I want adventure in the great wide somewhere

MissLaura

I know some people cut back on everything, but I'm all for people keeping a gym membership. I bet it feels like a real treat now too doesn't it?

Exercise is such a great way to help you feel good and keep your spirits up. Especially, like you said, with your health niggle it's a real benefit to you personally. I hope you have a nice work out & swim today.

OH and I are having a somewhat lazy day watching the Ryder Cup and then we're going to make some scones (Sainsbury's packet mix and basics sultanas) and have a little drive out somewhere pretty with them and a flask of tea. I must say I am rather enjoying finding creative and cheap things to do. Luckily, OH is too. Phew!

liltdiddylilt

Oh wow your popcorn sounds lovely! Well done you! My go to thing if I have sweet cravings and nothing sweet is marmite. Kills the cravings off instantly, and a slice of bread with a bit of marmite is perfect!

If I go to the supermarket when I am craving sweet things, or worse hungry in general I end up spending £30

I haven't ever had macaroni cheese would you believe? Wish I had a bigger freezer. A chest freezer is on the wishlist one day when I can find one cheap enough and somewhere other than my bedroom to store it..

Hope you have an excellent time at the gym. Sounds lovely!!

Lilt x

belleandthebudget

Hi Laura and Lilt!

Laura, I always love going to the gym once I'm there. It's just getting motivated to go that's the problem. It was lovely though. You and OH's day sounds wonderful though - scones! Love 'em. I've gotta cut down on the entertainment costs if I have any hope of sticking to my £50 a month budget so I think I'll be scouring the boards for good ideas tonight!

Lilt, you've never had macaroni cheese?! You haven't lived! It's one of my favourites... used to have Kraft Cheesy Pasta more often than is probably recommended as a kid. Not my parents' fault, I just LOVED it. I'm with you on the freezer space though. Sharing my teeny freezer with two other people doesn't leave much space for my frugal cookery dreams.

I'm definitely not a marmite fan but you saying that made me think of the loaf I have in the freezer. I've got some lime marmalade which would be excellent on toast as a sweet treat. Must remember that later in the week!

belleandthebudget

Well, after much snooping on the boards I've just downloaded the You Need A Budget trial. I noticed lots of people mentioning how complicated it is but have found it pretty easy to set up thus far. I'm just annoyed that I'm halfway through a payment cycle so it probably wasn't the best time to set up but at least I'll get the idea of it.

I just need to figure out how to work the monthly budgets as I don't get paid on the last day of the month like most so my pay month runs from the 20th. Will have to dive into the FAQs.

Went to the gym/swim which was lovely and then spent the afternoon crocheting and watching The Originals on Netflix. I cancelled Netflix so probably only have a few days left before my account shuts down.

I'm not expert crocheter, by any means, but I managed to make a cute ribbed headband to keep my ears warm in the winter. I like them better than hats as they stay down over my ears. Still working on a blanket that I've had going for over a year but I should look for some nice (easyish) patterns so I can start making presents for people. That would be fantastic and moneysaving.

liltdiddylilt

Hey!! I LOVE YNAB!

I started midway through a payment cycle too. I genuinely used my (THREE) bank account apps to go all the way back to payday, and what my starting balance was there, and then moved forward until the current day. It meant I actually got more out of the free trial as I got to see an entire month and then carry on into the following month before making my decision.

I found it very easy to set up as well. Not saying I didn't forget a few categories but you can add them as you go and go back and change your budget after entering the transaction. The one thing I did which a lot of people don't is to add my purse on there. Then cash out of the bank becomes a transfer and you can keep exact track of your spending in cash, rather than just seeing £30 out of ATM and wondering where it went.

Yay to the headband! I have one too, although it has a bow and I am not too keen on those. My hair is a monster in the wind so a headband makes me look less like burglar bill than my beanie hat :rotfl:

Sounds like you had a lovely Sunday. I took a leaf out of your book and batch cooked. I used one packet of minced beef, some garlic, onion and beef stock cubes, with equal amounts of cooked red lentils. I now have half a dozen individual portions stored, which can lend themselves to cottage pie, chilli, bolognese, stuffed marrow... Add your required ingredients for the saunce and a can of tomatoes or gravy and off you go Thanks for the kick up the bum!

Have a lovely evening

belleandthebudget

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

The one thing I did which a lot of people don't is to add my purse on there. Then cash out of the bank becomes a transfer and you can keep exact track of your spending in cash, rather than just seeing £30 out of ATM and wondering where it went.

OH, I LOVE THIS IDEA! I've been trying to work out how to handle this for ages. And with the iPhone app I think this could be a winner. (I almost don't want to love it though so I don't have to fork out the £30 for the full version! )

And yaaaaay for batch cooking. That sounds great! I think next time I do the spag bol I might do that and just freeze the portions of bolognese so I can save some freezer space. Boiling some pasta is hardly an effort after all.

belleandthebudget

Right! Off to bed now but have bread in the freezer and some tasty lime marmalade for breakfast tomorrow. Mac and cheese to take in for lunch time. Should be a low spend day at work.

Got YNAB all updated and it should be even more useful when I get paid again in three weeks. (Should probably start futzing with the budget to find the money to actually pay for that next month... that's what they'd want me to do, right? Plan ahead!)

roxy7699

You've been busy since I was last here.
I bought the same £4 shoes as you, my feet hurt lol.

Well done on the batch cooking and down scaling the spending too.

belleandthebudget

Haha, Roxy, mine are the same. It's a good thing that soon it'll be too cold to wear flats outside and I'll be back in my comfy boots.

Had my first experience of the YNAB app today and again it seems really simple. I think I'll need to budget in buying the full product next month. If it can keep me on track then it's definitely worth it.

I'll work out the figures now and then reevaluate after I've used it for the full trial month.

There's something quite empowering about knowing exactly how much you have, even if it's not a lot, and being able to put that money to its best use!

liltdiddylilt

Belle I can honestly say in the 3 months since I bought YNAB it has paid for itself over and over. Having to type in a receipt for a purchase I shouldn't have made, and then adjust money from another pot to cover it is a real motivator. Best of all, usually at this point in the month, just after payday I would be feeling flush and have splurged on either a takeaway or endless rubbish from the supermarket. I don't even look at my bank balance as 'my' money any more. It all has a purpose, and today my 'splurge' was enough food to feed me for far more than a week, with a lot of veggies in there. I've come home and made a huge chilli with one of my pots of mince and lentils, which I have then stuffed into marrows, making 6 portions! And then I added the lentils/split peas/chickpeas & barley that I had been soaking since last night into a huge vat of softened vegetables, making half a dozen portions of very filling and healthy soup for work and nights when I don't feel like cooking. I am feeling :A :j:T right now. Thanks for motivating me!

And your last sentence:

There's something quite empowering about knowing exactly how much you have, even if it's not a lot, and being able to put that money to its best use!

You're so right. I don't have a lot and it just became a frightening amount less but I know I can cope because my budget says so. And so does the extra budget calculator I did on the MoneyAdviceService website!