Aiming for single, sorted and solvent

maggiesmummy

A quick update today - NSD after yesterday's Iceland top up, but I do need to find a waterproof coat for my daughter's residential and I need to pay my debts to my eldest (he popped to the shop for cookery ingredients for school - home economics is costing me a bomb!)

Day off tomorrow and I have a plan to find 10 things to list on eBay and 20 things for Ziffit, plus 30 for the charity shop. Trying to declutter one pile of stuff at a time and attempting to be ruthless. Apparently clutter is indecision in it's physical form!!!!

Planning a long dog walk too and my treat is going to be a really good cup of coffee made at home - now trying not to buy a Contigo coffee cup to take on the walk with me, along with some new walking boots. Roll on Christmas - I might just have enough for walking socks ��

maggiesmummy

Quick update from me.
Charity shop got more than 30 items - 4 bags dropped off which was a start, plus a bag of toiletries for Women's Aid.
12 things gone to Ziffitt - packed up and sent on the same day.
Plus 6 things for selling - need to list those this weekend.

Had a lovely day with an old friend yesterday - I delivered some training so mileage was covered and she very kindly bought me lunch. So just some spends at the shop for kids.

Today involves a long walk with the dogs who are currently driving me mad and a walk into town to do the CEX exchange and a trip to the library.

It's a funny one - there is money in both my accounts but It's allocated and I know if I spend it it won't last the month (Loan payment remains a challenge anyway). But if I pay off my debt that's £350 which can go to the good stuff.

On a positive note I have signed up for a market research which will pay out £40 in Amazon vouchers, I have Prolific, Ziffit and Checkout Smart payments due and we have food in the house.

Tomorrow is rugby and decluttering - I can feel a tip trip coming on. I know how to live!

Have a good Saturday all!

maggiesmummy

Finishing off the weekend with a mixed bag of wins and misses.

Wins
EBay- 12 items up and 4 already selling, plus two more to go up.
Balance transfers - all done everything bar the loan on 0% and I have a plan for that in a few months
Boy2 game plan - he has sold a game for £15 and we've sold the Wii and split the cash between the kids so he's halfway to the game. I've agreed to pay the other £25 as part of his birthday fund

Misses
Food - just looked at the budget and it's a 5 week month again and £75 a week is tight already. Need to get some cash in.
Unexpected spends - boots, leggings, ingredients for school cooking all coming in as unplanned spends. And all for the kids - so difficult to keep saying no.
Diesel - will need some next week but am already spent up to the limit in my budget.

I am starting to realise I am not just aiming for debt free - i actually need to live within my means first and that is the challenge.

And I am feeling just a bit rubbish about the sheer volume of responsibility that's there on a daily basis. Practically, financially, emotionally. Bloody hell single parenthood can be hard.

Anyway onward and upward - someone posted on here that they needed to do something every day to work towards being debt free and I get that. I feel like It's the combination of doing something positive and not doing something negative (like sticking something on the cc or ordering the 10th parcel that month off Amazon because it's not real money)

On a positive note, my birthday list this year will be much wanted things - I even have a leakproof coffee mug on there so I can save a pound on coffee freezing my !!! off watching rugby!

Honeysucklelou2

maggiesmummy wrote: »

I am starting to realise I am not just aiming for debt free - i actually need to live within my means first and that is the challenge.

And I am feeling just a bit rubbish about the sheer volume of responsibility that's there on a daily basis. Practically, financially, emotionally. Bloody hell single parenthood can be hard.!

Totally understand...single parent here.

School Food DT lessons regularly scupper my budget. It's fine is it's a bread based recipe as I have those ingredients in anyway. It's the savoury dishes that call for meat and obscure herbs and spices that knock my budget out. Thankfully the herbs and spices issue is less as the younger children follow their siblings footsteps in taking DT food which means the herbs and spices are getting used up:rotfl:.

maggiesmummy

Thank you for that @Honeysucklelou - I am just a little bit in awe of you having read your diary (particularly your ability to bake - Bake Off could be an option!) If you fancy sharing the blueberry chocolate muffin recipe that would be brilliant!

On the herbs and spices it's a good job mine are fairly close in age as they use them up year on year - but I may have a nutmeg which is in fact fossilized!

Honeysucklelou2

Of course...Chocolate blueberry muffins.

