Time to sort my finances out

Houseplant26

Hi Flowers,

Well done for doing some meal planning the other day! Mines slipped a bit, I too am finding this weather and time of year hard and did some sales spending I slightly regret (not because it put me back in overdraft more but I love what I got!)

Good idea about the hobby. Just don't do what I've done in the last and get overexcited and spend too much.

Flowers123

Hey Houseplant. I'm thinking of starting sewing. I have a sewing machine I could use so I'm going to look online for ideas. I am going to have a look in the charity shops for some material and I'm going to make a small cushion I'll pop over to your diary to catch up xx

So spends this week. Yesterday I ended up nipping to wai*rose as we needed milk in the office. Spent £3.50 on some butter for myself to keep at work for toast in the morning etc and I also got some soup and bread. I then used my wait rose card and got a free latte another NSD today as I had toast for breakfast then soup and bread at lunch and had some pasta this evening. Very proud of myself for not spending any money. Small steps but still I'm pretty pleased.

I have been thinking about air bnb a bit more and have decided I really do need some furniture for the spare room before I can do this. I don't think anyone wants to pay money to sleep on the floor :rotfl:

Also potential good news, I don't think I owe the tax man as much as I thought so it means this money can be used for the car expenses due in a few months.

6 days until payday and I still have money in my account which is good for January! I haven't used my overdraft for about 6 months despite my debt increasing on credit cards due to the house move and a hectic Christmas and new year. I have decided the carpets and things I need to do on the house will have to wait. The priority at the moment is furnishing the spare room so I can make some extra money!

Flowers123

So it was a NSD yesterday I did spend £25 at the supermarket today on groceries as I had completely run out of food and I didn't want the temptation to order a takeaway to be there as this weekend I've decided not to be very sociable and stay in and clean the house. Oh what an exciting life I lead.

4 more days until payday! I will need to fill the car up again but other than that I'm hoping not to spend anything else.

Houseplant26

When you say a 'hectic' Christmas and new year led to spending what exactly do you mean? I'm just curious because I know I tend to spend more when I'm overwhelmed but that equally it's not exactly an excuse!

Have you done a SOA yet Flowers and a proper budget? It might help you work out if you can throw more at your debts?

Flowers123

Hi Houseplant. I think I just mean that I had too much on over the Christmas and NY period. I had too many invitations to different parties plus a lot of work on and the house move which meant I didn't budget or plan for anything. I know it's not an excuse but this is where I ended up spending the money. I didn't do any meal planning and ate out far too much which I now regret as I am now eating rabbit food this month to make up for it.

I get paid next week so I'm going to do a budget but I've noticed a pension payment of £100 has gone out which isn't very helpful. Unsure whether I should pay into a pension and lower my monthly debt repayments or take myself out of the pension.

It was going to be a NSD but then I had my nephew round and spent 60p at the local shop on some chocolate for him. I didn't use the car once which was a bonus as my tank is still 1/4 full but this will need topping up before payday. Going to make myself wash and clean the inside of my car out tomorrow instead of taking it to the cleaners who will charge at least £15 to do both the inside and outside of the car.

I have been thinking about my budgeting and debt repayments quite a bit lately and was thinking about taking a mortgage out to pay off my debts and my parents but realistically I will have to wait for my credit rating to improve and at the moment I feel it would be worthwhile paying of these debts as fast as I can instead of taking on debt over a longer period. Once my credit cards are paid off this will release a lot more money to throw at my loan. My goal for this year is to pay off at least one credit card, I know this doesn't sound like much but I want to set myself with a lower target to start with so I can learn how to budget properly for the long term as I don't want to get myself in this situation again

clippy_girl

Hey flowers, thought I'd comment on Airbnb. I rent my spare room out on it, normally about 22 nights a month (less in winter) and made around £6000 per year the past 2 years. You can now earn about £7.5k tax free each year renting it out

Re furniture buy some second hand wood stuff on gumtree etc. It's cheaper than buying new cheap stuff and it will last longer. I would recommend buying a new medium firm mattress though as you don't want reviews about the bed being uncomfortable. you don't need much, a bed, drawers and a hanging rail is sufficient. Get some bedding and towels from asda as they are cheap but look really nice. As you get bookings you can use some of the money to get more things like bedside tables, wardrobe etc (and increase your rates). Wouldn't recommend going all out and spending loads to make the room amazing at first as if you decide you don't like doing it you have wasted more money! Just be clear with pics and description that it's basic and people won't be disappointed.

