Let's Be Adventurers!

belleandthebudget

Just realised this month is a 5 weekender. Eek!

Lucky I had another good haul at A1di today. Definitely got plenty of food for the next week. Meal plan time methinks! Just off the top of my head I have ingredients or portions of all the following:

4 x lasagne rolls
4 x pasta bake
4 x spaghetti and meatballs
2 x gnocchi
2 x tortellini
1 x pizza
1 x macaroni cheese
2 x guacamole (meal portion) with tortilla chips

Not going to starve.

spendaholic1986

Subscribed to your diary Belle! You can do it!

I also find they survey sites frustrating, I seem to always get screened out!

Well done with the meal planning, I have saved loads and stopped wasting food since I started doing this ��

StrugglingYouth

The meal planning also stops you ordering a takeaway for convenience. If you have them, remove the ordering apps from your phone, it definitely helped me when I started accounting for my food spends.

I would also suggest a sealed tin, can get them from places like HomeBargains, e-Bay, B+M not sure if you have either of those in the capital though. I put any 50pences, pound or two pound coins into it after any shopping trips. Then open it either when its full or to help with an un/expected cost. Bit like an emergency fund.

Are you able to take lunch into work if you make it yourself?

Lastly of the survey websites I have found OpinionWorld to be the most financially useful! PineCone is also good but sparse.

belleandthebudget

Thanks Spendy, we DEFINITELY can do it.

Those surveys! *facepalm* The minute I say I live in London they seem to be done with me. I need to get in quicker I think, but I have managed to scrounge up enough SwagB*cks points for a £3 Am@zon voucher, so hopefully that will pop up soon. I've decided to leave any vouchers there for Christmas time - I tend to be able to get my brother and Dad's pressies from the site, so that will help come December.

Thanks for the tips, StrugglingYouth! I can take lunch to work - we have fridges and a microwave so I'm pretty spoiled in that respect. I tried it last week and was amazed how much money I saved. I mean, I knew I was spending WAY too much in lunch places, but it hit home when I stopped doing it.

Luckily, I don't tend to order takeaway. My favourite delivery place just removed my postcode from their service... a blessing in disguise!

Love the idea of the sealed tin. I don't really work in cash much though. I moved from spending on credit cards to my debit card though to curb unthoughtful spending, and that's worked really well. Maybe I can do something similar with online banking and rounding down numbers.

StrugglingYouth

belleandthebudget wrote: »

Love the idea of the sealed tin. I don't really work in cash much though. I moved from spending on credit cards to my debit card though to curb unthoughtful spending, and that's worked really well. Maybe I can do something similar with online banking and rounding down numbers.

I believe someone coined that idea already on MSE. It seems to work for some people. Little and often! It will all add up!

belleandthebudget

That's probably where I saw the idea!

Would have to be pretty careful with updating YNAB - since it assigns everything down to the pennies - but I do like a round number rather than odd pence here and there.

belleandthebudget

It's strange coming to terms with the fact that all I really need to do to be debt-free is stick to the budget. If it's so simple why haven't I been able to before now? Why have I let everything spiral so terribly?

I wish I knew.

I really, really just hope I stick to everything this time. So so so many times before my plans have been forgotten or deliberately ignored because... well, because I wanted something I couldn't afford or I wanted to eat things that aren't any good for me.

Sometimes I wonder if I keep myself in these unhappy situations... obese (according to the NHS) and in debt so I don't have to make decisions about life.

There's no way I can get a mortgage or even rent on my own, I don't have to date because the kind of guys I went out with before I got fat aren't interested now and overweight guys just make me feel even worse about myself, like seeing my failure in a mirror. I don't have an eating disorder or anything like that, I just used to be super in shape my whole life until I put on 4 stone about 5 years ago due to illness. I've really really struggled to lose it or be happy with myself since.

Wow this is a whiny post. I guess I just don't want everything to seem rosy. It's not. If it was I wouldn't be on this path.

Really hoping I don't veer off it again. But I know the only person who can ensure that is me. So glad I found this place, it's helping me get my head in the right space so much.

belleandthebudget

So, stepped on the scales this morning and I did indeed ruin my progress over the weekend. Put on two pounds so I'm back to only a one pound loss.

Have been feeling sick all weekend but the low level kind that makes you eat. Not sure why. Think I'm now going to give up drinking for at least a few months in an effort to recoup some calories.

No new money saving news but I did get some cleaning and tidying done yesterday which is good.

Ok, onwards and upwards. No more sulking!

belleandthebudget

Sadface. I just found out that my favourite flatmate (I live with two) is moving out next month. Also, everything is in limbo but there's a good chance my best friend will be leaving the country soon too.

I hate change, I know this, but it always seems to happen just when I've got into a good groove.

I hope me and the flatmate will stay in touch, she's lovely, one of the best flatmates I've ever had and she's only moving ten minutes up the road to live with her boyfriend. I guess I'm not upset - just disappointed - because I knew the move was coming, so I wasn't surprised. She's in her mid-thirties, in a good job, it makes sense they'd want to get a place together.

All the more incentive for me to get my finances figured out. So one day I can stop the revolving doors of flatmates. I love my landlord and the location of my flat, I don't even mind living with people THAT much, I just hate the uncertainty.

I've rounded down to the nearest pound in a bunch of my budget accounts in YNAB and put the little extra towards my Debt Free By 30 payments. It's just a tiny thing but it makes me feel better to be DOING something, no matter how small.

spendaholic1986

Sorry to hear about your flat mate moving out, the uncertainty about who is going to move in next must be hard!

Well done on the extra payments! Every little helps!