Currently clueless...aiming for awareness

canvascamper

A no spend day on a weekend? Who even am I?! 

Took the kids to gymnastics this morning and avoided the café, in fact I did some surveys to make a bit of extra cash. 

We had lunch at home then went to a NT place for a walk in the woods, we took a flask and snacks instead of heading for the café. 

Tea was all made from stuff in the cupboards.

I need to go to a garden centre/b&q tomorrow plus will need a top up shop for tea and next week's packed lunches. 

Counting down to payday...9 days to go! I need to get OH's birthday presents ASAP, within budget of course! 

[Deleted User]

Well done ! I'm definitely sensing a shift in mindset as you are on it! 

What's on the list for the garden centre? I'm avoiding them until I have a little savings built up from my allowance xx

canvascamper

I just need a compost bin and some bedding compost for all the veg seedlings that are ready to go outside. I've got 2 raised beds in the front garden (the neighbours must think I'm crackers) but could only afford to fill one and a half. The filled one has garlic, kale and leeks growing and will add beetroot, but the sweetcorn seedlings are ready and need more space so I need to fill up the second bed. 

My compost bin is also full and I need to start a new one to allow that full one to rot down, then hopefully next spring I won't need to buy compost as I'll have enough on rotation between the 2 bins. 

I really need to avoid the houseplants section! They are a major weakness! 

joedenise

@canvascamper - could you do a Click and Collect order for B&Q so you won't be tempted to get anything else whilst you're there?

canvascamper

@joedenise ooh I hadn't thought of that, that's a good idea! Thank you ☺️

canvascamper

Spending today - could have been better but definitely could have been worse!

The whole family decided they were coming shopping with me, I did some research and The Range was coming out cheapest for compost and compost bin. Got the compost I needed, and the only compost bin left had the sliding vent at the bottom missing so I got 30% off - I had the same one at my old allotment and I just used to put a piece of cardboard over the vent, I think it actually helped air flow.

The best bit though, OH paid for it all ☺️

Then did a top up shop in the Lidl next to The Range, OH dangerously took the kids into Smyths toys for a new garden game and they were very restrained, only a new ball each. 

I set a £35 budget for Lidl but ended up sending £55 which I'm a bit annoyed with myself about. There was quite a few bits on my list where the cheaper version was sold out (Sunday afternoon!) so I got the deluxe or organic version instead, particularly fruit.

I've also been doing a lot of reading about ultra processed food recently and the horrors within, so some of the stuff on my list, after closer inspection, was not great health wise so I picked something else that was invariably more expensive. I didn't have time to transfer from my savings pot into my spends pot in my Monzo account so I used my bills account and I'll need to remember to pay myself back! 

I feel like my brain is firing off all over the place at the moment! Being a grown up is hard! 

cymruchris

canvascamper said:

Being a grown up is hard! 

Very much so! It's good to see you're still updating - and yes there's the odd spend here and there that isn't part of your plan, but life happens a bit... We've all been there. It'll be good to see how over the course of 2-3 months which direction the master plan is heading, so keep up the good work, and keep a focus on those spends!

WinterWarrior

It’s taken me nearly a year to get to a place where I can kind of do what I intend to with money. I’m a slow learner I think, but the point is, it does take time for new ideas to become more of a habit and feel normal, rather than hard to deal with. You’ll get there, keep plodding. 

canvascamper

Thanks for the encouragement you lovely lot 😊. I do feel like if I do this slowly and properly I will change from 'within' rather than my usual "2 week obsession then go back to chaos" approach! 

I'd love to get to 40 and feel in control of my money rather than my money being in control of me. I work too hard for it to be a burden instead of an opportunity. 

canvascamper

GAH! Checked my balance and was alarmed to see I was much further into my overdraft than calculated. I'd totally forgotten our national trust membership is renewed in May - that's £133 so basically wiped out the council tax rebate. 

It's definitely worth it as we use it many times per year, but ugh, it's a big chunk. This is why I need to keep track of this stuff 🧐 I've added it to my spreadsheet now so it won't catch me out next year!! 

It's looking like I'll only make a tiny inroad into my overdraft when I get paid next week, but I do now also have all my pots set up to stop it going up and every inroad is an inroad, however tiny!