek:

Cheery_Daff

KC

You're right, of course, if I *had* to I'd have no trouble (or at least I'd struggle, of course, but I'd manage it). It's because I don't *have* to that I sometimes don't.

Which begs the question of *why* I'm restricting myself like this...

... and the answer of course is that I don't EVER want to end up where I was before, struggling with everything, tracking every single penny, fretting about whether I was going to be able to afford a pepper in the greengrocers, and the embarrassment of having to take it back if I couldn't Never. And I *like* having savings to fall back on - I *like* being able to pay out for a holiday with only a couple of week's notice and knowing the money is there waiting.

I also like only working part time :rotfl: And I like it that after 20 odd years of working in an office Mr Cheery can do musical things full time without having to worry about money, while I do a job I (mostly) adore.

And I restrict my spending now because I don't want to be tied to this job forever, I want the freedom to decide to leave, do something else, change career entirely. I don't ever want to feel *trapped*, and part of that is having a stable financial base (and a willingness to turn your hand to anything of course, but some savings helps too!)

Thanks KC, you made me have a good think about what I was doing there :j :j

Family christening today, so not spent anything :j but I'm about to sign up for this online workshop thingy so that'll be a few quid. Can't get the special offer if I leave it til tomorrow though! :rotfl:

Karmacat

Lovely post, Cheery and you're very welcome to any input I can scrabble together :beer:

Cheery_Daff

(not going to even attempt those inappropriate kissing smileys again! :eek: :rotfl: )

Working at home today Pondering NSD, but I've got to post a birthday card and I only have a 2nd class stamp - might risk it, it's not til Wednesday (although come to think of it, I'm not sure I have a card either :rotfl: )

Anyway, first day back at work, and the only day in front of the computer this week so best crack on!

Karmacat

You sound like you're still in holiday mode - enjoy!

And those inappropriate kissing smileys were funny

Cheery_Daff

Well, I entirely forgot about the birthday card and the stamp rotfl: Which means I'll have to do a rush job at the train station tomorrow but tomorrow was never going to be a NSD anyway

but today has been!! :applause: Chuffed with myself - I popped into Slimming World to get weighed (already paid upfront weeks ago) and managed to resist cereal bars and the new magazine, and didn't stay long enough to do the raffle :j :j

Just making a giant pasta bake thing to take for lunch for the next couple of days. Mr Cheery has been to the shops and got plenty of yogurts and fruit, and I have cereal bars leftover from holidays, so that's packed lunch sorted :j :j Going to take a flask for the way there too :j so tomorrow, while it won't be a NSD, will be low spend

Off to update signature :j :j

Greying_Pilgrim

Cheery - post #276 just sums it up. Options and choices, options and choices. If, by a little bit of financial *organisation* we can *reward* ourselves with options and choices, whilst having a joy filled life along the way.... well, worth it imho :D

Greying