No Debt but think the ideas on this board will suit me very well =]

Fishywiggles

Hey, I have been looking at and using various parts of this forum for about 7 months now and have gained so much insight because of all you inspiring savvy bloggers! I started a diary on the Savings and Investments board and although I am looking to save a certain amount of money, I don't want to worry and talk about all the various savings and current accounts. I want a place where I can share my scrimping and money saving activities that help me to get to my target and help me build the life I want. As well as taking on all your brilliant savvy/frugal ideas as I go.

I have noticed that these threads and posts are not just about money and a lot of people use this forum to help them gain in other areas of their life.

I feel that I am doing so much at the moment (saving, working full time, doing a level 4 and a level 3 course) that I need somewhere to post regularly and keep track of all my priorities, goals and triumphs as I go.

I have never been one to keep a diary, I don't like writing about myself (ironic as I am studying to be a counsellor and you need to know yourself inside out for this!) so this does not come naturally to me. Hopefully my posts will keep someone entertained and inspired but if not then at least this diary will help me move forward in a more organised way.

Thanks!

Fishywiggles x

p.s if anyone from the Savings and Investments boards are reading, please don't take this personally, your information and advice is invaluable. Unfortunately, the help you can give me isn't the help I need right now. I will be back on over when I am in a place where I am ready to fiddle with all the palava of opening and changing around bank accounts for the best deals. Right now my priorities are very different. Thank you!

Fishywiggles

Here is a post I had written that I would like to re-post here:

So part of my setting up this diary is so that I can keep track of my goals for this year. My goals are things that I would love to be able to achieve in 2014 or ASAP.

ASAP
- Save £6000 by August 2014 (on track for this)
- Find a new job that pays better and is closer to home than current job
- Lose 13lbs (takes me down to nearest stone)
- Look into and organise moving my ISA to a better interest account (have ISA with my current bank and would not like to deviate away from them but will if the interest is worth it)

By 31st December 2014
- All of the above
- Save a further £2000
- Save £500 separately for Xmas 2014 presents and any payments that crop up during the year. (or get as close to £500 as I can after saving the initial £8000 mentioned above)

Things I have in place to reach these goals
- Saving £500 a month which is taken out the moment I get paid and goes straight into my ISA
- 50p a day challenge (from DFW challenges) (have been doing this for the last 2 months and have loved it. April's lump sum of 50ps saved me from going into my overdraft when my car tax was due at the end of April!)
- virtual sealed pot challenge every friday (from DFW challenges)
- Just finished my ECDL Level 2 qual which will help put my CV above others when applying for jobs
- Coming to the end of my Business Admin level 3 qual which will also do the same as above
- 8 months into a 2 year diploma for a Level 4 qual in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Using my 15 minute breaks at work to go for a walk and burn some calories
- Staying at 1500 calorie intake limit or less each day
- Using money from 50p a day and sealed pot challenge to reach £500 xmas money

Phew that was a longer post than I anticipated!

I would like to document my progress each month and make a list of what I have achieved that month so I will use this diary to keep track of those too.

Fishywiggles

I have been struggling with my weight recently and I bought a new pair of jeans in November last year which were a size I thought I could fit into. Turns out I couldn't and it meant I had no jeans to wear. I have been battling through since wearing other trousers I had laying around because I was determined to lose the weight and fit into them. I was being stubborn and refused to buy a new pair. This was at the detriment to my social life. Luckily I have a very supportive and wonderful boyfriend to help me through.

Anyway, today I finally took the plunge and bought a new pair of jeans even though I cannot really afford them. Once I bought them I was very very happy.

I then kind of let this moment of happiness take over and went and spent money in Sainsburys that I should not have.

The revelation here is that as much as I want to be happy, I cannot let little moments like this ruin all my hard work so far. I have a target to reach and I am determined to reach it. Therefore, I did not need to buy the alcohol and snacks that I bought and I will learn from this!

