Working the numbers 2019 style

mark55man

Steps 2100 - lunchtime walk
NSD - Yes - no spend
Veggie - No - nice burger & bun supper at work
Health - may beer but no cake

save/make : free lunch at work - my colleague over ordered for some visitors and I got first tip off - its not what you know
clean/fix : not today- saving it for the weekend

mark55man

Steps 2100 - wonder around Mr S after work
MSD - Mr L for weekend food
Veggie - No - chicken fricasee
Health - no snacking, although I did supplement lunch with a flapjack from the chaity box

save/make : did my expenses after work - so not really making, but next week will be busy as well so don't want to miss the cut off
clean/fix : not today either - saving it for the weekend

will get some numbers up on the board for August as Sunday will be NSD and am trying for Saturday as well - plenty to do!!

mark55man

just in for the day now, so looked back over the thread since the start of the month, and here are the numbers - bit of a mixed bag
* Steps: Only 4 days where I did more than 5000 steps, and mostly was under 3000 - a tad sedantry
* NSD: Quite pleased 15 NSD's and a few LSD's (counting spends in cash and on cards)
* Vegan/Veggie - 3 vegan, 4 veggie

mark55man

More numbers. So had an excel brainwave, and decide to count the transactions following a forlorn and fruitless search for any non weekend day when something didn't happen on the accounts. So this is how many transactions reported against my usual totals:

• CAR - 7 tanks of petrol
• CASH - 4 withdrawals for holiday money and some boutique cafes not taking cards (not individually accounting cash purchases)
• CLOTHES - 1 - just the shoes
• COFFEE -11 - friends and family
• CRAFTS - 15 - lots of £5 shops online
• ENTERTAINMENT- 6 - friends and family picked up
• GROCERY - 37 - Wow - lots of little things. need to look at at that
• HOLIDAY - 3 - OH trip to Cornwall, very constrained
• LIFE - 18 mainly standing orders, but some one off/life gets in the way type purchases

IN all (including some money transfer, routine debt transactions) a total of 157 transactions which maybe explains why its hard to find a day without one.

Ho hum- something to think about perhaps, especially nearly 25% of them at the supermarket

ohdearhowdidthathappen

I don't think I'd be brave enough to look that closely at our transactions, although I'm sure it would be very telling!

mark55man

ha that's funny - I was away posting on yours!!

I did use count of transactions early on as a simplicity measure - I had got a bit out of hand with cleverness, but hadn't thought to look at each of my categories. I found it very telling - but I do need to take away the fixed (monthly) transaction and focus on discretionary ones

Its not always clear that less is better (ie a shop every day maybe better than one monstrous wasteful shop on pay day), but I think in my case its an indication of control, and out of control is not good for MSE

mark55man

Steps 1800
LSD - Just a breakfast at the community cafe DS2 is volunteering at
Veggie - No - EGB (English Gentlemen's Breakfast)
Health - well after EGB was pretty good

save/make : more spreadsheeting, but no actual money saved
clean/fix : dish wash and kitchen tidy

by the time you read this it will be September - how did that happen - but final third of the year - still on target for most things although been a bit of a roller coaster.

should have a nice cheap month no holiday, no car expenses, no biggies. fingers crossed

mark55man

Report back for August - a pretty good month, although mainly because now we have no school commitments we chose not to have any holiday this month

• Car £200 under usual budget
• Cash £85 over usual budget
• Clothes £60 under usual budget
• Coffee £20 over usual budget
• Crafts - one bargainous sewing machine over budget
• Entertainment - £100 under usual budget
• Grocery £180 under usual budget, so down to more MSE levels
• Holiday £170 under budget
• Kids £80 over budget (surprisingly as I thought it had been expensive this month - need to lo
• Amazon £90 over budget, but £60 was for work

So all in all a good few hundreds within budget, but a couple of spends committed last months took the gloss off a little bit. The ebb and flow of daily spends, sometimes seem to a huge impact on balances, but sometimes they have less impact than the annual things - still haven't got that balance right - but heading downwards so in a happy place I think

savingholmes

Great that your spends are more under control and that things are heading in the right direction

mark55man

Post for Tuesday - almost a day late

Steps - 1800
Veggie - No - Hotel supper
NSD - Yes
Weight - Healthy enough

Post for Wednesday
Steps - 5100 (yay) - lunchtime walk
Veggie - No - Hotel supper
NSD - Yes
Weight - Healthy enough

See what an exciting life I am leading ATM

Clean/fic/make/save - No. Although OH has been sorting out UC for DS2 and a contact who may have a new job for DS1

So well done OH!!