"Start wherever you are and start small"

NeverUnderestimate

Bob my son is 6. He's a summer born child. I sometimes feel like I should be doing more but I know I'm doing my best.

Yesterday was a NSD bringing my total to 11 NSD.

Today we are off to kids club at the cinema to watch the BFG. It's £2.50 each so £5 in total. That's cheaper then one ticket at another film. We'll take our own snacks to save money.

We may also get a mcdonalds for lunch and then we then may go to the sealife centre (we have annual merlin passes).

So it looks like a busy day haha.

NeverUnderestimate

So I'm currently sat in a children's play area for the next hour. What better way to pass time then to be on here! My son is off making friends.

The film (BFG) was brilliant this morning- Definitely worth the £5. We then went to mcdonalds and had lunch £7.00ish. And now here we are in a play area. We've brought some drinks with us that we nipped into BanMs for, 58p bargain ha ha!

After we've been here I think we shall then go to the sealife centre and walk home on the beach.

All in all a pretty busy day. Although we've had some spends we took things like snacks to the cinema which definitely lessened the costs.

It's so busy here at the moment with half term starting. I don't do well with crowds at the best of times.

I'm working two extra shifts Sunday/Monday night. Then I'm on annual leave for the rest of the week in which I'll plan plenty for us to do.

Maybe that can kill some time now ha ha!!

NeverUnderestimate

So here I am on my night shift... it's quiet and I'm trying to pass time on my break..

Sunday was a NSD bringing my total to 12 NSD. Only 3 more to go until I've hit my target. Fingers crossed I can do it!

Once I've finished work I'll be straight back home to sleep, ready for my next night shift. I'm only doing these as they are at an enhanced rate and I'm hoping to use some of the money earned to pay off debt/add to savings.

I'm pretty tired at the moment and can feel myself lagging. I have lots of things to do but no energy to do them.

I might mess around with November's budget and see what I can do with it. That should pass some time. I sound so sad ha ha! I just get excited to see what I start with at beginning of month and what's left at the end haha!

NeverUnderestimate

So it's my last night shift tonight. I'll be glad to be honest. Things have been a mixture of emotions lately. You help people out and get it thrown back at you. So clearly I just need to look out for myself and myself only.

Today has been a NSD for me as I've been asleep most of the day ready for tonight. So my total is now 13 NSD. Only two more to go.

I need to reconfigure my bank accounts to balance up to what they should be. After the weekend spends it's a bit skew-wiff. Plus my mum still needs to transfer money as she misplaced her bank card so I put her shopping onto my card at the time. She'll no doubt do that soon.

Tomorrow after work I can't wait to get home and go to sleep before little one returns. He could have spent the day with his dad but his dad has other ideas. Whatever, his loss.

I think on Wednesday we are going to Alton towers. No expense here aside from petrol as we have merlin passes. Although we will take food with us, I predict it to be a long day so will budget for food expenses too.

I'm pretty low in mood at the moment. I'm just not seeing the enjoyment in things. I tend to go high and low quite often just lately. I wish my emotions would balance out.

In other news my new appointment has come through from the hospital for followup at beginning of December. Thank goodness that's sorted. Hopefully things will improve by then. I'm not sure I could put myself through further surgery at this moment in time.

So in regards to tomorrow I'll hope to have a nap and then maybe do some baking and go for a walk/bike ride. Something simple.

I need simple at the moment. Everything else is like a roller-coaster. I can't keep up.

NeverUnderestimate

So my last night shift went as well as it could. I've spent half the day sleeping and the rest chilling put with my son once he came home in the afternoon.

We've just prepped tea- we're having enchiladas. My son chopped all the peppers up and seemed to enjoy this! He asked to do more so we can freeze it! He's such a funny one. He also likes grating cheese. 6 year old ey.

I'm now waiting for tea to finish cooking.

I'm about to do my mum's building/contents renewal and find a better deal. I'll look through TCB to see if I can get any cashback. Every little helps. I mentioned uptrend her renewal quote for both (750 for the year, goodness knows what she's been paying this year and previous). She most likely let's it autorenew but has asked me this year. I'm shocked at the price! I aim to definitely half it!

Today has been a NSD bringing my total to 14 NSD. Only 1 away from target. I'm doing well.

Will catch up properly later.

NeverUnderestimate

So I've spent the evening sorting out home/contents insurance for my mum. I got the final thing down to £391 for the year. It could have been done much cheaper but she wanted the fancy extras and all that jazz. I wasn't arguing. But it's sorted and saved her £353.

So I've probably so far including her sky package (saved £510.36) and this, saved her approximately £863. That's money in her pocket. I hope she appreciates it.

