Digging my way out

DebtFreeMonkey

Better late than never. Hindsight is a beautiful but painful thing for us all, eh. I often think the same things but now we know better, right?

Doing_it_my_way

Alicia1804, yes hindsight is a wonderful thing, I suppose we all have the opportunity to learn from it

So yesterday was a busy day, busy doing nothing. Didn't stop all day but didn't feel I had anything to show for it.
Tea last night was pitta bread with chicken and salad, and salad cream for taste, yum. Stayed well within my calories again and used my cross trainer for 10 mins. Still stuck at same weight this morning, but there you go, it will move soon I am sure.
Today will be a spend day but yesterday was not. Hoping for a small amount as need carpet shampoo and biscuits. Hopefully will come out of my purse and not out of my allowance for the month. I checked my shopping account and I have £150.02 in there, £50 for the month and £100 which I keep in there as a food emergency in case I run out and am desperate.
Today for tea DH is having bacon, egg, chips and mushrooms from the field this morning and I am having pitta breads, salad and chicken again as it was lovely

Doing_it_my_way

Hmmm.....spent more on shopping than a small amount, I really do need to rethink shopping, thats twice now that I have spent more than I intended the first time I blamed lack of planning but yesterday.....I am not sure I think I just saw food that I fancied and bought it, the milk, biscuits and carpet shampoo fair enough, but I came home with lots of meals for the freezer, I suppose on the bright side it could have been junk food but it wasnt.
So total spend £30.42 eeek. £5.99 of that was my Mums so total for us was £24.43, my Mum gave me hers back as soon as we got home but gave it in cash, I paid on my debit card, so balances for shopping this month so far £150.02 in bank is now £119.60 and purse total is £12.92. Days left in August are 22 so that is £32.52 in total, or £1.47 a day. Today is a no spend day.
New goals to stick by, ***USE THE FREEZER AND CUPBOARDS MAKE THEM STRETCH DO NOT BUY ANYTHING THAT IS NOT ON MY LIST ***
So runner beans all over this morning, windy beyond here! Raining hard as well but at least is on and off at the moment.
No mushrooms this morning as it was too stormy to venture out and collect before the horses went out, so horses now done, green house watered, washing on.
I used to do this a few years ago, log everything and keep track, I can not for the life of me think why on earth I stopped, ' did I get tired or did I just get lazy?'.
DH cleaning carpets upstairs today so that's fab, I am cleaning downstairs (again) and thinking up new ways of 'digging us out'.

DebtFreeMonkey

A few things that help me not to spend is using an app where I put in an 'income' amount for food and log each item as an expense as I'm shopping. Seeing just how much a few £ here and there can lower my weekly allowance prevents me from being frivolous. I also don't allow myself 'emergency' food money as such because then I don't think 'well, I have some money saved just in case' and so I stick to my allowance. Then, I try to use as much from my cupboard and freezer as possible and finally, setting myself a monthly goal of NSDs (there's an August challenge post for that on here) really motivates me.

Small steps and you'll get there.

Doing_it_my_way

Thanks Alicia1804, I thought I was quite good with meals etc. but there is always room for improvement! I tend to use the old Microsoft money with all my accounts logged on there, it lets me move things around, add them and take away and project, with I love to see It is definitely something I have to work on sticking to the freezer contents and lists.
So yesterday DD invited us for tea so we didnt have any outgoings meals wise, and it was lovely, gammon, mash, veg and parsley/cheese cheese, shes a lovely cook so yum yum.
Todays tea will be mash potato, 3 pieces of bacon and some mushrooms from freezer into a pie and then cheese grilled on top, and the remaining 2 pieces of bacon will be put in a homemade quiche just enough for one and cooked for DH's tea with some chips tomorrow. That's 3 meals out of one pack of bacon, phew!
I am a bit flat today, not feeling motivated to do anything at all, didn't even get up until 10am, thats not like me. I've got washing on and DH has mucked out the horses so I have to go down and give hay and straw ready for tonight at some point today, usually first thing but as I said i'm not motivated at all, they are in the field so wont notice. Not so blowy here today, raining threatening but not here as yet. Runner beans are looking battered from where I am sat, and the patio is covered in snapped leaves, so yay great! We have lots of tomatoes but as yet they are all green.
DH is working today he often does on the weekend, I think hes a workaholic lol
Yesterday we walked nearly 6km through the wind it was lovely, really nice
NSD today

