A path out of the Jumble

Jumblerina

Good Afternoon Diary,

It was a hectic end to the week, with an unexpected vet trip and a spendy day yesterday! Luckily my puppy is fine and I've given myself a good talking to on the spending!

It's 25 days until my trip to London and I need to stay in the savings zone my OH was very kind and gave me half the proceeds from the sale of some blu-rays yesterday, so I was £50 up I used some vouchers I had for N@xt to get him some new shoes and slippers, which he gave me £40 for. So I was strictly £90 up!

I spent the last £5 of my personal spend budget on coffee for my friend and I - it's always tough when we go out as I usually buy lunch too. I wasn't worried as I'd had the unexpected influx of cash but ended up spending £218.99 :eek:

£40 - new dog collar, dog treats, ID tag and food
When we went to puppy class on Wednesday, they told us his collar is too small even though I'd measured him and just got one from Am@zon. I also had to get a new ID tag as his had his name on, which they advise against.

They also said his kibble was too small to use as dog training treats hence the dog treats and new food as he needs to transition onto a cheaper brand. I sometimes wonder if the spending on my puppy will ever end!

£149.99 - new vacuum cleaner
Before we got our puppy, I got a Dys@n cordless vacuum last summer - I've had nothing but issues with it and I'm on my third one :eek:. Since getting our puppy it's even worse at cleaning the house, so I went to look at pet vacuums to get a feel for what was available. The one I was going to get was £59.99, then they showed us another that was much more powerful as well as lightweight with £80 off. We did need a new vacuum, just not immediately, I did feel really guilty about buying it yet our house is so much cleaner now!

£29 - Lunch
I went for the cheapest option to keep costs down and lunch came in under £30, a small saving grace

I'm hoping I can sell my Dys@on to re-coup a little cash and from now until payday in 8 days time I have zero in my personal spend budget :eek: this happened last month and I swore I didn't want to repeat it! The good news is, I'm not anticipating any more spends other than travel costs which should amount to less than £5.

I'll be taking lunch to work all week and have a day working from home in the midweek I'm lucky to still be doing reduced hours while I build my strength up after being ill. I'm hoping next week will be uneventful and very low spend

I'll be posting more regularly to get myself back on the straight and narrow, I'm lucky I can cover my spends with savings - yet it will leave me short for my London trip I've recognised it and will get back on track!

Hope you all have a great Sunday

Jumblerina xxx

doingitanyway

Maybe you can sell the old dog collar on as well...

I hope this week is a good one for you

Jumblerina

Good Evening Diary,

A successful Monday, did my hours at work and they passed quite productively

Stuck to my £1 travel costs budget too - I'll be continuing this right up to payday on the 24th! Need to keep on track

Still haven't booked my London hotel, holding out for a good deal. Train tickets already purchased and they've arrived too

Puppy training is going well, not much in the way of de-cluttering done. I've been feeling a little unwell so took it easy when I got home. Watched the US presidential debates, made interesting viewing! If I didn't know it was real, I'd swear it was a parody in parts :rotfl:

Hope you've all had a happy and frugal Monday

Jumblerina xxx

Jumblerina

Good Afternoon Diary,

Good thinking on selling the dog collar DIA I'll have a look into it. Had a good day at work today, I'm getting back into things and finding work to keep me busy

I'll be working from home tomorrow and have a nice big pile of admin to get through! That's should keep me busy! I'm so lucky to have this day working from home, I'll make the most of it by doing some chores in between work tasks. I'm so glad it's in the midweek too as it breaks the week up and gives me a little rest.

Been feeling grotty the last couple of days so de-cluttering has taken a bit of a back burner, just concentrating on keeping on top of the household tasks and cooking. Lovely catch up with a couple of friends today, it's always nice to spend time with people who care and make you smile.

Have re-examined the budget and will be doing a little review of the month as I approach my payday on the 24th. I know there are things I've learnt that will help me budget better next month, I've got to be super strict as it's our London trip in November and I need to be on track for Christmas:D

Hope you're all having a great week!

Jumblerina xxx

Tinkerbelle2000

You're lists make me feel so lazy. I just usually have one big clean on a Sunday and then a little tidy each evening.

