Third time's a charm!

twiggy86

Oh dear - it's Monday again and I haven't posted in a week!!! 

Feeling out of sorts at the moment as I lost my bank card - the account has my "personal spends" in and I keep using other cards instead. So I've been shuffling money around but feel like nothing is in the right place! I was going to order a new card but it costs £5 so I'm just going to have another check in my car before I do! (Card is frozen so no worries!) I have sat and updated my spreadsheet this morning which has somewhat helped me get my head straight on where my money is for the month. 

Despite feeling like "frittering" is sneaking back in, the weekend was relatively frugal! I went out on Saturday night but drove - however the parking was £9.50!!! Yes there was also a naughty takeaway last night but we'll move on from that and start again! I did go to a festive pottery class on Thursday - I'd paid half upfront but had to pay the other £22.50 for that. It was a great evening with a couple of friends though! 

I did get lots of crafting done at the weekend, which always makes me happy! I have been through my stash and am on a bit of a mission to use things up! I made the second star weaving that I meant to do last year, plus made a little robin for my boss. I also started and finished a hat for my dad last week, and started a hat for OH (although that will take longer as I can't make it around him! I also have planned to make:

• a Xmas decoration using up a random skein I had in stash and have found a free pattern
• a hat for OH's mum again using a random skein and a free pattern 
• some mittens using left overs from previous projects using a pattern I have already 
• a pair of advent socks using up leftovers from my advent calendar
• two hats using a pattern I already have although I did have to order the yarn 

Sorry this has kind of turned into a crafting post rather than a money post! Although the point is that I am trying to spend as little as possible whilst making lots of things!!! 

I have lots of plans coming up for the next month so I need to look at my budget and see what I can afford to spend and also where I can save (like driving this weekend). 

twiggy86

Ooops - I didn't realise I'd been awol for quite so long! No wonder I've been feeling out of sorts recently. 

Today I have started a new budget spreadsheet and I decided to start with fresh figures - i.e. my "starting" debt figure is the amount as at 1 January (rather than when I started trying to debt bust). I didn't clear anything near what I had originally intended last year, but then I didn't plan on 2022 being such a financially unstable, inconsistent year! I did also debate starting a fresh diary but decided to carry on here. 

I'm still debating my financial goals for the year but one for definite is to get my total debt under £10k - which was my goal for last year but debt total is starting the year at £15,885.73. That equates to £490 per month which is technically doable but we'll have to see! 

The good news that's happened is that OH started as employed today! So that will mean consistency in his money coming in, although we think it will be a bit less than technically he could earn as self-employed. He will get paid on 22 (I think) of the month so once we know that number I will be able to budget with a bit more certainty. However, him being better with money will take more work! (Not that I'm claiming to be a saint!) 

Bad news was that we had a plumber out today to fix the boiler which cost £300! However I had put £200 aside from my pay at the end of November, so only had to cover £100. Part of the reason I was able to do this was because I'd actually managed to save for Christmas which covered all of the presents I had to buy!

So let's end this post there on a positive note!!! 

twiggy86

I've made the decision to not set any other financial goals until I've seen what OH is going to receive each month - otherwise I will be making a goal without all the info! Seems to make sense so that I can make realistic goals - although it feels wrong not to set them at the start of the year! 

A "financial but not truly financial" goal I've set myself is to find inventive ways to use up leftover yarn - i.e. a pair of socks might use 60g of a 100g ball so have 40g left over. I used some to make some mini sweaters and mushrooms as decorations for our xmas tree - and used a couple of mini sweaters as gift tags on presents. So I was looking through my stash and have quite a few "Christmassy" colours, plus some that are potentially Halloween colours. And as I said before I'm making some mittens with leftovers - which I've nearly finished and I love! I'm making the children in my life (nephews and friend's little ones) crochet gifts again and have yarn to cover at least the first 3 presents (I haven't gone through further than that) - but the forth is something I've already made. 

I received a small payout from TCB (£4.18) but have used that to make a CC payment. I'm waiting for the statements to come in before I can make any other payments. Still waiting for a couple of refunds which will go back onto the CC - I intentionally used the CC as knew I would be returning some parts (ordering yarn for a xmas present and you can never tell the exact colours on the screen!) Hoping that will clear soon but at the moment its still showing as on the way back to them even though it was way before xmas that I returned them! I will leave 30 days before I chase them though. 

I received a £250 Amaz0n voucher from my work for xmas, so today I have ordered an electric stove fireplace for the living room - which is something I've wanted for ages! Our fireplace is currently empty - well actually it's not as the dog bed sits in - so it will be so nice to have it looking like a proper fireplace! I did wait to see if anything went in the sale but the style I wanted didn't - however the voucher covered it all with some to spare! 

That's enough waffle for now! 

twiggy86

Ok actually the above post I typed out last Friday but it seemed to get "stuck"! So that was Friday and this is Monday!

Had a relatively frugal weekend. I did chip in with my friend to buy some flowers for another friend who just had an emergency operation - so that was £21 although I have taken it from the "present" pot... however the present pot actually only had £10 in it! Will need to rectify that next pay day. I did also spend £10 on two "escape room" type games - I'm going away for a very chilled out weekend with some friends this weekend so will take them with me. OH suggested a takeaway on Saturday night but I refused - especially as it transpired that he wanted me to pay and he would "pay me back"! Cheeky sausage! 

