£50,000 in 3 years diary. Can I do it???

pippo

Hi Rox,
I think you're getting there.
You seem to be questioning each spend and achieveing a a 'spend/save balance!'
pip

minirolo2004

Hiya Roxie

I don't normally post much, but this Diary has got me hooked!!

Just wanted to hop on and wish you all the best - I'll be following with interest.

Very good luck - and keep your motivation high! People on here will drag you through it kicking and screaming if you dont anyway .

RoxieW

Hi Pip - thanks for stopping by. I have been abit disheartened past few days I guess - I mean, we're barely a week into Dec and I've nearly spent all my food and family fun budgets??? How the heck did that happen? Just goes to show how easily the money can slip through my fingers AND, (ooh dread to think...) how much I used to spend by keeping it up all month! Am gonna have to be super disciplined for the rest of the month which is gonna be really hard. :eek: Just need to keep the end goal in sight to prevent the 'oh F**K it' mentality from kicking in.

Hi minirolo - thanks for saying hi! its nice to know someones reading although god knows why my mundane little life would interest anyone! even hubby switches off soemtimes!!

have got to try and find somewhere to add the £15 that dale spent on my anniversary - the one I forgot :eek: - chocs and card. bless, him, it was a nice thought but hotel du choclat is scary expensive and it kind of spoils the fun of gifts when you have to think how much it cost and add it to the budget. but then, if finances are joint, you still have to think about these things right?!

plan for today
1) bank change and cheque!!!
2) cancel barclaycard
3) start on the prize winning novel
4) pick up the shopping bits for cheapy week
5) write the kids replies 'from santa '
6) fill in todds school pref forms
7)......is that it????

btw, forgot to mention that yesterday at the cinema I asked for 2 empty popcorn bags (to use for my 'movie' hampers for christmas gifts) and the guy refused!! i'd just spent £27 on tickets and £6 on goody packs for the kids and he wouldn't give me 2 measly empty popcorn bags worth, what?? a whole of 5p? well, i didnt take no for an answer, faced him down and he eventually (very nervously) snuck my the two bags - god are the odeon managers that pedantic that the staff have fear of the sack for handing over 2 5p bags? i told a little white fib and said they were for a school project but hey, i got them in the end!

also, i got an email back from channel 4 saying they were very impressed with my drama and were putting it to their drama editor, so fingers crossed. although i used to work for them so maybe it was a bit of a sympathy compliment as i have spent the past 3 months on it! maybe they were thinking, poor cow, gave up her job thinking she can write - deluded! we'll see eh!

RoxieW

ok - i've put the anniversary gift money under eating out - well i kind of had to as its the only fund with nothing out of it (yet!!!).

RoxieW

Right, banked everything that needed banking and get home and guess what - 2 cheques came with the post! typical! not that i'm complaining thou. they were just refunds from some grolier books that i bought through quidco for the cashback and the free books. its a good deal - i signed up to a disney one and a nick jr one (in hubbys name) so got £12 cashback, 8 free books, a diego backpack and a dora poster. bargain! some of the books the kids already had so i gave then away for a birthday gift - i'm so cheap!

anyway, spent £10 in town on shopping and £2 on a mag - i know, i'm an addict, but i'm dying my hair thins week and i like to loll in the bath with a mag while i do it - cheaper then a salon colour thou!!

RoxieW

Todays gonna be a no spend day - I can feel it! plus its too cold to go anywhere and spend anything!!

RoxieW

:mad: WAS a no spend say until I remembered that coby is at church practising xmas concert all day tomorrow so needs packed lunch. This is annoying as I paid for his school dinner for the whole term in full - but then they've had 2 inset day, 2 trip days and he was off ill one day so thats a whole week that they owe me. i hope i get it back!

anyways, told dale to pick up some packed lunch bits on his way home (i'm not lazy honest but it was freeeeezing and as you know, i dont drive). So he does and I ask him how much he spent £20 :mad::mad::mad::mad:!! I'm like !!!!!!! £20 for a packed lunch and he looks guilty. Turned out he bought a crate of beers to take to his mates to watch footie tonight. So thats it - games up - that pretty much ALL OF OUR FOOD MONEY SPENT. And its the 11th of December! I can't believe we've done so badly with it. And that was with me menu planning and thinking we were being careful. And with Xmas coming up.....Rubbish. Am gonna have to 'steal' some money from dales xmas bonus that we obviously haven't had yet to make up the shortfall of whatever else we spend between now and the 30th. Then come January gonna really have to reign this shopping spend in!

RoxieW

Hi all

My word I have been ill!! Hence no posts yesterday - must have been if I stayed away from comp! Anyway, had awful flu/chest infection combo tues night/weds. Dale went out tues to watch football and i had to text him to come home but i was shaking so much i couldn't. awful. Was scared i'd have to miss cobys nativity but the antibiotics had started to work (and all weds sleeping!) by weds night so i had two lemsips and was on my way.

Now, I haven't spent anything, apart from 50p for the church collection but hubby has. He had to have yest off work to take the kids to school and todd had a hospital appointment so dale took him to that and came back at lunch time with fish and chips - so thats £10 gone and I couldn't eat most of mine! I also found a bag of snack pot type foods and crusty rolls in the car that are from work and I suspect that he bought them when doing the food shopping. fine, but I transfer £20 a week into his bank for his lunches at work and he eats at the pub at least once a week so he's using money for this and then buying snackpots to take when his moneys run out. haven't mentioned it as its abit petty but my lunches at home normally consist of a couple of slices of bread and some cheese as 'proper' dinners twice a day would blow the food budget.. a couple of snackpots aren't really worth an arguement over but it does make it harder to keep track of the budget.

positives - done a fair few surveys from valued opinions - including a £3 one - woohoo! wont count them until i cash them thou. And i got £2 free credit when I registered my phone so woohoo again.

hope everyones well out there!

cant wait till xmas!!!!:snow_laug

RoxieW

oh, won a necklace on the oli competition too - yey!!

RoxieW

Yey - got £41 through quidco for a goldfish card that will never get used. Brilliant - I love quidco - you cant beat money for nothing!