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

enthusiasticsaver

I would have to say that skincare for me is soap and water and nivea moisturiser. My mum was the same and at 83 she still has lovely smooth skin. On the odd occasion I have tried some of the expensive lotions, serums and creams and I am just not convinced they make any difference. I don't spend hours sunbathing though and use sunblock if out in the sun and drink lots of water. It might be genetic of course as my sister is also the same and she does not splurge on expensive face creams etc.

Sea_Shell

Good Morning ToPM. Another thing I've thought of...

Do you regularly buy or subscribe to Fashion / Style / Lifestyle magazines? If so is this an area that can be 'pruned' a bit too, as they are WAAAY expensive.

I was thinking that to be so "on point" with the latest trends and styles, (not too mention being full of adverts for high end cosmetics)...then you might be. How else would you know.

I don't buy any of them.....and so i have no clue what the latest "thing" is!!!!

helsbell

Lots of people have already given you great ideas, especially ones that will also help you to grow and diversify your business, which I know you're already working on.

I absolutely think that it would be worth cutting this budget down a bit. Maybe you could start by trimming it to £200pm, which you seem comfortable with, and then trimming a bit more at a time as you get used to it.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 77: Day 2

Well, I'm pleased to report I have survived the first day of the summer holidays in which I actually had to look after my children :rotfl: . Day two today. I think we're going to have a quiet day as we had a big busy playdate yesterday. Another playdate tomorrow and then DH is away for two days, so I have to come up with something good as an all day activity on Thursday - I'm thinking about catching the bus somewhere as that always seems to appeal in a huge way to the DCs. Maybe to the zoo (for which we have membership) if the bus route goes that way.

My clothing (etc) budget
I currently have no budget at all for August apart from my £20 kitty in the main family budget, but I have decided I will limit my budget to £100 from any income that comes in over August (and only once I've covered September's salary and expenses, discussed in more depth below), and from September I'm going to:
(a) move my clothing etc budgets over to the main family kitty so DH will see them, which will be another reality check for me.
(b) impose a fixed budget of £150pm for all my clothes, skincare etc for the rest of this year. I have a fair bit of winter clothing, more than I do summer clothing, so that should be more than enough to get me through.

Silver Queen - you asked about my skincare routine. It is chosen for a combination of factors - my priorities are low-plastic/plastic free (glass container, occasionally plastic lids are unavoidable) and natural, and very gentle. I double cleanse in the evening when I've been wearing make up.

am
Aurelia cream cleanser (I love the smell of this but it is literally twice the price of the Antipodes cleanser I use in the evening and the difference in my skin is minimal)
Evolve Beauty hyaluronic serum (not every day, but most - it does make a difference to how my skin looks)
Alpha H SPF moisturiser (when this runs out I will attempt to find a plastic free moisturiser and SPF)

pm
Balm cleanser from local company which actually isn't very good and I won't re-buy, but will need to find a plastic free alternative when it runs out
Antipodes cream cleanser/Aurelia cleanser (whichever my hand finds first!)
Aurelia night oil (expensive, but one bottle lasts me about 9 months so I'm not too fussed. AMAZING for my skin).
Every few nights I use Alpha H rose gold acid exfoliator stuff instead of the Aurelia oil.

This routine is significantly pared down from where is was a few months ago, and significantly cheaper, but I have experimented with cutting products and the ones that are left are the ones that I really saw a difference in my skin with. As mentioned, the hugely expensive Aurelia cleanser is off the shopping list. I actually checked last night and I have at least a month's supply left of everything except moisturiser, so maybe my pared back routine is paying off a bit and I just haven't seen it in the budget yet, as I think I will only need to buy (possibly, might even limp through) moisturiser and SPF this month.

