Countdown to a new life...2.5 Years to Debt-free ....Revisited

Sellurgranny

Hello Diary & any readers,

I've been rather lax lately in keeping my diary up to date. Today is the last day of my 3 week holiday from work. Ive had two lovely weeks off with the kids plus an extra 1 on my own.

Managed to get all the things on my list done this week, so can return to work with a clear conscience that I haven't wasted my time off.

List of things to do read as follows

Tidy garden Done
Cut grass Done - cut front and back twice
Plant new plants currently sitting in their pots Done
Pot sweetpea seeds Done
Empty / tidy kitchen cupboards x 2Done
Clean/repair mouldy wall & corner in my bedroomDone - now looks lovely and am very proud of myself
Clear out and take clothes to 'Cash4clothes'Done this morning - earned £18.50
Ebay some itemsDone - 4 items listed

All in all, a very constructive week.

Not so good is the absolute fortune I seem to have spent during the two weeks that the children were off school. This was a combination of having DD1 home from Uni for 2 weeks which entailed frequent visits/overnight stays from DD1 B/F. Dont mind that but they eat an absolute tonne of food whilst they're here. I really notice the difference to my food budget. It seemed like everytime I went and refilled the cupboards, DD1 was in them opening packets of everything.

Also being off work myself meant frequent non-essential shopping during the course of days out - lunches out etc.

I didnt anticipate the extra spending prior to the break so am now going to be playing catchup as I have managed to whittle down my emergency/DIY fund to almost nothing.

Good job its pay day next friday when i will get to see just how much extra my new job is earning me. Im still awaiting a revised tax credit schedule so I can see if the ££ wage increase has affected my CTC/WTC. Im hoping it wont be by more than £20-40 a week.

I did some overtime last month - well it was payable at the end of March and I was shocked by the amount of NI they took off me. I only earned an extra £150 but NI was £65 when its usually below £10 a month. Will have to keep an eye on that when I get my next pay slip. Its been a while since I was a full time employee so maybe that's to be expected every month? :eek: But I hope not. Im hoping it was some sort of end of tax year adjustment but maybe thats being optimistic.

Also this week I got around to switching my energy supplier as my current deal is ending this month. Will be saving about £5 a month according to their stats plus I earned cashback from tcb. Fingers crossed it pays out.

Switched home insurance also today - decided to pay the year in full (another reason why emergency fund is in tatters) and again have got £35 cashback which has already tracked on tcb. Hope that pays out too.

Still got to shop around for a new mobile phone deal soon and broadband which ends in May.

So whilst I havent done much paying off debts, I am making sure my outgoings are as low as they can possibly be.

Just waiting for the kiddlies to come home from school then its a mad rush to get them to the train station to visit their dad for the weekend. I shall be taking a leisurely drive to my cornish retreat to see my lovely Fiance.

Back to work on Monday but Im not going to think about that until at least 6pm on Sunday evening!!!

Have a lovely weekend all! :beer:

Surg xx

Sellurgranny

Oh - and also managed to get my bike fixed so have been for a couple of bike rides during the holidays. Did succumb to a groovy basket for the front of it from Lidl. Only took me an hour to fix the blooming thing on it.

Am toying with the idea of riding to work on it - only 15 mins but might save me a bit of time. Not sure though as dont want to turn up a sweaty mess then have to spend extra time straightening myself up before I start work!

Sellurgranny

Ahhh pay day tomorrow which is the first at my new job. We get our slips a day before so i already kmow how much. slighty disappointing as its 80 quid less than i estimated. That pesky NI is to blame although in a way it feels good that i can pay my dues like a normal working person. It does mean though that I'll still need to budget closely this week as there wont be any slack after debts are paid.

I have a few bids on my fleabay items and im hoping to use the money towards DD2s prom dress which she thinks will be £65 which is pretty reasonable so i can't complain about that.

