I need someone to kick my butt!

rosie383

Good for you realising that you need to do something. Oh, I know it is time-consuming putting stuff on ebay, but if you have a smartphone, download the app and it is so quick and easy to do. Far, far quicker than using a PC. This is a great time of year to get rid of anything that could possibly be used as a present. Like unopened perfume, clothes with tags, toys and any electronic gadgets or even used games.

Butterfly_Brain

Don't kick yourself, we have all been there at one time or another and believe me we still have our little hiccups and slip off the OS mindset, especially this time of year.

I find that keeping a spending diary focuses my mind and every so often I have a minimal shopping month where I just live off of what I have in, this not only helps to rotate your stock but it boosts thebank balance as well.

Make a meal plan so that you know exactly what ingredients you need and then make a list and stick to it.

Only use cash for shopping, but have a contingency purse with an extra £20 in, just in case you spot lots of lovely whoopsies. I went into Asda last month and they had hundreds of large fresh chickens reduced to £1.68 each which cost £13.44, so I bought 8 out of my "Fund"

Put any loose change straight into a pot at the end of the day.

I have a coupon pot as well which is basically if I use any coupons for my shopping including the £5 ones from Aldi, Morrisons etc and any lotto wins. This to me is "dead" money. So far this year I have saved £325, I had another lotto card win yesterday I will see how much I have at the end of December and that can go into either buying me a new mobility scooter or towards a new bathroom suite etc.

I also do the £1 a day "sistercas" fund basically you put £1 a day into yet another pot and by Christmas you have £365

What have you got in foodwise?
If you post it up maybe we could help you with some meal plans.

enjoyyourshoes

Overhaul you financial position:-

Hi
1. Have a clear objective (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic & time-bound)

2.Understand your total annualised costs & savings (to meet your objectives) (i.e. do a budget or similar) & ensure this is LESS than incoming money. (if not do a review to allocate LESS than income)
(DONT forget to include Christmas, Holidays, Birthdays, Savings, clothes etc as well as the boring stuff)

3. Break budget into two part (part one: monthly costs) (part two: 1/4ly ; 1/2LY & annualised bills. This annualised £'s should be divided by 12 to produce a monthly cost to save for these bills. Can do a cash flow to ensure monthly savings pot has enough £ to pay allocated Bills on the estimated months they become due)

4.Produce a monthly reconciliation which has your income LESS all your costs (including the monthly savings described above), Cash withdrawals, monthly DD & SO, cheques cashed, credit card purchases & savings (linked to your objectives). Do this reconciliation daily and ensure you spend LESS than income.

5. If you dont deduct credit card payments off your monthly income then you will not have the £'s to repay and thus end up in DEBT.

5. Put your monthly savings into a high interest account and track allocated savings against costs. Also DONT PAY insurances by monthly credit agreement pay them annually.

6. Get online access for your current and other accounts so you can see your separate reconciliation is accurate and moving monies is less hassle on line

7. Produce Excel docs to assist

Then you can be confident that you have enough money left before payday

sharalee99

Have no worries at all food wise. Freezer and cupboards are full. I'm quite creative, and have no problem bunging stuff together. I learnt this when the kids were small and I was a single parent. I guess now the kids are grown and I only have one at home, and he's earning, and I also now have a DH, I have taken my eye off the ball a bit.
Entirely my own doing

Can I just say thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply, with all your suggestions. I appreciate every single comment made

LameWolf

Sharalee if the idea is any help, I have all the household accounts on a spreadsheet - every penny that passes through this house is documented on there so it's easy to see where it's going.

I also "earmark" money to pay credit cards - let me explain that better: suppose DH puts £25.60 of petrol in the car, I put £25.60 onto the credit card sheet and deduct it from the "cash available" sheet. That way we always pay off our credit cards in full.

HTH - and good luck.:o