11-week diary: £100 and 1lb per week

litepay

Hi everyone. Posting in this section as my main concern is overspending. Also, just realised this morning that there are 11 weeks left until Christmas and I weigh 11lbs more than I want to... so I decided to do a little experiment and give my budget, my diet, and my fitness level a makeover. I have good income and no credit card debt, but I'm spending like there's no tomorrow and there is nothing to show for it. Also, I gained a lot of weight after Easter and I want to lose it - mostly by becoming more active and by eating less junk.

Current situation:

• Money: OK income, high mortgage, no credit card debt, no loans. After all bills and direct debits, regular expenses (transport, childcare, clubs, school lunches), savings, and grocery spend is budgeted for, I'm left with about £430-440 per month, which should be more than enough to live on. This spend will include eating out, fun days, clothes, shoes, cosmetics, presents and any other stuff that comes up. It's not a small budget, but I'm known to overspend on silly stuff like 2 flat whites and 2 croissants a day. Apart from my child needing a coat and me some winter boots for work, we don't need any clothes. (I'm a single parent, btw).
• Diet: current weight 10st 11lbs. My normal weight up until earlier this year was 10st and that's where I'd like to be. I have a soft spot for bread, croissants, pastas and flat whites. Oh, and for eating out...
• Fitness level: low. Walking about 30 mins daily, to/from train station and sometimes cycling or walking in the park at weekends, but not always. One hour of yoga per week (if that!). 1-hr tennis class on Saturday mornings. I LOVE tennis and I should find a way to play more. Also, I'm ashamed to admit that I paid for an annual gym membership (classes only) and I'm totally under-using it... Last but not least, I need to start running again. 5K twice a week would be ideal, but let's aim for 1x minimum...

My 11-week plan:

• Money: spend less than £100 each week and save the rest - to a separate savings account.
• Diet: eat less sugar and carbs: NO to pasta, pizza, bread, croissants, cake, sweets. Rice and potatoes fine, but less often.
• Fitness: yoga at least 1x / week; 1x boxercise OR zumba class every week, and running at least 1x 30-min running / week.

The diary is meant to help me with all of the above so I'll probably update frequently. Wish me luck and if anyone wants to join in, you're welcome!

[Deleted User]

Good luck x

Choccygirl123

I think that's a great idea. Christmas will be here before we know and losing the weight before helps with damage limitation after. You sound like you're really motivated! Good luck x

Working_Mum

Welcome to the Forum!
I am self employed and each Thursday I give myself £150 FFF (fun, fuel, food) money - I always put £30 worth of fuel in my car each week (in case I end up short the following week I know I can use my car!) but it also means I accrue a bit of unused fuel in my car each week which is useful if I need to go on a long journey or I am unable to pay myself one week for some reason.

Are there definitely 4 weeks in between your pay days?? You could get caught out as October is often a 5 week month and your first month could be stymied!

I write everything down I spend in a book and this shows where I can make savings. I know I hoard food when I am stressed because of my Spends Book!! I find it really mindful to ask for a receipt and then update it in my spends book plus it has the added benefit of demonstrating budgetting and money management to my 2 children!

Good luck with your journey!

litepay

Thanks everyone. I am indeed motivated, hope it lasts!

@Working Mum: love your FFF acronym! I use YNAB for my budgeting and it has a mobile app, so I log in everything - which is how I know I spend too much on stupid stuff. I get paid monthly but I budgeted £440 per month for everyday spending, which should be fine, as there are 4.33 weeks in a month, on average

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

Scott-Weiland

Good luck on your journey and the dieting x

litepay

Thank you both!

Had a tiring day today at work, luckily I'm off work tomorrow and will get to relax in the afternoon, once my dentist appointment is over (ouch). Today's report:


Money: Went out to lunch with colleagues, £14 damage. I work from home 3 days / week and as a result I'm being very sociable when I do go in, and I always spend too much money... On the plus side, I did not go out for coffee, I made my own - I use a cafetiere at work. Also on the plus side: I got a cheque from the solicitor that I used for remortgaging earlier this year, £84... this was totally unexpected. I'm going to the dentist tomorrow so I'm putting the money to good use; my dental insurance only covers 75% of the costs and it'll be a hefty bill as it's a crown replacement so yeah...

I've also checked MSE for my e.on electricity & gas deal, apparently I'm on a cheap one so no changes there. No other bills to review for now...

Diet: yogurt for breakfast, mushroom risotto for lunch, snacked on almonds at work, dark chocolate with seasalt (weird taste!), then a big salad for dinner. I could use a glass of wine right now, but I don't have anything at home and not going out this weekend so that's that.

Fitness: not much, just walking to/from train station at home and at work, plus lunchtime walking. All in all this means 50 minutes walking. I booked zumba and yoga for tomorrow evening though! And I'm going to start tracking steps and running soon. I've recently switched Internet providers - signed up with Vodafone several weeks ago and I got a free gift - which I can order starting tomorrow, and it's going to be a Fitbit Charge 2, yay. It's the type of gadget that I'd never buy for myself, but I'll give it a try since it's free...

litepay

Quick daily report:

Money: had to pay for a school trip today, but I'm way below £100 for this week, all good - for now. Dentist has not charged me yet as the final session is in two weeks from now. Very expensive but part of it is covered by dental insurance from work.

In other money news, I read in the Bank accounts section that I might be eligible (again) for double blue rewards from Barclays, if I fully switch an account (an old Santander account) to them before mid November. I made a branch appointment next week to see if that's true, can't switch online as I'm an existing Barclays customer. That would mean £24 each month in rewards, less the £3 fee. I already used the double blue rewards promotion earlier this year, so I'm not entirely sure I qualify again, but the T&Cs seem to suggest so. We shall see.

Diet: not feeling like eating too much, but I'm craving chocolate, not sure why. Both lunch and dinner were low carb but I had some after eights in the afternoon, naughty me. I need to get on the scales tomorrow morning, to see where I am.

Fitness: been a really good girl, went to zumba AND yoga tonight, feeling great now. Tennis tomorrow if it doesn't rain. I ordered the free* Fitbit Charge today, I'm excited even though I haven't started running yet but I can use it for tracking steps. The email says it can take up to 30 days to arrive though, so we'll see.


*This was a very good provider switch from Sky to Vodafone, I got fibre Internet for 18 months for £20/month (it also includes the line rental "free"), and also got the Fitbit as a switch gift. It's worth reviewing bills all the time. Next up is my mobile phone contract, but not until January. I'm paying way too much for mobile, £36 /month. It includes the phone but even so...

ImpulseSpender

Good news about the bank switching and rewards!

Ah how exciting about the fitbit! I love my fitbit, since having it I've definitely upped my steps and I've started running. I know what you mean about mobile phone contracts, mine is £67 a month :eek: I can switch in November thankfully, so I'll be switching to a sim only deal at £20 a month

litepay

Two hours of tennis this morning, I'm shattered and I still need to tidy up the flat. My child's at a b-day party and I've done all the shopping so once I tidy up a bit I can put my feet up. Tomorrow is supposed to be raining and we don't have anything planned yet.

Not much else to report today, apart from weight 10 st 9 lb, I'm on the right track, 9-10lbs to go!

Have a great day everyone!