Nst; fearless february

traveller

Morning everyone.
Debt drowning London girl a huge congratulations :j:j:j
Stewby , so sorry to hear about your boiler :mad:

Well done everyone on the 15 minute achievements :T I actually gave my kitchen a good going over. Yesterday I bought some treats totalling a fiver as felt a bit stressed, so, since my job is stressful by its nature, I need to find a long-term out of the box way to deal with it.

I did wake up feeling positive this morning, so that's a start:D well have a good day everyone and take care:)

Bobarella

Whoops posted then lost it.
Off shopping. Am well prepared to avoid the siren calls of items not on the list. As I budget £40 a week and have managed to stretch us out till today I'm only really shopping for 5 instead of 7 days and as today we've already had breakfast and the packed lunches were done from last week's food budget it's only 1 meal to do tonight so you could say 4 days. I may use the opportunity to put a few extra cans and store cupboard items away for tougher times.

Son was gutted there was no more snow today but not sure I share his sentiment.

Have a good day all.
Bob

blubella

Morning Turtles

Congratulations Debtdrowninggirl...that is fabulous news!

Logging a SFD for yesterday, taking me to 2/15. I have been really trying to follow my meal plan and not purchase anymore food for the week.

Went to yoga last night after losing motivation slightly after this rotten virus that lasted the month. Booked in for another 2 hour session tonight:)

I have also manged to switch the majority of my debt to a 0% for 35 months card which will see my debt increase slightly due to fees but give me longer to tackle it and aim to get it cleared...

On a positive I have made £20 towards my make £400 in 2015, £15 cutting and filing someone's toenails (I did my training last year..it's not for fun haha) and £10 from Halli Fax. I have also sold a few items on Eb@y, I have to wait until buyer has paid and fees removed until I tot up the total. Have had an order placed to applique a cushion cover, I'm nearing the end of my surveys for 1POLE so almost another £40 in the kitty....could things be looking up?

cupcake-queen

Good morning!


I was hoping today was going to be SF but the milk is now 2 days out date, and it can't last much longer! As I'm spending I think I'll get DS1's after school childcare booked in today and buy that 49p Kindle book I've been wanting! I will also be collecting all the 5ps I can find for my tea money at work in order to claim SFDs when I'm working. Cups of tea and not taking my own lunch gets in the way of these.


I have given DH his very own receipt jar. The other day I asked him to pick up some bread for lunch after work and he spent £10! We keep our finances very separate but I'm hoping if I can clear my debt (which is tiny compared to his) he might actually think about working harder on his own. I hate it hanging over us and it makes me think bad thoughts.


Going to blitz the house today my holiday is coming to an end and I have a cake booked in for the weekend so need the kitchen spotless to start work on that.


Groceries: £73/£130
SFD: 2/15
Travel: £0/£33.60
Childcare: £0/£14
Half Term: £0/£50

thriftylass

Good morning!

Congratulations Debtdrowninglondongirl!

Was off the last two days and spend them blitzing the house and decluttering the attic. Not found too much for ebay, but a few things. They are still waiting in the guest bedroom to be sorted. Picked the kids up early both days hence wasn't quite able to finish what was on my list. Also OH managed to buy coffee beans twice now rather than ground coffee in the last month. So was looking into coffee grinders. Till yesterday. Rediscovered that I used to collect them and got about 7 antique manual ones still in the attic .

Sunday we went out for lunch, so that blew my HH and others budget already (which so far included seeds from B+Q, passport fees, wipes, HH items). Also spend £20 on a massive pack of razors for OH but they worked out so much cheaper than his usual 4-pack.

Started listing my grocery spends in categories to get a better idea how that money is spend. Out of the 68 quid on food so far the biggest spends were fruit and veg (38%), baby food and milk (15%), alcohol (11%=£8) and cold cuts. Didn't need to buy meat yet as the freezer is still pretty well stocked. Food budget is higher this month as I'm not sure yet what to do for my birthday and that is to cover any party. Not that I can be bothered any way.

MagicCat

Hello everyone,

Bright but chilly morning here for me - hope everyone is OK and keeping the coled out - Stewby, hope the boiler gets sorted asap.

Hello Lilt, thanks for the welcome back :A- feeling much better now thanks. Hope Jelly enjoys the new books.:)

Drowningindebtlondongirl - hooray for job!:j

Welshkitty - I like SW too, I don't go to the meetings but I like the general principles and I find it does make me plan better which is half the battle.

Cupcakequeen - great news on the 0%, it makes such a difference.

Crazy_lady - so frustrating about the printer, at least you tried though! I did laugh at the thought of using gin to clean and fix, disappointed it didn't work.;)

Opticians this morning, so not an SFD BUT I am doing a happy dance :jas my prescription hasn't changed, so no need to pay for new lenses. Big sigh of relief, and resolve to save a bit monthly toward this from now on - my prescription is ridiculously high, so I can't get the internet cheap lenses done and need a test annually but have a bit of breathing space now. Am planning to use the spendy day to order my mum's birthday gift later as well.

