Rennovations and the price to pay..

Pengwern

Another week another under £100 food shop.  we are using up supplies so that will hit us a some point I am sure.  But this week is an expensive week, boiler service and a fix to a radiator and leaky pipe has just been paid for.  The electrician has finally returned after waiting 6 months for him.  He ended up sending a sub contractor as I think he could not face us in person, he has been so rubbish I will not be using him again.  I am just pleased the daily nagging is now over.  how many messages he has from me must be enormous.  lets just say I feel like waiting 6 months to pay him.  I need to spend nothing between now and the end of the month (apart from food) as it has all gone! only 2 weeks till I get paid so lets see if I can do it.  

Pengwern

Hi
halloween and half term is not going to help my budget. We were supposed to be going away but it was cancelled due to Covid. Instead I managed to get some cardboard to make decorations and an outfit in Sainsbury’s sale. The £100/week food budget is working well I just hope I can make it through Christmas without the usual financial car crash. We have done so well this year I think. To go backwards would be a shame. We have made a list and a budget I just need to stick to it. The first Extra payment to one of the cc Has been taken, if I can find an extra £50/month it will make a big difference to the balance and take in into the next thousand by the end of the year.  

remote_control

My last couple of shops have come under £100 so I have added two or three presents to them each time. Hoping this will spread Christmas a bit. 

RelievedSheff

remote_control said:

My last couple of shops have come under £100 so I have added two or three presents to them each time. Hoping this will spread Christmas a bit. 

We have spread the cost of Christmas across a few months this year and it has really helped us stick to a budget.

We now have pretty much all of the Christmas presents bought and wrapped, just waiting for the dogs presents to arrive on Monday with a home shopping delivery and then we are done. All presents and food (expect the veg which we will get from the local farm shop a few days before hand) is now bought and in the freezer.

remote_control

I want to be organised food-wise but I don't know what we'll be doing! We normally feed 8-10, but if it's just the 4 of us we will need a lot less and probably won't have a turkey. I can't buy any chocolate or other treats in advance as I'd eat them! We bought some gift vouchers earlier in the year and am now using them to buy the Christmas presents. The food and eating out in Dec is normally a bigger spend than the presents! Hopefully a silver lining there with less socialising. 

Sarahwithlove

If you aren't spending all of your £100 each week could you put the remaining on gift card for wherever you do your food shop or move it to a saver account and then when you do Xmas food shop you'll have a bit extra. I do save the change on my bank as well to help save a bit too. Up to nearly £10 this month already 😱🙈 

Pengwern

Sarahwithlove I like that idea. I think at the moment the bit of the food budget has gone straight to the debt fund.  However I have affectively spent it all on Xmas presents and more.  I have tried with my in-laws to reduce presents to just the under 18 but they always say no! I get so cross and my OH does not want to cause a fuss or lay our financial situation to them.  I keep pushing every year but I get the same response it’s infuriating. I’ve spent £450 on them all (it’s a massive family) sticking to the lowest amount I can get away with.  If I leave it to my OH it will be double that! What I could do with that money, my family buy for anyone we see and it’s a £5 limit (no plastic rubbish allowed) so it’s normally a contribution to the meal we have together which I really appreciate.  Others we just have an agreement not to buy anything.  I need to rein in the Xmas spending. The food slot has been booked and I will be meal prepping as I have done since March. I will limit the Xmas treats as we don’t need it. It’s just overindulgence.  I still find it hard not to get carried away. I did have one success in the Sainsbury’s double up event and get 3 presents with points so I was pleased about that.

Sarahwithlove

Could they just not to a secret santa for all those over aged 18? Or maybe next year get them all a Xmas card and put a note saying a donation has been made on your behalf too... And do £5 per person to a charity. 

Pengwern

yes I like that idea that is what I am doing for next year, a card with a donation to charity for all over 18.  I have given up trying to get them to understand the burden it puts on people.  
In other news I have just sent £100 to one of my CC so after this months payment on the 14th it will be paid off.  Such a small win but one I am pleased to have.  November has not gone to plan so I need to make sure that December is much better.  All the xmas presents are purchased, it is just the food this month.  There will only be 2 people extra so that should hopefully not make the bill too great.  I will update the details on the CC balances soon and the overall total, but by the end of Dec we should have just gone under £19k.  

Pengwern

Hi 
the last few weeks have been a bit of a blur and financially disastrous.  My OH needed a back operation, but due to COVID the NHS have over a yr waiting list and that is just to get seen.  So a decision was made to pay to get it done.  All the financial progress we made this yr paying off the cc has now been undone,  to say I’m heartbroken is an understatement but it needed to be done so I will just have to get on with it.  On a positive note Xmas shopping bill was as per our normal amount as we cancelled all plans as we need to shield until OH Ana’s recovered.  The other positive was that some of my in-laws did not buy us gifts, I could scream for joy. After lots of protests before Xmas about needing to get all the family a gift for some reason I will never know they did not get us any,  so that’s it as far as I am concerned I am permanently removing them from the gift lift.  I am smiling writing this as it will really help reduce next yrs Xmas budget.  I also looked at those charity gifts where you buy,blankets, vaccines etc instead of another jumper.  I am also going to make use of those as well.  

On to the NY and one where I hope we manage to maintain the same level of debt payment as last year and fingers crossed we should end the year having cleared the medical bill.  I will need to start looking for more balance transfer cards in the spring.  Let’s just hope there will be some on the market as the options keep getting slimmer