Hair products I'm still using up a batch I bought aaaages ago, but I don't use much or use expensive ones, and I use a shampoo bar (£6 for one we all use, which lasts a few weeks) and vinegar rinse for my hair, so that's pretty on-budget, especially compared to my skin . I use an ordinary bar of soap to wash in the shower. I do need to buy a new razor and want to buy a stainless steel one, which should last forever and be cheaper for replacement blades once I have actually bought it, but will be expensive initially.

Sea Shell I don't buy magazines at all really. I do read blogs/social media for work so I suppose I get some 'you need this' vibe from them.

Extension
DH is going to start phoning builders this week, so we should have some coming round for quotes in the not-too-distant future, which I am very excited about - I this it will feel much more real when that starts happening. We have a provisional planning determination date of early September, so I'm hoping we'll be able to crack on with things then, assuming no drama with planning. It will mean kicking my architect back into action to get the technical drawings done, which I'm not looking forward to - he is not exactly on the ball with getting things done promptly.

July spending round up
I'm going to update savings pot totals etc tomorrow, but I'm quite pleased with July's spending. We've overpaid minimum debt payments by almost £100, as well as beginning to save for the parental loan repayment (only £30pm, but if we don't start we'll never make any progress, and I hate it being completely ignored).

July has been the first month of our new budget with a much bigger income for me, and obviously that's helped a lot, as we've been able to manage our budget pots a lot better. We've overspent on food by £50 despite upping the food budget, which I had to cover with under spends in other pots like the entertainment and fuel kitties. I'm actually contemplating trying online food shopping in August to manage the budget a little better (and because we are so busy with camping trips etc) as I can plan out the month's food and deliveries, and just add any store cupboard things we run out of as we go. I'll leave a chunk each week for top ups/fresh fruit and veg from the grocer, but I'm thinking it will help me get a better overview of the month. I also need to get back into batch cooking, which has completely fallen by the wayside of late.

There was also another £300 on the car in July, which was tedious and has wiped out the car/emergency savings pots for August as well as July. We'll see what September's MOT brings on that front, and make a longer term decision on keeping the car.

I'll update savings pot totals etc tomorrow.

My earnings
The flipside of the shiny new budget with a higher income from me is that my business account is looking VERY empty now I've drawn out my salary for August. I removed my buffer entirely when I shifted over to our new budget, so I currently only have £48 towards the £165 expenses and £700 salary I need for September. I know I have a good chunk of work coming in mid-August which is 99% guaranteed, but even that and my usual contract work will only cover around 70% of the income I need to find, so I've got a challenge in August to make the rest. This was always going to be the issue with adjusting my budget, as I did it at a time when my income is always at its lowest and I rely on the buffer built up in previous months.

I actually really need to concentrate my mind on this or it's going to be back to the CCs in September, which is exactly what happened last year and I really want to avoid that trap again, as once I'd 'broken the seal' I continued low level CC spending until the end of the year because just as I started to earn again Christmas struck.

To do this week
1. Finish tidying and sorting the DCs' room (the only room that didn't get fully blitzed over the weekend)
2. DH phone the first handful of builders on the shortlist.
3. Clear all the laundry and ironing.
4. Pitch the tent so it can dry out.
5. DH drop off my Kenwood Chef for its service (I found an authorised service place quite locally - who knew there were still repair places around?!).
6. Order DCs' school uniform. We are driving past Clarks village on Saturday so will look there for school shoes for those who need them (definitely DC3, not sure about the others) and new wellies for DC2.
7. DH research new 0% deal for the one expiring in September. We may need to close the MBNA zero balance card if Barclaycard/Virgin (current CC providers) can't help, as I imagine we are unlikely to be accepted for any new cards with an available credit limit of £35k+ across the various cards.
8. Plan online food shops.
9. Have a look at ebaying the excess of lego - I reduced the DCs' lego by about 80% and hid it about six months ago and it hasn't even been noticed/mentioned, so I'm going to see if I can ebay it by the kg or something.
10. Plan how to make September's income during August.

I may add to this list once we get into August officially tomorrow!

