Currently clueless...aiming for awareness

BadBookkeeper

Not sure if it would help but I pay my NT membership monthly.  Easier to absorb for us! 

[Deleted User]

Also the Scottish NT is cheaper and you can use in England too. Alot of people do that x

foxgloves

Re getting used to budgets.....I agree that it takes time to bed in & become the default setting. Although we now have a budget that works very effectively for us, it did take a while to get there. Both Mr F & I had been horrendous fritterers before the LBM struck & although we both managed quite large budgets as part of our professional working life, neither of us had ever budgeted at a household level. You won't get a system that's right for you absolutely first time. A lot of the initial problems are structural i.e Your NT membership. Of course that should have been on your bills/outgoings spreadsheet for May, but next year it will be. I honed our budget over the first few post-LBM years & I reckon we're probably on about version 3.5 or 4. You'll get there. Budgeting is half of it, the other half, as you know, is cutting back the constant small unnecessary spends. Together they make pretty much a winning formula.
F

canvascamper

I will look into Scottish NT, thanks. Does this not mean funds don't go into English properties though? 

Had a nice low spend day yesterday, Tuesday is my day off with 3yo, I bought him a new toothbrush and some Epsom salts but that was it all day.

I'm really starting to realise how little attention I paid to spending before. It's not surprising I got into a mess!!

6 days to payday....

I've germinated way too may chilli plants so I posted on our local veg grower page and I've swapped 6 so far, for a cucumber, aloe plants and spider plants.

eBay seems to have gone very quiet which is annoying. I've still got a load to list but was hoping to get rid of some before I list some more. 

I've also joined too good to go and Olio. Olio seems pretty quiet round me and too good to go doesn't have much veggie stuff but we do live near a huge shopping/dining centre so there are lots of choices to keep an eye on. 

canvascamper

Working from home today, I realised at 4 that I didn't have much for tea so nipped to Aldi. Spend £6 over budget (£29) - I swear food is getting more expensive every day 😫

That took me over my Monzo budget so I used my bills account card - that means despite all my care this month, due to my son's half termly tutor fees and my NT membership I'm going to be more into my overdraft this month than last month. So frustrated! I'm learning a lot but don't feel like I'm making any visible progress yet. 

I get paid on Tuesday so will go back through my budget and bank statement and reassess. 

doingitanyway

Keep going. Your mindset is changing. We all make mistakes. Try to build a small buffer (something I fail on but when I have it it keeps me out of so many messes!)

canvascamper

Thank you @doingitanyway. Definitely trying to build a buffer!

I was in the office today, took an incredibly boring lunch of microwave rice. I had to nip to the shops for a gift for 7yos friend's party this weekend. I managed to avoid any unnecessary spends but wierdly even felt quite repulsed by all the excess of stuff and food and spending all around me. Which is crazy because that was me a couple of months ago! 

Spent £10 on hair accessories and bracelets for birthday girl, which came out of the 'gifts' pot so in budget, and the only other spend was the tram.

Weekend plans are pretty basic - gymnastics tomorrow and 7yo wants to go to the Chinese supermarket to get some ingredients for a recipe she's found. Hopefully there will be time for some gardening and batch cooking. Also Eurovision of course!! 

[Deleted User]

Eurovision!
I can't wait haha!

Sounds like your mindset is shifting.

I've actually got a sinking fund for school friends party card and pressies and sweets that my two like to take into class for their birthdays!
I've currently got a small stash of girls and boys birthday cards ( homebargins & asda),Bath bombs, hair clips - £1 primark and a few packs of sweets ( Haribo etc). I used to think nothing of spending £20 + but now I just give a token present as a thank you for being invited to a party. I don't give presents to my friends children (unless they have a party we go to) and don't but my DH, friends or siblings presents either. It's just parents, our children and nephews and nieces - which is plenty enough lol xx

joedenise

I buy my cards in Card Factory - 10 cards for £1.  Not sure how many children's cards are in their selection of cheap cards but might be worth a look if you have one in your area.  Can't go wrong at 10p a card.

That's a really good idea @Deleted_User to have a selection of small token gifts.  That's all that's needed.  I sometimes think things just get completely out of hand.

canvascamper

My kids love drawing so they usually make cards, I've got a stash of blanks from The Range. 

I should have gone to Primark or H&M for the hair stuff, I always thought Claire's Accessories was good value but actually it seemed quite expensive. Anyway, lesson learned! Good idea to get a stash of little gifts, in the past I've used parties as an opportunity to go shopping. I'll keep any eye out for 3for2 and the like. There's a great kenzo clearance shop I could stack up from. With 3 kids there's always a party! 

Just come back from the Chinese supermarket and Big Tesco (OH decided we should have BBQ for tea so had to get supplies). Went with 7yo and 3yo, 7yo is notorious for pester power and at one point she said "why are you so mean now mummy" which made me feel really sad! So I tried to explain as best I could about how I wanted to stop borrowing money from the bank and make sure we were only spending our own money. Not sure if it went in! It's definitely more miserable shopping on a budget, no room for all the fun stuff. 

I really hope it's worth it in the long run, I hate delayed gratification 😫

At least the sun is shining, that's free 🤣