Finding the way through a £100k hole

PurpleFairy26

That’s great news on the Lloyds card 👏🏻

craftyali

I have no idea how you & hubby cope?!  Sounds like you have very hectic lives.  I hope that the 2nd business works out.  Ali x 

DrSpendingLittle

Swinging by to say hi 👋👋 and look forward to following your progress!

Isitdoable

craftyali said:

I have no idea how you & hubby cope?!  Sounds like you have very hectic lives.  I hope that the 2nd business works out.  Ali x 

Me neither Ali!  Sometimes we don't!

Thank you everyone for stopping by....its nice to know I'm not just rambling away to myself.

This is becoming an interesting exercise to me, as I am realising just how easily I spend money, and I do think this is a lifelong thing, I have never ever been careful with money.  My parents never were either, so I'm sure I've never been taught how to be.  However, they were lucky to be high earners in a time when getting on the property ladder was easy, and the steep rise in property prices meant everyone was laughing!  Having said that, they should (as my father now acknowledges) be very wealthy, and they are not, they at retirement age are still paying off their mortgage when really they should have done that 20 years ago!

Current 'personal' spend (of which I had budgeted a joint £400) is now sitting at £275.33 for the month.  This does include £124 for one of eldest child's activities and a half term club for him.  I had of course been budgeting extra for hobbies and activities, but for the sake of challenges, I'm going to attempt to bring this in under £400 including the activities.  All I have to budget ahead this month is for is a long arranged dinner with old friends, which I am really looking forward to.  Luckily my mum is having the children so no worries about paying for a babysitter!  Thank god for helpful grandparents!!!!
This personal spend also included two family birthdays and a child's friends birthday, so I think I'm doing ok.

Food spend is currently sitting at £213.28 for this month....this is largely due to have a f*** it moment this evening, and doing a one off of curry ingredients and wine for myself and OH this evening, spending £37.72 (I did also buy dishwasher tabs and washing tabs so its not that horrendous!).  We've both had a really difficult weekend, and honestly, I'm just trying to do something nice for us - normally OH would say 'get a takeaway' and I thought it would be much cheaper this way.  I'm off to Aldi again tomorrow - I have the time, and my littlest seems to really enjoy sitting in the trolley, so I'm going to take advantage of that for now!

Wins........

Sold 40% of my Ebay stuff.....over £40 coming in - will go straight off one of the cards (highest interest one).

Have discovered £70 worth of Nectar points on my Sainsburys card.  I now have this - plus the £200 vouchers still left from a  competition win, I'm thinking to maybe keep them aside to buy birthday presents etc?

I'm interested in anyone's eco views.....I'm always trying to be more eco-friendly, I lose sleep over the crap we do to the planet and really want to do our bit.   We started using Milk and More for our milk and orange juice.  Partly because of the environmental factor, partly because I think supermarkets treat dairy farmers like crap!  It's obviously really expensive.  I try and weigh things up food wise - in terms of what I feel comfortable feeding my family (no cheap imported meat for instance), and then because we can't afford to eat like this all the time, we will often have veg based meals to save money.  My OH is a real carnivore though so he's not the biggest fan of this!  Just interested in people's views really.  It seems like so many of the eco friendly options are very expensive!

Isitdoable

Brain is mush!  I have spent a lot of today working out profit and loss and cash flow projections for work.  Going in to teeny details.  There is money there!  I do feel with some careful management this is doable.  I'm not quite there on the projections but just doing them is lifting a weight, I can see a road.  It's narrow but it is there!

In all of this hard work, I've had two no spend days, plus one last week.

