A Ditherer's Diary (again)

Naomim

Thank you for the welcomes.

There are a few things I need to do and habits I need to get back into.

After changing jobs my hours also changed drastically. I used to do 8am - 4pm and would be home by around 5pm. Now I'm 9-5.30 but have to leave the house at 7am and am home by about 6.45pm. By the time I'm inspired to make some food we're not eating until 8pm or I have no idea what to make. I also found that I used to do the food shopping on my day off which now I'm full time I am wasting Saturday mornings wandering around food shopping.

I have recently got back into meal planning. I'd got out of the habit and was spending upwards of £120 a week on food shopping just wandering around Sainsbury's or Tesco picking up stuff.

I'm now doing online food shop which is knocking £30-£40 a week off the bill. I know what I want to buy and what I'm making.

This weeks meals are:
Wednesday - chicken past bake - this is using up cooked chicken from a whole chicken I cooked for a roast on Sunday
Thursday - Shepherds Pie
Friday - Sausage & Mash
Saturday - Paella - using up frozen king prawns in my freezer
Sunday - Roast - chicken
Monday - Pork chops with milanese sauce and rice
Tuesday - Homemade curry

Whilst I have completed Martin's budget planner, I need to re-visit it and my credit card statements. Really get to grips with the debt, where I can make savings and know what my plan is. Then get onto the snowball calculator and get my signature updated.

One thing I have done is talk to the children. I know some think it's a taboo subject but I have explained that we're in a pickle, there is more going out than coming in and I want them to think about the things they ask for money for and how we can all make small savings.

Onwards and upwards.

Naomi

Naomim

Oh just to add, I've swapped my Gas & Electricity supplier using Quidco so should have a tidy saving in bills and £75 cashback at some point. I currently have about £100 in my Quidco account but I'm trying to hang onto it until Christmas.

EssexHebridean

It should absolutely NOT be a taboo subject talking to children of a suitable age about household finances I'd say - and as far as I can see yours are plenty old enough. The thing is, kids aren't daft - and they know when Mum & Dad are worrying about stuff - and if they're left to imagine what that might be the chances are is they were create a far worse situation inside their heads than the real one!


Sounds like you're putting some great steps in place for savings - and yes to meal planning and shopping lists. Something else I find really useful is to only shop once a week - that might involve visiting a couple of different shops - Sainsbugs & Al's this week for example - but they are done on the same day and everything we need for the week bought then as that avoids the necessity of going to the shops again later in the week and the temptation to spend on other than "needs" then. I find that mostly fresh veg lasts through the week easily but always have frozen to fall back on for the end of the week - the meal plan is designed to use the stuff that will go off fastest, first!

Naomim

I think with the kids if they understand why I'm saying no to a lot of things it's easier than them thinking I'm just being mean and as you said, stops them over worrying about things especially if they see we are positive and working out how to deal with the problem.

I love meal planning. I don't particularly like cooking but if I know what I'm going to make its easier. I often look for new recipes too so we're not eating the same food all the time and I try to cook most things from scratch. Tonight I have to use up some chicken so I'm going to stuff the breasts with cheese and serve with baked potatoes.

Unexpected bonus of last night's pasta bake was I did too much so MrM had it left over for lunch.

10yo had a football tournament this afternoon so when I made her packed lunch I made one for myself. Normally I'd stop for a meal deal.

I'm checking my bank account daily. There's currently £567 of the overdraft left and £403 of bills to come out before payday. 10 days until I get paid. I will be so happy if we have a month without completely maxing it out.

Off to get dinner on now.

Naomim

Naomim

Afternoon all. Today so far has been an NSD and I have no plans to spend anything. I made a ham & cheese sandwich this morning and put it in the toastie maker at work for lunch. Was lovely. I also had a coffee at the train station this morning, however I had enough loyalty points for a freebie so I used that.

I doubled up my Sainsburys vouchers yesterday so £30 of vouchers giving me £60 to spend. I plan to go tomorrow morning when DD is at football to pick up some DVD's & CD's for Christmas presents.

Talking of Christmas presents, I know my Barclaycard debt it going to rise. I have ordered a bike each for the kids and wanted to pay it off in 12 monthly installments but was refused so I put it on 3 monthly installments on my Barclaycard.

One good habit I got into from being on the boards previously was saving £2 coins. I still do this religiously and have a tin from £1 shop where you have to have a tin opener to get into it. I usually count them all up around Christmas and have around £200. I'm not sure I'll have as much this year as have just kept on using the card to pay for stuff but anything is a bonus.

Financial plans for the weekend are:
Complete a new SOA
Log onto credit card accounts and see if I have any BT options as I know my Barclaycard rate is about to end.
Update my signature on here which is currently two years out of date!
Log onto internet banking and see if I can set up some new accounts to have some "pots" to put money in.
Update the wallet app on my phone ready to start tracking my personal spends after pay day. I find I spend a lot less when I'm accountable for it.

One struggle I have at weekends is with DD being bored. We are lucky where we live she can usually play out with her friends but now the weather is turning she's stuck indoors. I think we might try and bake some cakes on Sunday.

I hope you all have a frugal weekend!

Naomim

OnlyPariah

Well done on coming back on here and looking to improve your financial situation. I've just been catching up on your diary and I must say I am so sorry you've had a crappy time of it. Can I ask what the situation is with the builders etc?

Naomim

I just had to read through to see where we'd got to with the builders last.

So we decided to bite the bullet and take them through the small claims court. Luckily for us they weren't a limited company so we could sue as an individual. However, the maximum we could claim was £10k.

We felt we had a really good chance with this although were faced with the possibility we wouldn't see any money as the builder had previously said he was going to apply for bankruptcy. I kept checking the bankruptcy register and he never appeared.

The case came to court in February this year and the judge ruled in our favour. We have yet to receive a penny but he has offered us his tax rebates until it's paid. He says he expects around £2k a year being self employed. This is another thing to put on my list of things to do as this is rebate time of year I think.

So a mixed bag really. Glad we did it but no better off financially.

Naomim

Afternoon,

Yesterday was a good day spend wise. I'd budgeted £25 for a Pizza Express with my friend. 3 course meal & coffee after came to £20.45 and had a lovely evening.

Today has been an nsd. I went to in-laws to collect 10yo who stayed over, came straight home and have been doing housework & tidying this afternoon. Got a roast cooking and ready to rest.

Today is day 10 of no smoking but yesterday and today I've had quite strong cravings. I've not acted on them but thought it would be easier by now.

Hope you've all had a frugal weekend.

Naomim

Naomim

Another nsd for me today. I made brie & tomato sandwiches for me and MrM. I'm lucky at work they supply fruit, snacks crisps, soft drinks and breakfast cereals free.

I spent my lunch hour updating my bank account spreadsheet although I only had to add my spend from Saturday and check if the dd's in waiting have come out.

I was looking to see if I could open virtual pots with my bank account but I cant see how. I have a standard natwest account. I like the idea of piggy banking or pots to keep things separate but just don't know how to go about it.

I'm also thinking about my credit cards. At some point soon I'll post the balances. I was thinking of going down the dmp route but I'm hoping I can avoid it. I've been toying with contacting the credit card companies independently but the outcome would be the same I guess. I'm not sure what to do for the best.

Naomim

enthusiasticsaver

You haven't posted an soa or the debt figures so I can't comment which route I would think is best but if you are unable to make minimum payments and are still spending on credit to make ends meet it sounds like a DMP would need to be considered. Bankruptcy is no good if you have equity in your house and need to protect that.