Starting again....3rd time lucky!

WelshWoofer

Hello! A few of the oldies may remember me from years gone by.
For those of you that don't here's a quick life history

I'm 42, a divorced secondary school teacher with no children and I live alone but I do have a greedy aging little dog and a lovely 'boyfriend' (I hate that word at my age!) of around 15 months standing.

I'm starting a new job in September which means a small pay rise but good medium term prospects for promotion. Its a bit scary but worth the move for what the future will hopefully bring.

I have a mortgaged 3 bed semi detached house (about £70k outstanding, £500 a month), a small economical car and debts that are currently...

• £4200 on a new 0% CC (balance transfer)
• a loan I pay £130 a month on for the next 3 years
• another small balance on a loan of £300
• Next balance of £300

In theory, I will take home just over £2000 a month (not sure until the first new salary is paid in Sept) and I should have plenty of surplus cash. My outgoings including mortgage, bills, insurances loan repayments etc total around £1100 so there should be plenty of money for food, petrol, spending money, savings etc but there always seems to be nothing left to save at the end of the month.

I need to get a grip again - the excitement of a new relationship (with someone that earns a considerable amount more than me), the stress of a very busy year in work and generally just not being bothered about money has taken its toll and I need to get rid of the debt (and not add to it) and start saving again.
I do have approx £6000 in savings (£5000 of which is in a long term account that cannot be touched without a high penalty, deliberately put there to stop me dipping into it!) so all is not lost but there is no reason that I cannot pay off the CC and start saving again.

The CC balance consists of the year's council tax (approx £1000), a holiday, some unexpected bills and a good bit of general frittering . This must stop!

I'm off on holiday for the last week of the school holidays (downside of being a teacher) and that's paid for but spending money will come out of savings and August's salary.
Other than that there are hopefully no big expenditures on the horizon. Fingers crossed xx

So (apologies for all of the waffle) I've decided to come back to record my thoughts, spending and general behaviour with money to try to control my frittering.
Wish me luck!

WelshWoofer

So this week I decided to give the en suite bathroom a much needed overhaul. Rather than pay someone I did it myself (almost finished, just another coat on the skirtings to do) and if I say so myself it looks really good. I've emulsioned the walls, done the skirtings, bought some new accessories (in the sale/from cheap shops) and shower tidy, towel rail etc and given the carpet and fittings a good clean. I also have a new lovely stripey blind that I'm going to have to get someone else to hang for me. I need to reseal the shower to remove the manky blackening sealant but I have already bought the necessary bits. All in it's cost less than £100.:j

Its been quite hard work but worth it and its used up a couple of the rainy days this week.
The only problem with decorating is that it makes other rooms look tatty.:o My bedroom is the next one to be done - the furniture is only a couple of years old but it needs repainting and a new carpet - will have to save up for that.....

So, that's been a spend (but badly needed) and to compensate (or as penance) I've made a start on money saving exploits too.

I have tried to have an economical week with regards to food shopping - usually I spend about £40 (sometimes more :eek: I know!) BUT this week I actually looked in the freezer and cupboards and attempted to use what was there and meal plan. I used to do this all the time but just got out of the habit over the last year.
Total spend was £16ish at Aldi (usually shop at Tesco) and £5ish at Tesco making a total of £22.13 :T And, there's probably enough to last me into next week. I'll need to buy more dog food (experimented with the Aldi dog food and he's eating it ok) and some fruit and milk but on the whole there's enough mealwise to keep me going for a while.

I've also redone the insurances (dog, car and home) and managed to save a bit, cancelled Sky Sports (saving £25 a month, for something I barely watch, have kept the general Sky package as the phone, broadband etc are in a package and I do like some of the dramas), checked the utility bills, claimed a refund from Vodafone (I was overcharged) and only put £15 of petrol in which will last me until payday.

So you see I have tried!

I've also forced myself to use up toiletries - I'm a b*gger for half used bottles of shampoo and conditioner - and done a little stock take of what I have - lots of unopened Clarins and Clinique products (some of which were gifts). I may think about putting a few on ebay?

WelshWoofer

Just seen a post about a £5 voucher for fruit and veg at Morrisons in tomorrow's Sun with no minimum spend. Might pop into the paper shop to check the terms and conditions and if its as good as it sounds I'll buy a paper and pop to the superstore (15 min drive) to buy veg/fruit that will last a while. Free F&V? Seems too good to be true....

