Impulsive Spending… Make It Stop!

Pink_Butterfly

Hello! This is not my first diary, but hopefully it will be my last!

I decided that a diary would be good to motivate me and stop me from spending so much money all the time! Here’s hoping 

I am in debt, but not crazy amounts. I have a loan balance of £5,998.05, a small balance on my Next account which will be paid off next week, and an even smaller balance on my Very account. The debt doesn’t scare me, it’s my attitude to money and spending that does!

I would like to have a different mindset. I know this won’t happen overnight, but I am determined! I also know there are health reasons (mental & physical) which contribute to my current mindset and impulsiveness, but I’ll get to that later.

I’d like to be debt free, with a good sized emergency fund, and not care about buying ‘stuff’! I’d also like the health issues to be resolved, and take care of myself more with a healthy diet, plenty of exercise, and sleep! And be better with my skincare

I’m looking forward to reducing my debt & changing my mindset! I’ll be back tomorrow - thank you for reading

Pink_Butterfly

Hello again!

I have worked out that this month I have spent the most I’ve ever spent on food, cleaning products & basic toiletries, and the month isn’t even over yet! In 2019 my average supermarket bill was £156.70, then it rose to £198.62 in 2020, then it went to £227.97 in 2021, and this month I’ve spent £330.75 so far.

The price of food (well, everything) is crazy right now. It doesn’t help that the diet I’m on isn’t cheap - chicken nuggets & frozen chips would be much nicer for my bank account, but sadly I’m not allowed to eat them 😂 I’m currently seeing a dietician to help me with some health issues I’ve had for years, and she’s put me on a low FODMAP diet. It means I am often in the ‘Free From’ aisle in the supermarket buying all things gluten free, wheat free and dairy free - expensive!

I can’t blame it all on that though. I do tend to fritter my money when I’m food shopping, and the shop I usually go to isn’t the cheapest. I go there for convenience but I should get into the habit of going somewhere cheaper. I also should take fewer trips to the supermarket - I seem to be going every other day currently, which is silly considering I’m so time poor!

Another thing is I’m not a good cook. I don’t enjoy it, and I can never get the motivation to make something that requires a bit of effort. I am going to try and cook a bit more from scratch though and hopefully, as my skills improve, I’ll be able to be much better at meal planning, and from there I should be able to reduce the food bill. I might start enjoying being in the kitchen too!

Today I went to work, picked my daughters up from my parent’s house (half-term childcare - I’m so lucky that my parents can help!), and then took the girls to the dentist for a check up. I spent £60.00 on a deposit for my future check up… soooooo expensive! I am on a waiting list at another dental practice as I’m not a fan of my one, but I might be waiting a while.

My girls are now in bed so it’s time to sort out the washing, tidy up, get my work bits ready for tomorrow, and then it’s bed time 😴

Pink_Butterfly

I was feeling unwell today, so I came home from work at lunchtime. Luckily with my job I can work from home so I sat with my laptop in my comfies all afternoon! The girls are with their dad tonight so I can just rest up - hopefully I’ll be better tomorrow!

I received £7.26 from Top Cashback today, which went towards my top up food shop I needed to do!

I realised this morning that my FitBit has died 😢 It’s over 2 years old - I’m not sure if that’s why? How long do these things normally last? I feel a bit lost without it already so I might see if my dad can fix it. If not, I guess I’ll be saving up for one! I do love a FitBit as it’s much easier to keep track of my fitness, sleep & health when I’m wearing one. It encourages me to walk more, and I can record the food I eat every day. My health is something I’m really focusing on right now… I wouldn’t say I’m in poor health as such but there are definitely some things that need improvement!

In saying that, I decided to freeze my gym membership last month as I wasn’t going. My friend works at the gym so I get 50% off She is an angel! I am time poor but I need to make the time, so I want to sit down at some point and look at my diary to see where I can fit in a couple of gym sessions a week. As I have an office job I sit down A LOT & it’s not good!

Early night for me tonight. Hopefully whatever this illness is will be gone by the morning!

Serve_the_Servants

You can do this. Keep on keeping on and the future will be whatever you want it to be. Take care. 

Pink_Butterfly

Thank you 😊

I was feeling a lot better this morning but have been going downhill all afternoon, which is exactly what happened yesterday. It’s weird that it comes on after lunch!

I treated myself to a coffee from Costa recently and it meant I got a free coffee today, so I went and got myself a latte before I started work 😋 I also returned some things to Next, got my eyebrows tinted and waxed as they were looking untidy (my friend does them so I had a little catch up with her), and bought a face primer as mine ran out. I usually get a Soap & Glory one so I went to Boots and discovered I had enough advantage card points to get it for free 😁 Yay! So all in all it’s been a cheap day.

Work has been quite stressful this week but today wasn’t too bad thankfully. I am looking forward to the weekend!

The girls are back with me so we’ve been having a lovely evening of cooking & catching up 😊 They’re now in bed. I’m looking forward to my bedtime too as I washed all the bedding today - fresh bed sheets are the best! 😍

Pink_Butterfly

Good morning! I had to Google ‘what time is it?’ this morning as the clocks have gone back 😂 Anyone else do that every year, or just me?!

It’s been a busy couple of days. I took my mum to London yesterday and we had a great time! I bought her tickets to see Grease The Musical for her birthday so we went to see that. I paid for the train tickets but she insisted on paying for lunch, so it wasn’t an expensive day all in all. The train was delayed on the way there so I am going to see if I can claim compensation for it.

I haven’t updated my budget spreadsheet yet. It’s pay day tomorrow, and most of the direct debits go out on the 1st, so I’ll wait until then!