I also provide breakfast which people seem to really like even if they don't eat it. I have a couple of cereals jam and bread (which I keep in the freezer so it doesn't go off) and tea and coffee. Probably costs me £2 per week but justifies charging a higher price. I just let them know where it is so they make it themselves. I also provide toiletries like shampoo, toothpaste and shower gel. Most bring their own so I rarely replace them but people like the fact they are included

Flowers123

clippy_girl wrote: »

Hey flowers, thought I'd comment on Airbnb. I rent my spare room out on it, normally about 22 nights a month (less in winter) and made around £6000 per year the past 2 years. You can now earn about £7.5k tax free each year renting it out

Re furniture buy some second hand wood stuff on gumtree etc. It's cheaper than buying new cheap stuff and it will last longer. I would recommend buying a new medium firm mattress though as you don't want reviews about the bed being uncomfortable. you don't need much, a bed, drawers and a hanging rail is sufficient. Get some bedding and towels from asda as they are cheap but look really nice. As you get bookings you can use some of the money to get more things like bedside tables, wardrobe etc (and increase your rates). Wouldn't recommend going all out and spending loads to make the room amazing at first as if you decide you don't like doing it you have wasted more money! Just be clear with pics and description that it's basic and people won't be disappointed.

I also provide breakfast which people seem to really like even if they don't eat it. I have a couple of cereals jam and bread (which I keep in the freezer so it doesn't go off) and tea and coffee. Probably costs me £2 per week but justifies charging a higher price. I just let them know where it is so they make it themselves. I also provide toiletries like shampoo, toothpaste and shower gel. Most bring their own so I rarely replace them but people like the fact they are included

Hey Clippy girl. Thanks for your post. £6,000 a year is amazing! What do you do about the keys and checking people in and out? I work full time so I would either have to boot people out at 8am or trust them to lock the house in the morning. I definitely prefer the idea of doing air bnb rather than having someone live with me full time. Thank you so much for your comments :j

Flowers123

So spends so far this week

£37/£240 food and general spends budget for the month which is about £60pw
£33/£140 this is my fuel budget for the month

My car is full of fuel so I'm hoping this will last me until later on next week and I also have enough food to last me for another week. I may need to get a few fresh bits but this won't cost too much.

I am starting to notice where I spend my money and it is mainly on food and drinks and socialising! I am currently budgeting £60 per week for my groceries and social spends which includes meals out but unsure whether I should have a separate budget for this. I am so rubbish at budgeting but determined to kick this debt. I am pretty proud of myself as I went for a mooch round the shops as I have a £10 voucher to spend but it would mean spending some of my own money. I have decided to wait until I see something I really like so I walked away and kept my money in my purse. I have noticed ththat voucher can be spent in boots so I may use it to buy myself some make up when it's needed.

My aim for this month is to not buy any clothes, shoes or accessories or anything that isn't essential. I am also going to start shopping at A*di or A*da as its loads cheaper and I am going to cook from scratch. I also want to start sanding down the walls and filling in the holes that I have noticed from previous picture hooks.

Car is filthy again so going to make sure I clean it myself this weekend which will save me some pennies.

Not much else to report. I am just waiting for all my direct debits to go out of my account so I can then start moving any spare money over to my credit card. Going to start paying off my smallest credit card first as then I will feel like I'm achieving something.

Flowers123

Yay! Another NSD for me :j

So glad it's nearly the weekend. I feel exhausted this week. Im looking forward to a lie in on Saturday then I'm going to get to work on the bathroom and start preparing the walls in order to paint. I would usually have someone to paint and decorate but I'm going to do it myself to save pennies. It will take me longer but I've got the time over the weekends. My next room will be the spare room as I want to make this nice so i can rent it out eventually to make some money to go towards debt repayments :T

I'm still really unsure how much I spend on food and general day to day things so I have not yet done a SOA. Going to keep track of my spend over the next few months and see how it goes. Will budget £140 - £150 for fuel but this could vary each month. £60 a week for groceries and other spending at the moment. I may eventually increase this as I know I won't survive without clothes and nights out. Hoping to pay off at least 1 credit card then I will evaluate the situation as I want ton become good at budgeting long term :rotfl:

£35 left for spends this week. I will withdraw another £60 next Wednesday. I am hoping I will be able to save some of this weeks money and build up a small surplus for when I have a more expensive week.

Flowers123

So £15 spent today on presents for people at work. Why are there so many birthdays in January and February

£20 left until next Wednesday out of my general funds. Need to get a friend a present tomorrow so budgeting £10 for this and no more! This will leave me with £10 until Wednesday but luckily I'm not doing anything this weekend that involves spending much and I have enough food to last until then and I don't plan until doing a food shop until I'm back after next weekend.

I have had a rummage through my clothes and bits and bobs but I don't have anything I could sell on e*ay or anything that I want to sell as its all things I wear or use.

I have started doing surveys on Crowdology again so I'm up to £1.50 but you can only withdraw money when it gets to £4. Any money I make from that will go towards CC1.

Tax bill has now been paid so my bank account is not looking very healthy. I used the money I had saved for the house. New flooring will have to wait a while.

I've had a relaxing evening and I'm already in bed ready for a busy day tomorrow. I really need to get the house in order so I can rent out my spare room and earn some extra cash