What will last at least a week? Potatoes, onions....what else?


The pooch is having a minor operation tomorrow - he's 10 years old and has some teeth that need to come out, the trouble is that he has bad heart murmur (sp?) caused by a viral infection a couple of years ago and the anaesthetic is a worry. I'll be a nervous wreck until he's home again - he's like the child I never had.:( Thinking postively.....

WelshWoofer

Oooohhh!
Almost forgot.... I found my CPP card protection letter after seeing Martin on This Morning, filled it in and sent it off yesterday. Fingers crossed that I get something back and quickly!

lulabelle

Hey WW - good to see you back! Am subscribing x

WelshWoofer

Hello Lulabelle - good to see you! Thanks for dropping in!

Well I have been on a mission this morning.....
Bought a Sun Morrisons £5 F&V voucher (it was as good as it sounded and needed no minimum spend as long as you reach £5 in fruit, veg or salad) and whizzed off to the big Morries a shortish drive away. Whilst there I saw loads of people wandering round the fresh section clutching their vouchers! Most were well dressed, well to do types - just shows that a bargain is a bargain whoever you are!:rotfl:
A lady (that worked there) I spoke to told me to buy another paper and use two vouchers - one at the self serve check out and one with a cashier - was doubtful but had a go and it worked! Loads of people were doing it too....

So for the grand total of £1.04 cash I bagged.....

• 4 baking potatoes
• bag of red onions
• 3 large white onions
• small bag of baby potatoes
• pack of fresh beetroot
• bag of baby spinach
• half a cucumber
• pack of pretrimmed runner beans
• punnet of raspberries
• punnet of green grapes
• 3 mixed peppers

I felt a bit guilty so in each of the two shops I added another item or two (bread, dog food, pine nuts, ham) - making my total spend £5.84:T (plus 80p for the 2 papers)

You can buy the vouchers today in the paper and spend them for the next couple of days so it may be worth doing that if you have a family to feed.

The dog is now at the vet and will be picked up at 6pm all being well. I'll be on tenterhooks all day.:(

Tiggy10

Hi WW! found your diary!


Tell me more about this voucher? Is it valid for today only?


Im subscribing to your diary!

WelshWoofer

Hi Tiggy!
Its in today's Sun and you get £5 worth of free fruit, veg and salad from Morrisons by simply taking it into the store and making sure you spend £5 or more on F&V. I think its valid for a few days (until the weekend I think) so you can get it today and "spend" it in the next day or two. Its also in Scotland's Sun paper.

I got all that food for £1.04 by using two vouchers in separate transactions.


Good news - the vet has called and the dog is ok after his dental operation. He's had 4 teeth removed, a scale and polish and his tongue and gums cleaned (!). The anaesthetic was a real worry with his dodgy heart but it seems he's come through it without a problem. A massive relief! I'm picking him up at 4.30. Lots of cuddles and sympathy this evening with some soggy food for him to suck:p

Whilst he's been out I've finished painting the en suite - all the little fiddly bits that the dog likes to "help" with. It looks lovely and clean and fresh now.

Will try to tackle the 4 big boxes of books and papers that I brought home when I finished at my last school later - well at least 2 of them.....;)
There must be some things I can find homes for and some I can throw away???


ETA - I've just had £5 worth of clubcard vouchers in the post too - its raining groceries at the moment!

Tiggy10

Amazing! thanks, got OH to grab the paper on the way home. Once I have discarded the naked ladies I can take the rest to cover painty tables at school!

WelshWoofer

Tiggy - I didn't even know that Page 3 still existed!
I decided to buy yet another paper this afternoon - for the sake of 40p its definitely worth getting the voucher and maybe doing another F&V trip on Sunday. I love this free food lark!

WelshWoofer

Last thought for today...
I saw on someone else's thread a "silver lining" for the day - something to be pleased about or thankful for even when other things aren't great.
I think that's a brilliant idea and a way to force yourself to find something to be positive about or that isn't all about money.

So mine....

Silver lining - the dog (my baby substitute) appears to be recovering well from his op and my OH has been in touch quite a bit today (he's away for the week)