Paid off the £31,000! BUT - still scrimping!

HairyHandofDartmoor

I agree about not being a tightwad. It's impulse spends that need avoiding. If you need or want something and feel you deserve it and can afford to buy it, then there's no harm in treating yourself. I think a pocket money or spends budget is good for that type of thing. You can then treat yourself, but not go overboard and blow all your savings or get back into debt.

Seasidegal58

redofromstart wrote: »

I think that there needs to be a balance between fritter and tightwad though, depending on the available funds. It's mindless fritter that I get cross with myself about, or costs because I procrastinated and didn't sort X out. Jotting everything down is always a bit of an eye opener, as is paying cash for day to day things - suddenly realising you have to get yet more cash out makes you focus on quite where the cash went.

Sounds like a lovely long break. Have you got your breakfasts planned to remove that temptation?

My work breakfasts are really a no brainier redo or should be - I keep porridge sachets in work and the firm supplies free milk. There's really no reason I should be hitting Pret in the morning, apart from the fact their coffee is better than instant. However the firm have recently bought an nespresso machine so I've now bought my own pods to take in and will start back Monday on the straight and narrow.

Sun_Addict wrote: »

Another one here planning to track spends and set goals. My spreadsheets are all set up and raring to go It's the small spends that add up, £10 here, £5 there, before you know it £200 has disappeared. Still need to have a life though and that has been factored into the budget

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I agree about not being a tightwad. It's impulse spends that need avoiding. If you need or want something and feel you deserve it and can afford to buy it, then there's no harm in treating yourself. I think a pocket money or spends budget is good for that type of thing. You can then treat yourself, but not go overboard and blow all your savings or get back into debt.

Agree with you all on the impulses - and like SA says one still needs to have a life. I'm fortunate that all my debt is gone and I have funds to spend just for me. But I really don't want to waste these on things like endless daily expensive coffees. My friend and I decided a while ago just to have two Pret coffees per week - I would get them on Monday lunchtime and she would get them on Fridays so I think we both need to get back to that. One appreciates them more as well.

Seasidegal58

SCRIMPY GOALS FOR 2019

- Last year I was determined to lose weight and get more healthy, which would then enable me to get into all the clothes I have that don't fit me now and thus de-clutter and perhaps make some money at the dress agency! That has not happened! So I will try again - start 5:2 on Monday and walk more!

- Re finance - I was quite successful here last year - new kitchen fitted and pensions all sorted out. I do want the living room and hall redecorated but still have to put money away for my block of flat's external renovations that take place every seven years so until I know the bill for this I'll have to leave the decorating for now.

- Cook from scratch more and don't succumb to too many ready meals or takeaways!

- Have a holiday and some weekends away! Plus some days out! YNAB pots going gang busters!

- Last, as I've previously posted, I want to stop frittering away my own spends on impulse buys that I can do without. But...... I also want to enjoy and have a life!

Here goes for 2019!:D

HairyHandofDartmoor

Good luck with your 2019 goals SSG.

System

SSG nice to see you back from your break and ready to go for it in 2019 with all your goals.

We are all guilty of spending when we could have done it another way or not spent at all.

Any plans where you want to go on holiday this year ?

Enjoy your Sunday before the return to work tomorrow.

Seasidegal58

Thank you both!:)

I have a couple of ideas for holidays Cumbria - neither particularly cheap! One option is a cruise of the Norwegian Coast culminating at the far north to see the Northern Lights. The other is in the U.K. and is a tour around England of the historical sites associated with the six wives of Henry VIII. I'll have a think about both - I'd like to see how Brexit pans out a bit first and if overseas travel is affected.

Seasidegal58

A cloudy, dim Sunday in Seasideville.

I start my financial month on the 25th as this is the day I get paid. Accordingly I am in the middle of Scrimpy Week 2 - January.

All the YNAB pots are sorted and extra has been put away into the Ad Hoc Savings for the flat repairs.

After paying out the £120 for the iPad repairs, I have averaged out what I have left in my spare cash for this week and Scrimpy Weeks 3 and 4 - so £44.24 this week and £51.95 for the other two weeks. Anything left over will be going in the Ad Hoc Savings pot.

As it's Twelth Night I'm taking down the decorations today and will then be cleaning the flat. Later on I'm off to see the early evening showing of 'Bohemian Rhapsody ' with my friend. I bought the tickets (£10.25) with my Times 2 for 1 Odeon ticket offer. My friend will drive us there and get the coffees. Then back home, watch a bit of TV and off to bed. First day back to work tomorrow.

The rest of the week should be quiet. I'm off to see Strictly's Aliaiz and Jeanette's show at our local theatre with DSis later on this month, but we bought the tickets some months ago.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

brizzlegirl

All sounding great SSG..I am in total agreement with the trivial spends mounting up. I am toying with the UFM.. but instead joined the January challenge on here and am throwing myself into some self directed financial discipline to try and get shot of the debt we have built up over the last 2 years and prepare for DD1 going to uni etc. I think being employed again will help with the budgeting. I am also planning to repurpose my commute time (which is now absolutely minimal) into exercise time...a win win.
Have a great Sunday x

Seasidegal58

Hi brizzle - I think you're right in that it's easier to budget if you are in regular employment with a steady income. Lord knows how much more debt I would have accrued if I had ever been self-employed!:eek: I don't think I have the discipline for it! It's good that you're using your previous commute hours to exercise! Much more important use of time!:D

I feel shattered this evening after my first day back at work and the early start. Work was gangbusters as well! Over 100 emails to sift through and some nice pending jobs waiting for me.

I was very good and had my porridge for breakfast in work and used my coffee pod - which was so much better than the instant! I did have my Monday coffees in Pret with my friend at lunchtime - £4.90. It was a bit of a one-sided conversation as she has lost her voice overnight and doesn't know why! We were in fits as she sounded like a squeaky hamster's wheel every time she tried to speak! Her boss wasn't impressed as she couldn't answer the phone! All heart!:rotfl: I also brought my lunch in as well!:j

So tonight for dinner it's the good old standby jacket spud with cheese and beans with cherry tomatoes. Yoghurt and frozen berries for dessert. All nice and easy.

The coffee was all I spent from the ad Hoc kitty today. I also bought some stores from Sainsbury's and paid £10 towards a colleague's birthday present (this was budgeted for in the Gifts pot).

I received my monthly Cashback and interest from my Santander 123 account - £24.57 and this has gone over to the Savings pot. I also cashed out £10.12 and £10.47 from TopCashback and PA.

By the way senility is setting in - I posted previously that I was off to see a Strictly show later this month. It's actually The Bodyguard I'm going to see! I'm seeing the Strictly show in a few months time - DSis and OH got me the ticket for Christmas!

milann

2 coffees a week sounds like a good compromise - if you’re anything like me - I’d feel deprived if I stopped altogether but it still feels like an outing and treat to have 2 coffees a week with a friend. Do they do a coffee stamping system there - my local coffee shop stamps a card and I get a free coffee when my card is full. I don’t get to go these days though as I work lunch times and only get 15 minutes to stuff my face - I take a quick lunch and flask of coffee everyday.

Enjoy your shows when come around.