The hoover sounds like a good investment. I think my next one will be a pet one although Mr D doesn't leave much hair about, they do seem to pick up a lot better.

Hope you feel better soon.

Tink xx

Jumblerina

If it makes you feel any better Tink, I've still not tackled my de-cluttering list and I posted it ages ago! :rotfl: I generally do a big clean each week then a tidy each day like you. Had to step up the sweeping and mopping to every day since we got our puppy. It used to be every 2-3 days when it was just me and OH

Have really noticed the difference with my new Hoover, as our monster is a lab and getting his adult/winter coat - there are little black hairs everywhere! Thanks for your get well wishes, hope you're feeling better yourself

Jumblerina xxx

Jumblerina

Good Afternoon Diary,

I'm pleased to say I'm on track with my minimal spends this week £1/day for bus fare home from work and managed to talk OH out of getting a takeaway last night, he was going to pay but I'd rather save the money towards something else.

Only slight blip was we had to get chicken and rice for our puppy yesterday as he's ill, as well as some milk so £10 spent in the local c@-op, it's so expensive in there! I keep telling myself it's cheaper than more Vet bills and it's important we get him back to health. As we don't have children, he's literally like my baby - got up with him through the night when he was little for toilet training and he comes to me for cuddles at night.

I'm so happy we got him, he brings us both so much joy - we did think long and hard about getting him as we both work. Yet I'm working from home at least one day a week now and the other four days he has a neighbour come in for an hour to feed and walk him he's such a beautiful, loving and playful little thing, we were totally in love with him from day one.

My main focus for the last few days has been work, eat, look after puppy, chores and bed! My energy levels haven't been fantastic, yet it's very almost the weekend. I hope to have a good tidy and de-clutter of the house, finally getting to my de-clutter to do list

It's almost payday too - so I'll be getting to work on the budget for November, there's our London trip and bonfire party coming up, plus we're having my OHs family round for food/drinks. It's not going to be the best month for budgeting :eek: yet every month can't be perfect and I'm determined to live a little on this journey to debt freedom

Hope you're all having a fab Thursday!

Jumblerina xxx

doingitanyway

I think it's important to 'live' whilst debt busting too. Your puppy sounds a real joy to you. To me this journey is about spending in line with your values, spending with intention even. As long as I do that I'm okay and when I don't I get cross with myself.

Have a Friday too x

Jumblerina

Good Evening Diary and my fellow Debtfreers,

I've been MIA for a while - I let myself get too busy with work and life in general, it's led me a little off track :eek:

I've let the budget down a little by buying lunch and a few too many takeaways :eek: I even spent over £7 on lunch in Pr@t, it was delicious and very healthy :rotfl:

Had an unexpected spend on some fencing for our garden as our not so little puppy escaped into our next door neighbours! The hedge is starting to thin with the winter coming, he saw his opportunity and took it :rotfl: luckily my neighbour has a gate and fence so he didn't get far and he came back when I shouted him I certainly could've done without the extra spend so close to my London trip and of course Christmas

I'm so glad I've built up an emergency fund as it is a weight off my mind knowing I have the money to cover the fencing. All my spends for London are planned and in budget, just need to make sure I set a sensible spends budget and stick to it

I've still kept up with my budget tracking and have avoided any silly spends - just need to set myself back on track. I've got a few days off work and I'm using my time wisely have caught up on my rest, as I'd let myself get too tired I know this is where the extra spends creep in, buying lunch, coffee and takeout when I'm too tired to cook.

Need a backup plan and some meals for the freezer - first need to clear the freezer out and eat what's in there, so I feel a meal plan coming on

Tomorrow I'll be having a spring clean of the house, I'd really like to grab coffee but it's a cost I could do without so will make my own coffee at home

I'm also going to work on a plan to get back on track with my budget and de-cluttering the house - when my house is clean and tidy, it makes cooking and general living so much easier.

Plus I'll be making sure I keep up posting on my diary - it keeps me on track. Hope you're all having a fab Halloween and week so far

Jumblerina xxx

Orange_Ena

I'm sure we all go a little off track at times, where life gets in the way or we just cba!

As long as you jump back on that debt busting wagon, it'll all be ok.

Welcome back