A path out of the Jumble

Jumblerina

Thanks DIA it's a very happy time for us, we're really cherishing it. Hope things are good with you.

Jumblerina xxx

Orange_Ena

Ah many congratulations to you and your OH, it's all very exciting :j

Jumblerina

Thank you OE we're getting really focused on budgeting so this is a zero debt wedding - so I'll be spending time here getting everyone's tips and inspiration!

Jumblerina xxx

Jumblerina

Morning Diary,

We've woken to a lovely sunny day, it's bright and fresh - the perfect day for a good spring clean I've had a good nights sleep and dinner for today is simple (and from the freezer) so that will leave me time to blitz the house.

Before I do that I'm going to do Novembers spending review and plan the budget for December - I've not quite got the hang of doing my budget in my bullet journal but will give it a go when I've found a format that works for me.

We've got an impromptu family gathering on Thursday evening to celebrate our engagement - so I'll be making some sandwiches, quiche and sausage rolls for us all as well as a cake. We could get our friend to cater which would mean less work for me, but I'm trying to save money where I can.

It's even more important that the house is tidy as that's one less thing for me to do so today I'll be;

Cleaning the bathroom
Cleaning the stairs and landing
Wiping all the paintwork
Tidy, dust, polish the Living room
De-clutter the utility room and boiler cupboard (popular dumping ground!)
Deep clean kitchen

OH will be;

Doing the weekly washing
Cleaning our bedroom
Sweeping and mopping the kitchen/living room
Making our bed
Prepping our puppies food for the week (we weigh it out into bags for the dog walker)
Re-stocking the bird feeders and the bird seed tub

I'll probably make dinner or we'll share it, my hands aren't great at the moment so chopping and slicing are hard.

I've been rough wedding budget planning this weekend, want to make sure I've got a clear goal on costs. I've also cut down on the treats as although our official wedding diet starts on 1 January it can't hurt to get a head start :rotfl:

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend

Jumblerina xxx

Jumblerina

Good Afternoon Diary,

This month has certainly been a spendy one, with my trip to London and some unexpected household bills (£545!) :eek: plus I made the mistake of starting my a Christmas shopping without an list and a budget - oops! I got carried away in wanting to be organised and early festive spirit :rotfl:

I decided to include my Hotel/holiday spends, although I saved in advance for them as it shows just how much a holiday can cost. Also for me to see exactly where my money goes so I can decide what I really want to spend it on.

Overall budget for November: £2274
Actual spend for November: £3843.06 (-£1569.06)

Food Spends

Budget: £300
Actual: £331.26 (-£31.26)

I really need to get a handle on food spending, made a start with eating from the freezer in preparation for Christmas. This is one of the key areas I need to get more focused in in 2017 and be far more strict on the budget.

Travel

Budget: £110
Actual: £190.52 (-£80.52)

I'm over budget here too - I did expect it with my trip to London and needing to take cabs everywhere due to my disability. This is normally an area where I'm quite good at staying on budget, not much in the way of additional travel this coming month so hope to be back on track with this.

Personal Spending

Budget: £150
Actual: £1126.37 (-£976.37)

I've left this as it is to show just how much a holiday and some Christmas shopping, along with not taking lunch to work can impact my personal spending. In November I spent;

£39.44 on lunch/coffee etc through not taking mine to work
£173.65 on Christmas presents
£761 on a hotel for my friend and I
£53.49 on gifts
£88.43 on takeaway/eating out

It really does all add up and I'm glad that I track my spending so I understand what I'm really spending and where. I saved and budgeted for the hotel and some of the Christmas gifts, yet there are still a fair few to buy.

Household bills

Budget: £649
Actual: £629.27 (+£19.73)

Glad to come in under budget somewhere these bills are pretty static, so just need to keep an eye on renewals to make sure I make the best savings.

Puppy Costs

Budget: £250
Actual: £252.67 (-£2.67)

I'm pleased this months puppy spending was a lot more sensible, I saved on dog walking fees as we were off for some time this month I've also switched his food to a better options which by happy accident is over £7 cheaper per bag and you also get an extra 3kg of food

Debt Payments

Budget: £1100
Actual: £773 (-£327)

With the additional household spending this month, £475 for a fence and £45 for a boiler service I haven't been able to put any extra towards my debt this month. Yet I've paid more than the minimum payments on all my cards and will be figuring out a new savings plan for 2017 to include our wedding savings.

