The Secret of Getting Ahead is Getting Started

Jox

Halfway through the month and have £200 left in my account so better keep an eye on that.

Sold my 2 seater bicycle on faceb00k marketplace for £50. It's been in my garden for months and I'd ideally like an electric bike one day to take my son to school on, need to work out the details! We walk 20 mins to school, I pull him on his scooter or we get the bus one stop. It's along a busy road but it does have a safe cycle lane we could use. Though it's up a hill which is why an electric bike would be handy!

I noticed on my online banking that £28.99 had been paid to g00gle play and it turned out my 6 yr old had bought a game that I was unaware of! I messaged g00gle play and they refunded me Will have to see how to avoid that happening again!

Haven't signed my son up to any after school clubs this term, he did 3 a week last term (approx £130 for the term), he decided not to do any and as I'm not going to work at the moment I can collect him at 3.10pm and walk home and he plays with his toys and I fix dinner, then we draw together and do some mathletics online and he watches a bit of youtube and has a bath before we read in bed.

I'm saving a bit of money not going to work, £200 a month on travel and £200 a month on the after school club. I'm still getting paid so it's a win win right now but we'll see how long that lasts!

My ex-colleague gave me £400 voucher for C3nterparcs, was overly generous of her, I booked a weekend for £489 and there will be extra spends but I wouldn't have paid for C3nterparcs myself, so it'll be a good experience for my son OH can come too if he wants.

I took a bag of clothes my son has grown out of to a young lady in my borough, she'd asked for clothes on a faceb00k group, I took 3 buses to get there and also took a bag of toys too. The young lady's flat smelled strongly of smoke, she was only about 21 and has a 5 yr old. I shouldn't be judgemental, we all have to live our own lives in our own way!

OH has "tried" to not drink this month (his own idea), he managed 2 weeks then went out on Saturday night and came home about 4.30am. I haven't really been speaking to him this month, I've just decided to concentrate on myself and my son and let OH do his own thing. Last night he came home 4pm from work, went out at 5pm and then I went to bed at 9pm and just saw OH this morning. He said he came home 1am but who knows. He was a wreck this morning and went to work. I'm annoyed with him but am distancing myself. I have a flare up of eczema on my wrist which I think is stress related so I'm trying to not let things out of my control bother me.

Jox

Pay day next week is sorely needed! I had to transfer £500 from my savings to my current account and may need to transfer more before the month is out.

I haven't been using my credit card at all but have been over spending, I had my hair dyed £30, dinner with friends £40, took my son and his cousin trampolining £23, paid for my dad's flight £126, bought niece a scooter £90! I seem to think I am rich and can afford to be generous when it isn't true!

OH hasn't given me any money this month so far though he has paid for some food shopping. He'll probably give me £500 next week, he's been working.

Off to centerparcs tomorrow and I offered to get a day pass for some family, I told them it's £50 when it's really about £120, this problem of mine is quite pathological!

Aim for next month is to write down everything I spend. There are 3 birthdays and half term to account for as well.

MidsHollie

Hey Jox,
Just read your diary.... you are so strong, I am in awe. I'm sure I would be in bits in your shoes.
I started a spending diary, and track every penny I spend. I find it really helpful to show me where I've spent in comparison to my budget and to reflect on what I actually need or should spend on. Good luck.
Enjoy Centerparcs!

Jox

Thank you midshollie! I'm strong and weak somehow! Still learning about life even at my advanced age...Might wise up one day

Yes, a spending diary sounds like a good idea, I'll start one in Feb, I'm in denial about where my money goes at the moment...

Jox

It's been a while, time for an update! It's a long one...Went to centerparcs end of Jan, spent about £100 on waitr0se ready meals, other food, toiletries, wood for fire, bottle of wine and other things for the 3 day break, didn't spent a lot when there, we used the swimming pool 3 times and my son enjoyed the soft play. Did buy a glass of wine, a glass of lemonade and a packet of crisps in the sports bar for about £10 and spent about £10 on the air hockey machine! Really enjoyed the peace and quiet and nature and no cars. Fed the birds and squirrels on our patio, saw robins and pheasants on our patio. Watched dvds bought from charity shops. Walked alot and my son used his scooter. OH came too but disappeared on Sunday to spend the day with his cousins who live nearby, centerparcs isn't really his thing, he likes big groups and a party atmosphere.

End of Jan was OH b'day, he reserved an area in a pub and spent about £200 of his money on food. He had a great time. He even bought his own cake so it was a cheap one for me! He didn't give me any money in Jan or so far in Feb to contribute to the mortgage and bills. I have had cross words with him about this! He has bought some food shopping but so have I! I've been generally blanking him for a few months and he's actually not being going out and drinking so much in January and Feb, he's said he feels much better and he decorated our son's room last weekend and painted the hall downstairs so that was a bonus!

I've been writing down everything I spend this month and it has helped me to curb the unnecessary expenditures, I'm definitely thinking twice before I spend and have even had a couple of NSDs!

This month, the boss from another country came to spend the week in UK. He sent me on lots of errands around London, I got my exercise in that week! He had a word with me and said that I need to call Finance to ask for a settlement and they want to look after me. I'm entitled to about £6k statutory redundancy but not sure how much else to ask for, how cheeky can I be?

Here's the debt update:
Santander credit card £3400  £2,461.76
Sainsbury's credit card £2279.81  £2,178.33
MBNA credit card £3917.70  £3,839.34
Barclaycard £4210.31  £4,047.59
Mortgage £218,160  £217,531.22

Savings: £4,880
Pension £43,500

Now to work out how to update my signature and get used to the new forum! I'm not a big fan of change!

Jox

Still not loving the new forum, have lost all my "thanks", I had thousands! I'll have to get used to the changes....
Have been housebound the last couple of days as son is ill so have had some NSDs, did order a boomf for OH for valentine's day, was just under £10, a waste of money but my son saw an advert and asked me to get it for his dad, I'll film him opening it later.
OH had an accident in his car, he's ok thankfully but the repairs will cost thousands, he still owes 7k on the car and his insurance will go up or he may be refused insurance as there have been a few claims in the last few yrs and he has 3 points on his licence from speeding, I should probably just hide his car keys!

Jox

Have been writing down everything I've spent this month and it has curbed some of my unnecessary spending, I've been thinking twice and haven't bought anything from Amazon or ebay. I haven't added it up yet but I've definitely spent less. Has been a stressful month in some ways, went to court with a family member and it wasn't a good result for them, plus my friend's fiance has been in a coma for 2 weeks, hope he pulls through.

No money from OH but he's spent hundreds this month on the house and didn't go out drinking much this month so I'll let him off for that.

Applewood1

Hi, I've just read your diary and wanted to say... wow! This reaffirms to me how strong women are. They can accomplish so much. 
It's eyeopening when you record every single spend, isn't it? I've found it to be the antidote to many of those "impulse purchases"! 

Jox

Thanks Applewood, I hold it together best I can, trying not to drop any spinning plates for now

Aim for March is to cut down on the caffeine intake (about 5 cups of coffee a day!), stop biting nails and continue writing down the daily spends.

Disney_Princess85

Not got anything to add, but just to say I'm following your journey. 

Good luck!