Doing up the House (and me) while doing away with the Debt

supersaver1000

Had to rejig the menu slightly due to working late/trip out with DH but still on track to use the whole menu planner. Will need to pick up a few things tomorrow - including bread but will try not to get tempted by extras. It was good to have a NSD today - feels like a good start to the month and Feb is a little bit shorter, so there is hope :rotfl:

Fri - HM Curry
Sat - Roast
Sun - LO Curry
Mon - Pizza/chips/coleslaw
Tues - Tuna Fishcakes/chips/veg
Weds - Chinese Curry and Rice with spring rolls
Thursday - Pasta and sauce and garlic bread

Two more fleabay items have been paid for so I will drop them off at the PO tomorrow, just one item left to be paid and then that will be 11 items this week. Have relisted the other nine items but suspect that not all will sell. Will list any final items this weekend and make sure that I do the same with any other bits I find. I'm not sure how I got out of the habit of fleabaying - I think sometimes the amounts you sell for are really low and then I'd rather donate to the CS.

Its been good to make a bit of money towards the new house. This morning I did the home accounts and sent the left over money to the savings account. Then a few minutes later I checked again and realised I'd sent £300 too much :eek: Transferred it straight back again and glad I checked, but was slightly disappointed:o. I sorted out the accounts, so I have a separate bank a/c for the xmas saves and another for the starter emergency fund. Still on track to have all the funds in place for moving, although its really nerve wracking still to think that we will have put virtually all our money into a property. And then on the other hand its really exciting

GlendaSugarbean

Sounds like you are well on track
.

supersaver1000

Oh, flaming Norah. I woke up really early this morning and decided to check my spreadsheet again and realised I'd added a formula in a place it shouldn't have been. It meant I was right to send that extra £300 to the savings - so off it went again :rotfl:

I had a letter waiting for me at home to say that the lump sum I took last year had been recalculated and that I can expect another £400 in a few days time. More to send to the savings.

Another fleabay parcel to post. I feel like all my lunchbreaks are spent on the post office at the moment. Five more items being watched but no bids at the moment - maybe I can have a break from the PO next week :rotfl:

Positives today - a free apple, good meetings, not bad journeys, feeling positive, lovely meal tonight, looking forward to bedtime.

Right, off to update my grocery challenge as I bought a few essentials from Sainsbugs today.

supersaver1000

Have received the extra payment today and I sent most of that towards the house move with £100 into the Dave Ramsey £1,000 starter emergency fund (we now have £120 saved!!). My aim is to have all the house move costs and at least the starter emergency fund saved by the time we move.

Just mulling over my MSE journey and it feels like I have worked my way up and down the steep perilous mountain of massive debt, had a little break, and I’m now preparing to get to the top of the savings mountain. It’s a long way, but not so steep and it should be just as satisfying and maybe more enjoyable

We had a blip this year. In brief, DH’s SE came abruptly to an end and he needed propping up to the tune of £7k. It turns out he had been spending all the profits and not putting any by for bills or emergencies. He’s back to full-time employment quite quickly, and to PAYE - which as far as I’m concerned is where he belongs. He had done so well with not spending and with sticking to his personal budget, that when he went to SE he insisted on managing his own accounts. I hadn’t realised he hadn’t grasped the concept of a budget, he’s a clever chap so I can’t quite believe it, but he says he was relying on future income to pay the bills (or was it a return to head in the sand?).

Anyway, he’s keeping SE going in his spare time, which is a good thing, but it makes me nervous that he could still cause financial problems with it. So he’s agreed to now let me be involved in the money side and I've set up a simple Excel sheet showing 1: His current SE bank account balance with future SE outgoings listed by month; and 2: how much he needs to earn each month to meet his SE commitments. There are still outgoings coming up that he needs to earn money to pay for – I think this is a new experience for him as he feels slightly under pressure but he has said that he will top it up from his personal spends if necessary. Hopefully this will encourage him to catch onto the budgeting bug and it seems to be encouraging him to work a bit harder. It will also be interesting to see how much actual profit SE brings in as this is what will make our lives more comfortable. It has been a journey with DH – stopping the spending was just one part and I hadn’t really understood that he also needs to learn about budgeting. Are there any other areas he needs to learn about – I feel like I need to teach him all about this now and leave nothing to chance.


