Every Penny and all those Pounds

HoneyBee83

Good morning :hello:
I tried to post a new thread last night but I can't see it anywhere..not sure what happened

I'm not in debt thankfully -well, I have £100 on my credit card but I could pay that off in a second if I needed - I don't want to end up in debt but I can see it happening if I dont change my mind set.

Basically I'm terrible for not sticking to my budget I really need to train myself in the want or need.
It goes something like this 'Well, you don't have any debt so what's £10 on the plastic??' and then 'Well, there's only £10 on the plastic so what's £50??'
I like to pay my credit card off in full each month as I'm terrified of interest and debt but this then eats into our budget the next month and I end up sticking on the plastic again, I'm going around and around but with no-one to blame but myself, I need to stop!
I really want to save more, as you can see from my signature I'm hoping to buy our first home so I need to retrain my brain.

So, this diary going to hold me accountable. I'm hoping that by seeing everything written down it'll shock me into changing.
I'll put a little about us in the next post as this is quite long already...sorry to anybody reading!

HoneyBee83

It's myself and DD who is 11 yrs, one cat and one dog.

I work for a small company so I don't have a large income but they are extremely flexible when it comes to DD which is wonderful! It was especially good when she was in primary school. I think more companies should support working parents, you hear some awful stories.

About a year ago my landlord decided he wanted to sell the house and there wasn't anything for let within my budget so my parents very kindly said to move home and take my time. We have a bedroom each and our own little living room which is lovely!
It gave me the chance to save for a house deposit but it also gave me more 'free' money :o I haven't saved anywhere near what I could of and I'm quite ashamed!
More to the point, I have picked up bad spending habits which I really need to sort out before we get our own place again...So here I am!

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

HoneyBee83

Thanks Beanielou

One week until payday and I can allocate our new budget cash.
I have decided to allow an extra £50 for March to see if I can avoid putting on the plastic.
So, we will have an entertainment budget and an extra's budget.
Entertainment will be to cover any lunches/coffee out/wine ;)Extra's will be for toiletries/make up etc I do not think I will spend the £50 but it'll give me a buffer and I will have a better understanding of how much to budget for there.

Aiming for 15 NSD in March too...I am rubbish at keeping those up.

Mumoffourkids

Hi HoneyBee, I'm a bit similar in that I am on my own but I have six kids. I also rent and really want to be able to buy my own house. My landlord isn't likely to sell but you never know what is going to happen in the future. I also work for a small company who are very flexible about my kids. My youngest I would take into work with me one or two days a week from when she was 3 weeks old up until she was a year old! I will follow your journey as I am planning on saving for a house deposit once I am debt free which should be November this year!

Good luck with your saving!

HoneyBee83

Hello mumoffourkids

Our situations are very similar, I'm sure I have read your diary too. To buy our own home is the dream! Wasting this money every month is taking that further away, time to kick myself up the backside We can both do this! Will be following your journey and cheering on your debt free date :j

What a lovely day! Slightly chilly out but the sun is most welcome. Had a beautiful dog walk this morning, she is now snoring away in the sun. Went for lunch with my parents as DD is with her dad this weekend, they paid which was nice, I do love spending quality time with them.
Trying for a free weekend so I'm concentrating on house cleaning this afternoon, need to keep myself busy and out of the town lol

Is it terrible that I'm wishing this coming week away so I can start March and put my plans into action?
Have wonderful weekends all!

HoneyBee83

Good afternoon Diary,

The snow keeps trying to fall here, we're getting light snow showers. Apparently we can expect it here Weds-Fri tho Best panic buy

3 days until payday :T
I was hoping to have finished this week on NSDs but I am low on dog meat and that budget starts on friday... usually I would pop this on the credit card and buy other bits and pieces to make it 'worth while'...instead I took £2 from my change jar, well done me!
Every little helps.

Mumoffourkids

We've had light snow showers, blizzards and sunshine here!

Well done on just spending £2 and taking it out of your change jar. It's nearly march now, so another month closer to buying a house!

HoneyBee83

mumoffourkids - We've had more snow this way, its starting to stick too but not enough to close the schools, DD was most miffed lol
I keep looking at my saving plan for March and it is really spurring me on to stick to it. If I can avoid putting on my card this month I will be very happy!

I kept my receipts through Feb and noted my weekly spends.
£1.80 each Tuesday for my magazine
£2.00 on cat and dog treats (1 packet each)
£6.00 on a bottle of wine on a Friday
So...£9.80 a week... £39.20 a month

I can afford this but as I said I end up putting extra in the basket and use the card.

Plan for March:
I have allocated 4 coin bags - 1 per week.
I have put £2.80 in each for magazine and 1 bag of treats (used 20p's from my change jar )
I will take £20 from entertainment budget on Friday and put £5 in each. I have decided to make the effort to get my wine from Aldi, they have nice ones at £3.50/4.00 and then an extra £1 will be for the other treats.
I'm hoping that by doing this I won't buy extra bits/break notes etc

Also ashamed of the £3.00 on lunches I don't do this every day but it soon adds up. So, will make a huge effort to bring lunch from home and keep a tally on how much I have saved doing this.

I have my first two plans in place ready for Friday, wish me luck!

Mumoffourkids

That sounds like a good plan with the treats. I have a £70 general budget for treats for me and the kids per week. So I can buy myself a magazine or something and not feel guilty about it. I think you have to treat yourself occasionally otherwise you will just go mad. But only if you have the available money in the budget for it. I don't tend to spend my £70 every week so I save whatever is left and I was paying off the debts when I had debts that had interest on them.

Good luck with your treat budget and with taking lunch in from home. I am sure you will be fine!

HoneyBee83

Well, I'm finally home...what a pickle of a day at work, why can't it be Friday??

DD is with her dad for tea so just fixing something quick from the freezer.
Made lasagne last night and there is a portion left for lunch at work tomorrow. I found 5 boxes of soup in my cupboard at work...5!! So I will definitely be having soup and a homemade sandwich for a while, Ooops! I just hope I don't get bored with it and 'pop' to Morrisons.

Today was a NSD :T I am planning on another tomorrow, possibly Friday too if we are having snow.