Mini goals:
- £30.22/31 July rounding down pot. I need to find the extra 78p to bring this up to target today!
- £3,195.34/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.
- £465/£932 extension pre-build costs shortfall.

Silver_Queen

I highly recommend the body shop camomile cleansing balm. It's £10 for a tub but I can usually get it on a buy one get one free or similar offer. It's one of the very few beauty items that I've repurchased multiple times and I prefer it to any other.

Treadingonplaymobil

Silver_Queen wrote: »

I highly recommend the body shop camomile cleansing balm. It's £10 for a tub but I can usually get it on a buy one get one free or similar offer. It's one of the very few beauty items that I've repurchased multiple times and I prefer it to any other.

Doesn't it come in a plastic tub though?

edited to add: a swift google suggests that it comes in a tin (thumbs up) but has palm oil and synthetic wax (thumbs down, especially for clog-prone skin like mine). Might give it a try if I can't find a happier alternative though.

Silver_Queen

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Doesn't it come in a plastic tub though?

edited to add: a swift google suggests that it comes in a tin (thumbs up) but has palm oil and synthetic wax (thumbs down, especially for clog-prone skin like mine). Might give it a try if I can't find a happier alternative though.

Good point on that.

Have you considered making your own? It would be very easy to make a cleansing balm as they're mostly oil anyway. I'm thinking metal tin, some shea butter, jojoba oil, a little bit of beeswax and your chosen essential oils....then you can reuse the metal tin as well!

Re: hyaluronic acid, I'm still not completely convinced that my £5 one from The Ordinary isn't as good as the £50+ ones on the market...

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 77: Day 3

Woohoo, a new month! I do enjoy a new month. YNAB looks so pretty . All those pots of cash, showing me that despite having three grand in the bank, I actually have 0p spare.

Savings pot totals (last month in black, this month in pink):
£15 £30 music lessons
£90 £0 holidays/weekends away (all camping paid for for the summer though)
£120 £197 birthdays (slightly short of the £240 it should be after stocking up on DIY card supplies and a little present for DC1, whose birthday is in Sept)
£95 £0 car maintenance (wiped out by £310 incident)
£5 £10 dentist
£3 £6 YNAB
£205 £695 extension :T
£50 £18 emergency fund (also largely wiped out by car)
£18 £36 tutor (this is going to need to go up significantly next month)
£100 £162 Christmas (£38 spent on vodka and vanilla pods - I have LOADS infusing now, for Christmas and my own baking)
£10 £20 National Trust membership
£30 £60 parental loan repayment pot (I know this is pathetic, but I hated paying nothing towards it)
£30 £110 house 'stuff' (£24 of this is set aside for eBay fees for the trailer, not sure what my logic was for putting that in this pot, but I must remember that I don't have £110 to spend!)
£20 £60 house maintenance

The total extension spend for the year is up to £4,545, which we've managed alongside making debt repayments of over £3k, and not touched a CC all year. I'm pleased with all of this.

The budget is going to need to wiggling this month, because the tutor cost will go up significantly next month (obviously I've been supposed to be saving for it for six months, but the Great Budget Fiasco of June put paid to that). The MOT and service is also due on the car in September, which will force a decision on the car ownership issue. So August is about staying well within budget and working out how to adjust it next month to cover the slight shift in expenses.

Holiday spends
The DCs and I went to meet DH after work yesterday. It was fun as we went on the bus, which was all lovely, but it struck me that even just taking the three of them on the bus and buying one portion of chips to share with our picnic dinner, we spent £16 yesterday. Even cheap days out aren't that cheap with three children! Thinking about a zoo trip tomorrow, which we can make totally free if I refuse to enter the cafe with the children. Oh, the miniature train is essential though, which I think is 50p each.

