Life is a minestrone as the song says - my new diary

teapot2

Karmacat wrote: »

As far as grocery shopping is concerned, I do one big shop a month, and then top up the frozen veg in person ... it does make it awkward if something isn't delivered (I changed back to Asda this month, as my £10-off vouchers from Sainsbo had stopped, and Asda only brought me 2 of 8 packets of pasta) but usually, it works really well. Do you do weekly shops? How about fortnightly?

Thanks KC, I shop online maybe twice a month and do in person top ups for bread and fresh fruit and veg etc. I just do an online order when I notice I'm getting low on lots of 'stuff'. Think I was really annoyed because @sda didn't give any warning about this. Think I'm going to try S@insbo for the next few shops.

beanielou wrote: »

I have to say I was less than impressed with some of the quality of the fresh stuff and some of the dates were really poor :mad:

I know, they are not the best with quality and dates for fruit and veg.

beanielou wrote: »

& have just checked & minimum order has indeed gone up to 40 quid.
I wont be using them again.

Me neither!!

teapot2

Karmacat wrote: »

The size of the shop needed is one reason I went to monthly shops - I spend anything between £60 and £80, but when its only once a month, thats well within budget.

Last months shopping including top ups was £120 :eek: so hoping to cut that down this month.

teapot2

I did get the grass cut this affy and did quite a bit of weeding as well.

Had a lentil, feta and fennel salad for tea which was quite yummy so would have that again. It would also be a good one to take into work for lunch. My default lunch is a cheese and chutney sarnie which gets a bit tedious sometimes.

Just chilled this evening and watched 'Killing Eve'. Going to post my sister's birthday pressie tomorrow so need to go and pack that up before bed......

beanielou

teapot2 wrote: »

Last months shopping including top ups was £120 :eek: so hoping to cut that down this month.

I think that is ok actually.

teapot2

beanielou wrote: »

I think that is ok actually.

Its not tooo bad but I'd like to drop even £10 or £20 off that maybe just some months though.

teapot2

I mentioned last week that I'd like to review where I'm up to financially after my 'another year older and deeper in debt' birthday moment.

My current debt is;

Sainsbo CC £2375
H S B C CC £658.60
H@lifax CC £381.58

these are all % CCs and I also have another that I put expenses ie food, vet bills etc on and pay off in full.

After my leaky roof, I also owe family £2500 so, my total debt is; £5915.18 :eek::eek:

I'll get my state pension in one year and 51 weeks and that will help a lot but I'm hoping I can pay off the majority if not all of the above debt by then as I'd like to be working less though I doubt I'll be in a position to retire at 66 years old :(.

My outgoings

I've worked out that I need to earn around £1000 a month minimum to service my debts, pay all my bills, eat, pay business expenses and cover the annual costs such as boiler servicing, home insurance, Christmas etc.

I'm building up my self employment again but it takes time and I've calculated that I'm at £800 a month earnings though its not completely consistent as people will be on holiday over the next few months.

I have been getting £100 a month Bereavement Support Allowance as OH was under retirement age when he died but that has now come to an end so I'll have to drastically cut my treats budget which is what I was using it for.

My earnings calculation also doesn't allow for saving anything much which I'd like to do eventually. I have around £4000 in the bank and am rebuilding my emergency fund after the roof leak and its currently at £330.

Karmacat

teapot2 wrote: »

My current debt is;

Sainsbo CC £2375
H S B C CC £658.60
H@lifax CC £381.58
these are all % CCs and I also have another that I put expenses ie food, vet bills etc on and pay off in full.

After my leaky roof, I also owe family £2500 so, my total debt is; £5915.18 :eek::eek:

I'm not surprised you want to pay it off asap, teapot, of course.

I'll get my state pension in one year and 51 weeks and that will help a lot but I'm hoping I can pay off the majority if not all of the above debt by then as I'd like to be working less though I doubt I'll be in a position to retire at 66 years old :(.

I'm really sorry to hear that

My outgoings
I've worked out that I need to earn around £1000 a month minimum to service my debts, pay all my bills, eat, pay business expenses and cover the annual costs such as boiler servicing, home insurance, Christmas etc.

I'm building up my self employment again but it takes time and I've calculated that I'm at £800 a month earnings though its not completely consistent as people will be on holiday over the next few months.

Okay, so another 25% of what you're currently earning. Is that doable? Do you have the time in the day to do that?

I have been getting £100 a month Bereavement Support Allowance as OH was under retirement age when he died but that has now come to an end so I'll have to drastically cut my treats budget which is what I was using it for.

I'm glad you got something, and used it wisely, but ... it seems so little

My earnings calculation also doesn't allow for saving anything much which I'd like to do eventually. I have around £4000 in the bank and am rebuilding my emergency fund after the roof leak and its currently at £330.

So you're still underwater, but not too far.

How ferocious are you on the shopping? Do you use dried beans and cook them in the slow cooker?
Have you done the whole dance with new utility deals recently?
How about selling some things? It's on my mind at the moment because the Winnie the Pooh book is coming up for auction in 10 days - but thats 3.5 years after my mother died, not 18 months, it might be too soon.
Something that would have me running for the hills these days: have you thought about renting out a room? Airbnb, Monday to Friday, course attendees (my local airport is very big, a national centre for training, and there's huge local demand for 5 days a week for 3 months - a lot of people make a decent amount of money from that, and still get to keep a lot of their privacy).

HTH.

beanielou

Great suggestiond from our Karmcat

teapot2

Karmacat wrote: »

I'm not surprised you want to pay it off asap, teapot, of course.

I'll slog away at it and see where I get to.......

I'm really sorry to hear that

Okay, so another 25% of what you're currently earning. Is that doable? Do you have the time in the day to do that?

Yes, I could do more if I can get the work plus I need to stop feeling sorry for people with little money and charging them less :o

I'm glad you got something, and used it wisely, but ... it seems so little

Its not a lot and I think it got cut back in the last few years

So you're still underwater, but not too far.

How ferocious are you on the shopping? Do you use dried beans and cook them in the slow cooker?

I have a big stash of beans and pulses I'm working through . I could probably up my ferocity on the shopping though I do cook from scratch every day.

Have you done the whole dance with new utility deals recently?

I did :cool: also send my meter readings in every month.

How about selling some things? It's on my mind at the moment because the Winnie the Pooh book is coming up for auction in 10 days - but thats 3.5 years after my mother died, not 18 months, it might be too soon.

There are some things I could sell. I've made a list but not done anything about them - might be reluctance on my part, not sure what its about though.

Something that would have me running for the hills these days: have you thought about renting out a room? Airbnb, Monday to Friday, course attendees (my local airport is very big, a national centre for training, and there's huge local demand for 5 days a week for 3 months - a lot of people make a decent amount of money from that, and still get to keep a lot of their privacy).

Not ready for that yet, though have thought about it.

HTH.

Thanks KC, I do appreciate suggestions, I know I need to do more so will probably try and push myself to list some stuff on selling sites. I 'should' also put my details on a work directory to try and drum up more business.

beanielou

If you could well stuff worth 38.15 then that would be 10% off your lowest CC
How is the big old furry boy?