Ex is being a wally as per...told the girls he might not be able to have them next time because he can't afford to feed them? Gawd knows howhis new wife and child eat then. Or maybe its because its a bank holiday weekend and he's made other plans? He tells them such a load of BS and they believe it. :mad: so hard to keep my mouth shut on that subject.

Only one day until the weekend yay:T think i should get some wine chilling for tomorrow eve. Still have a couple of bottles left from my leaving gifts from work :beer:

Treated the kids (and me) to a Krispy Kreme donut today as a new place opened up in town. Although very nice, at £4.50 for 3 i dont think I'll be making a habit of it! Twas yum ...though kids had to squabble about who had what which kinda annoyed me.

Right time for bed ..night all! Surg xxx

Sellurgranny

Well its one step forwards and two back as far as paying down debts goes. Nothing too awful just a series of things coming up in June that I need to plan and budget for namely:

Car MOT - old car - bound to cost me a couple of 100s so am trying to put aside for that eventuality this month.

Daughter's Prom in June - she hasn't found a dress yet but am putting aside the £100 I earned on fleabay towards that.

Last thing is a nice treat which was actually my xmas present from my partner this year....going to see to Foo's in June so need to put aside for the 2 nights accom in London.

Will try and keep on track with my usual CC payments and Legal Aid payments although I think I will be having to tweak these abit.

Don't know about anyone else, but I find I have to tweak my budget and payment plans at the end of each weekend depending on what's come up during the week.

I need to get a few things on fleabay again to keep that cash cow working and Im also expecting a rebate from First Utility from switching my gas/elect. I was a little in credit on my last statement.

Oh also been thrashing Topcashback at every opportunity and there's £40 tracked/pending in that account atm.

So, its basically in with one hand and straight out with the other which i know is 'just life'.

Right, need to get on with some household chores. Mainly washing which is looking like Everest today. First need to get on down to Aldees to get some wash powder and a few bits for tomorrows packed lunches.
Will also attempt to pre-cook tomorrow's tea by prepping the slow cooker but not sure what to put in it yet. Bit tired of spag bol or its variations!

Have a good sunday everyone.
Surg. xx

Sellurgranny

Well didn't manage to sort out tea for tomorrow, but did get all the washing done. Been a busy day but achieved most chores i set myself cept the first one. Back to work tomorrow and hoping for a much more budgeted week with no deviations from the planned spends.

Surg x

themarsbargirl

How about beef stew in the slow cooker? Even the cheapest cuts melt in your mouth after a day in the slow cooker.
Or you can do pot roast in a slow cooker.
Or curries.
You can even do Jacket potatoes in the slowcooker!

Sellurgranny

Thanks marsbargirl, i used to be much better at planning my meals especially in the winter when the slow cooker seemed entirely appropriate though now I'm not really fancying heavy meals even though they're delish!

I have managed to meal plan for the week though so that's a start.

Tues - Toad in the hole
Weds - Chicken stir fry with noodles
Thurs - Jacket spud, tuna, beans and side salad

Kids are at their dads this weekend so no other meals until Sunday.

Didn't quite managed to stay within grocery budget tonight but only spent 35 squids. That should see us through the week if i steer clear of shops on my lunchbreak.

Surg x

Sellurgranny

Also managed to eat sensibly today at work and this evening. Trying to lose some of this excess baggage before the summer.

Sellurgranny

A quick check in before DD3 gets back from Guides. Lucky for me she gets a lift there and back from her friend and friend's granny's Who pass by our house.

Had a strange extra tax credit payment today in addition to my usual one yesterday. Its almost as much as yesterday's too. Wasnt expected it and daren'nt spend it in case its a mistake. I know there is sometimes a random one to balance things out but i would have thought it would have been sorted after i told them about my new job back in March.

Stuck to my healthy eating today without too much trouble. Danger lurks tomorrow as my work are having a cake sale for the Nepal Earthquake .hhave made some brownies which always go down well when ive taken them in before. if i have to buy any tomorrow I'll buy them for my kids.

No other news today, just tired and it's only Tuesday

SURG XX

themarsbargirl

Bright side...tomorrow is hump day!