I'm hoping for cheap Mon-Thu for the next two weeks though, as we're visiting MIL next week and my mum the week after, so we'll mostly do activities in and around the houses - I often find it easier to save money when we're elsewhere, weirdly, as the novelty of being in a different place is enough entertainment, without needing to go out and do things. Mil also lives a five minute walk from the beach, which is nice.

Meeting a friend today at a house-stuff shop she wants to go to that's five minutes from us. I do have some money in the 'house stuff' pot as I didn't spend any last month, but I am hoping I can resist the lure of buying stuff, as it's nice to see this pot growing (if it can continue to grow we can use it for some nice stuff after the extension is done, which is a surprisingly good demotivator for spending).

Earning goals
As I mentioned yesterday, earning enough for September's income is going to be the big challenge for August. It's probably the quietest month for my main business, although I may be lucky and get paid in advance for some work in September. I've set up my income goal as one of my monthly money goals below. I'll get paid a little bit in a day or two for July's contract work, but that will be fairly low as I was only needed for my bare minimum - I think around £150 although haven't invoiced yet. And then hopefully the two days' work later in the month will help, but there's still going to be a fair bit to find.

To do this week
1. Finish tidying and sorting the DCs' room (the only room that didn't get fully blitzed over the weekend)
2. DH phone the first handful of builders on the shortlist.
3. Clear all the laundry and ironing.
4. Pitch the tent so it can dry out.
5. DH drop off my Kenwood Chef for its service (I found an authorised service place quite locally - who knew there were still repair places around?!).
6. Order DCs' school uniform. We are driving past Clarks village on Saturday so will look there for school shoes for those who need them (definitely DC3, not sure about the others) and new wellies for DC2.
7. DH research new 0% deal for the one expiring in September. We may need to close the MBNA zero balance card if Barclaycard/Virgin (current CC providers) can't help, as I imagine we are unlikely to be accepted for any new cards with an available credit limit of £35k+ across the various cards.
8. Plan online food shops/rough menu plan for August.
9. Have a look at ebaying the excess of lego - I reduced the DCs' lego by about 80% and hid it about six months ago and it hasn't even been noticed/mentioned, so I'm going to see if I can ebay it by the kg or something.
10. Plan how to make September's income during August.

August money goals:
- £3.43/31 August rounding down pot.
- £3,206.71/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.
- £465/£932 extension pre-build costs shortfall.
- £48/864 income needed for September :eek: :eek: :eek: .

Treadingonplaymobil

Forgot to do a round up of debt totals!

£10,206.77 Barclaycard
£2,698.03 Virgin
£19,940 parental loan
£32,844.80 total

The mortgage stands at £191,322.77.

This means that since 1st July there's been a reduction in unsecured debt of £353.36 and a reduction in the mortgage of £330.94.

Our net assets (house value vs all debts) now stands at an ENORMOUS £772.43, having only just slipped into positive figures last month.

I've updated my signature to reflect these figures, and can see that our overall debt (including the mortgage) has reduced by just over £7,700 since February 2017. I'm simultaneously pleased and underwhelmed with that figure - it's a huge chunk, especially alongside the sums of money we've put into the extension costs, but it's such a small percentage of the total - even the total of unsecured debt without considering the mortgage. I just need to keep my eyes on the first goal of paying off the CCs, and worry about everything else afterwards, rather than worrying too much about the total number. At the end of the day, it's reducing, and our budget is infinitely more realistic than it was 18 months ago.

Anyone who hasn't read the entire diary (why not?! Go back and read it right now! :rotfl: ) should note that we haven't paid c.£30k off the debt since beginning this diary - a good chunk of the consumer debt has been consolidated into the mortgage, which is why I always include the mortgage figures when discussing the debt, as it would be unrealistic to do otherwise

Suffolk_lass

Why not take a notebook and take photo's and notes on the collection of semi-tempting lovely things in the kitchen shop? then you can build them into your bank of ideas and products you want to consider when the house works are undertaken. I always find I can rationalise the "can't live without them" things when time and tide have moved on