£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

try_harder

What a great job you are doing ..keep at it

Treadingonplaymobil

Yesterday's lists, before I start today...

To do today (yesterday)
1. Attempt to do some laundry/ironing. Tiny bit done.
2. Do a social media post or two. Not done.
3. Plan weekend work. Done.
4. Go freezer diving for dinner - I think there are a couple of chicken breasts left over from a festive meal that didn't happen, so I am contemplating some kind of chicken goujon and chips/peas type meal - the DCs will think it's a huge treat after a week or more of veg soups, veg chilli and dal and rice. Done, was a big hit, and two chicken breasts fed four of us (and would have fed five if we hadn't pigged out and DH was here!). A good one to remember.
5. Pick up click and collect order of mattress protector. Done.
6. Attempt to keep the house in some kind of sensible order so it's not a total bombsite when DH gets home late tonight. Not remotely achieved in any way. Poor DH.

To do this week
1. Raise prices for smaller business.
2. Sort and tidy our room.
3. Menu plan carefully and do as minimal a good shop as possible - we seem to have very full cupboards and freezer! Done, spent £30 and hoping that will get us through until next week.
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned. Done!
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan. Done, although it's a little vague until I have had a couple of months on my new work routine.

To do in January
1. Review 2017 spending and try to improve 2018 plans by being more prepared - plan big spends like holidays and Christmas now and be realistic about the cost. Done with DH before doing SOA.
2. Redo SOA once the remortgage is through. Done.
3. Make a 2018 business plan that is less frenetic than originally (I think I had too high expectations of myself, leading to much stress in Nov/Dec). Done.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 48: Day 7

Morning! A working weekend for me, but no clients so am quite looking forward to a slow and steady bit of admin work and getting back on top of everything.

The budgets continue to just about balance, and I'm hoping for another cheap food shop for next week, as off the top of my head I know we have frozen macaroni cheese, split pea curry, roast tomato pasta sauce, black bean chilli and a packet of prawns in the freezer, so that's the bulk of at least five meals sorted. Need to do a menu plan and dispatch DH to the shop today or tomorrow.

To do today
1. Work on smaller business, putting up prices and revamping a bit.
2. Do a social media post or two.
3. Laundry/ironing - if I clear what's there I might actually get a day off from laundry tomorrow!
4. Menu plan/shopping list for DH.
5. Clear admin work.
6. Invoice for a talk I'm doing next month - very local and no supplies needed, so will be £150 of pure profit, which is nice.

To do this week
1. Raise prices for smaller business.
2. Sort and tidy our room.
3. Menu plan carefully and do as minimal a good shop as possible - we seem to have very full cupboards and freezer! Done, spent £30 and hoping that will get us through until next week.
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned. Done!
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan. Done, although it's a little vague until I have had a couple of months on my new work routine.

To do in January
1. Review 2017 spending and try to improve 2018 plans by being more prepared - plan big spends like holidays and Christmas now and be realistic about the cost. Done with DH before doing SOA.
2. Redo SOA once the remortgage is through. Done.
3. Make a 2018 business plan that is less frenetic than originally (I think I had too high expectations of myself, leading to much stress in Nov/Dec). Done.

Treadingonplaymobil

Urgh, it doesn't take bad habits long to slip back! Just did a mysupermarket list for the food shopping and it was over £100. Was full of nice things like avocados, seeds, maple syrup etc that we've been having over Christmas. Managed to knock £35 off it just by eliminating all the fun stuff. A bit depressing, but at least I did it.

Cherryfudge

I found a range of seeds (can't remember which) in L!dl... they are worth a look if you can get to one. I have to be kept away from the nuts there as they always seem to have lots and they are sooo tempting! Not sure if they would do avocados, and I think there's been a conversation on here some while ago about frozen avocados (in Mr T?) but their fruit and veg range is pretty good.

Just had a quick look in my cupboards and found a super seed mix (which actually I'm not that keen on as it's a milled mix) containing golden linseed, hemp and chia, also chia seeds, and a pack of linseed with sesame, blueberries and raspberries - all these were from either L!dl or Ald!. So there may be cheaper ways of getting some seeds back in your diet.

Well done on cropping the virtual spend... not easy but that's £35 that's still yours to allocate elsewhere.

Suffolk_lass

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Urgh, it doesn't take bad habits long to slip back! Just did a mysupermarket list for the food shopping and it was over £100. Was full of nice things like avocados, seeds, maple syrup etc that we've been having over Christmas. Managed to knock £35 off it just by eliminating all the fun stuff. A bit depressing, but at least I did it.

Just imagine if you were not a list-maker - that has been my newly-developed habit since before Christmas. Very naughty. And the receipts are still lurking on my desk as I am "just too busy" to do the reconciliation properly. Head, sand, ostrich, moi?

Honeysucklelou2

Well done for reducing the shopping by £35.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 49: Day 2

Wow, another week closer to a full year at this debt busting business. Almost there! Still a lot of years left to go.

I had the WORST night’s sleep last night and am barely functioning, so apologies for any typos. Two of the DC were up, one for ages with cramp, DH was snoring because he is ill, one of our phones or a watch started beeping an alarm at 1am (need to track that down today and turn it off), and I had two really horribly nightmares, one about losing one the of the DC. Was quite relieved to get out of bed and stop trying to sleep, although I feel like death warmed up.

I have my housekeeping day today, and as with last week the list is longer than on my work days! Although I have a busy work week too - clients tomorrow and wed, then training (unpaid) on Thursday, and a possible client booking on Sat. I don’t like having so much client facing time, but Jan is often my best month of the year so I am trying to keep powering through on the basis I’ll be sorry when it dries up in a month or so.

To do today
1. Clear the laundry/ironing (only only load and a bit of hand washing to do, for once).
2. Change our sheets (oh, which will add to the laundry. Yay).
3. Menu plan for next week - I keep having to do this on the weekend when I am working, so am getting ahead.
4. Attack the mending pile - a couple of pairs of school trousers, a sleeping bag, a duvet cover and some hanging loops on towels. Been meaning to do them forever.
5. Clean our room.
6. Prep the house for clients coming tomorrow.
7. Make another quiche or something for packed lunches.
8. Make a mincemeat cake to use up the mincemeat left from Christmas.

To do this week
1. Sort and tidy our room.
2. Plan a workshop I have to deliver in Feb.
3. Plan any handmade gifts for birthdays/Christmas 2018 so I can ensure they are done well in advance.
4. Organise food so the menu plan is stuck to while I’m away on Weds night.

To do in January
1. Review 2017 spending and try to improve 2018 plans by being more prepared - plan big spends like holidays and Christmas now and be realistic about the cost. Done with DH before doing SOA.
2. Redo SOA once the remortgage is through. Done.
3. Make a 2018 business plan that is less frenetic than originally (I think I had too high expectations of myself, leading to much stress in Nov/Dec). Done.

DawnW

Sorry you had a rotten night Try to rationalise your list and get a couple of hours rest. Otherwise it will feel as though you are chasing your tail for the entire week.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Bad night here too TOPM.

However... mincemeat cake??? Please could you share a recipe, sounds interesting and I love both cake and mince pies, so this sounds right up my street.