Positives from yesterday:

Another NSD
Free lunch including yummy cakes
Stuck to the meal plan and used up LO spinach in the pasta and tom sauce but forgot the meat balls in the freezer (can be used another day)
Posted the rest of the fleabay parcels

supersaver1000

Looking forward to a chill weekend, with time for myself and also lots of things ticked off the to do list.

I've just been reading the MSE newsletter and clicked on the 13-free-ways-to-relax-feel-good-and-look-after-yourself link. Meeting up with people is the first idea and they've suggested Meet Up and Eventbrite for ways to find local events and groups. I've heard of both before and my DD uses Meet Up. I thought it would be just for youngsters but a quick look and I can see local walking and cycling events - definitely something to bear in mind. The second thing is about being active which ties up with the above. I do need to get back to my running and I would like to do the odd walk. I'm really not enjoying the gym - even the yoga classes are a bit soulless. But they have suggested some online yoga classes such as Yoga for Runners (but there are loads more on Youtube). They've also suggested learning new skills - that is definitely one for me - so as well as yoga one skill I would love to improve is sewing - I do the odd thing, but I would love to do some clothes making. Learning new skills is also something I can do at work and need to pursue that. Finally, they've suggested mindfulness - I'm not keen on courses about mindfulness as I've done a few sessions but I like the idea of art as a way of being mindful and relaxing (and its learning too). I wanted to post this here as next time I feel life is a bit stale or I need to relax I will refer to it - with no excuses not to do something.

supersaver1000

Weekly shopping done yesterday. Trip to Aldi and Asda to the tune of £46.21 but still have cat food, coffee, spicy rice and bread to pick up from Sainsbugs. Not too bad though as I have stocked up on loo roll, kitchen towels and washing up liquid for a little while. I realised last night that I had doubled up on coleslaw so didn't need to spend the extra 45p in Aldi and then I did a Shopmium purchase of Tilda Rice for £1 but had bought the wrong packet so didn't get the £1 refund. I could return it for a refund if I am going there soon, will have to see, but need to be more vigilant if I'm going to stick to budget.

Saving for Xmas is going well, I'm scanning receipts and picking up points and pennies here and there so I'm not really noticing it affecting my monthly budget.

Ebay sales were all posted off in the week and I have just received another bid on an item. Plus I haven't sent the CS stuff off yet, but retrieved a cardi from the pile yesterday which goes with my new t-shirt. I then spotted my french connection top in the bag, and that can go on Ebay with the remaining 9 items. My PayPal account tends to pay for my monthly spotify fee - its a family one so £14.99 but I need to check with everyone whether we can get away with the free one again.

Fashion on the ration is at a bit of a stalemate at the moment. My new leggings were a bit big, but were comfy and I can always sew the sides in a bit if they are a real pain. Better than the too small ones and feeling like a string of sausages. :rotfl: My priority is to buy some new boots/shoes. I have seen some online but would rather take a trip to the city and try them on. Sadly it looks like my Debenhams returns - which were after the statement but before the DD - will be taken from this months payment. I'm not sure how that gets refunded so will need to give them a call. This hasn't happened before, normally refunds comes straight off the payment due and there was plenty of time. It just means cash will be down as I was hoping to have £200 to go out and choose my new footwear. May have to borrow from one of my accounts if I get the chance to go shopping - which is rare.

House funds for moving are on track. As is our plan to be totally debt-free and with our starter emergency fund in place at the same time too. Then as soon as we have our 6 month emergency fund in place I will be joining the mortgage free wannabe thread.

Planning to tackle my 'to do' list today - no hiding. Positives this weekend so far have been:

Yummy Saturday meal
DH washed up
Managed to watch to the end of a programme (3rd time lucky)
A whole Sunday to myself
Shopping virtually all done for the week and fairly to budget

supersaver1000

Happy to get back into the forum tonight.  After a bit of a look around I've found my 'bookmarks', updated my signature and turned off all the notifications that were filling up my inbox 

Had a gift voucher for £1.50 this week at a certain supermarket so used it today, with a little top up, to buy some tasty jam on offer, a box of maltesers and some biscuits for work.  I'm hovering around £72/week for food shopping, I had hoped to be at £65 but have still quite a bit in the cupboards so might pull it back  yet.

