Aligning the Stars

redofromstart

Soda crystals help to shift grease stains out of the wash. Worth a try if you have some.

natsplatnat

Eek, for some fabrics you may be able to use a warm iron and kitchen roll to pull some of the balm out - then definitely re-wash with soda crystals!

Fingers crossed.

DrSpendLittle

Oh no!!! Worth trying soda crystals or iron as Redo and NPN suggest. Let us know how you get on!

Starmummy

Thanks ladies, I shall try soda crystals.

I can't really get upset with her as it wasn't intentional, it's just one of those things.

I'm just trying to stay relaxed and enjoy Mr Stars company while he is still home but I can already feel the stress building and the armor going back on. I don't have a hard life by any stretch but the monotony of being solely responsible for weeks at a time and not having back up is just exhausting. I can't really complain to Mr Star as it isn't his fault, it's Brexit causing this move. It's hard for him too, being away from home and on his own.

Starmummy

Hi Folks,

We made it. We survived January (well very nearly- it's payday eve here)
What a fantastic start to the year it has been.

I've reached some milestones this month.

Total debt is now in the 11k's

I've reached my first milestone with my EF £1000 :money:

I'm really enjoying saving, the debt is ticking away nicely but seeing positive balances on my accounts whenever I log in is really exciting.

My goal for the year is to get EF to £5k.
I hope to do this while still paying off £5k of debt and doing lots of travel.

Speaking of which, the travel fund has taken a hammering this month.
We now have 6 holidays/weekends away planned :eek: all done super budget friendly.
The benefit to my mental well being is unimaginable, I can live such an amazing life and paying for it up front means I feel no guilt and can really truly enjoy it.

I've purchased a few things this month but all bar my new backpack which was really needed have been returned. If I don't love it, if it doesn't spark joy, it's just not worth sacrificing the savings.
I have however spent on experiences, date nights with Mr Star, dinner with friends. These are the things that add value to my life.

I've spent £242 this month in personal spends.
this breaks down as:

Eating out £135
new backpack £31 (should have been over £100)
Swimming event fee £40
Yoga £10
language course £26

Most of these things are 1 off costs and expected/saved for.
My goal is to keep personal spends under £100 this month.
This is not including spending money in half term while we are away.
We are staying in Mr Stars work apartment, so food etc can be cooked in the apartment and no more expensive than the normal weekly shop, meaning spending is only day trips/fun.
I have budgeted EUR 300 for this... I hope to come in at EUR 200 and bring some Euros home which I can put towards another trip later in the year.

I've decided to add another metric to my monthly roundup, my net worth. I don't have any material goods in my name, no house and no car so this is the balance of debt and savings. My main goal of 2019 is to get this number to a positive.

30/01/2019 NET WORTH
Total debt = -£11,946.32
Total savings = £1,733.53
Net worth = -£10,212.79

Here's to an equally wonderful February...and a shorter wait until payday.

Take care
SM

Lucifa73

Morning SM.

January may have been a looooong month but it looks like you have made the best of it! Well done on those milestones :j

Did you manage to rescue any of your lip-balmed clothes?

Cheers to an equally positive (and shorter) month ahead x

Starmummy

Lucifa73 wrote: »

Morning SM.

January may have been a looooong month but it looks like you have made the best of it! Well done on those milestones :j

Did you manage to rescue any of your lip-balmed clothes?

Cheers to an equally positive (and shorter) month ahead x

Cheers to you too Luc

I've not rectified the clothes situation just yet.
We have no tumble drier so I have to take them to the launderette. The opening times aren't possible around work in the week.

I shall send Mr Star this weekend while I'm away on a mindfulness retreat (Christmas present)
A whole weekend of quite. bliss.

My pay hit my account this morning, complete with pay rise seeing me taking home an extra £120ish a month. Every little helps. I am expecting 2 more little pay rises this year linked to my qualification which I should be finished with before summer.

No more 5am alarms and studying before work. I can't wait!

Starmummy

It's -5 here this morning. The walk to work will not be fun

Starmummy

Happy 1st of February darlings,

Payday is here and most of my DD have gone out, including my £350.51 loan payment.
I still have a couple of little DD to go (contact lenses, mobile phone SC's swimming, National Trust)
No transfers to savings have been made yet this month as I am waiting on some expenses to come in from work. I am hoping to top the EF by £300 (I'm on a mission to hit my second EF goal of £5k by the end of the year), I'll also try to add £350 to Holiday savings- I know this seems extravagant but I am front ending this account as we have a lot of trips this year due to Mr Stars job)

The Holiday savings will then have some taken back out of this month. Our Annual travel insurance is due for renewal (approx £50- will go through TCB) and I will need about £200 of Euro's spending money for our trip at half term (I still have some Euro's in cash from trips last year). Hopefully this account won't be touched again until we go away at Easter. I know holiday savings are for holidays, and I've only robbed from it for travel but it stills feels weird to spend it. My views on spending have changed significantly this past year. I do stand by the thought that "Travel is the only thing we buy that makes us richer" so no guilt.

I've been reading a few of my favorite diaries this week and it seems like a lot of you are really struggling. Especially with the mental health side of money worries. January can be so hard, it's dark, the hubbub of the festivities has subsided and we feel like we are back to the hard slog. A platform like this is such a life line, there is no shame just a lot of other people in the same boat trying to make it to safety together.
You are all smashing, wonderful people and you will get through this. Be kind to yourselves.
:beer:

Take care

SM

Starmummy

It's a lovely new week. temperatures should rise significantly by the weekend. Hurrah!

My Mindfulness retreat this weekend was really eye opening, exhausting too. I spend so much energy shutting down emotions and keeping calm trying to get on with things, releasing it all was hard work. Fantastic present from Mr Star though and it just goes to show how much he cares about me.

He has been a total superstar this weekend, he did all the laundry (including all towels and bed linen) He did the food shop (including bulking up on tinned and heavy stuff so I don't have to buy the rest of the month and carry it home)
He took SC to all her swimming clubs and took her and a friend rollerskating.

He left for the new office at 4 am this morning. He won't be home for 4 weeks. SC was in bits saying goodbye to him last night.
He works away a lot anyway but this time just feels different, probably because it is the start of a possible big change for us all.
I am so looking forward to flying out and seeing him for half term.

I've not managed to rescue the clothes from the lip balm incident. I picked up a couple of BNWT bits on Ebay to replace work things ruined. £16.20 spent. I will have to get a couple of jumpers too. SC doesnt care about her bits - I'm certain it will only be a couple of months before we have to buy her the next size anyway- she grows like a weed.

I bought train tickets to go into the nearest city with SC for next weekend, a change of scenery will do us good and she can spend some of her Christmas vouchers. She's never been on an overground train before so it will be quite the adventure for her. I do hate how train websites are confusing, I very nearly paid £34 for tickets until i kept scrolling and discovered the 'anytime off-peak' was half the price.
The bus was cheaper but it takes 2 hours!


Still waiting for work expenses so no top up's to savings just yet.
I think that's all there is to report.

Take care lovelies
SM