2018 New year, new focus and new mission

teafor2

Morning CG Good that you've got a date for your op, hopefully that will be the beginning of the end of everything you've gone through Really hope the PIP decision comes through for you soon and yes, definitely have the mindset of appealing if it isn't initially awarded.

I think £145 for 2 weeks food is definitely do-able although I'm not going to lie I'd struggle a bit with that - well I wouldn't but the men of the house would because snacks would definitely be cut back on When I read WB's diary and she's working with £20 ish per week it inspires me to try and cut back but it's easier said than done sometimes.

Hope you have a lovely day. xx

Choccygirl123

I know we'll struggle but that's my new challenge to focus on! Hubby has been doing with food shopping since before Christmas which hasn't helped. I'm feeling brighter in myself so going to start helping. I've sorted my tin/store cupboard and discovered 3..5 packets of egg noodles.:rotfl:

The good news is it's pay day.....whoooo hoooo! We have a very quiet month planned thankfully. I'm starting my saving pots this month to try and build up reserves to say just finding it in that month.

I've squirrelled away some extra this month so our EF now sits at £1500. Knowing me I've gone over board, but I'm hoping we can leave to build more of a cushion.

Choccygirl123

The direct denbits are flying out and it's good to see everything getting paid. Don't feel like we're getting very far, but it's been a bumpy few months.

The debt balances without this month's payment are
Zopa 1 - £8097.64
Zopa 2 - £3393.28
Cc 0% - £2700.00

Which means our grand total is £14190.92 so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing that drop under 14k. It's coming down slowly, very slowly like swimming in treacle but it's at least it's going in the right direction.

Until I'm back in work I know I have to be content with the extra little over payment on the credit card and the loans being repaid.

I'm going to have another look at our outgoings, just in case but I think food and fuel are the only areas for cut backs. I keep going back to food and do need to get a grip. We're desperately in need of a food shop which I'm going to try and get hubby to grab a couple of bits tonight to keep us ok until big shop on Friday. We're just struggling for time with me not driving and the children's activities.

teafor2

Afternoon CG great to read that your debt is going down, especially in the circumstances you find yourself at the moment. I think I knocked about £10 off our shop this week, but if I'm honest I'll probably spend more next week stocking up again! When it was just me and hubby I used to shop pretty much to an empty cupboard, but these days I like to have quite a bit in stock, just in case.

Have a lovely afternoon. xx

Choccygirl123

I just feel so frustrated it's taking so long. I've had a long think and I'm going to go back to my part time job which will mean my salary will drop. It's no ideal but i think it's going to be a struggle to begin with after so long off. I want to get the decorating done and take co trip back of the house! The cleaning is going ok and I keep reminding myself I'm £14 a week better off! Perhaps I should create a cleaner pot and save that much every week so can pay a chunk when the 0% finishes.


like a few bits in stock just in case, but I never did get my brexit stocks sorted....well unless you count the egg noodles :rotfl:

I'm frustratingly 25p away from my next £25 withdraw from 1poll. I've £2.02 available in PA and a few receipts away from £10 in shoppix and RH. Sealed pot for Christmas bank account balance £341 after a couple of fb and eBay sales. The debt might not be coming down as quick as I'd like, but I'm in good habits. Finally going to get the pots on use this month too.

teafor2

Do you mean going back part time to start with then working up to full time? Or do you mean part time permanently?

We're eating our way through the Brexit stocks at the moment - don't get me started :mad: but should the Government ever decide to get their act together at least I'll know what to stock up on next time.

Hopefully the good habits will stay with your forever and when you go back to work you'll be able to start paying the debt down quicker. xx

Choccygirl123

Hi tea i was working 29hours with two contracts a week before all my problems started. My employers have been very supportive, but they have withdrawn my 12hour a week contract due to business need. I'd only been with them a year when all this happened, so just thankful they've waited this long. My surgeon suggested maybe fit for work aug/sept so keeping everything crossed.

I did get hubby to buy few extra bits, but I've used them up. After being snow in for 4 days I never let the store run too empty.

I spent an hour last night updating my spreadsheet and this is the first month it looks ok. Have planned spending for rest of month and think I can start all the pots too! Deciding what should go in each pot was hard. I've not set it in stone so it can be adjusted.

teafor2

Morning CG Hopefully the surgeon will be right and you'll be back in work before you know it. Shame about the second contract but maybe reduced hours will be for the best to start with. You never know, the chance to have your second job back might crop up.

Ooh pots to be filled.:T I think you'd already decided what the categories would be from what I can recall. It is quite hard at first deciding what should go where and I think I tweaked mine a few times before I settled into it properly. I'm still adding and taking some away depending on circumstances - the beauty of them is they're adaptable

Have a nice day. xx

Choccygirl123

Thanks tea, I'm just looking forward to being a little more organised. Prime example is like hub's car tax which is pending on the account. We pay it 6monthly, but guess who forgot to add it to this month's budget? It's going to take a while to get the pots right, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

We finally did a good shop yesterday but traffic was horrendous. Instead of sitting in car for 40mins we ducked into Tesco's and spent £72.91. I did pick up 3 x tins of tomatoes for 28p each which was good value. Hubby wanted a curry for a treat so £11.00 of the spend wasn't planned. He also picked up some cider so another £5.50! It pushed my spend over but seemed a sensible compromise rather than £30 in the takeaway.

The eldest spent has made her best friend an amazing chocolate fudge birthday cake which is bought all the ingredients £17 on way home from school in coop. Slightly annoyed because I had sr flour, caster, butter and eggs in the house. I'd also picked up £4 of chocolate for the decoration. It means my baking stores are over loaded so I'll do some baking tomorrow.

This week has been an eye opening with hubby going to the co-op twice for bread and milk. Using receipt hog that's nearly £20 gone on junk. Chocolate, crisps and nothing of substance!

That's rounded up to £110 out of my fortnight's shopping budget gone! £33 to keep is going until 14th May is going to interesting! I've done my meal until next Friday 10th. Will definitely need bread fruit and milk. I hate not driving because hubby likes to 'treat' us when he picks up supplies. Going to have a chat and show him our spends.

teafor2

Hi CG, hope you've had a good weekend. It's definitely the extras that get thrown in the trolley that make the difference but if the £72 included the curry and cider I'd say that wasn't too bad. I don't eat things like that but hubby does and we buy the £5 deal ones - 2 mains and 2 sides. We then pick up a naan bread and if he fancies rice a packet of 60p microwave gets put in the trolley. I wish I did eat it because it actually looks really nice. I get double veg samosas instead

I get my shopping delivered and it's surprising how many times I go on and chop and change things before I put my order in. Is that an option for you? I choose a 4 hour flexi slot mid week for £1 but they text on the day and tell you which hour they'll be delivering so you're not tied in.

I don't think OH's totally comprehend just how quickly shopping mounts up - they are totally blinkered on getting the stuff they like into the trolley come hell or high water :rotfl: xx