redlaces vs £15,343.28

pidge04

Brilliant!

redlaces

Oh! And one more thing I forgot: from losing my grandad last year I got a small windfall in inheritance. My family is by no means rich, but lovely old grandad was a true saver and I got enough for a small emergency fund in the will. It's obviously not what I planned to do with any inheritance I got (I didn't expect any to be quite honest) as I'd rather have used it towards a deposit for a house, but it has certainly bought me a level of freedom I didn't have before. When my car needed £400 of repairs in January, that was a lifesaver, and with any luck I won't have to resort to credit cards in an emergency ever again!

Thanks Grandad, we miss you x

redlaces

A small, but important victory today.

I had to go to the shop on my lunch break to get more toiletries and something to put towards a friend's birthday present - I'm making her a photo collage so wanted a frame for it.

I was really craving sweet treats all day, but when I got to the checkout I resisted the choccies they had on the stands. A victory for both the wallet and the waistline!

So I'm going to put that £1 I would have frittered on chocolate towards one of my credit cards. In fact, I might do this every time I resist spending money on junk food!

redlaces

Urgh... so I had a small slipup the last couple of days.

My plans for the week far exceeded my budget and so I decided to just spend tons of money on drinking and related takeaway/food... trying to be kind to myself and forgive myself for it but I can't help thinking I've just hugely messed up this month by overspending.

Thinking about it rationally, in the grand scheme of things it's less than £100 that I've overspent by, but when your budget is tight that can make a lot of difference!

I really struggle because the sports club I'm a member of is incredibly good for my mental health (spending money on it is a non-negotiable because I get so much back from it and it has really changed my life since I joined last year), but being a member also comes with lots of social events and competitions which all cost money. I have also somehow fallen in with a crowd there that spend a lot of money and I struggle to keep my spending to a minimum when I'm there.

To complicate things further I still have those four weddings to go to this year and it's now the time when I'm having to pay deposits for rooms/hen dos/buy wedding gifts and it just seems like so much money that I'm haemorrhaging at the moment *cries*

redlaces

Okay, so after my brain dump last night I woke up with a much clearer head this morning and am focused on being more proactive!

I've decided that doing the odd survey here and there and making a fiver a week is not the best way for me to help to pay down my debts, so I've signed up to a local hospitality agency in the hope of picking up the odd shift here and there to make some extra cash. I also identified a couple of bits this morning that I can sell for some extra cash, to try and make up for the £100 I overspent this week!

Things are going to get better!