I did go through TCB so still awaiting to see if it offers me the cashback of £42.00. I'm unsure whether it will. Either way I'm not fussed. It's a bonus if it does as I'll use it to pay off the loan. My mums happy with that.

I'm off to bed shortly. I'm looking at getting up around 5am to get myself ready for the day as we are going to Alton Towers. Entrance will cost zilch due to our merlin passes. I'll take food with us but will budget a set amount incase we get hungry as it's going to be a long day.

I will just need to put enough petrol in the car as well. Probably around £40. So that's an extra £20 over budget for the week but I'll use funds from elsewhere.

All in all a successful night.

Goodnight DFW'ers
X

NeverUnderestimate

P.s. The enchiladas were lovely and I don't think any of us will die of food poisoning any time soon.

NeverUnderestimate

It's payday today! Well for my monthly wage it is. I've moved the money to a separate account for now until the new month arrives and so I don't get confused.

Last night my son lost his tooth.. It's been wobbly for months. Now the adventures of the tooth fairy aka me start. I found a spare pound lying around and used this which is enough in my eyes. Some parents I know give a fiver/tenner. Christ! I thought it's a bit of fun/magic for kids.

I'll most likely put £50 of petrol in car today to get me to Alton Towers and back. I don't want to risk less and run out/have to stop at services to fill up. Also my car will get a good run on the motorway and blow away any cobwebs. I'll drive as economically as possible. I don't like the fast lanes too much anyway.

My son is grating cheese for his wrap for our picnic . This will obviously cover us for lunch at least. I'll withdraw some cash for food for teatime. It will be a late one when we're there. I'm debating whether to buy a refillable drink for the day (hot one most likely because it will get cold). We'll see. I'm not wanting to deprive myself too much on a day out as this is a one off. I'm so excited to be honest

I hope everyone else has a good day. I'll update later if time allows or I'm not too tired.

X

NeverUnderestimate

So we had an amazing time yesterday. It was just what the DR ordered . It was very busy though but we managed about 6/7 rides which was good considering queue times and the atmosphere made up for it. We arrived just before 1pm and left around 8.30pm. The traffic on the way back was horrendous with delays on the m6. The journey there was fine apart from some small queues in which there was a girl in car behind me getting road rage that we had to slow down. I could see her pointing at my car... I didn't cause the road works or delays. It became quite amusing. I bet her blood pressure was sky high with the way she was reacting. I don't understand some people. We were all in the same circumstances. However maybe she is entitled? Lol.

Spends wise it wasn't too bad! It could have been worse.

- £52.00 for full tank of petrol (I have over half a tank left after doing 200 miles. The car clearly needed the motorway run lol). The rest of the petrol will cover my work milage for next week.

- £16 on a ride photo and a keyring. It was sons first ride on each of these rides and the pictures were priceless. The keyring can go on his school bag to show his friends.

- £9.58 on food. We each had a hot dog and I had mine as a meal with a hot drink, we shared the chips as it was a large portion. In hindsight we could have shared the one meal in regards to portion size. You learn for next time though. We also spent £6 on a refillable drinks capsule- although we took drinks with us I got one of these as when stood queuing for so long we got thirsty/bored and our drink stash went in no time. We shared this though.

All in all, not too bad of a day money-wise. There are definitely so many temptations such as games, glow in dark thingies which last a day lol or other snacks. We had enough with us and for what we ate. The majority of people took their own food so we've ideas for next time. I saw someone eating cold pizza, I've never thought of that.

Today we are having a relaxing morning. We'll be doing my sons homework soon and then he has his hobby after lunch. This afternoon we shall then go to the park with a friend and have a relaxing afternoon.

Tomorrow we have a funeral to attend and a meal afterwards. Then he has his hobby and then his friends birthday. So it looks like it will be a busy day tomorrow.

I'm going to mess around with my banking and move money where appropriate. I withdrew £100 from cash machine yesterday. Far more than I needed. I'll work this into my budget for next month.

Hope everyone has a great day.

NeverUnderestimate

November 2016 Budget

Total income is £1495 this month.
My wages are low again due to being messed up last month and then being taxed extra. I don't think this will right itself until the new tax year. Sigh.

Bills
-Rent: £200.
-Phone: £25.31
- Phone Insurance: £6.99. (I've had this for 10 months. I'm still unsure whether to carry on).
- Union fees: £16.40
-Dental: £9.99.
-Loan: £252.29 (Through extra payments, monthly loan amount has decreased).

Savings
-HTB Isa: £200.

Budgets
-Food: £40.
-Travel: £80.
-Other: £400. (There is room within this budget to save if needed).

Total expected/budgeted outgoings for the month: £1250.98