Hold me accountable

amysb86

Hi, I'm new here... Well that's not true I have lurked for many many years whilst promising myself I will get my sh*t together. Well I never have im addicted to spending and no matter how much myself and my husband earn we always seem to live outside our means. Well enough is enough, we want to buy our beautiful house and our landlord is happy to sell to us. My aim is to save £15000 by this time next year. Iv put all out goings into a spreadsheet for 12 months, factored in our holiday next month, birthdays, Christmas and emergencies. The one thing holding us back is me.. I have health issues and shop to make myself temporarily happy and distracted from the pain, from clothes to house items, skin care,cleaning products you name it I litrally can't enter a shop and not some how spend £20..but here's the thing I do not need a single thing I have everything I could wish for but I always ALWAYS find a way to justify it.. If I don't buy for me I buy for my husband or my dog.. My parents show love with money and iv picked up the bad habit.. Many of them. But I don't want to be this way anymore.. I want to enjoy what I have and be greatful. Back when I was doing a monthly shop on £40 I couldn't of even dreamed of the life I have now.. Yet I still buy more.. Eat out more get take aways  it's endless. My true love is nature which is free for goodness sake 🙄 and I love to craft and have all the supplies yet my weekends see me trolling primark and bm coming home laden with bags and feeling guilty 30 mins later. So from today.. Not Monday not the start of the month from exactly today and for the next year I will be recording here exactly what I spend. I have budgets for food and fun as well as planned out goings such as a holiday but other than that unless it's broken or run out I shouldn't be buying it. So to anyone that wants to help and call me out when I start trying to justify the 20th lipstick iv brought.. I welcome your support and hope to make some friends on this hopefully suscessful journey.
Thanks for reading

Edited: this is embarrassing I gave just realised this is the third year in a row I have come on here to try and sort myself out.. Failed both times but im really so determined this time in and in a much better place mentally. Iv also got a friend who is going to Demand a daily spend from me and give me hell if there are things there that shouldn't be. I am determined to fill this in every single day.. But please do nudge me if u see me missing days! ❤️😊

amysb86

Today's spending. 

Aldi £8.11 stuff for dinner and weeks lunches
Breakfast out £22 this I justified as one last treat.. See why I need help.
Wiko: 5.50 washing up liquid and summer bulbs
Candle for sisters birthday £12
Total: 47.61

Food budget £150 / left £141.81
Fun budget £150 / left £128

Not the best start.. But it was over thar breakfast that this plan was discussed so onwards and upwards 

Skint_yet_Again

Good luck with your savings @amysb86. Breakfast out was covered by your fun budget so don’t beat yourself up about it. 

You mentioned you have budgeted for birthdays. Which budget did the washing up liquid and summer bulbs come from? I have a grocery budget which covers food plus cleaning products and toiletries. Bulbs I would cover with my household budget or the fun budget. As long as you are accounting for all spends otherwise the little ones here are there can easily add up and derail you. 

I look forward to following your diary 🤗

amysb86

Good morning 
@Skint_yet_Again thank you for your kind comments and for being exactly the reason I'm posting on here as yep I totally forgot to take my washing up liquid out of my budget. The food budget is also for house hold items and toiletries and things for the home/garden will be out of the fun money.
My monthly budgets are actually going to be £200 for each (for both me and my husband) but I get paid on a really odd day now (the 17th) so as we are a week in I thought I'd start with £150.
,this month I feel will be a bit all over the place as I spent so much last week but I didn't want to put off getting started 😊 the sun is shining so I'm hoping to get out and enjoy a nice free walk. Hope you have a lovely day xx

New totals 
Food 150/ 140.81
Fun  150/ 123.50

MovingForwards

Welcome to the first stage of the rest of your life.

Several of us have health problems who post in this section. We all understand the joys of buying something to stick a plaster on, bringing a moment of happiness.

When I started life over, I worked out an annual budget, broken into monthly, then worked on a cash basis for shopping, treats and bus pass. I would take out the weekly amount on a Friday and if I spent it all in a day it was tough poo; I never did as parting with cash meant I could see what I was spending and had left to budget until the next cash withdrawal Friday. On the Friday I would see how much was left in my purse and only take out the amount needed to bring it back up to the figure eg if I budgeted £60 and had £10 left, I'd take out £50, the debit card remained at home the other 6 days.

