Single 20 something mum - time to kick myself up the bum!

timetobefrugal

I'm hoping my daughter will be smarter with money than me. Her dad is tight although he has plenty of money so maybe being tight is the answer, hopefully she takes after him......

I got in to work early this morning so finished off the job application as that closes today. Hoping if anything I get a chance at an interview as it's been years since I've had one.

Packages for sales on eb@y all posted. Money I made went straight on a bundle of 9 dresses for my daughter which I won for £32 including postage! Pretty chuffed as they as all either n3xt or debenh@ms (I've been people using symbols I'm assuming we're not supposed to mention brands?!) :rotfl: so works out at £3.55 per dress - bargain!

Budget for this month so far on target and I have £30 spare for my trip to Birmingham! Will have to be cheap and cheerful food and drink wise but I'm sure I can do it! We get breakfast in the hotel so won't need money for that at least.

2 balance transfers gone through have 0% at 37 months so have set up the DD so that it is paid off by the end of that term and have closed another CC account. Hoped to be under £16000 by the end of this month but the balance transfer fees might have taken me over this :mad:

On to another fun day at work :cool:

SavingAtNumberTwo

I'm practising my smilies I'll get there :j I have no doubts that you could build an amazing home. I think i would stress about it all too much but what an accomplishment when you’re in your own little house. I love seeing the creativity on George Clarks Amazing Spaces it really is inspiring, have you seen it? I love those programmes because I love to see inside other people’s houses, just call me nosey, I can admit it. A donkey, pugs and chickens are an amazing combination, eggs on tap too, we go through insane amounts of eggs in our house.
I can imagine uni is challenging, how long have you been studying for? My fear of further education is paying for it and then losing enthusiasm but cost will potentially force my enthusiasm. Ironically, I hate wasting money and I happen to be pretty good at it. I am in the same position as you, I’ve been in my job since 2008, know it like the back of my hand and only really have my experience and a few qualifications to rely on if I ever decided to leave.
My sister has recently become veggie, she cooked chicken teriyaki using Quorn chicken, my first experience with Quorn and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I was telling her that the veggie options always catch my eye on a menu, I’m sure it feels different when they are your only options though. Also my partner is a real carnivore and where I could easily go without meat in meals, he couldn’t.
My parents were also bad with money, when I was young we lived quite comfortably but my mum always says looking back that money would go through their hands like water. They lost it all and separated, don’t have much now and they have struggled over the past few years which I should’ve learned from.

Bobarella I wish my parents had been the same with me, definitely sounds like you're doing something right :T

timetobefrugal

The thing that drives me most is people thinking I won't/can't do it, I just like to prove people wrong. Yes I love George Clark! I had the opportunity of being given a rail carriage but it needed to be craned from up north and that alone was well into the thousands. Now if only my savings account was the balance of my debt :rotfl: I would have been good to go!

I've been doing open uni for 3 years but this is my second law year (I did an access course first to see how I'd get on). My main worry is spending all of that money and either failing or getting a really cruddy degree class and no prospect of any law firm wanting to take me on because if it. But it gives me something to work towards and something to fill my time with when my daughter is with her dad! There are times (like this week) when I have an essay due and don't feel prepared, my house looks like a bomb has hit it and I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day - coffee needs to be on tap for me! I just live in hope it'll be worth it

Well I'm glad you enjoyed the quorn! The most common quote I hear when I mention I'm a veggie is how many people say they only really eat chicken :rotfl:

Not much to report this week, got my job application done and have seen another I'm going to apply for. Daughter is with her dad tonight and tomorrow day so my weekend will involve cleaning and essay writing. Although she's been full of cold and her nanna just text she say she's crying that her ear hurts. I really hope it's nothing as it's the weekend and I don't fancy sitting at the walk in centre

timetobefrugal

So it's been a quiet weekend I've barely left the house! This essay is melting my brain although I'm nearly there. Tomorrow is the weeknd concert and I'm really looking forward to letting my hair down. Dropping my daughter off at lunch then heading to meet my sister to get the train into Birmingham. My colleague (who is a big softie) won on his shares and gave me and another colleague 1/6th of the winnings each which equated to £37.50, this will pay for my food and drinks for tomorrow

Daughter seems to be a lot better and I'm glad because I wouldn't want to leave her if she was poorly. Although I hate leaving her in general!

Remembered it's mother's day before payday and I hadn't budgeted for it :eek:. I bought some little metal plant pots a while ago so I've been creative and ordered some pens you can write on metal with. I'm going to get my daughter to draw on them and then put a little plant in them. Although I have to do 3 - 1 for each grandma and a step-great-grandma but means costs should be less than £10 for everything! My mum just asked I cooked dinner for her and I got an M&S voucher from work so I'll use that to buy the ingredients and make it look like I made the extra special effort ;)

Not planning to spend much for the rest of the month I think I have around £30 food budget left which is completely doable. Looking forward to update my debt total next month when hopefully it's under £16000 :T

timetobefrugal

Oh a warning light has come up on my dash that a bulb is gone/going need to check but pretty sure it's the break light. That'll be another cost not budgeted for but I'm pretty sure I've got £30 spare cash this month so again, doable!

