A Journey of Many Pounds Starts With a Single Penny

EatingTheElephant

Good news on the MOT, hope your feeling up to full strength soon with your back.

LadyGnome

Thanks ETE. I'm going to venture out on my own today for the first time in over a week. I thought I had better see how I get on before trekking to work on Monday.

More progress -
1. £6.10 on the Euromillions (I know the lottery isn't particularly MSE but I see it as a donation to good causes that occasionally gives back)
2. Redeemed 5500 Nectar points from the Nectar surveys I do. We have a lot of Nectar points and need to decide what to do with them

brizzledfw

Here's to small wins

Hope your back holds up

debtfreeoneday

Hope you r back is ok.

I found the nect@r surveys really frustrating, either getting screened out or very little reward for the time.

Anyway, hello and I'll subscribe!!

LadyGnome

Hello DFOD, welcome.
I have survived a trip to the shops and a trip to the park this weekend (just). Some spending over the weekend but nothing too frivolous. I got the boys a step counter wristband each as the elder gnome boy wants to get fitter. They were £13 for two so not in Fitbit territory. Other than that, it was prescription charges and stuff for homemade soup and focaccia. The focaccia is now covered with sundried tomatoes, red pesto and mozzarella and proving. The homemade cream of tomato soup was a hit and there are 3 portions in the freezer.
Payday on Wed so will do the pre payday tidy up on Tues. I did double check my spreadsheet was correct and matched my account balances ready for money shuffling this week (can't wait!)

LadyGnome

Four day week this week at the boys have an inset day on Friday so I've taken that day off, then its half term.

Goals for this week
Survive! (with no more back dramas)
Monday - Done
Tuesday - Done
Wednesday - Done
Thursday - Done

Bring food to work
Monday - Done
Tuesday - Done
Wednesday - Done
Thursday - Done

I need to move some money into my C/A from my bills account as I know there is a direct debit due out shortly but it is all budgeted so that is fine. I have another block of money to move for a bill that went out earlier this month but I have decided to split that half into the pots and half for the tickets I bought for the boys which will be on next month's CC bill as I have survived without the money so far this month and payday is Wed.
I will top up my Oystercard by £10 then no spending until Wed.

33 Days to the end of the Xbox squeeze

LadyGnome

Didn't quite manage the no additional spending yesterday £1.30 on seafood sticks at Sainsbo at the station as I was starving and wanted a snack that wasn't too sweet. However, the money came out of what was left in my purse and I still have some left for another day so not too bad. Did put £10 on my Oystercard as planned and will top it up properly tomorrow when I get paid. (Managed to avoid the lure of the coffee shop at the station this morning but it was a struggle - Ha! Mr C0st@ you don't beat me that easily)

Current account is looking quite lean with only £47.51 in it (net of bills). However, it is owed £39 from the bills account so that gives me £86.51 which I will round up to £87 and pay £29 into each pot plus £39 into the tickets/days out pot.
There will be a few more small bits to move after payday as my lower mobile phone bill starts, plus a small lottery win and a bit of interest. I will also make my standard £200pm OP.

I had a go at reconciling the children's savings pot even though I haven't yet had the music bills. I estimated the maximum possible bill and took that off the available balance. I can move £500 per month into my NW reg saver so I wanted an idea of how much to move on 1st June. It looks like there is a minimum surplus of £443 (+£29 to move today + odds and sods after payday) so I will be pretty close to having the full £500 to move this month. If the bills are lower than budgeted (quite likely) then the surplus can be moved in July as I suspect I will be much further from the £500 limit that month. So provisional figure today for the children's pot is £1,443.
32 Days to the end of the Xbox squeeze

LadyGnome

Guess who had a larger than expected gas and electricity bill this morning :eek: I have been nagging MrGnome and the Gnomeboys to turn off the TV when they are not using it, turn off lights and my absolute pet hate, check the windows are shut before putting the heating on! :mad: (Yes Mr Gnome that means you...)

Current account tidy up done yesterday and holiday savings goal for May met and passed. £1220 v £1200. Today is payday, I will do the money shuffle tonight. Thanks to the huge increase in the gas and electricity DD (did I mention this!) I think it will be a fairly lean month. However, I am due to receive some share dividends this month which will allow for some OPing even if the current account is a bit bare.

I've decided to set up a spreadsheet to track our gas and electricity so I can get everyone a bit more focussed on minimising wastage. I can also judge whether paying £50 to change our tariff would pay for itself or not. The tariff only lasts for 12 months (fixed price) so we have 7 months to go including the cheaper summer months so I don't know that a switch would be economic now. Once I have 6 months figures then I can make a reasonable guess how much the next 6 will cost and work out if a tariff change is worth it.
Is it me or is the answer to most issues on MSE - set up a spreadsheet and fiddle with the numbers?:rotfl:

I need to put some money aside to pay for theatre tickets for Xmas as I want to take the Gnomeboys to see a show and they are all eyewateringly expensive. It will probably be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I have pretty much covered the cost of the WWE Live tickets through a combination of foregoing one event, underspends and moving half a bill allocation yesterday. I will need to find £18 which means £9 off two fairly generous allocations for family events.

I also paid the car tax yesterday which was entirely budgeted for. I start my next 12 month savings plan for it today.


31 Days to the end of the Xbox squeeze

LABMUM

Hi I hope this isn't a stupid question but I wondered what you mean when you say you have done your current account tidy up? You seem to be very organised with your accounts.

LadyGnome

Hi LABMUM
I allocate most of my money at payday to various expenses, savings pots etc but usually leave a balance in my current account for unexpected expenses (e.g. I have just found out about a school cake sale after half term) and pocket money for me. The night before payday I split the residue of my current account between my three goals of OP the Mortgage, Saving for Holidays, Savings for the Children. I start each month with an empty current account. My plan is to budget for as much as possible e.g. I save up for big bills like car tax over 12 months, so if there is any money left at the end of the month then its clearly not needed and can be put into savings /OP.