New plan...time to see some movement!

jwil

Declutter update:

Decluttering 2019:

1669-1674. Toy cars
1675. Hair trimmer set
1676-81. Torches
1682-86. Pens
1687-1690. Socks
1691. Headphones
1692. Pen
1693. Cup
1694. Tin
1695. Toy
1697-1716. Toy cars
1717. Floppy disc
1718. CD
1719-1720. Coats
1721-1722. DVDs
1723-1737. Clothing
1738. Playset
1730. Toy car set
1731-1740. Toys
1741. Play tent
1742. Ball
1743. Cards
1744. Action figure
1745. Display stand
1746. Bottle of bacardi

Decluttering 2019 totals:
Books: 86
Magazines/papers: 178
Ebay parcels: 757
Other: 1746

Total: 2767

Ebay listings: 799

Survey/other earnings:
Amazon: £88
Paypal/cash: £291.38
Other vouchers:£42

jwil

The declutter update doesn't include what DH has done this week as he's keeping his own list and will let me have it at the end of the week.

We're not doing bad really.

Just went to check my current weight on the SW website, and looking at the graph, it was slowly and steadily downhill until I went away and went off plan. Since then (July!) I haven't been able to get back on track properly. Just been gaining and losing the same lbs again.

I guess that tells me I can do it, I got thrown off course when I was on holiday, I just need to get back on track again.

I'm glad we're getting to the end of the year, I feel like I need a fresh start again. Wipe the slate clean.

I'd like to get to my 2st award before the end of the year. That is what I wanted to achieve. I'm 4.5lb away plus whatever I've gained tonight. It should be doable, I just need to focus.

jwil

Well this month seems to be a return to the bad old days. I woke up to find myself massively overdrawn!

I'd obviously miscalculated what I had left, and had forgotten the swimming DDs and the fact that I had to pay an additional session for nursery and after school. Also, I'd set up new DDs for various bills on the new joint account, and because I'd taken advantage of the option of moving the dates to the first of the month, some of the amounts varied and were higher than normal as a one-off. We also cleared the outstanding overdraft from our old joint account so that is what has caused the biggest impact.

I've scraped money from everywhere I can find it, and have managed to get back in the black (I won't get hit by fees as long as I'm in credit by 2.30pm). I'm glad it's sorted but I have zero money for the rest of the month :eek:

I guess that means I'm back to ebay to try and raise some cash. I've got plenty of food in the freezer and cupboards and a bit of cash in my purse. I've got some clubcard vouchers which conveniently arrived the other day. All the bills are paid and I have a full tank in the car. It's not a crisis situation, just very inconvenient. When CB comes in later this month, that will cover little miss's birthday gift and another gift which needs to be covered. In the meantime I shall try and get some amazon vouchers towards it. DH will of course be buying food etc anyway.

Happy days! It's a pain, but I am still in so much a better position than before, I am very grateful for that.

I put on 5.5lb last night :eek: That is truly disgusting and that's 8lb over 2 weeks. I have got to draw the line and stop now. I purchased the countdown last night so at least my membership is covered and I won't be able to use it as an excuse to drop it. I also get a free book which I will sell on ebay to recoup some of the costs.

I did a meal plan yesterday, but that will need to be revised now, taking into account my new situation. I'll have a look over the weekend so I haven't been shopping yet.

I've woken with a splitting headache this morning, and feel particularly grotty, but overall I don't have the massive blackness that has been overwhelming me recently. That is a good thing for today, and I shall try and take advantage of it.

I think having that day of quiet yesterday has really helped me. I must not forget the value I gain from simply being alone and having time to do things and think without constant interruptions.

So, I need to revisit the budget and make sure I know exactly what is coming out on the 1st of the month in future. I need to get some extra funds in, not only to cover this month, but also put towards Christmas. All the extra costs won't be there next month, but I don't want to be in that situation again.

After Christmas it's time to knuckle down and sort out the EF.

jwil

Just logged in to submit meter readings and it recommended I reduce my monthly payment by £12 :T I could set my own amount, so changed by £11 so it was a round number :rotfl: We've got a nice credit which should see us through the winter so happy to see how it goes.

doingitanyway

Well done for picking upon the OD balance quickly and getting back into the black.

Sorry about the weight gain but you were expecting it and now you have the countdown to keep you on track.

Yay for a reduced energy cost

pennywisepoundstupid

Morning Jwil.

Sorry you had a nasty shock with the OD but as you said you managed to scrape together enough to cover it and all bills are paid which is a positive.
Could you use this month as a mini challenge to see how little you can spend on groceries and how much you can make on ebay?
Do a stock take of your cupboards and freezer and make meal plans around it, lidl/aldi are great for cheap veg which is perfect for this time of year as it's now officially soup season in my house and I always seem to have a pot of something on the go, a great cupboard soup I make when times are lean is a tomato and lentil soup, couple of tins of tomatoes, carrots, onion, lentils, garlic, stock and seasoning, add water depending on how thick you like your soup and serve with some grated cheese on top, really cheap to make, filling and tastes yummy.

Excellent news about the reduced energy which is one less thing to worry about especially at this time of year.
Hope you have a great weekend x

jwil

doingitanyway wrote: »

Well done for picking upon the OD balance quickly and getting back into the black.

Sorry about the weight gain but you were expecting it and now you have the countdown to keep you on track.

Yay for a reduced energy cost

Thank you.

pennywisepoundstupid wrote: »

Morning Jwil.

Sorry you had a nasty shock with the OD but as you said you managed to scrape together enough to cover it and all bills are paid which is a positive.
Could you use this month as a mini challenge to see how little you can spend on groceries and how much you can make on ebay?
Do a stock take of your cupboards and freezer and make meal plans around it, lidl/aldi are great for cheap veg which is perfect for this time of year as it's now officially soup season in my house and I always seem to have a pot of something on the go, a great cupboard soup I make when times are lean is a tomato and lentil soup, couple of tins of tomatoes, carrots, onion, lentils, garlic, stock and seasoning, add water depending on how thick you like your soup and serve with some grated cheese on top, really cheap to make, filling and tastes yummy.

Excellent news about the reduced energy which is one less thing to worry about especially at this time of year.
Hope you have a great weekend x

Thank you Yes, we'll definitely be eating out of the freezers and cupboards. I like to run them down periodically anyway.

Your soup recipe sounds good, I'll give that a go thank you

jwil

I went shopping this morning with a strict budget and I managed to stick to it (was actually £10 less and got everything bar a couple of bits which I decided I could do without) :T

The kids and DH are sorting through some toys, trying to put sets back together so we can sell them. I'm doing some listing for DH. I've pulled out a couple of bits for me to sell, so will try and get them on this weekend.

Best news is - I've had a cheque in the post from HMRC for almost £200 :T :T :T :T :T :T It says the accompanying letter is coming separately so I can only assume it's a tax refund for the ppi claim. I'm so amazed, I wasn't expecting anything. Chuffed to bits It sorts me out for this month, but I'm going to try not to use it for general living, and will continue as planned to try and raise some cash.

NeverendingDMP

Wow talk about good timing. Well done on spotting and manging to fix your overdraft issue on the same day. We all have slip ups from time to time but you saw it and fixed it. Just shows why we all should check our accounts often eh. Hopefully you dont need to use the tax refund so it can feel like a true windfall.
I saw you had sent off for it so i applied the otherday. If i get mine its only about 20 quid i think but better in our pocket than theres x

Kitten868

Omg! What a result! HMRC swooping in to the rescue for once. That's amazing! So pleased for you jwil xxxx