Oops, back again...

lcc86

Plodding on this week, thoroughly fed up with work. Not the job itself but just some of the staff I supervise. They requested a meeting as they're casual workers so don't get together on a regular basis, so I arranged one for last night and one by one they all dropped out. I wouldn't mind but I'm having so many issues with them that I really needed to have the meeting to try and address said issues... Oh well, today is another day!


Not much else to report. Bagged another NSD and healthy day yesterday. The internet has decided to go down at home, tried to get through to them yesterday but they had a 45 minute wait to a premium rate number, so I gave up. Called them this morning and they're hopefully going to sort it out over the next couple of days. We don't have a TV license at home so just watch Netflix and catch up, so it was interesting having no TV yesterday!


My OU unofficially starts tomorrow - the website goes live although the module doesn't officially start until October. I'm going to spend some time going through the website and working out what I need to do over the next few weeks and get started over the weekend. I want to get a head start so that if I have a few days when I can't be bothered, it won't be the end of the world!


Off to London again for work tomorrow so need to pay out for another train ticket. Going to stop off at Borough market on the way home, I got some spices there earlier in the year which I LOVE and use with everything lol. I was going to reorder online but remembered I'm passing that way so will try and pick it up tomorrow instead to save on postage and be a bit more MSE.

lcc86

Managed to get the Internet fixed after a couple of phone calls. Was without it for 2 days in the end. We don't have TV so I really noticed the difference without being able to stream stuff. Board games and bizarre discussions aplenty!

I've had a look at my uni materials, it looks exciting (feel so nerdy saying that). I'll be getting started properly tomorrow. Yesterday I bought a text book for the course (a used copy but still £16 with postage), and also bought the spices I mentioned, so it wasn't a NSD. Today has been a NSD, OH paid for a takeaway and we played a board game for a bit. Feel a bit ill now though, everything seems to be disagreeing with me atm

Have a small money dilemma - my friend is getting married next year and I've been invited to the hen party. Only trouble is that it's £400 and they need a £50 deposit by the end of the month. A lot of people I know seem to be doing increasingly expensive hen do's and I don't know where I sit with it. Next year I wanted to save money, build on my emergency fund and possibly have a small break in the UK. I don't think I can justify that amount for a weekend away, even before food and drink is added. I might see if I can go for part of it and just join in some of activities so that I'm not a complete scrooge :rotfl:

Plans for the weekend are to study tomorrow and do some chores. Sunday I'm volunteering in the morning and then riding in the afternoon. Nothing fancy, a pretty quiet one but on the plus side it'll keep costs down and tbh I enjoy the pottering around side of things.

lcc86

Afternoon all,

Well I've completed my week's studying today, feeling positive about it all at the moment. I've started early so that if I have a busy week or a 'can't be bothered' week, then I won't fall behind. So far so good.

On the not so good front, my tablet looks like it's decided to give up the ghost. I use it every day so that's a touch frustrating. I've had it about 5 years and it only recently showed signs of breaking, so it's done relatively well. I'm undecided about getting another one because of money. There's an amazon one for £30 which I could get, but I want to see what I have left at the end of the month. I really want to have as much spare cash left as possible as I do have a couple of things I need to buy and I'd like to pay a little off my credit card... Quite frustrating when these things crop up. Still, I can certainly make do for now.

Submitted up to date gas and electricity meter readings (they won't give us a smart meter yet for some reason) and we're £80 in credit :T we were a little in credit before so it's good to know we're not using loads. They want to reduce the direct debit but with winter coming I've left it as is. I always aim to keep the heating off as long as possible but it seems to be getting cold early this year!

I also paid my cc bill today - I've incurred £15 of interest so my new total is £546. It's certainly headed in the right direction. I won't be able to pay as much off next month unfortunately so progress will be slower, but progress is progress regardless of how slow it is. I'd like to pay off an extra £15 before the end of the month to take account of that interest charge.

Finally, an updated tally of where I'm at this month:
9/18 NSD's
11/20 healthy days
£20.32/£20 spent on toiletries - have gone ever so slightly over budget here! No other spends planned though.

lcc86

Evening all,


Just reporting in after the weekend. Yesterday wasn't a NSD, I was out volunteering and then horse riding, so I decided to treat myself to a mini bottle of wine afterwards to relax. £1.89 spent. Then I decided that as it was already a spend day, I was going to get a book from Amazon (second hand) - I finally bought Anne Frank's diary, it's something I've meant to read for years and finally decided to do it. Think it cost something like £3.30 with postage, so pretty reasonable. I want to try and read more books as I used to be such a bookworm but have fallen out of the habit a bit in recent times.


Today I bought my NUS student discount card so it won't be a NSD again (forgot to buy it yesterday!). That should save me a fair bit of money here and there so a good investment.


Had a look at my finances for the remainder of the month this morning. It's looking okay, I should have a little money left in my food/petrol account, so might keep that in there for next month as a surplus. I should also have approx. £70 left in my current account. I'll divide this up between an extra debt payment, putting some money back into my household savings, and hopefully getting a new mat for the floor in my car. The current one has worn through and now I'm wearing a hole through the actual carpet on the car through to the bare metal so a replacement is definitely needed! I've needed one for months but have always been wasting money, so it needs prioritising.

lcc86

Morning all :wave:


Working from home today so saving money on fuel shopping has been delivered this morning and I've got some sausage casserole in the slow cooker for OH. Will have a go at a veggie spinach lasagne later on, first time I've attempted the recipe so we'll see how it goes. I've gone slightly over on the food budget this month, but I had a surplus from last month and I've got a surplus from unused petrol money which I keep in the same account so it's not the end of the world. I have a full tank of fuel (may need £10 to see me through to payday), food until the end of the month (barring a small amount of fruit for work next week) and have £38 in the account, so will have a decent surplus come the end of the month :j


My tablet decided to come back to life and appears to be working fine so I think I've avoided the need for a new one (phew!). If it breaks in future so be it, but I'm glad it's still going for the time being!


