108 spiders are a girl's best friends

sassychick2014

Hey hon

Sounds a great plan. However, if you find yourself a job that pays £25,000 a month can you recommend me for it too! xx

Whitefeather8

LOL, that really made me laugh, a complete Freudian slip ............. £300k pa. The gold candle gazing has really gone to my head. Time to ground myself in a touch of reality. I am off to do the dishes xx.

Working through mum's whole, convoluted financial situation, is such an eye opener, there is another layer of problems which surfaces once the top layer has been cleared.

I feel like I am dealing with a debt addict, because I never get the truth until it is impossible for mum to deny things. Even then she will still say that black is white. In the mean time I am having to keep completely loving and patient and gentle with her, because she is very vulnerable, although these problems have been going on since she was a teenager, 65 years ago, and it is only in the last few years that her physical and mental health have been declining.

C'est la vie.

Whitefeather8

Income Target

November £435.00
December £478.50
January £526.35
February £578.90
March £639.36
April £703.30
May £773.63
June £850.99
July £936.09
August £1,029.70
September £1,132.67
October £1,245.94
November £1,370.53
December £1,507.50
January £1,658.30
February £1,824.17
March £2,006.59

Plan

I will be 50 in March 2015 and by then I want to be earning £25,000 per annum and I want DH to be able to go down to 4 days a week on his 50th Birthday which is at the end of 2014. I will follow him into a four day week in 2016.

In sorting out mum's budget and working out how much she had left for purely personal spends and food after paying all her direct debits, household expenses and debt payment plans, along with emergency savings. It emerged that she still had £150.00 a week and is convinced she cannot manage on that!! I pointed out that my personal spends for the whole of November would be £40.00, but I did not get a lot of sympathy.

This whole episode has made me realise how often other people's dramas, which are not of my making, have sucked me in and have knocked me off my own plan. I am trying to detach myself emotionally now from the situation, and just do everything I can in a practical way, and continue forging on with Project Spiderwoman!

Onwards and upwards x.

Spider Step 16 - Finalise October's accounts and get everything in place, budget and menu plan, for November.

Nintud

Just speeding through before decluttering the chaos that my bedroom has become.

There may be a couple more cut backs that could be made on the SOA. The grocery bill could probably hand back £100+ as £400 seems high for a 3 person household. The council tax could be spread over 12 months to give you a little more breathing space.

On the other hand, the amount set aside for presents seems too low, especially as you will have a 17th next year and the potential request for driving lessons.

I think, unless it's for reasons of religious observance, I would cut the charity giving until income picks up. £20 per month is a generous sum when you have a shortfall.

Hope weigh-in went well today. Just 1/2lb off for me but I'm happy with that as on weigh-in day I was half way through half term and well over half way into a batch cook of rocky road tray bake! :rotfl:

Good luck with reigning in Mums spending. Mine lives so far away I never get called upon for assistance... which is both a blessing and a worry.

Whitefeather8

Hi Nintud,

Thanks for your comments on my SOA. Those are really good points too. I am concerned that DS expenses will start to rack up considerably next year with driving lessons and then potentially university, so I will make the change suggested. The charity contribution is not obligatory and can easily be adusted. I think I will cut it to £55.00 and raise it a couple of pounds every time my income increases 10%, until it returns to it's current level.

I will move the council tax to 12 months. Does that just take a telephone call?

I have set a budget for £250.00 for the month for groceries now. You are right £400.00 is excessive, but because we have had a surplus income we were getting rather indulgent and this has been creeping up, as has my waistline. Fruit and Vegetables in Lidl, are great and very reasonable, so this should make a big difference.

I went to Slimming World and I lost an incredible 6 lb. I am absolutely thrilled, thank you. Well done on your weight loss too, how much overall is that now?

Spider Step 17

Adjust budget, which was prepared yesterday, to include the above.

Nintud

6lb :j that's fantastic :T

I've lost 3st 3lb (sometimes 3st 6lb - rocky road dependant!) since mid April, 3st 1.5lb of that with slimming world.

It should just take a phone call to your local council to get the payment length altered.

Good idea regarding the charity donation, increase it incrementally inline with your income. It's clearly something close to your heart.

Lidl and Aldi are both great for fresh produce. It doesn't seem to last as long as fruit and veg from other supermarkets but as nothing remains uneaten in this house for long that's not a problem for us!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

sassychick2014

Hey hon

6lbs is brilliant, well done you!!

I agree with the fruit and veg from Aldi/Lidl. I buy their stuff as and when needed (split with my mum as I find their packs way to big for me and Littley) but when I do get it I put everything in the fridge except potatoes. I find this helps them to last longer without losing any taste. I do the same with any bread or bread type products. Sealed and in the fridge they last much longer - and as I use on average 2 slices of bread a week it's a huge saving!

Enjoy your evening xx

Whitefeather8

Thanks Sassy and Nintud,

Over three stone since April is an incredible achievement, well done Nintud!!

I don't feel as though I am on a diet at all, and I love not counting calories. I wish I had done this years ago, as I am feeling a lot healthier too, and better able to cope with all the challenges life throws at me, and this week there has been a few, major curved balls, which would normally have knocked me for six.

Thanks for the tips on vegetables Sassy, because I agree with you Nintud, the fruit and veg does not last as long as the major supermarkets. I think that this is because a lot of it is locally grown and not irradiated, which has to be good for our health too.

I still had a lot of vegetables over from last weeks shop and today I have made a huge pot of Cabbage soup, based around the Cabbage Soup Diet Recipe, but with some things added that make it a lot tastier.

I also made two big dishes full of mediterranean vegetables, so my meal plan for the week is based around these.

Spider Step 18

Work out an exercise plan that fits easily around my new schedule.

sassychick2014

No worries hon. Of course if you have a few straggly bits of veg left you could always make veggie stock, freeze it in ice cube trays and you have ready made home made stock whenever you need it.

Actually, that's a really good idea, I may do that myself!! xx

Whitefeather8

How would you do that Sassy? That sounds like a great idea x.