The Aldi shop didn't happen, I simply haven't had time.  I ordered online from Sainsburys, shopped the offers and spent £85 including nappies for the next six weeks.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Sounds like you're doing well!  I like Ald! and L!dl, but I prefer to get my shopping delivered, so don't often go.
Good plan to drop the ironing lady... I'd love to get a cleaner and ironing lady, but it's hard to justify paying someone to do stuff you can do yourself

Isitdoable

ohshithowdidthathappen said:

Sounds like you're doing well!  I like Ald! and L!dl, but I prefer to get my shopping delivered, so don't often go.
Good plan to drop the ironing lady... I'd love to get a cleaner and ironing lady, but it's hard to justify paying someone to do stuff you can do yourself

Well my reasoning is, if I'm doing work that would make me more money than I'm spending it's fine, but.....
it's hard to quantify my time on business 1 as I don't pay myself an hourly wage, and business 2 isn't money generating yet!
Ive not done my financials for the week yet, as I have been working today, I thought I would try and get ahead as being half term, I'd like to spend some time with my eldest.
I've made the decision this week to stand down from a voluntary role I have done for 6 years.  I feel like I am putting myself under unnecessary pressure to continue in it when it is not benefiting myself, my family or my business.  I've felt really guilty about it for some reason (it's a business commitment, not charity or anything), but I just had a LBM about it when I realised I was sacrificing time with my children for it, and that's just not what I want out of life.
So I will get my finances in order by the end of play tomorrow, as I need to know exactly where we are food spend wise etc.  

In good news, work has been steaming ahead, we look like we are going to turn over £10k more than we had projected for February which is just amazing.  With all the budget cuts I have implemented this should equate to a healthy profit.  I will know more on the exact position by Wednesday once I have reconciled everything

brizzlegirl

Well done on facing into it all. You will get there. And you’re so right about poor money habits, whether you earn £8k or £80k if the poor habits are there you will be wasting money, spending more than you earn - it’s just the amounts that tip it into unmanageable and being sleep depriving are different.

Youve got this.

brizzlegirl

Oh and we haven’t had a cleaner for about 2 years, saving £36 a week I reckon so it just gets done (or doesn’t!!) by the family. I loved it but can’t justify it whilst we have debt.

Isitdoable

Hello diary....I felt like I had been away for ages, but it was only 3 days!  Its great, I feel like I am really making myself accountable.
I've gone over all my finances from the previous week and I'm pretty happy with myself.......

My last spend out of the 'personal' budget was on the 8th.  I have not spent a penny on anything frivolous  My littlest was absolutely DESPERATE for new clothes - she is growing out of everything.  I took a trip to Morrisons today, as I find their baby clothes great value and good quality.  Spent £59.30, and have stocked her up with PJ's, basics and a couple of little dresses.  She should be sorted for clothes now until summer.  So the spend for the 'personal', which I have bundled everything social wise, clothes etc etc. is now £334.63 (you may remember I had given OH and myself £200 each PLUS everything else).  All I have left to pay for is a dinner with friends this week (my only bit of social life for the month!).....so we will come in under budget.
We are half way through half term, and I am pleased to say, I have not spent a penny eldest has gone to his club every morning, we've had time together in the afternoon, and its worked really well.

Groceries.  I'm still struggling a bit to be honest, but I think it is more TIME than anything else.  I am struggling to find the time to meal plan and go to the shops.  I've had two online deliveries this month, and have visited Aldi four times!!  I'm just trying to get the hang of it, work out where everything is and what products I want to buy (I know it sounds sad but I've used the same supermarket my entire adult life and I don't know anything else!).  Current spend, including our milk deliveries (bottles) is £408.29 - we have enough food until Monday.  I can eek out the cupboards and freezer a bit for next week, but we have family over next weekend, so there will be an expense there.  I know its cheating a bit, but I think I may use my Nectar points for the next shop to keep a lid on the budget.  I think I've made good progress - we were spending about £550 per month, but there is still a long way to go.  So the goal for March is to really nail this meal planning, try and fit in a bit of batch cooking, and get that spend right down!

Tomorrow, my eldest needs new trainers, and I need some make up - I plan on using some of my vouchers for both.  

Ebay sales have generated another £11.00 to go into the card fund.  I have the remaining three items relisted.

I'm enjoying the change in my mindset, and I never thought I would get so much pleasure out of NOT spending money!