Adventures of the Boy & Me..

Chandelier.

Hey Hidden! Thanks, it feels good to be back .

I'm just about to get ready for work. I have a busy day ahead of me, its all systems go.

I'm very tired this morning after working four days straight, some which were long hours. My mood is very variable and I've been feeling rather agitated/frustrated.

I had a disagreement with man friend yesterday and now we aren't talking :rotfl:. I know it's not funny but I'm becoming rather tired with a few things and I'm beginning to question the dynamics of the relationship. I most likely took out my frustration on him but I felt at the time I had good reason to. Who knows what will happen. I'm a rather stubborn person so I'll most likely not back down and apologise as I don't feel its justified. To be honest I'm quite ready to walk away but I'm trying to rationalise and not do something spontaneous due to anger. I'll give it a few days to think over.

In other news all my banking is now updated and correlates for the new month ahead!

I best go get ready. It feels good to get things off my chest.

Chandelier.

Evening !

I hope everyone had a good Halloween yesterday. The boy went trick or treating with his friends and came back with lots of sweets.. probably enough to last a good couple of months. Halloween seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year.

To be honest I can't believe its the 1st November already. Christmas is definately not too far away. All my major bills have come out for the month today and what's left in the bills account will cover all other upcoming bills/budgets for the month. I've also £450 set aside in a separate surplus account which is for other spends/entertainment purchases/christmas purchases.

I've been thinking about NSD's and how I used to set myself challenges. I think I'm going to start this again this month and set myself a target of 15 NSD's and plan my spends around certain days which i know I will most likely spend.

In regards to these I will class a spend day as something that comes out of my surplus account and not what already is already budgeted for. E.g. The boys ice skating lessons are already budgeted for and factored into the bills account for the month and petrol is budgeted for.

I'm also going to start listing my spends/what budgets are left for the month/bills left to go out. This is so I can keep track and remind myself when it comes to updating/aligning everything together.

Anyhow its time to get ready to go to the boys lesson

Chandelier.

November 2017 Budget
(Updated 1/11/17)

Direct debits

[STRIKE]Rent: £200.00[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]HTB Isa: £200.00[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Mobile: £26.44[/STRIKE]
Phone insurance: £6.99 (Due 20/11/17)
[STRIKE]Denplan: £11.99[/STRIKE]
Gym: £12.99 (Due 12/11/17)
[STRIKE]Union fees: £16.40[/STRIKE]
Prescription: £10.40 (Due 23/11/17)

Other budgets

Extra Curricular: £27/£320
Petrol: £20/£80.00

Chandelier.

Morning..

Yesterday ended up with no unexpected spends so counted as my first NSD of the month . 1/15 NSD so far, I hope to keep this up..

The boy had his ice skating last night and was there for over two hours.. he had a half an hour lesson, practiced for a while and then played/skated with some friends whilst I sat talking to one of the mums. I resisted buying myself a cup of coffee whilst there which I'm proud of.

Today is going to be a bit of a spendy day. I have a couple of things planned.

- The boy needs a haircut.
- I need to pick up my prescription.
- I'm purchasing the boy an off ice spinner for him to practice with at home.
- May go bowling with the boy for something to do.
- I need to order myself a tourniquet for work.

Thats all I can think of, off the top of my head.

Things are still up in the air with manfriend. I have a feeling this is the end of things. He stated he wanted some time and space after an argument the other night where some hurtful things were said. However he doesn't want me to go no contact. He can't really have it both ways and keep me hanging though and wondering where I stand. I think I'm going to choose my own mental deadline and if things haven't been sorted or improved by then, then I'm going to walk away. I need to maintain my own self respect and dignity.

Chandelier.

There is only around eight weeks left until the end of the year so I thought I'd set myself some mini goals.

