Hugglemonster's debt free diary

hugglemonster

HI all, managing to scrape by until payday luckily got some T8sco vouchers through yesterday so have used them for food shopping today and still have £5.50 of them in case needed before Wednesday.

Some more money added to present fund should build up nicely before next birthday at the end of March, this now stands at:
* Paypal £21.77
* £10 Sainsbob
* Amazon £5

Nothing else going on, having a nice relaxing day pottering at home today then tomorrow hubby and I are doing a race whilst my parents have the kids. I am out every night this next week except Friday but all good.

Hate this period of waiting before I can make another little payment, I'm ready for you Mr Overdraft!!!

H x

Bobarella

Well done on making it to payday Huggle & that OD won't know what's hit it very soon I'm sure!

hugglemonster

So we have made it past pay day and survived but I hate that we are still in this position of counting down the days and I don't know how to plan better. Yes the flight tickets cost more than I thought so that was the first bit of bad planning but at least it came from income and not borrowed anything. We did have a couple of interesting meals this week, sausages and spaghetti anyone (that's spaghetti as in plain pasta no sauce!), anyway we ate it but if I can't get fresh fruit and veg for my kids then I'm failing.

I've also failed on my credit card, I meant to transfer some money before the interest was added so it wouldn't go over the limit but I've had a stinking headache for 3 days that I forgot and a lovely £12 fee was added. I seriously need to sit down at least once a week and remind myself about any financial jobs that need doing so I can get ahead each week and not one step forward and three back!

I finish work at 3pm tomorrow and I have next week off for half term and I'm hoping my headache will magically disappear. I'm taking myself to bed in a minute but I have my note pad and monthly expenses up there and I will plan the next few weeks payments and what I can throw at the overdraft and what I can save for the holiday. I will look at whether I can afford to save the money usually spent on afterschool club that will be saved whilst ds is off next week but their dinner money will stay in the budget as I will need to feed them :-)

Sorry for the negative post, there are some positives in the next few months so I know that we just have to sit tight and small improvements will turn into big ones.

Night night H x

Bobarella

Bless you Juggle. You sound a bit overwhelmed. It's horrible that feeling of meaning to do something then forgetting, like with the fee being added on. Is it worth ringing up and pleading the charge? Sometimes they will save things for people if it hasn't happened in a while. Also, when was the last time you tried for a 0% card?

Spaghetti with no sauce is a thing apparently. Some people like it with just oil.

And is it worth wacking some extra frozen veggies and tinned fruit on your emergency items list for next time? I'm peddling my own advice there but frozen is just as good nutrition wise.

Big Hugs.

Bob

hugglemonster

Ah feeling better today, finished work at 3pm, picked up ds, popped into Tesco where I got a few y/s items for tonight and breakfast and then will do full shop in the morning. Also need to pop to home bargains for loo roll.

Bob thanks for post, we can't get any alternative credit at the mo, hopefully when I've paid off first overdraft we may have a few offers open to us.

Kids are off now so lots of cheap lunches to come and will do some batch cooking to stock up the freezer for dh lunches at work.

I have done some surveys and requested a payout again, so present fund is now:
*Paypal £21.77
*£10 Sainsbob
*Amazon £5
The next birthday is my best friend's on 18th March so I have a couple of weeks to think about what to get her and post it.

I have also received cashback payout of nearly £10 so I have sent this to the overdraft, I will need to add some more before 1st of March as fees will be added on. I think little and often will help clear this one although I won't have council tax and water again in March so this will be good to add.

I need to check whether the cash for clothes place is open tomorrow as I have a few of my ds things to get rid of and also need to list a rug and curtains on fb selling page.

Spoke to colleague at work about her son coming to knock out the cupboard in ds room when dh gets paid and give me a quote on plastering the room. Will be another little step forward in the decorating, determined that it won't take 2 years like dd room!!!!

I thankfully have my thinking head back on and not a thumping headache :-)

H x

hugglemonster

Happy Sunday everyone, had a good day yesterday we went shopping with our menu/list and managed to get a few reduced items even dh picked up a couple of things. We made homemade tomato soup and Foccacia (all ingredients at home including lovely rosemary from the garden), had enough soup left to put 3 pots in the freezer.

My 3 little things yesterday were:

Little thing to make progress towards goal - put ds rug and curtains on fb selling page and they were sold within an hour, £5 to send over to overdraft.

Little thing that I've been putting off - went to take ds clothes to cash 4 tem place but it was closed so will do tomorrow.

Little thing to make me happy - I went for a lovely run and then actually had time for a bath with a bath bomb from Xmas!

Had a disagreement with dh about my dd best friend, she is really good at sport but she goes to something for a while and then stops as she gets bored. She went climbing with dd a couple of times and then stopped and dh wants to pay for her this week as she can quite easily follow her sister's path and be a right pain in the a***. I said no, why should I pay for her when her Mum is swanning off to Tenerife for a week with her new boyfriend plus we shouldn't be making decisions as she's not our kid! I feel sorry for her as she is spending every night this half term at a different person's home whilst her Mum is away, but I don't have the money to pay for someone else especially as she won't appreciate it. The friend is a bit nutty and I like her but she is already showing bad signs such as swearing at shop staff, messing about in class and generally getting into mischief. I'm hoping my dd will not get led by her, she's a sensible girl.

Just made a Lasagne for lunch but letting it sit until dh friend and son have been and gone, just have the delights of laundry this week to get through. Hope I get paid my mileage tomorrow, I could really use it as need fuel to get to an event on Thursday.

H x

[Deleted User]

Hi Huggle,

Love your little things.

I totally agree about DD's best friend, it's a shame that she's going down a rough path but I do see where you're coming from.

Enjoy your lasagne later.

hugglemonster

Lasagne was lovely, also managed to put 4 leftover tubs in the freezer for meals and dh has made a lentil & salmon stew for his lunches for the week.
I have a plan for the overdraft, if I pay the fixed amount of child benefit off it each month plus the money saved in March from no council tax and water it will be gone by the beginning of November. Obviously I will hope to pay it off before then with any extras I can come up with but at least it's nice to know that another debt will be gone before the end of the year!
I think it's going to be sensible that any monthly payments that finish this year will stay in the pot and hopefully start reducing that overdraft slowly.

Come on next pay day I have things to plan!

H x

Bobarella

That is a great plan Huggle. Hope it goes really well.

hugglemonster

A busy few days even though I'm off my main job I have lots to do for my other job, lots of paperwork to sort out and completed a grant application for my club to buy some equipment to convert for kids with a disability and take out into the community to use at schools. My assistant coach is finishing at the club so my dh is stepping in, looking forward to breathing some new life into the club and building it up again. He needs to do a few courses but I'm sure he will fit in nicely and it will be good to share a common interest even further.

It's payday eve and it couldn't come soon enough, I had to email my boss to get my expenses paid as he had forgotten to sign it off! I'm going to update ynab and also check on dates for each debt as to when interest or charges get added so I'm not caught out with this again.

Other than that it will be a pottering around the house kind of day as weather so poor, my water butt has been knocked over and the guttering damaged but that's it so far. Keeping an eye on the weather and hoping I don't have to cancel my running group later this evening.

Ds and I took the clothes to the cash 4 them place and got a whole £1, I gave it to him as they were all his clothes and he put it straight in his piggy bank - good boy!

Payment for dd bed has gone out so only 1 more to go - yay!

H x