Everything is possible if you try!

System

Makes me mad when schools go miles away for exhibitions etc, when there are probably things much closer to home .
Anyway am sure Kitty will enjoy her trip with you when the 18th comes round.

Not keen on cheese scones (honestly )

Tea&Kittens

The scones turned out well EH! And enough left for me and Kitty for lunch tomorrow, then some spares!
Feeling quite virtuous as I had visitors earlier. They were hungry and ordered a takeaway. I resisted and had my mask as planned at the weekend. Win!
Cumbria lass ... I'm sure there are appropriate galleries much closer which would suffice! We're going mid November, when I've had time to plan for a day out. Trains so much cheaper in advance!

Tea&Kittens

After feeling so proud of myself for not having takeout on Thursday, I promptly undid all my good work yesterday by staying for 3 drinks instead of "just the one" with friends. Trying not to be too hard on myself, was lovely to catch up, I it's just eaten into more of my entertainment budget than I'd allocated for this weekend.
I did manage to do the weekly food shop at Mr Al D for £25 after doing the mask plan, so came in £15 under budget. I was quite pleased with this.
For people who have been doing this a while, does it ever get any easier? While I know I need to keep on top of things, I find the constant neverending tracking and analysing is so mentally tiring, uses so many spoons. I'm hoping as it becomes more of a regular thing it will come easier.

wishingthemortgaheaway

It is definitely all about habit.
I've been using ynab for 4 years now (I think) and it's automatic, money in, money out, tilly tidy, juggle budgets, set plans.

I also find only changing 1 thing at a time helps, so my 'new' thing at the moment is using my supermarket for my shopping, it takes a while until things become habit and automatic, but, when it does, no spoons are needed.

Money can sometimes be the only thing I'm thinking about, but mostly I try and set a plan for a day and stick to it. I've started bullet journaling this year and that's helping too. Also, if I have a major slip up I just have to be more careful the rest of the week/month and, because I've been doing this a while I could cover any blow outs from other pots.

I just wish I could apply these principles to eating and my weight.

Keep going and keep posting, it really helps.

Happierdays

Hi I also find the constant tracking tiresome and am still hoping it gets easier with time! Sounds like it does from what the last poster said so I think it's a case of keeping at it and maybe it won't need so much thinking about once it's an ingrained habit!

Tea&Kittens

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

It is definitely all about habit.

Money can sometimes be the only thing I'm thinking about, but mostly I try and set a plan for a day and stick to it. I've started bullet journaling this year and that's helping too. Also, if I have a major slip up I just have to be more careful the rest of the week/month and, because I've been doing this a while I could cover any blow outs from other pots.

I just wish I could apply these principles to eating and my weight.

Keep going and keep posting, it really helps.

Ooh I started bullet journaling about this time last year. FInances is just about the only thing I haven't tracked! I've monitored exercise, water consumed, books read, blog posts written - just about everything else! I have now set up a savings page, for all the different pots money needs to go into, and I've been using the Spending Tracker App, which I have diligently entered every transaction into.

Yesterday went a bit wrong. Free music event in the city centre was great fun, then a friend managed to dislocate/fracture/break a thumb, so after a trip to A&E I ended up having dinner out to the cost of £16.
Feeling it's all going a bit wonky. When I've tried previously, before I found the forum, at this stage something in my brain seems to make some kind of "denial filter" making it OK to continue to spend money, ignore how much I've spent and top up with a card at the end of the month .... after all, I can try and start again next month right??
I'm trying to not let that happen this time, and acknowledge that, yes, I have spent more than intended, but I must not stick my head in the sand about it. I nearly didn't come and post here for feeling embarrassed/ashamed about it, but it isn't going to go away without me facing up to it, hence posting now.

Made a super slow roasted cider cooked shoulder of lamb for dinner. Rest of this will make a leftover curry tomorrow. I didn't manage batch cooking today, but tomorrow evening I'll be sorting out a Tuscan bean stew for the next couple of days, which should last for at least 2 meals (always hard to judge with Kitty, sometimes I can't seem to fill her up!)

System

I have just had one of those months , seemed to spend so much then feel guilty and then worry . I think you will get back on track , I find reflecting on why did I overspend and then coming up with a plan to stop it happening again . Hope your friend is ok soon . Tuscan bean stew sounds yummy !

117pauline

How about using your journal to help you notice the triggers for your spending?

You might notice that a certain person is always "involved" in your spending. Either as a partner in crime or as one of those individuals who makes you feel ughhhhh.

Or perhaps you are trying to keep to a budget that simply isn't sustainable long term.

But please don't wait until the end of the month to start again. Sometimes there are months when just surviving is as good as it gets.

Have a good week
Pauline

Tea&Kittens

Cumbria_lass wrote: »

I have just had one of those months , seemed to spend so much then feel guilty and then worry . I think you will get back on track , I find reflecting on why did I overspend and then coming up with a plan to stop it happening again .

I've got everything written down so I can see exactly where the spending is occurring!

Cumbria_lass wrote: »

Hope your friend is ok soon . Tuscan bean stew sounds yummy !

Friend still finding hand painful, but seeing a specialist today as the weekend injuries clinic weren't 100% sure of what was going on!
Tuscan bean stew is amazing. It's one of those meals where you chuck stuff in a pot and leave it to cook itself for hours (so the house smells amazing too while it's cooking). It involves lardons, chorizo, loads of garlic and, of course a selection of your favourite beans! It does actually come from a little off-beat place in Tuscany!

117pauline wrote: »

How about using your journal to help you notice the triggers for your spending?
You might notice that a certain person is always "involved" in your spending. Either as a partner in crime or as one of those individuals who makes you feel ughhhhh.
.......
but please don't wait until the end of the month to start again. Sometimes there are months when just surviving is as good as it gets.

Have a good week
Pauline

Good idea with the journal, Pauline. I'll see if there's any correlation of overspends and people/activities!
I'm not waiting for the end of the month to start again, I'm keeping at it. This is the difference between now and my usual approach. Now I have here for support, and I really appreciate that people like you, and others take the time to read and respond!

System

Honey roast veg risotto went down a treat with my son and I tonight . Will be saving recipe ! Thanks again