Sorry in ounces because that's how my grandmothers taught me:rotfl:

9oz self raising flour
1oz cocoa powder
4 oz sugar
Half a pint of milk
1 egg
3oz butter ( melted)
3-4 oz blueberries

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Stir in the sugar. Add the milk and egg and mix thoroughly. Melt the butter and pour into the mixture. Add the blueberries and mix in.
Pour into paper cases and bake for about 20-25 mins at 180c. I think that's the timing. I usually put things in and check them when I can smell the aroma in the kitchen!

Hope that helps!

maggiesmummy

Thank you! Will give them a try tonight.

Currently waiting to do market research to keep some cash coming in - this week has been a bit tight as I made a rookie error with the food budget and may have forgotten to include the animals - will make sure next month they are included (have fed them in the meantime honestly - just need them in my plan)

I also think I may have underestimated the food budget - that might need recalibrating just a little. Otherwise nothing amazing to report - Ziffit and Prolific are keeping me in the black at the moment and I'm hoping for a decent return on Ebay this weekend as I have bids on a few things.

Thinking about every purchase is feeling a bit exhausting at the moment - there's no leeway in the budget and no financial cushion yet so it does feel a bit tight and scary - but no worse than when I had no idea where the next penny was coming from and I was borrowing on cards - that was wake up at 3am and worry scary.

maggiesmummy

Just catching up after a week of what seemed to be constant, if enjoyable spending.
A night out using Clubcard vouchers plus a £20 spend left me with a slightly sore head, followed by a day out in the big city which only cost £17 and was great to catch up with friends.

All of the kids have been to parties or sports or out this weekend so I don't feel too bad about the solo spends. Starting the week with almost zero in the spending account which is frustrating as I have an eBay sale awaiting payment which would leave me in the black. I have a feeling that's going to be a non payer based on their feedback, which is frustrating.

Anyway, we have food, there is fuel in the car and CTC lands on Tuesday so the food budget can be refilled, eBay parcels posted and insurance renewed at a saving of £10 a month and potentially Meerkat movies. Not sure it's worth it but might give it a try.

Still fighting to stay in budget, but also fighting the urge to pay off debt before I sort an emergency fund too. Might use my prolific payments to make small overpayments on the loan, just to chip away a tiny amount!

On the positive though, nothing has gone on the credit card since I started this diary (ok restarted!)

maggiesmummy

Quiet weekend this weekend - which is a good thing based on the finances!
Friday night was a very cheap one going to a gig with a friend and Saturday night a friend popped in.

The main expenditure still seems to be food. Plus my children's ability to spend in £10 amounts (phone top up, dinner money, party, residential) meant £50 went in 2 days.

Anyway onto the positive - 4 more things on eBay today, plus 6 sales last week. One non payer so that's been relisted and has bids. A market research paying £60 should help for the last week of the 5 week month and Prolific is ready to cash out again.

I've also started the credit card shuffle so the balance of my Barclaycard has been transferred to Virgin and I am hoping to be able to do a money transfer to pay off the loan which is at 9%.

At the moment it remains a staying within my means budget rather than paying off vast amounts of debt, but my mantra is 'In the black, not on credit

Have just signed up for BzzAgent again and have a fantastic freebie shampoo to try for another site, so am celebrating the small things.

Plus I have just started reading 'A Man called Ove' and that feels like a lovely weekend treat so am off to continue with that.

Happy weekend all.

maggiesmummy

Limping into the end of a 5 week month this week and am feeling the pinch in all directions.

I've crept into the red because of two loan payments in one month, plus the need for a food shop before the half term. Think I am going to have to up the food budget to allow for £100 A week and stick with that - once it's gone it's gone.

The other thought I have had is that in reality, raising three growing kids with no other financial support, with debt and without a massive income, there's never going to be a big switch when it's all paid off. Tiny steps - and this month that's meant ebaying stuff, Prolific and taking a good look at costs.

On a positive note, once the next couple of loan payments are made I'll be able to transfer the remaining balance onto at 0% deal so I'll be paying off around about £14,000 of debt.

That feels massive, but under control if that makes sense. And I have just realised that I still have some money in pots - just not in the bank and even used Monzo for the overdraft not first direct so it was 50p a day not £5.

So on the right track - just trying hard to stay stable!