Taking back the control

Thick_n_Thin

Day off today... I was hoping for a long lie in after a busy few days but was wide awake at 6am, finally gave up trying to fall back asleep and got up at 7am, I’m currently sitting with my blanket and my book watching BBC breakfast whilst OH is still snoozing!
Plan for today...
Wait until a more reasonable hour to wake OH and then will make breakfast, I’m thinking mushrooms ( need using up) with wilted spinach (also needs using up) eggs for OH ( I don’t eat eggs) and avocado for me with some toast, and several cups of coffee. I then need to take my tree down.. I hate hate hate this task, I then need to get OH to put it straight in the loft otherwise it will linger in the spare room for weeks. I will need a few things from Ald& so will do a bit of an inventory of the fridge/freezer and cupboards and need a bit of a meal plan for the next week as my weekly food budget until the end of January is £40!! Can this be done? This needs to cover everything including toiletries ( only toothpaste really as we got loads of stuff over Christmas, maybe loo rolls) all cleaning stuff ( maybe only washing up liquid as I have loads of stuff) no packed lunch items will be required this week as we are both off work so if I plan and don’t stray from my list!
I need to change my bed linen today but I will need to use the dryer, I have been pretty good over the winter with minimising the usage on this but I can’t bear having wet towels or sheets hanging around on airers for days!
My gas and electricity bill is due soon which I am dreading, last January it was around the £350 mark so I am bracing myself for this. Both cars also need servicing as well at the end of the month and MOT is due on mine. I think February will also be very tight!

Thick_n_Thin

So tree is down now and I have given everywhere a good clean, house feels less cluttered and I have stripped the bed put fresh sheets on. I haven’t done a food shop as I think I will carry on with my quest to run down bits and pieces from the fridge and freezer, I’m becoming a bit obsessed with using bits and pieces up.
Tonight’s meals will be...
OH - meat pie from freezer, the remainder of some roast potatoes again from the freezer, mixed veg, stuffing and gravy.
Me - their is a small aubergine that needs using up so I’m going to roast this with some other veggies and then I have some frozen cous cous which I will use up. So I have managed to delay the weekly shop by another day, I’ll definitely need to go out tomorrow though!

Thick_n_Thin

So plans for today
Going to an exercise class today, I need to restart a sensible eating plan and exercise routine, I have let things slide over the last 12 months resulting in around a 2 stone weight gain. My eating habits are very disorded and I need to sort this out this year as it makes me depressed and then I am more likely to overspend,
So 3 things to do today that I am classing as self care
1, go to class
2, eat sensibility, fruit and veg, no chocolate or crisps
3, no alcohol ( going to start dry January today)
4, drink 2 litres of water
5, file and shape nails ( no money in budget this month for pampering)

Need to do the food shop today, I have a £40 budget for the week so I will definitely need a list this week.
One of my goals for 2020 is to read 12 books this year so 1 per month, I am half way through one atm so I would like to do some reading today to make some progress!

Thick_n_Thin

So I have done my exercise class, and I feel a new sense of motivation and enthusiasm to restart my health regime, I’m going to do another 2 classes this week and commit to 3 classes a week for the foreseeable future, when I feel a little fitter and the nights are a bit lighter I’ll start right running again. Determined not to have any alcohol today.
Did my weekly shop earlier and had a £40 budget, it came to £53. I was tempted by a pinch of nom cookbook which was £5 that will obviously be paid back out of my personal spends, then £5 was for some bits and bobs for my mum, I won’t take the money of her for this as she is always buying me bits and bobs, so I feel like a £3 overspend isn’t too bad. I did put a few unnecessary items in the trolly but half way round I decided that I didn’t really need them so put them back, this probably saved me another £5.

Thick_n_Thin

So current financial situation as follows,
Next pay day 24/1/19

Money in current account - £111 enough to cover my final direct debit of the month. After that I will fall into overdraft, so my aim is not to use my debit card at all now.