DD1 had a great swimming lesson yesterday and should be moving up to stage 7 after next weekend 🥰 I’m so proud of her! She’s a much better swimmer than I am 😁 DD2 moved to stage 2 last week which is also amazing. She used to be so frightened of the water but now she’s like a little mermaid!

Today I need to catch up on the laundry, do some studying (I’m studying towards my professional qualification), and meet my friend for a coffee. I also need to dust, hoover and scrub every room. Busy busy!

Pink_Butterfly

Hello!

Yesterday was Halloween and I took the girls out trick or treating with their dad and my mum. They were dressed as witches and got a decent amount of sweets in their buckets! Luckily we missed the rain - it chucked it down afterwards 😬

Yesterday was also pay day! I’ve paid the Next account and my childminder, and most of the direct debits have gone out. My loan balance is now £5,775.90. I can’t wait to see the back of it!

My nails were looking shabby so I got them done at my usual nail technician’s house 😊 I’ll have them done again in a few weeks when it’s Christmas party season! I’m going to 2 work parties this year, plus potentially another one with my close circle of friends.

I’ve not been sleeping well recently so I’m hoping tonight is the night I don’t wake up at 3am and lay there for hours like I have been!

Pink_Butterfly

I can’t believe it’s been a week since the last time I came on here! It’s been busy but also I had been feeling a little bit blue. I think I was just feeling very tired and overwhelmed with a few things that are going on behind the scenes.

A positive thing to report though is the large amount of blood tests I had to have last week 😂 I had been feeling tired for a long time so my doctor booked me in to have blood tests done. She tested for EVERYTHING it seemed! Iron, glucose, kidneys, liver, full blood count, vitamin B12, vitamin D, thyroid… anyway, turns out the reason why I’ve had very low energy is because I have low levels of folic acid. I am now the proud owner of 4 months worth of folic acid tablets, and I will need further blood tests in March. I should be feeling more energised in 2-3 weeks apparently! 🥳🥳 I’m looking forward to it!

I took the girls to a shopping centre on Sunday to get Christmas present ideas. I ended up taking pictures on my phone of anything they liked the look of. They share a room and they both want a lava lamp so I’ll probably get them that, plus all the bits from Smiggle and Claire’s Accessories they’re into 😂 I bought my best friend a birthday present while we were browsing, and I got my first Christmas present too! Usually I’m a last minute person when it comes to Christmas shopping so I’m quite proud of myself 😉

Bulb (my energy supplier) e-mailed me today to say they’re increasing my direct debit. Makes me laugh - the government gives everyone £66 per month to help with costs and we still end up paying more 🤦🏼‍♀️

My parents are on their way over so I’ll report back with the rest of the updates tomorrow! 😁

Pink_Butterfly

Oh my goodness, I’ve neglected my diary for 2 months! So sorry! Life just got a bit overwhelming, but I’m back

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and new year!

My loan balance is now £5,331.60. I’ve updated my budget spreadsheet and things are going to be tight for the next 6 months, but that’s mainly because I’m taking the girls on holiday! We go in 3 months so I need to pay the balance off on 29th January and then it’ll be a case of getting euros, booking the airport parking and making sure we have enough clothes to take. The girls both got Primark vouchers for Christmas and I got a River Island voucher, so we can use them to get beachwear and dresses

I am still taking my folic acid tablets daily but I can honestly say they’ve not helped me at all with my energy levels. I’m still tired all the time! I’ll keep taking them but I’ll mention it when I go for my next lot of blood tests. I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD & I know fatigue is a common symptom of that, so it might not resolve itself until I get the medication (I’m currently on a waiting list).

DD1 is now on stage 7 swimming but she doesn’t want to have lessons any more. I’ve said she can stop now if she wants as she’s a strong swimmer, however she will need to get another hobby. I think she just wants to spend the extra time on her tablet! Nope! I’ve told both girls that they’re going to have less screen time this year & we will be spending more time outdoors

I need to get myself ready for the day now. I promise I will check in more regularly in future!

Pink_Butterfly

Good afternoon! I’ve just got home from work so I thought I’d quickly update before I need to go out again 😁 It’s been a very busy day, not helped by me forgetting to set my alarm clock last night. I woke up 30 minutes late 🤦🏼‍♀️

My childminder is unable to collect the girls from school this week as she has covid. I adjusted the amount budgeted for her January invoice in my spreadsheet and decided to use the extra money to clear my Very balance off early. This means all debts are now cleared except the loan (and the mortgage obviously). I have also cancelled DD1’s swimming lessons, which will save her dad and I £31 per month.

One of my mum’s Christmas presents from me is a trip to London for afternoon tea at a laa-de-daa place 😁 We aren’t going until next month however Trainline had the train tickets up yesterday at a really cheap price for a limited time, so I snapped them up quick. It was half the amount we normally pay! 🥳 I was very pleased with that!

A week ago I applied for the girls’ new passports and I had a text to say they have been printed & will be sent off soon. I’m so impressed with how quickly they’ve done it, but also that they have approved the photos as I took them myself on my phone! I was fully expecting them to reject them 😂

Off to heat up some leftover curry and then I’m going out for a couple of hours 🙂 No rest for the wicked!

Pink_Butterfly

I missed the delivery of the girls’ passports today so I’ve asked the courier to come back on Thursday when I’m working from home.

I’m able to claim back medical costs through work but I keep having my dental receipts rejected. One was accepted about a week ago, so I’ve asked the receptionists at the practice to send me similar paperwork for the other appointments.

I was meant to go to a gym class tonight but I’m so tired, so I’ve cancelled it. I wish I had more energy! A night of Netflix is calling me 😁