I bit the bullet and realised I'd better start planning for Christmas and what I want to get people. I want to keep costs down but I say this every year and it doesn't seem to happen! I've started saving already so will start buying stuff as and when I see something I think someone will like. It'll creep up on us before we know it!


Last couple of days have been NSD's but NOT healthy days as we had a buffet at work and then had leftovers yesterday. Current tally stands at:


12/18 NSD's (not sure if I'll get 6 more before the end of the month but will give it a good go!)
14/20 healthy days
£20.32/£20 spent on toiletries/household goods

lcc86

Morning all,

Been for a walk and got a couple of things done around the house, now I need to settle in for some studying. I did a lot of studying during the week so I'm ahead of where I need to be. No pressure today really, just going to do a couple of hours probably. Need to clean my aquarium, the kitchen and bathroom, put the washing away and do some dusting. Might go cinema with OH later as we have free tickets. We were meant to go last night but couldn't be bothered

Yesterday was definitely a spend day. I got a book for dad for Christmas, a wireless mouse (something I've meant to buy for at least a year ), paid for parking at the chiropractor, paid the deposit for my work Christmas do, and bought some waterproof riding trousers online. Not 100% sure they'll be long enough so we'll have to wait and see what they're like when they turn up. No spends planned today or tomorrow though.

I checked my clubcard account and have some vouchers in there, so added one to next week's shopping delivery. Not sure why they're not being sent any more - I have definitely updated our address, checked it again today but hey ho.

I paid the extra £15 off my credit card today to cancel out the interest I accrued. In the month since I started this diary I've almost halved what I owe and got it down to £435 :T although I'm still waiting for the final bill from the vet, not sure what the delay is. Anyway, as it stands I should be debt free by January again... It's like deja vu from last year! I'd like to try and push it to December but it's always such a spendy time of year so I'll have to wait and see. I've been able to make decent progress this month, but the next few months will definitely be slower. Still, it's headed in the right direction so I'm on the right track... Just need to keep building the emergency fund as well to prevent a re-occurrence in future!

lcc86

The weekend was pretty quiet in the end. We did make use of the free cinema tickets on Saturday and saw It. I enjoyed the film but didn't find it scary tbh! Not bad at all though. Saturday was a NSD too.


The weather was gorgeous yesterday so went out for a long ride on the horse. Really enjoyed it, and timed it well as the weather turned not long after we got back. Sunday wasn't a NSD as we went out for lunch, I spent just under £10.


I transferred £20 into my household savings account this morning, am hoping to save whatever else is left in the account by payday on Friday.


I don't think I'll reach my NSD tally for the month. I don't think I timed some of my spends very well and spent unnecessarily on days when I didn't need to. Must plan better next month.


On a positive note, I've got my NUS card through so should be able to get discounts now on loads of stuff. Need to make good use of it!

Orange_Ena

Great start to your Christmas planning lcc. I must make a start too before it gets to Christmas Eve and I've not done a darn thing :rotfl:

lcc86

Thanks Ena, it's creeping up on us, can't believe it's October at the end of this week!

Am being a bit lazy in bed this morning, was meant to be up and doing a quick bit of pilates but I'm incredibly achey - partly from horse riding, partly from a bad night's sleep, partly arthritis, so I've decided not to worry about it. I always feel guilty when I don't work out but sometimes you have to listen to your body! I'll be back on the wagon with my neck and back stretches this evening so it's not the end of the world.

I realised something last night, something I probably should've realised ages ago. OH and I were talking about getting some rescue bunnies (as you do :rotfl:) and we decided to plan and get some in the next few months. Anyway, I then went crazy making a list of everything we would need and finding out costs, which in itself isn't a bad thing. The trouble comes when I then sit there and think I have to have it all NOW. I have a real problem with waiting, I know patience isn't my strong suit, but especially when it comes to purchases. I think this is why I never have savings because a. I have a tendency to go "oh I'll put X on the credit card and pay it back later" and b. If something will take a long time to save for e.g. A holiday or a car, I don't see the point so I don't bother and just spend instead.

I clearly have a real issue with instant gratification. It's probably why I originally ended up in debt and why, even now, I still haven't quite mastered the art of saving and having a decent emergency fund. I'm not one of those who must have the best gadgets just because everyone else has them, but if I want something I do want it right this second and probably justify it to myself when it's not a necessity at all...

Anyway, all this rambling and not much in the way of solutions! Perhaps I need to spend some time looking at ways to deal with instant gratification as that may help. It's funny how this is something I still struggle with even after spending 10 years in debt. You'd think the lesson would've been learned by now... Either way, I definitely won't be using the credit card or savings to get any bunny related stuff - now that I've said my confession I'm determined to save for the stuff and do it the 'normal' way! If I write something on here I can't go back on it as I'll feel guilty so Project Bunny is on

lcc86

Morning all,


I've seen my payslip for next month and it's exactly what I calculated it would be, so the budget is finalised and looking okay... Outgoings are higher over the next few months what with debt clearing and Christmas coming up, but as of January it's looking much more manageable.


Yesterday wasn't a NSD - I got my hair cut at a local college, which cost £7. I also finally bought the car mat I've needed for such a long time :rotfl: so £20 spent there. Went for a walk last night to loosen my back up and did my stretches, but it wasn't a healthy day as I was a bit naughty foodwise...


Today should be both a NSD and a healthy day hopefully!