Christmas 2020 is well on track now, its been pretty easy to add bits here and there and I'm almost at my target for end of Feb now.

Had a result in the CS near work today.  Popped in to see if they had any long tops and managed to find a lovely white stuff linen blouse.  Great length and condition.  £4 only and it doesn't count against any vouchers in the Fashion on the Ration challenge cos its second hand.  If the weather isn't too bad on Sunday I may venture out to some of my local CSs to see if I can have any more luck.  Got my money back from Debenhams, so my next big purchase is a pair of boots, and I have found 3 pairs online.  The Fashion on the Ration challenge is really making me consider my purchases now though so I will have to think about this over the weekend.

Ebay sales are now at more of a trickle, but it looks like I will need to go to the PO again this week.  16 bags still to go to the CS - must get that sorted which will create loads more space.

supersaver1000

Well, I feel like its been a very positive day today.

Firstly, the blouse I purchased in the CS nearly went into the wash but a closer look and I realised it just needed a steam iron.  It really looks new, it was a bit stiff - does linen do that when its washed? - but a steam and it looks, feels (and smells) immaculate.  I had a look on White Stuff's website and similar blouses are £45.  I'm well chuffed paying only £4!

Then off to the shops where I have spent a grand total of £20.80 for the week.  It was helped by the stocking up I did last week, a few left over veggies and Mr SS being out one evening next week.  So far its brought my weekly average down to £55, which is comfortably under my anticipated target of £65 - so there is some wiggle room if top ups are needed (but hopefully not).  I also managed some cashbacks and receipt uploads which will go towards the Xmas 2020 fund - doing well there, am pleased to be doing that challenge.

I'm on the cusp of making a footwear purchase which will use up some of my Ration vouchers and almost £100.  I'm proud of myself for taking my time to really decide.  I tried on some of my clothes to make sure I would be happy with them fitting with my outfits.  In the process I sent a couple of things to the 'need to lose weight' shelf, but also rescued a few more items from the CS bags - whoops.  I really need to have another think about my wardrobe again as its getting a little cluttered again - and I also need to send those bags off!  I was hoping to have a browse round the CS shops tomorrow but as the weather is looking so bad I will leave it until next week (although I may be able to have a quick browse on Tuesday as I have an appointment in town early afternoon).  

Right, off to make dinner and then have another browse around the forum.  I like some of the features - such as it seems to remember the last page you were on and takes you there.   But some of it is really clunky and not intuitive at all.  Hopefully there will be improvements over the next few weeks as the teething problems are dealt with.  Just happy that it all works and I could log in again.

supersaver1000

Ordered my shoes - should arrive soon and hopefully they will fit.  Also found a top on the matalan website, via an instagram account I follow - it was £5, reduced from £12 so fingers crossed it fits too.  I then went and found some more shoes on another website, but I'm not sure I can order those before the others arrive - spending isn't coming easy to me these days  but I do need to finish sorting my wardrobe out.  Really looking forward to some more browsing around the charity shops.

I made a top up payment to my student loan account which, if my calculations are right, will make the next deduction from salary the last one.  So there should be no payment in April.  Really looking forward to having that paid in full.

Positives today:
Got a compliment about my work today;
Nice chat with colleagues;
Made a lovely spicy soup for dinner - new recipe and will use again;
Kitty cuddles;
Warm House;
Didn't get wet.

supersaver1000

Oh no!  Ordered another top.  £15ish including delivery (used a 10% off code).  Its got good reviews and a bit of stretch so hopefully the medium I have ordered will fit.  I feel like the capsule wardrobe is taking shape, but I need to have another look through using the guidelines again and this time be ruthless 

I do need to buy a coat/Jacket (or two) and another pair of shoes (or two) but the rest should really come from CS bargains - because they are low cost, coupon free and I feel like I am doing my bit for charity and the environment.

Lovely home cooked Dhal for tea, with rice, naan, yoghurt/mint and mango.  Delicious, warming and very filling.

Positives today:
Few chores done;
Short day at the paid stuff;
Capsule wardrobe is starting to come together;
Warm and dry inside tonight;
An ice-cream pud.