Have a good Wednesday all - halfway to the weekend!:T

SFD: 3/15
Groceries: 72.38/£200
Dentist/optician 5/£20
Petrol and travel: 15.01/£110
Birthdays: 0/£30
Social: 0/£40
Food bank donation - done
15 mins/day - this will be decluttering or mindfulness meditation 3/28
Exercise 3/25

Bobarella

cupcake-queen wrote: »

Good morning!
I have given DH his very own receipt jar. The other day I asked him to pick up some bread for lunch after work and he spent £10! We keep our finances very separate but I'm hoping if I can clear my debt (which is tiny compared to his) he might actually think about working harder on his own. I hate it hanging over us and it makes me think bad thoughts.

I took part in a twitter chat last night that was sponsored by Scottish Widows and had a couple of financial bods helping moderate it. The topic was Women And Finance. It was actually surprising the amount of households that seem to have seperate finances. With many saying things like 'my husband thinks because he works more he deserves to spend more' or 'I wouldnt want to know every coffee my husband buys, he deserves some freedom'
It just made me wonder how hard it is to work things seperartely, and how that impacts on your shared financial goals. Sorry to jump on your comment, but it just seemed to echo that sentiment.

Calling14

Just a quick check in.
SFD for me today, 2/15,

Had a chat to a neighbour to resolve Floodgate!! Basically they put a flood light up which just streams into my lounge. Been hell last few weeks. My house is lower than theirs and after putting off complaining about it, she was really nice and it wasn't on at all yesterday. Promised her hubby will sort it out at weekend. Result!

Cupcake - must be fighting a losing battle there. You never know receipt jar make bring him to his senses and see where his spending goes.

Feeling totally flat today, my boss seems to having one foreign holiday a month and keeps asking where I am going? Biting tongue hard grrrrrrrrrrr.

thriftylass

Bobarella wrote: »

I took part in a twitter chat last night that was sponsored by Scottish Widows and had a couple of financial bods helping moderate it. The topic was Women And Finance. It was actually surprising the amount of households that seem to have seperate finances. With many saying things like 'my husband thinks because he works more he deserves to spend more' or 'I wouldnt want to know every coffee my husband buys, he deserves some freedom'
It just made me wonder how hard it is to work things seperartely, and how that impacts on your shared financial goals. Sorry to jump on your comment, but it just seemed to echo that sentiment.

I guess ours are separate as in we don't have a joint account. Hence we split the bills different to others like he pays mortgage (are jointly on it though), I pay nursery etc. But we work towards the same goal, although I do the actual saving for our family . However if he wants a new snowboard it has to be discussed and probably come out of "his" money whereas a new mattress would come out of the savings. However, I have to admit I'm more committed to the common good of our family, i.e. saving money where I can so I can save more, doing without personal spends etc. Where as he's struggling to get out of his OD despite enough money left over after "his" bills which makes me wonder sometime. At the moment I probably pay more % of my income towards the family but when the nursery changes to become cheaper we probably won't change the bill split but rather leave me with more money left over for personal spends and savings. He's getting better with money but I wouldn't ever leave the family finances solely to him. I grew up with "credit is bad" etc and he knows and acknowledges I am better with money hence we discuss it. But I also don't know what all of his money goes on etc hence the bewilderment why he is still in his OD. But I guess a few coffees and lunch every day (despite subsidised) add up. Plus quite a bit of fuel.

If we go out for lunch or have friends for dinner or there are birthday gifts to buy, I sort of have a rough tally in my head to see who's "turn" it is to pay. In the end I don't see it as my money as the more I spend the less we have to save.

I guess as long as it works for the couple, is discussed and agreed on as well as one not being hard done by then any method works.

liltdiddylilt

Hi guys,

This morning I have spent my time working on figures for a company pension scheme I am setting up. I deal with all of the corporate business we do and my eyes nearly fell out of my head when I saw some of the salaries. One in particular stands out. A gentleman earning £19,671.42......... A MONTH. If I were to earn that money and still keep my spending as it is now, in the space of 2 years I could pay for a house outright even in the inflated South East! How the other half live.... I bet he has debts :rotfl:

With regards to how income works in families. My DH pays nothing, towards the house or our daughters care or in fact anything. He spends most of the week living at his mums where he also pays nothing. He is only at mine for as long as I am at work Weds-Fri due to many problems over the last 2 years and a trial separation that has morphed into 'how we live now' for everyones sake. He earns a tenth of my income doing 4-9 hours a week. He keeps his money and is very frugal with it. he pays for his mobile phone but everything else is just provided for him. Life of Reilly I think we call it but again as thriftylass says, it is down to us and that is what passes for a plan in my house currently. Should the earnings ever change I would expect him to put towards the family/bills a bit instead of just paying for the odd takeaway I have now put my foot down and made him start paying for his mum and dads presents. I was buying them £40-50 gifts each, twice a year, and receiving a primani onesie in return. It isn't the cost, but the lack of thought that got me. So I give up!

SFD #3/15 today. Leek and potato soup for lunch (*homemade) and chorizo and butterbean soup tonight. I've had a banana as well but am struggling slightly with my fruit so will have to start eating raw carrot etc to up my intake! I guess I am getting my *5* a day with the tomato etc I have in a lot of things but 7, probably not!
WTW completed... in the ice rink that was Kent this morning. Frightening!!
LTW as said, leek and potato soup with homemade cheese scones

Hope everyone has a lovely Wednesday. We are over the hump now!! xx