Doing_it_my_way

Today is a no spend day.
Its cold here and feels chilly, how can that be it's August??
Oh well horses all done, washing on and kitchen cleaned. DH and DS working.
Checked the garden and tried to rectify the damage to the plants, nothing some sunshine an warmth can't fix.
Have tried to connect with a few friends today that I havn't spoken to in while, no arguments or the like just life getting in the way, all have been chatting back so thats great, makes me feel happier.
Money is worrying but I have to keep focused, not panic and stick to my budget and rules things will get better because I wont allow them to get worse.
Cheap tea again tonight, homemade quiche for DH and chips/bake pots using the bacon from yesterday....if I have to buy eggs to make the quiche if one is not enough (its only a small one) then I am going to think of something else!!!
I am hungry and cold today, so might end up ruining my diet. So far I have lost 14lb and am still stuck
Dinner will be pastry with tomato puree and cheese over it, cheap and cheerful for DH and DS, I am having some cereal I expect. Looking forward to proper winter when the heating can go on lol
Have checked the bank again and balancing it daily is working for me, I will keep it up. Shopping is still the same as I havn't spent anything since Saturday.

Doing_it_my_way

Ok so I fibbed it is a spend day.............

Doing_it_my_way

Very small spend today, checked the rest of the week to see what the food diary says we are having and made sure I only bought what we needed to go with the rest of the freezer etc. so very pleased total spent £5.60, before I went set a budget of £6.00 and stuck to the list and it was cheaper than expected.
Managed to make the quiche for tea using one egg, apparently it was lovely.
Tomorrow I think we may have some runner beans ready, I will eat them if so lol, as I am having a mini cooked dinner and DH is having pitta bread, chicken and salad.
We have 4 weeks till our holiday which has been booked for nearly a year so we are excited, euros already bought and put with last years left overs, we are frugal even on holiday, we have one excursion and that's it, we eat out every evening but don't have desert we buy an icecream on the street and I only drink water, and we make our own dinner, this year we are having bed and breakfast. Airport parking is booked and paid for, we do need to buy travel insurance but DH will pay for that.
Shopping budget is still £119.60 in the bank and is now £7.32 in my purse so I have now got £1.41 a day until the end of August 19 days, aiming for the next 3 days to be NSD hoping the milk lasts, I really need to have money left over each month from the shopping budget

Doing_it_my_way

Balanced the bank again this morning, no changes.
Am looking forward to the new statement from the credit card so I can then account for the £200.00 I paid off it, might end up with around £125 the rest will be interest. I also need to find the paperwork for the loan and log in so I can see exactly how much is paid off, tbh I guessed as I know it is around that and I just let the direct debit go out, would be nice to have an end date not just year.
Cheese toasties for lunch and salad and pitta bread with chicken for DH for tea. All in the cupboard so today is a no spend day.
I might think about changing my monthly shopping to a weekly shop but still meal plan and shop to the list, that way I can store more in my freezer over the month as it wont be so jammed packed leaving room for freezing extra portions etc. and also and the main reason for doing this is to try and stop so many top up shops. I thought if I had more room for the weekly items I could buy all the milk and bread I need and then have enough room to cook and store in the freezer gammon slices. It will be easier to keep salad and other perishables for one week and it should only be one shop then. I have no more than £200 per month so that will be rounded down to £45 weekly when looked at £200 a month over the year. I was needing to buy a new freezer to stock veg etc. and excess cakes but I may get away with having just the one, we will see. The shopping bill will go up soon but I am determined no more than £250 regardless of how many I have to feed, it can be done and I will do it. I might budget £70 a week then so I don't run out but in my mind stick to £45 and that will give me some more savings per week.
Runner beans are looking better but I am going to leave them until tomorrow, I will have them for tea then and the rest will go in the freezer. I am thinking about buying some storage tubs for the freezer which can then be refused so I don't have to buy bags better for the environment as well.
DH has had a good week so far earning more than he thought he would which is fab as we need hay and straw shortly. Lots and lots of tomatoes but all green still.
Hoping this day is good

Doing_it_my_way

I've found paperwork and loan owing is £10,770 so pleased