Taking back the control

Thick_n_Thin

I’ve ran a few quotes through Quidco but can’t seem to find the cover that I need for a cheaper price, I may just go through a normal price comparison site for a like for like quote as I don’t want to compromise my level of cover for the sake of £50 cash back. My goal is to try and reduce my monthly premium by £10. Long term I want to be able to pay big annual expenses up front so it’s one less thing to pay monthly. My OH car insurance is due around June and so is the house insurance so I would love to be able to pay these in full. I can’t wait to start saving into my pots for these each month. Today I am going to work on my February budget as I have some more big expenditure this month, my car mot and service has just been booked in which is £239 and my gas and electricity bill is £385 so I will have to trim the budget yet again for February. I am holding onto my big win from this month of almost completely clearing my overdraft. Pay day is 10 days and counting.

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3 days until pay day. This has been the longest month ever. Sadly due to unforeseen expenses I have had to dip into my overdraft but I haven’t gone over £100 which I am still happy with considering it was £800 before Xmas. February will still be tight but I am going to get stuck into eBay again to try and get the last £100 gone by end of February.

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So I have finally been paid! I had forgotten about a couple of hours overtime I worked over Christmas so I was pleased to see it in my bank account this morning. I have decided to bite the bullet and just clear my overdraft completely! So as of today I have no overdraft and I don’t ever want to drift into that territory again, it’s just so easy to keep increasing it when temptation strikes so I really need to keep my daily expenditure under control especially when it comes to food and alcohol as this is what always tips me into the red!
Another thing I have done is pay myself 1st, I have set up a separate savings account and I have £137 personal spends this month, straight away I have saved £40 into this account and I plan on doing this each month. I also have a xmas savings account which I will start to save into from next month. This leaves me with £24 per week for myself, this should be more than doable, I don’t need to buy anything except for some coulor root spray for my hair which is £8.99. I have managed to stretch my hair appointments out and haven’t been since mid November so I have now officially missed 2 appointments, tbh it dosnt look too bad as long as I keep the roots touched up with the spray it will be ok for another month, I think the days of going to the hairdresser every 3-4 weeks will need to become a thing of the past if I plan to control the budget but I don’t want to look untidy so I will play this one by ear! I am also going to attempt to do my own nails! Again we will see how this one goes!

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So in order to keep myself occupied this month I plan on doing the following,

*Finish the book I am reading and read another book for February
* watch the films/box sets on my watchlist
* use gym membership and go 3 times per week
* practice my home manicure skills
* have a home spa evening once per week to use the toiletries that I got for Xmas
* declutter my wardrobe and reorganise/make some new outfits from what I already own
* eBay any clothes I no longer wear
* keep on top of my housework so my days off are not spent cleaning
* visit some free local attractions (museums/art gallery if I feel I need a day out)
* go for a winter walk
* try out a new recipe from my cookbook collection

Think that’s enough for when the temptation to spend money strikes!

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So apart from taking my car for its service and MOT I have managed a no spend day. I was going to do my weekly shop but a quick scan of the freezer and cupboards means I can put this off until Sunday. I have being dying for a glass of wine but managed to resist the pull and am going to have a can of Diet Coke instead! I have finished my book so just need to pick another one to get started on, I don’t plan on buying any books for my 12 month challenge, I have 3 that I need to read of my own and my mum is an avid reader and has some to pass on to me, I also plan to resurrect my library membership as well if I need to. I have declutterd 5 items into a charity bag as well today and kept on top of some household chores so the house is looking tidy going into the weekend. I’m aiming for a no spend day tomorrow and I’ll do my weekly shop on Sunday with a list and need to come in under £50!

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Quick update from yesterday, managed to avoid the lure of the coffee shop on the way into work and made myself a cup instead when I got into work so saved myself £2.75. Took lunch in with me so no spend there either, on my way home decided to pop into home bargains for toothpaste and mouthwash and ended up spending £16 on bits and bobs, a bottle of wine also found its way into the basket but it was quite nice and also £1 cheaper than my usual bottle in Aldi. My resolve was then weakened on the drive home and I decided to treat us to a chippy tea ( I’m taking consolation that this is quite a rare event) and spent £8.50 however I will take this from my personal spends. So I now have £35 to do my weekly food shop, will definitely need a list this week. My personal spends have been withdrawn and I am allowing myself £30 this week £20 in week 2, £30 in week 3 and £20 in week 4. I am hoping to also save £10 out of this too. The only things I need to buy are some root spray for my hair and a new home card and a stamp. So should be ok with this amount as long as there are no unexpected surprises.

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So today for the 1st time I made a shopping list and apart from 2 low cost items (parsnips and potatoes) I stuck to the list and was delighted when i came in 62p under my £35 budget! All meals are catered for for the next week and we have enough bread and milk in to avoid any mid week top up shops. Really optimistic now that a £200 budget is doable for the month as long as I have my list.
I’m going to set myself another mini challenge to reduce the next gas and electricity bill that will be due around April, I will dig out my last years bill and aim to reduce by 20%. I have reset the timer on my lights to come on a little later as the nights are starting to draw out a bit more, I have reset the boiler to go on for 1 hr in the morning and then to come on at 5pm and off again at 9pm, normally it’s on until at least 11pm each night which is wasteful. Today I did 2 loads of washing but chose the quick 14 min cycle and didn’t use the dryer. Need another focus to keep me on the straight and narrow in between pay days!

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Just reviewed my April bill for gas and electricity and it was £362.18 so my aim is to get this under the £300 mark! Just need to get OH on board.

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So OH is on board with my mission to reduce the gas/electric usage and didn’t moan when the heating went off at 9pm last night, he has been off work and hasn’t had the heating on while I’ve been at work either but has been putting layers on instead of sitting in shorts and a t shirt. I’ve had 3 no spend days in a run which I’m pleased with I still have £21.50 in my personal spends for this week to last me until Friday. I have turned down meeting some friends for drinks on Friday as I don’t want to blow my budget. I felt a bit weird but I have to practice saying no to things that I can’t afford. Besides it’s too cold to go out at the moment I would rather save the money tbh and do stuff when the weather is a bit milder. All my direct debits are matching my budget for the month so far so as long as I avoid the midweek dash to Aldi for ‘bits’ I will stay out of my overdraft. My secret challenge for this week is to get to Friday with my £21.50 still in tact. If it is I am going to put it in my savings jar!

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Plans for today,
A NSD
Start a new book
Clean bathroom
Hoover through
Fold laundry and put away
Washing on 30 and short cycle
Submitt meter readings to try and keep my next bill as accurate as possible
Heating off apart from this evening 5-9pm
Make a start on organising my wardrobe and create another pile for eBay.