I have received a summons for Jury duty for the end of February! I have spoken to my bosses and they are meeting tomorrow to discuss it - the expenses I would be paid if my employer doesn't pay me whilst I'm out is less than half my normal pay! I know that from a personal perspective they would pay me, but we are only a small business so it's not quite that simple. I've asked for them to let me know asap so that I can factor it in to my budgeting! 

I'm excited that I'm picking up the fire today! (They tried delivering on Friday so arranged to collect from depot!) I'm also going to make a list of everything that needs doing around the house - plus "wants" not "needs" - as I want to make progress on a few things! I will definitely write "fire" on my list just so I can tick something off... anyone else do that?!   

SusieT

Good idea to wait until you have the numbers before you do the budget, especially as sometimes it is the second month where you find out what the actual pay will be. At least you can be sensible with the spending and have already got into good habits, so it will not make a huge difference in the short term. 
Enjoy the fire when its in and working  

twiggy86

You're right @SusieT - I've been trying to make decisions based on guesses! Just have to get used to him getting monthly pay and whether to account for it this month or next (as it will be 22nd of each month). 

I have also re-jigged something in my budget to free up some money for groceries - although depending on what I do re OH's money it will potentially mean less debt re-payment. But if the "pot" runs out, I'd be forced to put it on CC anyway! It's funny how we make decisions which we later realise make no sense - i.e. me potentially overpaying on the CC now and waiting on OH's money to top up the grocery pot, but in the interim using the CC to pay for groceries! So backwards! 

Absolutely love my fire! Makes the living room feel cozier - although there is more work to be done in there to make it "homely".

twiggy86

Update re jury service:
My boss is asking for me to be excused. Given that we are a micro business (3 of us including boss) and I am currently the only one that does my role (although boss could cover but would require her to effectively drop her role) we can't deal with this on only 5 weeks notice! If it was more certain/ short term we could manage, but it's unknown/open-ended at this point and if it ended up being a long trial it would kind of cripple the business! 

I'm a bit gutted as wanted to do it - however it does mean I have more time to establish the new budget with OH's new wage before I need to factor in any loss of my wage. Presumably I will get called up again - as don't think they can use that excuse indefinitely! 

twiggy86

Just checking in as I'm away this weekend so won't be back on a computer until Tuesday (and I hate posting from my phone!)

I'm going away with friends for a cozy, chilled weekend. One is doing a food shop on the way and other than maybe a coffee shop (cake!) and a sunday roast, we aren't planning on doing anything spendy - although will need to give friend petrol money. So I'm not envisaging spending too much whilst I'm away but am super looking forward to it! 

I've made a couple of CC payments, plus an overpayment of £5 to one CC as have my bank account "reward" come in. That also takes that CC to under £100! Whilst I still haven't set official goals, this is one of my priorities to get that one cleared. 

I've also actually succeeded in bringing lunch to work this week - I've also started tracking this in my new diary (which has a habit tracker) in the hopes this will make me stick with this more often. If I don't bring it it's very often laziness under the guise of "running out of time" in the morning! 

Nothing else to report, although I did finish a crochet birthday present for next month and started making myself a cowl using a ball of yarn that I won! 

twiggy86

I'm back from a lovely, relaxing weekend with my best friends! I've totalled up what I spent and it comes to £107.04 - this included my share of a food shop and petrol for my friend. Main cost was lunch out on Sunday but it was absolutely delicious! I did also manage to finish the cowl over the weekend (just need to sew it together) - free yarn and free pattern = free entertainment! 

Today I have updated my spreadsheet with the spends and have also made a CC payment. This included paying for a cardigan which I paid for on my CC but as I've decided to keep it, I used my Christmas money to clear this element - and I have just walked to the parcel shop to return the other items which I liked but they weren't perfect! Oh and last week I chased up a couple of refunds as the items were seemingly stuck with the courier(!) and they have just actioned the refund now, so that's back on the card. 

I've also cleaned my oven - which was soooo overdue! Plus I've descaled the kettle and changed the filter in the water jug (although the water is literally only dripping through so need to try to work out what I've done wrong!) I'm really trying to make our house cozier, which means getting on top of the housework! I know the oven won't help the coziness levels but is all part of the wider picture! This is also another habit I'm tracking - with the aim of doing a minimum of 30 minutes of cleaning four times a week. It definitely helps me if I set a timer and crack on until the buzzer goes!  

twiggy86

So OH has confirmed that he will get paid on the 25th of each month moving forward. I'd been faffing and considering and contemplating (etc etc) how to manage the budget. And then it struck me... why don't I start my "budgeting month" on the 25th of the month? This month I had accounted for his money and intended to use it to top up the various pots when it came in  - but that's meant I've felt behind all month as I haven't completed everything as per the spreadsheet!! 

Therefore if I start the budget on the 25th I won't be faced with feeling behind and also (for the first time in my budgeting life!) I will have certainty as to what will be coming in each month! Wow!!! So the budget will start on the 25th when OH's pay comes in and then I will get paid on the last working day of the month - so not too long after plus I always receive a defined amount so I can account for it even though it hasn't hit the bank. OH may earn overtime some months so the amount could vary but I will be able to base the budget on the actual figure - not what I wish/ hope for, which is what I've always had to do in the past! 

I'm actually excited to start "properly" budgeting!