Debt, debt go away (and don't come back another day)

System

Gah. Updating things has put me in an unnecessary bad mood!

Going to go to bed and sort it all out tomorrow when it will probably look better!

louby40

Tomorrow is a brand new day!

hannahroberts1985

Morning Ramblehan,

Hope your feeling better this morning. You've come so far. Just think how much money you've cut off your debt by taking the step and stoping all interest and it's Monday do one week closer to being debt free. Whoop whoop. We can do this xxxx

Poor_Single_lady

Do things look better this morning. You are doing really well getting all organized and sorting everything through and you can do this. Maybe we are similar in that when you are doing well you don't realise and its only when you look back on this time that you will say actually I did a really good thing. xxx

System

Hello all.
Things definitely look brighter today. Thanks for all popping by.

Failed on the NSD front as I caved and had some chocolate and an ice cream at work today (very dangerous having an ice cream shop onsite - they do a salted caramel peanut in clotted cream ice cream and if I don't try it at least once a month, I can't check it's up to quality!!)

Now got another 10 days off work - although the reality is, stuff still needs to be done, so I will do a little bit when DD naps every morning....but I don't have to be at work to do it, so bonus! We're going back to Dorset for a few days and then camping with old friends on Dartmoor. and then a few days at home.

Got no budget other than the usual food / fun budget - but we don't need to buy any food for this week, maybe just a few BBQ things for the weekend. Plan to do "free" things.

BUT We seem to have nearly spent all the food budget for the month - eek - just £30 left. Definitely taken eye a bit off the boil - and not helped by being everywhere this month. Got some money in the fun budget at least, but it won't cover anything more than this weekend.
Quiet times on order. 16 days until payday. OH will get more money in between now and then but want to put as much of that as possible towards his next months expenses and tax bill.

I am still messing with YNAB a bit in that we overspend and i "roll with the punches" essentially moving things from other categories to fix overspends - but really think I am doing this too much as all it does is rob peter to pay paul.
Spending time with my mum is not good as it's much harder to not spend money - wasn't even on on me, but on my DD. Was even stuff that we needed, but I would have delayed spending it if I had not been there with her...but we needed it for her, we were at shops so hey ho. Need to build up a little pot for her AND ss.

Got 2 more months of paying for TV licence at full price - it will then move to £12/month instead of £25 - so looking forward to saving those extra pennies towards something. Also 1st September I will be able to put in for solar panel credits, I think we will get £200 or there abouts which i am going to drop straight into my Christmas pot as there is nothing in there. (Dear world, please can we have more sunshine please - the best month so far this year was April and every month since then has been worst than the last - depressing - was actually the same last year... April is where the sunshine is at!!)

Need to start thinking about Crimbo and getting organised. A job for another day!

System

Waving hello. Been away to the mouldy caravan for a few days. Back for 1 night, and then off to a wedding and a camping weekend. Think budget is pretty much blown for food, also had to dip into EF as when we got to the caravan our electric cable had been mowed so we had to get a new one.
On the plus side, we have an EF, and we haven't spent it all (yet)

Lesson I'm learning now is that summer holidays needs a bigger budget as we are spending more. So my aim for next year will be to have a lean couple of months to save up for a nice 6 weeks of summer.

Other observation is that we really need a decent caravan. DH is going up there every week for work, and whilst it is dry now, it won't stay that way during the winter. We're going to try and scrimp and save rather than trying to make it happen yesterday (very much a change of habit - yay!) . Hopefully by early next year we may be able to get something better.

TTFN Ramble x

System

Hello dear diary. Back from an AMAZING weekend away catching up with very old friends. Was in tears when we left - really haven't seen enough of them in the last 20 years, but we're now planning a Feb 2018 catch up so it won't be too long.

Money news:
Food budget of £250 was set for Aug, but we've blown that - upped it to £320, and we've got £11.56 left in that pot which is going to make life tough as payday is the 25th! Not much in cupboards, but the good news is courgettes and toms, and mange-tout are going well, so that will help.

Other good news is that DH had one of his big invoices paid so that's £500 straight into the EF, with a further £500 to come - so we will be £1K in the EF....and am trying to ban us from thinking about buying a caravan with it! I have moved it into an online saver that DH can't see, the same as I have done with the money saved for his tax payment.

DH is busy with work, but we still need to put £250 to tax, and that's before we also put £750 into next months budget. I am hopeful we can do it, as what's incoming looks like it will exceed this - and then if we have any excess I can chuck some of it into his work EF, and maybe start a caravan fund!

System

One of my reflections ref this Aug, is that with having so much more to do with a few trips away etc that next year I need to save up for holiday but one of the things I always seem to do with set a "wishful" budget for what we should spend when we are away - and then the reality is we always go over.....so if anyone has any tips / or can tell me what they budget for holidays / special days out - there's 2 adults, an almost adult in everything he consumes teenager, and a 18 month old....do you work on a daily budget? What's usual for a good day out for a family of 4?

I think I'll post this on the grocery challenge thread too and see if anyone can help.

System

uh oh. DH has arranged to view a caravan this evening.
Had stern talks - 'we are not spending EF etc etc.' It's on an EBAY auction and is only 5 miles away so we will see it, ask what price they want for it, and then wait and watch. He's not planning to buy apparently, just seemed daft not to see it as it's so close.....hmmmm. That's all fine, but then if it looks like it is going to go for a song, he will want to buy it. hey ho.

louby40

Oooo Ramble you're going to have to be the voice of reason regarding the caravan.

Luckily my kids don't need entertaining anymore, they do their own thing with their friends. My eldest son has 2 little jobs so rarely asks me for any money but my 13 yr old asks for £5 every now and again. I put it in my budget so I do give him a bit. I just get annoyed with the requests for money for Dominoes pizza, after he's had his tea. £10 for a pizza is just a rip off and I refuse to fund that!