New challenges for OrangeFairy 😝 24 May 2019 at 10:54PM in Debt Free Diaries 34 replies 3K views

OrangeFairy

Income after tax and pensions
Hubby 2040
Me 1708
Total 3748

Hubby outgoings
Mortgage 931
Car finance 375
Car service plan 30
Phone and broadband 32
Fuel 140
Money to his son 80
Mobile 19
Car tax and ins 70

Total £1677
Left £363

My outgoings
Electric and gas 85
Water 75
Tv license 14
Council tax 170
Clubs 25
Life ins 60
House ins 25
Food 250
Phone (me and DDs) 40
Transport bus 20
Netflix 10
School dinners 50
Pocket money 35

Total 859
Left over 849

Total household disposable income £1212

So it’s not bad.

Out of this left over figure I need to make a budget to cover all sorts of expenditure like presents, entertainment, Xmas, holiday, savings etc
This is my challenge over the next week

I will be sending hubby £200 a month to even out our left over

Right off to pack for Glasgow

PurpleFairy26

Hey OF was thinking of you the other day when I was looking through some old subscribed diaries and wondered how you were doing. Excellent news on the house

OrangeFairy

Hi PF- another familiar ‘face’....how are you?

It seems like an age since I was on here properly but it is a place that motivates me ��

OrangeFairy

Well we are currently in Scotland.... picked up our new car and am now travelling back home to Devon over two days!

What a trek......car-plane-bus-train-taxi from our Devon door step to our Scotland travelodge!

Need to buy meals out but will try and keep costs a minimum!

Payday today! Woohoo x

princesspennies

Following along

Choccygirl123

Sounds like an epic journey, but worth it for a lovely new car! Good luck with your debt busting.

jwil

Happy new car and have a good trip back

OrangeFairy

Thanks all!

The car is fab....it’s a big monthly cost though- I’m hoping he’ll get it out of his system and realise it great to have a fast car but there’s not much point when you can’t use the speed on your day to day usage. Hopefully he’ll enjoy it for 2 years and then we can drop to a more sensible priced car and save some money. Until then I’m sure it will make him happy

So decisions made to help debt busting

1. No more gin purchases- that makes me sound like an alcoholic. I discovered I liked gin last October and so have been buying a new bottle a month and people keep buying it for me as presents. So I currently have 2 gin shelves in my kitchen- lots of our bottles are £40 bottles so there’s about £600 worth up there! We literally only have about 2 drinks a week so I think I’ll have enough for a while. I like the collecting more than drinking it.

2. Start actively making cheap meals

3. Sell a load of the stuff I had planned to keep for grandchildren as it is all stuff that’s quite big anyway

4. Stick to birthday budgets- this is where I end up with debt is buying presents for other people!

5. Budget every penny

6. Hubby has £3.5k in his account which he had saved for the car deposit- however the car deposit was put on his 0% credit card for 29 months so we are going to keep the 3.5k in savings and pay off the card. I think the savings post will give us a mental boost

7. Smash money pot as there is hardly anything in there and I am sure there are old pound coins I need to sort

8. Start joining in with MSE challenges to motivate

9. Decided doing the garden will have to wait for next year when we have funds. This year we will just pot some plants and make the most of what we have.

Positive points for June

I looked though my birthday card stash and I have enough to cover every birthday
We have a lot in the freezer for dinners
Daughter is now sorted for clothes and trainers for the summer
Hubby and I are healthy eating so less snacks will be purchased
Not many family birthdays to buy out for for a change
I am motivated

Negative points
Family festival- we have a festival for a weekend so will be buying drinks and food
Father’s Day!!!
DD1 finishes GSCEs so need to arrange a little celebration
Prom so need to pay out for re-sizing and jewellery for DD1

So there are definitely some big costs this month!

Today’s plans
Only spend should be cheese and a sweet potato
Meal plan for rest of week
Write out June spends
Sort a month budget
Pay bills
Nail down debt values
Look at flights for holiday ideas
See cousin for her birthday (found a candle I had bought to give her a while back- nearly forgot)

Finishing work at 2.30! Woohoo!

Have a great day all!

OF x

OrangeFairy

Morning

Had a lovely day yesterday visiting my cousin for her 13th birthday and meeting their new puppy. Still undecided on whether or not we should get one...DD2 is very keen.

Negative part of yesterday was that I got home early to find my daughters boyfriend at home yet I have said they weren’t allowed to hang out until GSCEs have finished which is next Wednesday. She hasn’t lied to me like that before and I was so angry I had to sit down as I was shaking.

It was a good money day- only bought a few bits for dinner. We had stuffed peppers and I made double the amount we needed for stuffing so hubby and I went for an evening walk to collect weeds for our tortoise and popped in Tesco and bought another pepper. So I cooked another stuffed pepper with the rest of the mix and we have half each for lunch.

Wrote out all my spending so far this month- I just need to work out where that leaves me in terms of what I have left for the big things this month.

I have two nights out this week. I have historically spent £30/40 each night (just a meal with cocktails) but hoping to cut this down. I might just have one drink and then water each night to keep the cost down....

We have a jewellery launch to go to tomorrow night. I only wear jewellery from this brand and they are local in our village so I always support them. However I know this means I’ll probably buy something.....it might be best to miss it....

Today’s plans

Sausages, new pots and veg for dinner to use up stores
NSD as I shouldn’t need anything
Work out spending budgets for disposable income
Get hubby to total up his credit card and savings
Housework needed desperately (I finish work at 2.30 so have time)
Add all spends to my app

That’s it!

Have a great day

OF x

OrangeFairy

Have done some budgeting today and I’m really down about it

Now we are still in a pretty good situation with £1.2k disposable income but it’s jist a fair drop and when I was adding up bits we wanted to save and budgets for clothes and meals out we just didn’t really have very much left to put towards holidays.

We have previously been in the position we can save £1.5k a month and still go out and do stuff.

Looks like my dream garden will be on hold for some time

Sorry for moping - I really should feel grateful as we are in a position lots would like to be in - I’ll snap out of it tomorrow!

OF x