As I had worked out my budget, I could see how much surplus money I had each month. Each payday I would would move the majority of it to a savings account, with a different bank.

I also did the 1p a day and 52 week savings challenges, it taught me to save and the money joined my other bank account.

When I'm thinking about buying something, I work out how many hours I have to work to earn the money to pay for it.

As I did this for 3.5 years while saving my own deposit, it's stuck with me. Now I allow myself £10 a month to do what I want, provided I spend the money on me. If I have a shopping spree and spend more, I've lost my pocket money for a while.

Avoid the trigger shops, even if it means you're adding the necessary items to your regular shopping trip and it costs a bit more; in reality it's costing you less as you're not adding all the extras. Do not use a watch list in 3bay, do not surf the shops when bored or upset or unwell as that's high risk.

Focus on buying that home and saving for furniture too as it will be easy to go on a huge shopping trip to kit your new home out, unless the furniture in your rental is yours.

Keep posting up the good and bad. I'm quite well known for pointing out when people have overspent and offering alternative ways of doing things.

amysb86

@MovingForwards

Thank you so much for the warm welcome 😊.
I'm honestly so excited to change my spending habits not just for buying a house but perminantly. I want it to become a way if life. Once we have brought the house I want my money to go on experiences and travel I just don't want any more stuff!
I'm lucky that own all our furniture so once we have brought the house it will be saving for things such as new bathroom and getting the garden sorted.
I'm just so angry with myself as two years ago when we moved into this house with the plan to buy it (my friend is my landlord) it was worth around £145000 now thanks to the crazy house prices where I live we will be paying around £190000.my inability to have any form of self control has cost my £50k but in other aspects of my life in so stubborn and will do anything I set out to do so now I must apply that stubbornness to our future.
My biggest excuse is life us short so do what u enjoy.. Holidays, meals etc but what I want now more than ever is security.
I look forward to you calling he out because I already know I'm going to slip at times xx 

MovingForwards

And it starts now!
Don't look back, don't dwell on the past, it's done. Focus on the future.

I do one in / one out with stuff. If I buy jeans an old pair has to go. If I buy a top or dress, one has to go. Same with coats, smalls, footwear, handbags and accessories. Only thing I allow to stay is jewellery, but I tend to buy key pieces. 

You can still eat out, but save it for special occasions as you'll appreciate it more. 

If you like buying a coffee while out, calculate how much that costs each year, same with other things you do. It can be quite eye-watering. That's your deposit being eaten or drunk, you may as well take the money and flush it straight down the toilet.

amysb86

Today's spending totals £0! 😊 In fact I'm up £42 as returned clothes I didn't need to have brought in the first place. And sold some shoes on vinted.
Feel like I'm starting on a positive 

amysb86

A little late as fell asleep on the sofa last night but my totals for yesterday are.
Aldi £8.11 - fruit for the week, sponges, Belgian buns for when my friend comes for a cuppa and some baking ingredients for bake off for Ukraine thst my work are holding
Morrisons 5.98 - baking bits aldi didn't have, cheese, bread

Feel like I had a good day waa my first day back at work after a week and took lunch and breakfast with me even made sure to take a can of drink to stop me buying a cold drink on lunch (my work is so bloody hot)
I baked my cake past night  giant lemon sponge and will ice it tonight ready for our little competition on weds. Felt like a prat as I used loose bottom tins that iv not used for ages... On the first one I had the bottom upside down and the cake stuck 🙄😕 managed to save it but it's a bit messy looking.. Hoping to hide it under icing later. 


Food 150/126.72
Fun 150/123.50

MovingForwards

You've done well.
Icing covers loads of blips, just make sure there's some left for you to eat as a reward.

amysb86

So it's looks like I'm better updating this in the mornings so I will just go with it. 

Total spend for yesterday £40.
£5 in aldi as I forgot snacks for work. This stops me buying from canteen. And icing sugar as I was concerned I wouldn't have enough.
£35 at the vets getting my boys nails trimmed as he will not let me do it.. And getting his anal glands done 🤢😣 which I dont ever want to do. This had already been budgeted for though.
Finished icing my bake for Ukraine cake so now just to get it to work with out dropping it!
Happy hump day everyone.
Pic of cake below.. I still have to add the edible flowers 

Edited: total for yesterday was actually £68 forgot I ordered dog food for £28 but my monthly dog food budget is £30 so actually saved £2 😁

Food 150/121.72
Fun 150/123.50