Aligning the Stars

Starmummy

Hi Folks,

I'm going to do my October round up a day early as tomorrow is pay day and everything will get reset.
One thing I am proud of is that I've stopped beating myself up for decisions I've already made. Was this month perfect...hell no! But I am confident that next month I can start fresh without beating myself up.

Mr Star is back from his work trip. It's so lovely having him home. The first thing he noticed is that Star child has grown in the past 10 days. Enough with the growth spurts already. She's 9 and 4 foot 10 already.

So I've had to order a few items of clothes for her and a non-school coat, as well as some winter boots. We don't really budget for her clothes, She isn't really into fashion so we just buy what is needed when it is needed. We usually have the flex in our joint account each month.

Pension
Well the economy sure does suck at the moment. I've put my work based contribution in as usual but the markets are so volatile my pension pot has LOST £574.04 this month alone They are in fairly risk free investments so that doubly sucks. At least its got another 35 years to recover i suppose.

Debt
I've only paid the DD off my debt this month which means it has reduced by about £350. I'm ok with that, I know I can make over payments if I wish but at the moment it makes more sense to save into my LISA as I get the tax back ( debt is at 3% over 3 years).

Savings
Current savings split is
LISA---£142.50
Holiday pot ---£50
Emergancy Fund---£600.05 (£400 is in Premium bonds, the rest in an instant access account)

Those totals mean I've managed to save £292.50 this month.
Between debt payments and savings I am £642.77 better off financially than I was last month. :j

November Targets
*Save £500 (£350 LISA, £100 EF, £50 Holiday pot)
*Pay £350 off debt.
*Study hard for December exams (no social life )
*Stick to reasonable budget for family birthdays (2 nieces, 2 nephews, my dad :eek:)
*Spend less than £250 on groceries

That will do for now.

Good luck with your new month, turn the page, start fresh and be kind to yourself.

Take care

SM

Starmummy

In the past month I have got rid of my car and also reduced my wardrobe to about 1/4 of what it had been.
I feel so light. It really has been a revelation. It takes me no time to get ready in the mornings, the things I love are so easy to find, Housework is easier, There is less laundry.
It's great. I walked to work anyway and we still have one car, but I do get a nice warm smug feeling knowing that my carbon footprint is lower.

I feel really motivated to get on with the rest of the house, toiletries, kitchenware, stationery/craft, toys, old text books etc.

I actually get a buzz getting rid of things and tidying things out that has replaced the shopping buzz.
The shopping ban is going ok. I've bought a couple of things from the approved list so still shopped a little so it doesn't feel like it's in full force just yet.
I've also spent a bit of time window shopping online. I want to replace things like skincare with more ethical brands when required.

There are some changes at my office in the pipeline which will mean mostly working from home the next 2-3 months. I'm looking forward to it as it should mean picking Starchild up from school at 3pm instead of 6pm, I'll also be able to cook properly so we should save on the food bill.
I'm hoping to make the most of the flexibility and maybe do a few gym classes...I'm definitely getting a bit soft around the middle at the moment.

Starmummy

Happy Friday Folks.

The DD to the loan has come out so my debt is now in the £11k's :T

I've not transferred anything to savings yet this month as I'm waiting for all my payments to go out first.
This weekend should be fairly quiet other than going to see the fireworks this evening. Tickets are £5 each but we will eat before we go and take a flask of hot chocolate and some biscuits with us to avoid further spends.

We really need to tackle the grocery spend this month as it seems to be creeping above £300 again. I've set a budget of £250, but i'd like to get this as close to £200 as possible.
I need to meal plan a bit I think.
We have already spent £29.42 on veg, bread, milk and a few dinner bits in Ald1.
We need to buy tea bags today but i'm hoping to try and stretch what is in the cupboards and freezer to make what we have last until Tuesday as I'll have the car that evening so I can pop to Ald1. I'll set a plan and try to keep the spend to £50 a week... that will give a bit of wiggle room for top ups of bread, milk and fruit.

I tend to find winter shops a bit cheaper as we have lots of porridge, soup, stews and root veg.
I don't eat meat (only fish) but Mr Star and Star Child do eat a bit of meat, and SC will eat pretty much any veg, beans pulses etc...just nothing too spicy.
If anyone can recommend any quick recipes I'd be grateful... time is a premium as we don't get home from work until late and have lots of clubs on.

Starmummy

We had some news this weekend that could turn plans completely on their head.
So savings towards the house are just being redirected towards general/Emergency savings until we have a clearer picture on what the news means. It is an interesting and exciting opportunity but it's going to take some work from both of us.

No money spent by me...the shopping ban is going well.

Mr Star did the food shop in Ald1- there looks like there are meals to eat so that's a good start..and he came in at £48.90 so in budget. so far spent £81.32 on groceries and this should last until Sunday.. so an average of £7.39 a day so £220 this month projected. We could beat this as we are with family this Saturday and I'm away 2 nights next week. Mr Star is also away from 25th.