Money in food shopping envelope - £ 80
We have enough food to last until the end of this week in. This means I then have £40 per week until I get paid again. This will be my biggest challenge for the rest of the month.

Dental treatment cost £28 initial check up and x ray however I have been told I need some further treatment which will cost aprox £275 on the nhs or £650 if I go private. I have a few days to decide but it’s a bit of a no brainier to go on the nhs however the dentist has said it’s a lower success rate on the nhs!

It has really bought it home to me how close we live pay packet to pay packet and don’t have any provisions in place for emergencies. We are lucky enough to have £2.6k in emergancy savings but I really see that as savings for unemployment or illness that we would need to pay essential bills, even that isn’t enough to cover us for a month. I really need a separate pot for medical emergencies such as opticians/dental ect but every time I set my pots up they seem to get wiped out for something or another.
In January I have the following due,
Car tax and mot
Gas and electricity bill
Dental treatment ( if I don’t raid savings)
So anything that I wanted to save into my pots will be wiped out straight away!

Thick_n_Thin

Yesterday I spent the afternoon sorting out my file that holds all my financial paperwork. I got rid of loads of old statements, some went back as far as 2005!
I have found all my paperwork relating to my ISA, I have decided to wait until I get my March statement to see how it has performed over the last 12 months and then make a decision, my gut is telling me to close it and re-invest the money elsewhere, possibly into premium bonds but I will make that desision nearer the time.
My car pcp has another 12 months, I thought it was due to end in 2020 but I am glad the desision has been made for me as I didn’t really want to give my car up just yet, I have another 12 months to mull this one over.
My pension statements have all been shredded as it’s now all available online, I rang them and reset my password so I now have access to this, just need to get OH sorted out now.
Couldn’t find any info relating to our life insurance policy’s but I think this may all be on line, I need to look at this as a matter of urgency as I do think I’m paying over the odds for this now.
My car insurance is due at the start of Feb , I ran the info through a comparison site yesterday and I think I can easily shave £10 per month of the monthly premiums.
I have set myself a little mini challenge for the next month to try and shave £50 of our monthly outgoings ( not including food shopping) but from direct debits so my 1st points of call are the life insurance and the car insurance!

Thick_n_Thin

Money saving plans for today...

Wrap and post eBay package for item sold at weekend. Only a couple of pounds but will let all the little sales add up. Not doing much with eBay at the moment, I’ve run out of steam but need to get back into this soon.
Small wash on quickest cycle, I have a 14 minute cycle that I need to get used to using instead of the 30 min one.
I need to buy a loaf but apart from that should be a nsd. All meals will come from what we have in.
I have managed to find my log in details for my life insurance so I should give them a call to discuss the policy and either see if it could be ammended or look at cancelling it all together and setting up a new policy.

Thick_n_Thin

Not much happening at the moment, current account is empty and I have no spare cash, providing I don’t use my debit card for anything I will stay out of my overdraft this month which actually means I will of paid off £850 in one month which I am pretty pleased with ....
However I need petrol and I have £80 in the shopping budget to last me until the 24th.. can I do this?
Trying to stay focused on good habits that stop me spending money and little ways that save money every day, getting inventive with fridge bits and bobs now to try and avoid the mid week top up shops that always blow my budget. Tonight we had grilled vegetables, pasta pesto with sausage, it was pretty nice as well, usually I would of just nipped to Tesco which would of resulted in a £20 spend easily!

Thick_n_Thin

Operation stay out of overdraft continues... no unplanned spends for today, will need petrol at some point today but I’m hoping if I put £20 in and drive mindfully over the next 2 weeks it should last, I don’t do many miles and we use OH car more so should be ok, I will need a loaf and some eggs but can put if the main shop until tomorrow, I will continue with my freezer rummaging for tonight’s evening meal!

Thick_n_Thin

Car insurance renewal quote has arrived £460 which is the same as last year however I believe I can shave £100 or £10 per month of this if I shop around so that’s the next task on my list.