I forgot to separate household costs in my budget, so will do that for next month as it makes it so much clearer I'll be slashing my personal spend budget in January, with all the social stuff that happens in December I'll keep it at £150 and be sensible.

I'm going to start work on Decembers budget, along with a clear and sensible budget for remaining gifts, food and nights out.

Jumblerina xxx

Jumblerina

Good Evening Diary,

A very productive Sunday for us, we made dinner together and have eaten it now all that remains to be done is relax and enjoy the clean house. Well, I need to make lunches in a little while but that won't take long.

Jobs list

Me
[STRIKE]Cleaning the bathroom [/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Cleaning the stairs and landing
Wiping all the paintwork [/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Tidy, dust, polish the Living room [/STRIKE]
De-clutter the utility room and boiler cupboard (popular dumping ground!) - still need to do
Deep clean kitchen - general clean done, will do different jobs and to deep clean each day

OH
[STRIKE]Doing the weekly washing
Cleaning our bedroom [/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Sweeping and mopping the kitchen/living room [/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Making our bed [/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Prepping our puppies food for the week (we weigh it out into bags for the dog walker)
Re-stocking the bird feeders and the bird seed tub [/STRIKE]

As a bonus job we gave our puppy a bath, it was overdue with my weekend away and his weekend at my Mum's.

Hope you're all having a relaxing weekend

Jumblerina xxx

doingitanyway

You are so productive with your cleaning...

Jumblerina

Thanks DIA I seem to do it in short bursts :rotfl: I'm sure it would be much easier if I did a bit each day!

Jumblerina xxx

Jumblerina

Good Evening Diary,

It's been one of those days, pretty much non-stop at work - I'm working to a deadline and everyone I've been waiting for information on, has been late! Making a tight deadline, even tighter.

To add to this, I ended up in a meeting this morning that should have be 1.5 hours and was 4 hours :eek: I've done all I can on it today and won't be working on it again until I start tomorrow morning. In times gone by I'd of worked on it at home, yet I've made a clear decision not to and will keep my home life, for me, my OH and family - leaving work at the door.

Everyone was getting stressed today about the deadline and I was just sat there thinking, does it really matter. We can only do what we can do, with the time we have - we're not super-human!!

Came home and the dog walker hadn't been, meaning my poor puppy had been alone for over 9 hours he'd misread my message and thought today was my working from home day. Luckily puppy was fine, we fed him, fussed him and he had an extra long walk we've recently got him a bigger water bowl, so he hadn't run out of water. A small mercy for this very guilty feeling puppy mama!

On a lighter note our booking confirmation for our wedding came through :T its official and we're very excited :j not very money saving though as the Registrar fee is £569 all together :eek:

I did give in and get a takeaway as after we cleaned up after the puppy, fed and walked him - it was late. OH paid, which was nice of him and he brought me home a chocolate bar Just what I needed!

So I'm relaxing at home, watching a little TV and will have a early night tomorrow is another day, I'm working from home and will have plenty of time to catch up on my work, away from the usual office craziness!

Hope you all had a great Monday

Jumblerina xxx

Jumblerina

Good Afternoon Diary,

It's certainly chilly today - winter has arrived in my part of the world so I'm very pleased to be working from home today

I've completed all my work, just in time for my deadline - it all worked out well, without doing silly extra hours last night :T

Had to venture out for an appointment, while I was out I got a little too up shop, some Christmas cards and of course my bus fare. I got a cab home as I struggle to walk when my legs get very cold. I did get a bit upset with myself about it, then I realised it was silly as I can't help the way my body is and at least I can walk/use public transport.

I do confess to having a cream scone for after my lunch - was yummy! With all the festivities coming around so quickly, it's got me to thinking about plans for 2017. Particularly with our wedding not being part of the original plans I posted earlier in my diary.

I'm all done for the day now, so I'm going to relax under a warm blanket and catch up on diaries

Hope you're all wrapped up warm on this frosty Tuesday

Jumblerina xxx