Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Am up, dressed, ultra-motivated & ready to go! Job list to hand & just finishing an enormous coffee. Then I'm on it. Will report back later, but by tonight, my budget & household organisation will be back to their usual level of function.
Right, off we go!
F x

Redrose

Good Morning Foxgloves


lovely to hear you are on motivated and will be back on top on things


Because its the middle of the month, and already had to borrow out of my savings account, I feel frustrated that I can not put my budgets into practice, it took my a while to fall to sleep last night, head going round and round about money, saving and paying CC......


So if I only do one thing today its going to take my CC out of my purse


Red xx

foxgloves

Hi red - Yes, I remember that feeling well.....I've been a shocking insomniac over much of my adult life & money worries, like any worries can really magnify at night when you're lying there, unable to sleep. As it's mid-month, it's probably worth just doing damage limitation for the rest of May, by spending as little as possible, just essentials, then when pay-day lands, that's when I always do my new monthly budget because I have got an accurate picture from online banking of what exactly is in our account once the money's gone in. Anyway, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how to budget, I just meant that as it's mid-month & you are already fretting about dipping into savings,then probably the only option at the moment is just to pull in all but essential spending & to motivate yourself for a full-on bit of lightbulb activity as payday looms!
Good luck!
F

foxgloves

Hello Debtbusters,
Well, I have achieved a lot today. I've bottomed out my admin basket & cleared every single piece of paperwork in it. As in dealt with it, not just moved it to another pile. I've done my mid-month budget check-in, which is a regular thing for me around this time of the month. I get an up to date online bank statement, check what payments are still to come out, plus how much grocery budget then I reconcile what I should have from the budget I set at the end of the previous month on pay-day with what we actually have. It's been so useful. Actually, we're not all that far adrift. The only overspend has been groceries. I was surprised at that, actually, as we had a decent underspend last month, but my figures are accurate & we have £31 left for our final shop of this month, instead of the £50 we would normally have. I thought about whether just to insist on a tight week, using up everything we have, so that it comes in at £31, but I think this is unrealistic, really. I know only too well that when we set unrealistic financial targets, we tend not to meet them, which means I have to alter the budget again, plus feel like we've failed. Instead I've subbed in £19 from this month's emergency cushion (I like to leave around £100 to £150 in our current account in case of unforeseen circumstances.....it's already been useful this year for things like a wiper blade flinging itself off the car, taking Mum out for coffee to treat her, etc) as I would rather do that, than be disappointed when we're in the supermarket at the weekend trying to get everything on our list for £31.
I've swapped some funds around to keep all our different budget pots accurate & I'm about to finish off with a big filing session, as I can't bear not to be able to find paperwork when I need it. To think during the Spendy Decades my financial filing system was a drawer where I flung my bank statements!
I haven't been able to pay any additional money into our Loan Pay Down Fund today, but that's not unusual for mid-month in my budget cycle. There are 2 opportunities for payments hoving into view though......one will be £50 from my partner's recent Ugov cash-out & the other will be a similar amount from Paypal from all sorts of miscellaneous payments. Ziffit has paid up promptly & I have another small ebay sale too, so those bits & pieces in Paypal are building up nicely. Next survey cash-out will be Onepoll - it's slow going at the moment, but that £40 will be very useful on top of the £100 just mentioned.
I am so organised with money these days since I became a reformed character & I really don't like the feeling when I haven't been able to devote the time to it & it feels like it's starting to get away from me. All fine now though! Everything money related dealt with. have also baked bread & done rubber chicken duties today - 4 days of meals & a lunch from that chicken, so that's got to be a saving in itself.
OK, must crack on. Hope everyone else who needed a good start to the week has managed to get one. if not, don't beat yourself up, just start again tomorrow.
Bye,
F x

crazy_cat_lady

You spurred me on for a good start to the week too Foxgloves. I got all of my work stuff done, and bagged a nsd, as well as swallowing a couple of frogs.

Redrose

can I ask a question


Crazy_cat_lady - you swallowed a couple of frogs ???

foxgloves

Lol - I've swallowed one too, this morning! There's a link a little further back in my diary which I think PurpleFairy provided, which explains this theory. Do read before you contact the Amphibians Protection League!
F

PurpleFairy26

Well done on all the frog eating folks (no frogs were actually eaten in the making of this blog:rotfl:

I've eaten a few in the past couple of weeks and done a few tasks I've been procrastinating about for ages. Feels very liberating. I'm definitely feeling up and at 'em this week foxgloves thanks for getting us motivated :T

foxgloves

You're welcome, PurpleFairy. It was good to go & open the curtains in my little HQ room this morning & not have to see that admin basket bursting over with un-tackled tasks. Have now turned my attentions to learning how to ride a bike again (will save on fuel & car parking charges) & garden jobs (will save on grocery budget if we have lits of nice homegrown fruit & veg to pick. I like it a bit cooler for digging & planting, but have still achieved a fair bit x

foxgloves

P.S - PurpleFairy - the trick with the frog swallowing is definitely to do it early. I cleared the breakfast dishes away & was just about to start something else when I came face to face with the laptop which was sitting on top of the freezer & I just said out loud, " Oh for PITY'S SAKE, woman, just send the bloody email!!" So I did. Frog gulped down & I've received a reply, so this job will finally be done@