misstara's debt diary 2018

misstara

Almost a week since I last posted must try to get back in the habit of posting every day.

Today was a spend day but just on milk. Food budget is currently sitting at £76.89 which is way too high for this early in the month, totally stocked up though so shouldn't have to do a big shop for a while.

MOT is booked in for next week, there's £350 in the car fund but hopefully the car will need very little work so that the money can be for the insurance due next month.

monz

Ahh good luck with MOT! You reminded me about car insurance. Think next year will be my last year paying monthly and then pay lump sum each year after x

misstara

Thanks for your post monz . I'm hoping to scrape together enough to pay it for the year. Last year it went on the credit card and I really don't want to do that this year.

Last 3 days have been NSDs which is great . My sister is up visiting tomorrow and Saturday so will probably be quite hard to avoid spending on but will try to keep it to a minimum.

misstara

Very quick post before bed as I feel exhausted. Really stressed about money as I've totally overspent this month and have very little left for the next 2 weeks

On a more positive note, ABA has inspired me to think about what I want to achieve by my birthday in May next year. Will post once my brain feels more coherent :rotfl:

misstara

Car passed its MOT but with advisories. Have decided to get the work done now as it is related to brakes and lights so would rather be safe than sorry. Unfortunately it will cost £339.72 altogether it's booked in for the end of the month. It means that the car insurance will have to go on the credit card :mad:

Through YNAB, I can see that my overspend this month has come from things I didn't budget for such as parking, bus fare, gift for a colleague (had budgeted for one colleague but forgot about the other), a reed diffuser/candles (just cheapie ones from @sda but still not budgeted for) plus more petrol. Maybe I should start budgeting for misc spends.

I've transferred over £50 from the car fund to keep us going until payday, may need to borrow more but will see how we go. So far this month, we've spent £165.97 on cleaning, toiletries and food which again is far too high for just over half way through the month

I've not picked up any shifts with 2nd job for a couple of weeks now and it's very obvious how much I rely on them to shore up my budget. I phoned today to see if I could get anything and while there seems to be heaps of shifts going, none that suited timings wise with my main job.

Today was a day off work, I went for a run this morning which I really enjoyed, however, I do need to invest in new trainers at some point soon. I took my phone back to the shop as it had stopped working properly. They were unsure what was wrong with it so have sent it away. I got a courtesy phone from them so at least I still have a phone.

Feeling a bit down about money, need to snap out of it and come up with a plan to make my wages stretch further

misstara

A NSD today need to try and get as many as possible, running low on bread and milk so may need to spend tomorrow.

Better luck with 2nd job today, managed to pick up a shift for Saturday morning and one in Tuesday too

misstara

Managed a couple of NSDs since I last posted, spent £2.30 on milk and bread on Friday plus £17.25 on a proper shop today. Need to get my sister a birthday card and gift tomorrow, will head into town after shift for 2nd job as I'm finished at 1pm.

Pay slip is through for main job so will make a start on the budget for next month. Payday is a week tomorrow

misstara

Headed to town after 2nd job on Tuesday and spent £11.50 on a card and voucher for my sister plus 67p on a stamp. Picked OH up from his friends on the way home, the plan was to do some gardening after lunch but he unfortunately fell on the garden path and banged his head so we headed up to the hospital to get checked out. All is fine with him but his phone screen is completely smashed so sent it off to the insurance company yesterday. Fingers crossed they give him a new one, it's only been 2 months since he claimed due to losing his phone :eek: Spent £25 on a deposit for a courtesy phone and £12.80 on a takeaway

Yesterday was a NSD and today will be as well. Running low on washing tabs, washing up liquid and a few other bits but will have enough to see us through to the weekend.

Got an email through from my car insurance saying that the renewal price is £500ish. A very quick look online shows I could get it around £150-£200 cheaper so need to have a proper look. Will do that over the weekend when I'm off work.

On a late shift today so just catching up with a bit of housework and laundry.

misstara

A weekend off work and it's been an extremely lazy one, weather has been awful so have spent most of the weekend lounging about watching films . Popped into town today to pick up my phone as it's now fixed. OH got a new phone through the insurance so I returned the courtesy phone and got the £25 deposit back. Spent the majority of my pay from 2nd job on food yesterday, have £6.70 left in my purse. Ah well payday is 2 days away so that should be fine. Still not started work on the budget so will do that after work tomorrow.

misstara

Quick budget post - £1789.64
- £1100 usual bills
- £150 car
- £50 car fund
- £200 food, cleaning, toiletries
- £80 petrol/travel
- £23 run entry (planning to do one in Stirling in January)
- £46.64 debt repayment
- £70 social
- £70 clothes (got a long list of things that are needed but obviously a limited budget so will have to prioritise)