Bobarella

Hope the essay gets top marks!

SavingAtNumberTwo

How was the Weeknd? Wish all of my colleagues were as generous as yours! :rotfl:

timetobefrugal

Thanks Bobarella, not feeling very confident about this one but judging by my tutors email the other night people were having the same issues as me with it.....

The weeknd was amaaaaazing Rebecca! Had such a good night, enjoyed a fair few glasses of wine but I really enjoyed letting my hair down for once. I did have to buy some shoes the next day because all I had taken with me were boots and my feet were in pain :rotfl: Although I went into Primark and ended up buying some bits for my daughter (they had a kids guns n roses tee shirt how could I resist?!) So trip was overall more expensive than planned but was worth it and all within budget, just means very little spare money to keep me going until payday! Although I did list another bundle of my daughter's old clothes and hope to get at least £30 for that......so that'll help!

Although I had a good night Monday I've been really stressed with my essay and my daughter being poorly. She refused to go to her dad's Tuesday night sobbed she wanted to stay with mummy. So I let her stay with me and we took the day off yesterday to chill out.
Back at work today which is so busy because I've had a few days off. Essay was due today so that's been submitted so tonight I need to get in a decent workout because I haven't exercised in over a week and tackle the large pile of ironing. Think I will make a mixed vege thai green curry for dinner....yum!

My sister asked if I wanted to go to watch the new beauty and the beast on Sunday, the old me would have thought sod it I'll go I deserve a treat. But the new me told her I am skint for the rest of the month but you can tell me if it's too scary to take my daughter and it can be our treat on payday (budget for next month shows £45 spare to play with after birthday presents have been sorted :T) Go me!

timetobefrugal

Well I've been feeling abit meh since the weekend as it was rather spendy and means I've gone over budget :mad::mad:

My mum had transferred me the money to renew my passport so I haven't put anything on a CC but means my comfortable budget for next month is no longer comfortable. Oh well I guess we all have slip ups?! Judging how bad I've felt since I don't think I'll be doing it again for a while!!

Anyway, I did spend it on mother's day presents and a trip to the play centre with my daughter. I had planned to take her to a free farm park (it's a dairy farm they have a cafe selling their ice cream) so I thought it would be a nice cheap day with an ice cream as a treat but no it decided to rain all day so ended up taking her to a play centre and buying lunch there - there goes £20! Other money was spent on a trip to the garden centre to buy the plants to make up the mother's day gifts - this came to £15.50 but included 12 little plants and some soil. So after our visit to the play centre we came home and decorated the pots and planted our plants

I've also had to come to terms with the fact I really need a new car and to get one means I'll have to increase my debt. I'll run this one until it gives up on me but I really don't think that will be long. The thought of having to up my debt depresses me but I need a car as I live 12 miles from work and public transport would take forever - there wouldn't be enough hours in the day! I've also decided I NEED to find a new job and a pay rise. I think the only way I'm going to be positive in busting this debt is if I increase my income and feel I have more money to chip away than just the min payments. Haven't heard anything from the application I put in the other week and it still says 'application being reviewed' although the application said interviews would be next week so I'm not holding my breath about that one.

Anyway, I better get on at work! Have a lovely day everyone!

timetobefrugal

I've been completely MIA bahh!

So not so frugal month this month that involved 2 birthday's and 2 cinema trips! Pretty much skint for the rest of the month but alllllmost at the under £16000 mark! Selling a few things on eB@y so hopefully the extra pennies will get it under £16000 before the end of April. Feel like I haven't really paid much off since Jan but was set back by balance transfer fees, guess it's better in the long run but increased my debt short term.

Not much else to report, I've worked out if I up my hours from 30 to 37 then I'd be around £115 better off a month. I think if I can't get a pay rise or a better paid job then this is my only option to be able to live comfortably while paying off the debt quicker. I've already reserved an extra day at nursery for September (my daughter only does 2 days there at the min) so if nothing has changed by then I thing I'm just going to have to suck it up. I NEED a new car and it's the only way I can see me getting by with having to take out extra debt to cover that. How I'm going to be able to keep the house clean, work full time, study part time and get enough time in with my DD I do not know :mad: BUT I figured if I can get this paid off in 3 years I'll probably be in a good position to drop a day again.

We're heading off on an Easter egg hunt at the weekend, we're going to a national trust which I am already a member for so should be a cheap day. My mum is treating me to lunch to say thankyou as I cooked dinner for everyone on mother's day

I saw some lovely garden furniture the other day, the old me would have said ahh it's only £125 bang it on the CC it'll be paid off in no time. Instead I told myself that by this time next year I'll have saved £200 so I can treat us to a nice set and my daughter a trampoline or swing/slide set - whichever she wants!