It's time for a money diet...

Lauralozzle

Tuesday 7th May

Had a busy day today - two loads of washing done, went food shopping, mowed the lawn and swept the 'patio' (its concrete). I've also topped up my Caffè Nero card so I don't make silly spends on my debit card. I'm hoping this will result in a few NSD as I count the spend day today.

The weather has been lovely today and I (hopefully) have a good day planned for tomorrow as I'm off to the magistrates court for a nosey. I'm hoping to get into work early-ish and finish early- I would also like to. Jill up my flexi this week so that's a contradiction in itself! Ideally I'd
Ike enough flexi for a day off at the end of the month. That would be nice. Around pay day. I can go to the butchers then!

All I need to do tonight it sort out packed lunch and pack my bag ready for work in the morning. That might leave me with enough time to eat breakfast

Lauralozzle

Thursday 1st June

So, I'm going to write last month off. It was horrendous. Part of that was recovering from the large Vet bill and as a consequence the emergency fund was depleted. Not fully, but significantly enough. We finished with around £200.

Our savings plan for the wedding means we can't put any extra in the emergency fund until after as I've allocated the extra money. Having to unexpectedly pay for my wedding dress has not helped here either - as this was money saved but not allocated for the dress and other things instead. I'm glad I had the funds to cover it, and I do hope I get the money back but it won't be the end of the world if not.

I'm also seriously considering making my own wedding cake now as it'll be cheaper and will save a good deal of money - although it probably won't be as nice but never mind. I'll need lots of practice I think to make it look pretty!!

I'm off the next two days so I'm hoping to get the house in order. We've also got some b and q vouchers that I'm going to use towards a BBQ as the weather is nice and we both miss having one. I've waited about 3 years to get one, and the vouchers will really make a good dent in the price (plus, we've had them some time now and don't want them to run out!) We have a bit of a buffer this month as the sofa is now paid off but the money isn't allocated out to another account until next month so it will help towards paying for the BBQ.

EDIT: BBQ purchased - a lovely red one - fairly large one and had goof reviews. It was £112 - so with the £45 off from the vouchers it made it really reasonable. The agreement for the gas was expensive though - but as far as I'm aware when it needs refilling it'll be cheaper and if we want to take the bottle back we'll get some money towards it from the agreement. I also got a BBQ cover and some BBQ utensils (don't think my plastic ones would be much good!) both were reduced to clear so happy with that. Overall spend after the vouchers was £148 - which seems like a lot of money but to be honest I am hoping this BBQ will last years. I've only had tiny charcoal ones before. This is a good summer (and many summers to come) investment.

What I really need to get back into the habit of is meal planning as this is where we overspend. I'm going to do a big food shop today and hopefully it will last us for a few weeks (we'll just need to top up on perishables).

I am planning on using my 0% money transfer credit card this month so my cleared credit card will be back in use. MBNA keep offering me extra 12 month deals which I will use for my car insurance and MOT. I was planning on using the joint for its MOT but I think the card will be a better bet, and if I pay insurance out right it'll be cheaper in the long run. I will clear the card as soon as possible, it shouldn't be too much and although it's 12 months I don't plan on keeping the balance going that long! I've transferred £500 for the car - this includes MOT and insurance and any left over will be paid straight back to the card. I'm slightly worried that the money isn't showing up yet in my account but I've checked my credit card online banking and it is still 'pending'. I hate it when you get that horrible fear that you put in the wrong account number!

On the plus side though - my car finance is so close to the next thousand pound bracket - £8,999 still looks better than £9,000 in my head!

Lauralozzle

Friday 2nd June

I'm claiming a NSD today! :j

I've had a bit of a nightmare with the BBQ today. It still isn't put together as I'm not strong enough to do a part of it. I thought there was a piece missing - I put it in my car, half assembled (it's a miracle it fit - I have a Vauxhall Adam and it's tiny!) and drove to B and Q. Stated there was a part missing - helpful man went to get a new part from another box, only to realise it wasn't missing and tucked away in the BBQ hood. I felt a right twit!

Bobarella

Ugh what a pain!