Third time's a charm!

SueP19

I used to budget from the 20th, that was my payday, no rules say it gas to be 1st lol

twiggy86

I'd always started from the 1st so it didn't occur to me that I can change the rules!

I have a quiet weekend planned so shouldn't spend too much - I do need to pick up some bits from the shop tonight but nothing much else will require money! Intended to see a friend for a cuppa and a chat, either at her house or mine. Also plan to do some cleaning and cooking - must remember to get mince out of the freezer so I can make a big batch of bolagnaise as been meaning to do this for a couple of weeks! I also want to try de-scale the shower head as been having a few issues so may need replacing but must try this simple act before I spend out! 

twiggy86

Back from a quiet weekend! Only money spent was at the shop for some grocery bits so that's good - especially as the bank has pretty much run dry! I was fairly productive around the house though and got some bits done, including finally making the bolognaise! I made 3 portions, so two in the freezer and one in the fridge for some point this week. Unfortunately the descaling of the shower head didn't seem very effective, so I'm going to try soaking in white vinegar at some point this week to see if that is more effective and helps the fault in any way.

Don't think I have anything else to report this morning as just counting down to OH's pay day on Wednesday! 

twiggy86

So this week has flown past! Had a family "crisis" arrive on Tuesday night which involved driving my brother 4 hours away (arriving at 1:30am!) and then back on Wednesday evening, so that has wiped me out a bit! However my brother filled up my petrol on the way and I've ended up with more than I started, so that's one positive. The outcome was the best it could have been from an awful situation. 

OH has been paid... but not what we expected! I'm hoping it's a mistake and he will be paid more - he's been paid on the basis of what he was told would be his take home actually being the gross pay! However, it's my brother that is his boss so given that his brain is everywhere I'm hoping he's just put the numbers in wrong (rather than OH misunderstanding what he would be paid). So I've had to re-look at the budget and adjust it down to reflect what I know now, so anything else is a "bonus"! 

I am waiting on quite a bit to be paid out from TCB, so that would be an extra bonus if that finally came through! Some of it relates to my car and home insurances which should be about £60 when it finally appears! Hoping I'll also meet the payout threshold on Shopp*x this month (with the "month now being 25 Jan to 24 Feb!) as that will be another £5 - plus I'll get my £5 reward from my bank. I've decided not to account for these extras in my spreadsheet but will use them to make CC overpayments as and when they appear. Speaking of CC... I had a refund appear today for something I returned and made a couple of small payments with the odds left from the grocery budget - although I had put a shop on the CC as what was left in the pot wasn't enough to cover it. 

Actually I suppose I should report on my progress for "January"! (Can you tell my brain is a bit everywhere still!?) Despite putting a few bits on the CC (and a small amount of interest), the overall ending difference was £370 for the month. And actually I'm allowing myself to be proud of that! Especially as I had a weekend away with friends (although that was fairly frugal) and having the boiler fixed this month! Hoping for more this month though! 

twiggy86

Back from a lovely spend free weekend! 

I really didn't do much therefore I didn't spend anything, other than some essentials (milk, bread, toilet roll!) Plus my parents took me and OH out for dinner in Saturday night which was lovely! I've also dug out an embroidery that I started some time ago - my goal is to finish it by the end of February... then I can move onto the next craft kit I have in stash! I have an "art wall" in my office so have a few kits I bought/ was given to add to there but my crochet tends to take priority so I haven't gotten to these! 

I've also finally finalised my February budget as I realised I made a mistake - however it works in my favour so I have an extra £40 to move around! Also had some good but difficult conversations with OH re money and I'm hoping he's on board (at least for a while anyway as we go through these cycles!!!) This month I have to pay for the hotel for a girls weekend planned for May but thankfully I don't pay council tax in Feb so that means that it isn't "extra" that I need to find this month. I do need to make a decision about a night out for a friend's birthday - if necessary I would normally drive if I couldn't afford to drink/ taxis, however this is a boozy brunch so would cost £27 regardless of if I was drinking or driving so need to decide whether or not to go. Hmmm thought required! 

twiggy86

It's PAYDAY!!!

I have done my epic money shuffling (I'm sure I make it more complicated than it needs to be!) so everything is now as per the spreadsheet! It feels so good that for the first time in forever (ever?) everything is actually as it should be - as usually I topped everything up weekly as and when OH was paid! But as his payday is now the start of my budget month and then my payday a week-ish later, it means I can get everything straight early in the month! 

I also decided to do a balance transfer, which for some reason pained me (well in all honesty I know exactly why... I previously did a BT and then ended up spending on that card.. don't judge me!) so that will help moving forward. Clearly my lightbulb had gone out for a while last year! Hopefully feeling in control (like I do right now, although it's still tight) will help my resolve! 

twiggy86

Small update today... 

I've repaid £100 to my parents taking it down to £400 that I still owe them. I do have another £50 set aside for them but am going to keep it back for now given that I didn't get as much as hoped for from OH. So if I need it later in the month it avoids having to put anything on CC, but if I don't spend it I will transfer it to them (I only have to give them £100 so it would be extra). 

I claimed £3.06 from TCB which had become payable so once that comes in I will use it to make a small CC overpayment. Hoping that I will also get a £5 cashout on Shoppi* this month - again will use it for CC payment. 

Nothing else to report!

twiggy86

Happy Monday Diaryland! 

I had a fairly frugal weekend, although I must confess that we had takeaway for dinner on Friday night. However it was out of my personal spends so when I run out, I run out! Other than that, just a few little bits spent (e.g. milk and some crisps - the latter could have been avoided!).

The big win of the weekend was when I went to see my parents who have decided to write off £200 that I owed them! There was some talk before Christmas about me buying a fireplace for the living room but I never quite understood what they meant (were they writing off £200 or saying I could miss a couple of months and then pick back up) and then got a gift card from my boss for Xmas so used that - so had totally forgotten. Anyway I went to see them yesterday and we were discussing what I owe then and despite me using a giftcard, they are still insisting on reducing what I owe them by £200. Meaning I now only owe them £200! So hopefully I can give them an extra £50 this month and then the rest next month and that will be that debt cleared! 

I did get a small win for them as well - as they returned something for £25 but hadn't received any communication or refund. So I wrote a couple of emails for them to send, which only returned silence, so on Friday I sent a FB message and by yesterday morning they had their money back! Some explanation that the postman had put the returned item in the shed! Which may be true but doesn't explain why they weren't even responding to emails! 

Anyway today I have made a £75 payment to one of the CCs as the statement had come in - just waiting on the others before I make those payments. Hopefully if I meet my goal for this year, I'll *only* have 3 debts! As things stand currently, I've achieved 11% of my goal for the year! 

SusieT

That is lovely of your parents, and you are making steady progress on the debt, so if you can get down to 3 at the end of the year it will be a really good result

twiggy86

Thanks for commenting @SusieT - yes I am very lucky that my parents are so kind (and also in a position to help me). I did try arguing with them but they just said that they'd already written it off in their mind!