Although I did get a bottle of wine for free via nectar points and £1.50 off the snacks, I still spent £5.10 that I cannot actually afford. Luckily my boyfriend is a gentleman and paid some of it. I now owe him this out of next months money - we are very fair and pay our own way regardless so I will pay this back to him and learn from this.

Fishywiggles

Money savings I have achieved so far:

- Reduced weekly monthly petrol amount. Used to spend £120 a month and reduced that to £100 which was £25 a week (I drive a 30mile round trip to work everyday). I have since been able to reduce this further to £90 a month by driving a lot more efficiently.

- Food budget. Me and the BF used to spend £180 a month on food just for us two. We now have two cats and on a bad month spend £130 (last month £80 of this was his). I started with a budget of £60 a month for myself which I have recently reduced to £50 a month

- Car insurance. in 2012 I paid my car insurance off in one go by using a 0% credit card which I then paid monthly. During this time I started saving and by the following year I was able to pay off the whole years insurance with savings so I now have no monthly payment for this! Bonus because I was able to scrap the credit card too which I found I was using more and more and the amount was not reducing and I was nearly not able to pay it off before the 18month 0% interest deal ended - I succeeded luckily.

The idea of being able to pay off the credit card was probably my LBM in terms of how I was spending and wasting money. I realised that we are not going to be able to reach our goal (buying our flat) until we are able to get our spending and saving in the right order.

From this point onwards I have refused to buy anything new unless we really really really need to. That meant salvaging as much as we could from things if they went wrong or broke. I also starting using the freecycle sites and taking up opportunities of free furniture etc when it arose. It doesnt matter if it matches when its free!!

Anyway, ramble over!

WantToBeSE

Hiya Fishy, I followed you over from the Savings board


What a great idea you had about the Car Ins. payments! Very clever


I am trying to resist the urge to spend money on clothes at the moment. Myself and my 2 boys all NEED to buy some clothes, but I really don't want to spend any money! I am between sizes at the moment (too big for a 12, too small for a 14) so am reluctant to buy any new shorts/dresses because of this.


What are you up to today? I have worked out my budget and meal plan for the week (I always do this on a Sunday) and am now relaxing!

Fishywiggles

Hey WantToBeSE,

Thanks for following me on over.

Isn't it hard when you need new clothes yet can't really afford them. Sometimes though I way up the cost of buying the clothes against missing out on things I want to do. Not having jeans meant I didn't feel dressed up enough to meet up with friends and missed outings.

I know what you mean about being in between sizes. It annoying and I can see why you wouldn't want to buy anything. If you buy a 14 a lose a bit more then it wouldn't fit as well as it would have if it was a 12 but if you get a 12 and don't lose the weight it might be too tight lol its a goes round in a cirlce.

I have a dilemma about today now. My brother has just invited me over to the pub for a drink as its such a nice day out and we live so close to each other. Do I go and spend money on one drink and socialise and risk going into my overdraft (£1 a day fee) or not go and be a recluse! Hmm might see if I can scrounge some change together... one drink shouldn't cost too much.

I need to do a meal plan really as we have loads of food in still and probably don't need to do a big shop this month like normal.
What kind of meals do you plan?
I always take lunch into work so thats already planned for.

Enjoy your sunday relaxing =]

Fishy x

WantToBeSE

What did you decide re your brother? I would have asked him to stop off at your place so you could serve some (free!) drinks instead. But sometimes we all need a treat


I plan all of my main meals. Normally things like Spag bol, lasagne, carbonara, fish pie, salads, Chicken dishes etc. I like to cook most things from scratch, as it keeps costs low, but I do love a good old Tesco Pizza on a Friday night! We resisted this week, and had chicken curry instead! You can get 2 pizzas and 2 sides for £6 at Tesco!
The 2 sides are a choice of things, but my favourite 'side' is ready made tarka dahl. Its just enough per portion to have for lunch (for me, not the boys as well) when having a pitta to dip in too. So for 6 quid I get 2 lunches as well as 2 dinners. I freeze the 2nd pizza for the following Friday