Simple, sustainable and slow: Glenda's MF marathon

GlendaSugarbean

Budget figures with 11 days to payday:

Groceries: £88
Fun money: £21
Savings pots (misc): £40

I also have a separate pot for birthdays (party to pay for later in the month).

GlendaSugarbean

Realised I had a leftover Xmas gift, so NSD3 achieved :j

GlendaSugarbean

Good morning! It's a beautiful day here, the sun is out and I have a long list of Things to Do. Which means I'm still lazing in bed with a coffee.

Last week's goals went pretty well - I managed 3 NSDs, but I went over on my grocery spend which was closer to £70 than £60. That did include essential monthly cleaning and toiletry supplies, so not too bad. However this week I have just over £80 in the budget to cover a weekly shop, cat food and at least 2 top up shops. Need to stay focused!

Plan for next week:

- 3 NSDs
- Keep grocery spends in budget
- Keep personal spends under £20 (this includes a lunch out next week)
- If possible, don't dip into my £40 buffer. Any remaining by payday to go to a mortgage OP
- Get on top of laundry and housework (today's job)
- Get outside every day

GlendaSugarbean

Lunch out was really nice, and came in under budget. £8 left in personal spends for the week.

Aiming for my first NSD this week, but we do need milk and bread so I may need to do a top up shop.

GlendaSugarbean

Weekly grocery shop done: £51 :eek: so £6 over budget . Shuffled a pot to cover the shortfall. Now to ensure NO money on food until payday next week!

2 NSDs so far this week, aiming for a third tomorrow.

GlendaSugarbean

NSD 3 achieved :j.

GlendaSugarbean

Weekend check in:

- 3 days until payday
- Grocery budget at minus £6 (actually 0 now I've done a bit of shuffling)
- Personal spends £8
- Pots and small savings £40

Charity shop diving today, so some of the pots may be spent (clothes budget) if I can find anything suitable. But no lunches out or expensive coffee shops!

GlendaSugarbean

That was a very successful trawl through the charity shops - work trousers for me and some great quality clothes for DH and the kids. Slightly over budget but still on track overall .

GlendaSugarbean

A lovely quiet and sunny day with the kids today. And a rarely spotted weekend NSD :j.

Dinner is cooking, think I might trawl the cupboards for flapjack ingredients while I have the oven on.

Goals for next week:

- £3 left in the budget until payday (thankfully that's Tuesday )
- Aim for 3 NSDs
-Rejig YNAB budget and redo some categories
- Fill my pots and see if I have enough left over for an extra OP
- Grocery and household spends no more than £70
- NO FRIVOLOUS SPENDING

GlendaSugarbean

Payday today, woohoo! I had a warm glow when I saw my healthy bank balance, but it soon faded as YNAB meticulously ate all my money and turned out a realistic budget . I was sensible and made sure to budget for a couple of extra items I know are coming up this month, including a probably holiday expense.

This has meant I haven't quite hit my monthly target for OPs, but I rounded down the balance and don't have far to go. I have a pretty healthy grocery and spending budget this month, so there is an opportunity to save there if I am FRUGAL and ORGANISED.

Jan/Feb totals:

Mortgage: £160,850 / £171,000
EF: £1925 / £3000 (end of year target)
Groceries: £400
Fun money (incl. half term): £250

Total OPs this month: £121.57 / £134.50

I can also report my first NSD of the week, but last week's impressive 4 NSDs are likely to be offset by an extra Bought Lunch this week due to work commitments. So I'm aiming for 2 NSDs but would be happy with 3 .