Goals for the rest of 2017

- Lose 7lb. (I've set this as a realistic goal and hope to make some small changes to my eating habits and exercise routines. If I lose more then brilliant but with upcoming events this maybe hard)

- Get debt to below £8000. (I'm on track for this, factoring in Decembers planned payments and will overpay where possible)

- Take my medication religiously. (This year has been full of ups and downs and many medication changes. I've only recently began taking my medications properly again after coming off them for 6-8 weeks where my mental health declined. I now have a new medication regime which is due for review mid December)

- Make amends with friends/widen my social circle. (Over the past few months I've withdrawn myself from people and have made little effort to socialise apart from with work colleagues for special occasions. I need to get myself sorted and start repairing friendships lost along the way. If they can't be repaired then I'll have to accept this and move on)

- Start new job contract and stay in work. (I managed to secure a six month contract at the place I've been working for the past eight months. This is good news and I need to keep up the hard work and keep myself well. Its around this time of year I struggle mostly with my mental health. At least this contract means a regular income rather then variable income each month)

SpekySquarehead

Sorry I've been a bit absent lately. Just catching up now.

Love the mini goals and I think it's great to have something to work towards. You sound filled with determination and I hope it all comes off and provides motivation for 2018 too!

Chandelier.

It's okay Speky, nice to hear from you again .

Yesterday ended up rather busy and successful. I managed to get everything done that I wanted to albeit it being a spendy day.

- Boys haircut, £6.
- Off ice spinner, £30.
- Bowling, £17.
-!Tourniquet, £2.50
- General shopping, £18.
- Other, £16.
- Car parking, £3.

The bowling was for two games but for whatever reason it allowed us a sneaky third game .

We then nipped to our local h0me bargains and picked up a few neccesities such as shampoo and conditioner.

Today we are off to our local theme park for which we have passes for. I'll try to keep spends to a minimum and take lunch with us to save costs.

I've finally decided to go no contact with man friend. I really didn't want to but felt as if I've had no choice. Ultimately it's probably the best thing for both of us. I'm a bit sad but I can't let it effect me. It's time to acknowledge the reality and move on. I've alot to offer those who respect me and vice versa. Man friend wants to stay friends, I said no. I don't do the whole friendship thing with exes, its personal preference. It's time to put my guard back up and get back to the old me

Chandelier.

Afternoon

Yesterday was a pretty low spend day. We went to our local theme park and had a lovely afternoon, we took a picnic with us. Then the boy went ice skating and had his lessons. We had minimal spends:- £8.90 on refreshments.

Today the boy has rehearsals from 4.15-9pm for a show he's going to be in. Whilst he's there, my mum and I are going to go Christmas shopping as we are taking advantage of the 3for2 offer at @rgos.

I inititally set a budget of £300.00 for the boys Christmas presents. I've managed to get him 5 large lego sets for £239.98. Including the offers I will be saving £115. They will keep him busy over the Christmas holidays and I'll only need to buy a couple of stocking fillers for his stocking.

I also set a budget of £15 each for my niece and nephew. I've managed to get both their presents which including discounts come to £12.66 each, which I'm happy with.

I'll update my Christmas budget list with totals so far to keep myself on track.

All in all today's going to be a spendy day but it will be worth it come Christmas day :j

Chandelier.

Christmas Present Budget

-The Boy: £239.98/£300
- Mum: £0/£80
- Sister/Brother in Law: £0/£50
- Brother/Sister in Law: £0/£20
- Nephew: £12.66/£15
- Niece: £12.66/£15
- My Boss: £0/£15
- Boys Dad/Partner: £0/£15
- Boys Grandparents: £0/£15
- Boys Teachers: £0/ £15
- Godson: £0/£15
- Friend: £0/ £15
- Secret Santa: £0/£15

Total Budget: £265.30/£585.

SpekySquarehead

You sound super organised, well done! I've done something similair and then analysed where I could cut costs. For nephews etc, I'm waiting for Thorntons to run a deal and I'll buy them a chocolate santa with their name on it. I think it's around £5 and it's nice and personalised.

The trouble I have is sticking to budgets. Keep up the good work!