A Year to make a Difference

Thrice

So has anyone else been watching Marie Kondo on Netflix? Oh I'm just loving her! I know there is an old and long thread on here which I've never looked at before, as I suppose I wasn't really interested in tidying. Why tidy when the house is a building site??

It's been wonderful to watch, I'm about half way through the series and I've already started keeping boxes to use for storage :rotfl: It's funny as I've started clearing bags of excess stuff out the house, but I didn't look through anything properly, I just knew I wouldn't wear it or use it for the next 3 months to stored it. It will be good when we are bringing everything back to actually go through it all to see if we really want to keep it or not

I spoke to MrT last night about our spends on each other for birthday's and Christmas, and we agreed to keep it low this year. Normally we spend about £50+ for a birthday and over £100 each at Christmas, but there just isn't any need. We spend because we feel we should. So I've asked for two things, the Marie Kondo book and a set of beeswax paper so I can wrap my sandwiches etc to stop using cling film £26 was the amazon wish list I sent to him, which is a lot cheaper than normal!

Sumof999

morning Thrice just caught up with your diary I love it! Have you tried YNAB? It's brilliant for budgeting. I'm sat now just adding some extra categories, its changed the way I budget completely. Totally recommend doing the free trial. Hope the building work goes well this weekend.

Thrice

I've looked at YNAB before, but couldn't really get my head around it. I will look at it again though, I know a lot of people swear by it!

Well the weekend had passed quickly but with lots of progress! MrT has finished building the vestibule at the front door, gyp rock and everything! We will get the internal window put in hopefully this week, then I just need a door and it's done!

I decided to fold all the clothes in the drawers upstairs, my back is killing me now! Spent hours this afternoon doing it, just have the two bottom drawers left to do tomorrow. It's amazing the difference folding and stacking vertically like Marie Kondo recommends, I've got so much more space! MrT thought I was mad folding socks and pants, but he was suitably impressed when I was finished! Can't wait to actually read her book lol!

I've gathered up my receipts for the last week or so, my plan for tomorrow is to deduct these from my budget totals and see how my first half of the month is looking. Fingers crossed lol x

Thrice

I'm at this point in the month where nothing is really happening... I want to pay extra to things just to see the total come down again, but I don't have anything to give :rotfl:

I've been having a ponder regarding my supermarket vouches and what to spend them on. I have about £20 for Tesco and the same again for Morrisons. My plan was to use them to buy Christmas dinner and splash out on fancy stuff (The Best and The Finest ranges all the way :rotfl:) but we ended up just doing a cheap dinner and making the fancy stuff ourselves.

I don't know if I should use them to bulk buy some foods, like tinned toms or dried pasta. Or if I should keep them and use during the year for a birthday present or two, I can always buy a toy or pj's from either supermarket.

Maybe I'm just wanting to spend the vouchers to feel like I'm buying stuff, even though I don't need or want anything I've been on Boots website as I've got over £60 worth of points, keeping my eye on gift sets etc that I could use for birthdays etc this year, and also looking for stuff for me that I don't need.

I'm finding it easy to not spend cash money, but I'm finding myself looking more and more at spending 'free money' like my points and vouchers, even though I DON'T NEED OR WANT ANYTHING :o:o

I will resist. I'm not spending anything til at least February. There, I've said it so I'm sticking to it!!

Thrice

I managed to go the full weekend without spending ANYTHING, apart from my Lidl shop from my weekly budget!

I really wanted to go to Ikea to get the storage boxes that fit into my chest of drawers.... but I didn't!

And I wanted to go to Costco and stock up on toilet roll..... but I didn't!

NO SPEND JANUARY. NO SPEND JANUARY. NO SPEND JANUARY :o:o:o

Thrice

I've just checked my banking again and I've got £40.68 left til the end of the month, and I'm thinking, WHERE HAS ALL MY MONEY GONE? I've been so good, not bought anything this month, and still I've no money?

Then I realised I haven't touched my pots, cos I haven't sorted out those yearly costs yet! I've actually got £400 in separate pots waiting to be spent/allocated :T

My credit card statement has came through as well, £114.91 is all that's left on my smallest card, so I'll actually pay that off this month when I get paid :T

Roll on pay day on the 28th!

Guybrush_Threepwood

Well done on progress so far!! Keep going!

[Deleted User]

Thrice wrote: »

My credit card statement has came through as well, £114.91 is all that's left on my smallest card, so I'll actually pay that off this month when I get paid :T

What a great boost that will be for you, well done :T:j

Thrice

Morning all!

So I managed to NOT BUY ANYTHING AT THE WEEKEND :j:j

I still haven't spent any of my vouchers or points, spent nothing!

Payments today - I paid off my first credit card!! £114.91 PAID :T
Save The Change paid to my other credit card, £7.93. Not much, but it all adds up.

Budgeting - Moved £1.50 from my 'gifts' to my bank (bought a birthday card). Moved £5.00 from my 'clothing' to my bank (bought socks) and moved £5 from my 'car' to my bank (bought a car wash and hoovered it).

In other news, I got a 3% wage increase in work :j In all honesty I've had problems at work the last few months, I kinda felt like they were pushing me out, either to sack me or make me redundant. Nothing specific, just an overall feeling at work. It's a small office, I normally know all the goings on but the last few months it's been more and more secretive. So in my head, I was getting sacked. So when my boss asked last week for a meeting for my first ever Annual Review, I thought it was going to be a bad one, how wrong I was! 3% increase and I'll get another bonus this year (yaaay!!)
I was feeling pretty happy on Friday, which made a change lol!

Lastly, I think I've paid my Student Loan off! I'll need to look out my wage slips and phone them to confirm, but when I spoke to them earlier this year, they said that December should be my last payment. £51 a month before tax, so that should be noticeable in my wages when I stop paying it!

doingitanyway

You are doing great. Well done on paying off your student debt too.