We do have 4 birthday gifts to buy this month though...some very romantic Valentines days have been had in our family it seems. :rotfl:

I've still been doing some research for sustainable ethical brands for skin care and clothing. My Capsule/downsized wardrobe is working tremendously but there are some items within it that will be well and truly worn out by the end of the shopping ban. Slow fashion is the aim.

Any brands that can be recommended would be fantastic.

Take care

SM

System

About 5 of my FB friend’s are due this month... I didn’t even click that they were valentines babies! :rotfl:

I think The Body Shop is meant to be ethical? I haven’t used their skincare in years but I liked their Seaweed range. Not sure on ethical clothing brands but TreadingOnPlaymobile would be a good person to ask

PawsForThought

Hi Starmummy

I've only just started to properly go through your diary and already utterly intrigued by your recent news - it sounds really positive so I hope it pans out!

I'm so amazed by how much of your wardrobe you've cleared out, I can only imagine how much fresher and lighter you feel and it's fantastic that you've found a new 'buzz'!

I just wanted to add some thoughts on quick recipes - I'm sorry if you've heard this before but do you have a slow cooker? It's literally a godsend. I usually prep veg the night before, chuck everything in quickly in the morning and cook whatever it is slowly all day. Come home after work and the house smells gorgeous and it's just there, ready, which massively reduces the usual evening chaos. If you're making a stew, you can lob some dumplings in an hour before you want to eat too which I find really handy (they don't go quite as airy as in a pan but still tasty with lots of salt and some nice fresh herbs in).

Alternatively, stir fries are my quick go-to! Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals or that other bloke's 'Lean in 15' recipes are quite good too (I seem to lack the magic required to make them actually take 15 minutes sadly, but they still usually only take 20-30). Lots of lovely fish recipes, gnocchi, pesto pasta, stroganoff etc.

Starmummy

Hi all,

I hope you are well.
It was a lovely weekend for the Stars. We traveled south on Saturday for a joint little person birthday celebration, it was so lovely having everyone together.
Sunday I watched my grandfather lead the old boys in the remembrance parade. He makes me so proud.
Sunday afternoon Star Child went out with my parents for lunch and to see my sister and her children, so Mr Star and I got some work done and then went for a swim, I certainly gave him a work out. :rotfl:

I'm not the most organised of people and it drives Mr Star potty, I'm really trying to work on keeping him informed and updated on plans...and actually sticking to them. It sounds really simple but I'm useless at it. I just 'get on' with everything which I know is really inconsiderate.
So working on my communication is my complete focus at the moment.

My studying is going okay but I really need to ramp it up a bit as it's only 3 weeks until my 2 exams...I'd really like to pass them and get my lovely pay rise.

The house is an endless black hole of DIY emergencies at the moment, leaky kitchen tap again but we are trying to limp it through until the new worktops arrive and we can fit the new sink and tap.

On the spending front- Mr Star seems to have taken over the grocery shopping, he does a good job but I think we may struggle to stick to my £200 budget (we don't need to I'd just like to try) We have already spent £135...although we have meals for another 3-4 days and lots of store cupboard stuff. Just lunch bits, milk, eggs, bread, fruit and veg mostly needed.

I am actually considering switching to using the milkman to reduce plastic bottles on orange juice and milk. Shall discuss with Mr Star tonight about his thoughts on this.

I've had to buy new skincare as it has all run out at the same time, This has cost me £57 after a special offer code and I went through TCB so i should receive £9 back, net cost £48.. I think that's amazing for oil cleanser, hot cloth cleanser and cloths, day cream, night cream and serum. It's a new Vegan brand I haven't used before but it gets great reviews so I hope it agrees with my skin.
Also on the approved shopping list where new running shoes, I bought some New Balance ones as they have a good ethical code and don't use plastic packaging. i got them in the sale and used TCB so they should have cost £75 and the net cost to me will be £47.62. :money:


Star Child had a haircut last week too, she had a total restyle having 9 inches culled. I was so surprised that my hairdresser still only charged the child's basic price of £12 despite the work involved.
I'd actually stopped using this hairdresser in favour of one that was a far shorter walk but I'm going to start going back to it. I think the cut is better, the girls are lovely and the price is quite a bit cheaper. The girls I use charge £30/£37 depending on which is available...the one I have been using recently is £48!!! :eek:which is ridiculous for a cut and blowdry even if they do give a little head massage while you wait.

This week I'm being quite social, I have a work meal on Friday (best part of being veggie is cheaper dinner when you eat out ha ha) and then I'm staying at one of my sisters, we are going to the ballet as a belated birthday treat. It will be lovely having a child free night with my sister.

Other than that it's work, swimming, studying, eating, sleeping.

I think that's enough waffle from me for now.

Take care

SM

Starmummy

Does anyone know what happened to LoopyBecs? she seems to have disappeared. I hope she is ok

WelshKitty85

I've sent you a PM.

enthusiasticsaver

Starmummy wrote: »

Does anyone know what happened to LoopyBecs? she seems to have disappeared. I hope she is ok

I was wondering that too. She asked for her threads to be deleted so could be too much identifiable stuff. Hope she is ok anyway.