Impulsive Spending… Make It Stop!

Pink_Butterfly

I had a GREAT day at work today! I was told that they’re increasing my pay by 5% as of this month! They only increased it 9 months ago (again, by 5%). I feel very lucky & grateful ☺️ They look after me so well.

I have updated tax credits and my spreadsheet, and will update my spreadsheet again once I know how much I’ll be receiving in tax credits. Normally I increase my pension contributions whenever I receive a pay rise, but I’ve decided not to this time. I want to clear the debt & build an emergency fund first.

My parents have been collecting the girls from school this week due to my childminder being unwell. They kindly cooked my dinner tonight too 🙂 Angels they are!

Pink_Butterfly

Good evening!

I have received a letter from my dental practice telling me that I now need to pay £3 a month just to stay registered with them! No other dental practices in my local area are taking on new patients so I have no choice, unless I leave, which I’m not going to do as I want to have regular appointments & nice teeth! I am on a waiting list for another practice close to my work, so hopefully there’ll be a free space soon 🤞🏼

It is so frustrating. I already have to pay £6.40 a month just so my children can go there, and they are NHS patients 🤦🏼‍♀️ The sooner we can move to another practice the better.

I also received an e-mail today from CIMA telling me my 2023 subscription is due. I only paid it in July/August so I called them up, and they explained the money I paid last year only covered the 2022 months. I had paid full price even though there was only 5 months left of the year, so I challenged the call advisor & she said, “that’s just how it works”. Nothing was said to me at the time, else I would’ve waited until January! I pay my AAT subscription every July & I assumed CIMA would be the same.

I’ve decided I’m going to put the course on hold until I get my ADHD medication and I can focus more. At the moment I’m far too easily distracted and I need extra help, plus I’ve just started the process of getting a diagnosis for dyslexia. It’s something I’ve suspected I’ve had for a while & it came up as ‘mild’ on an online test I took. My brain doesn’t make studying easy! So I’ll save my money for the subscription for now until I’m in a better head space 🙂

I now have both girls’ new passports! So the next thing I need to think about is holiday clothes. I store our summer wear in one of my storage cupboards so I’ll have a look this weekend to see what we have and what we need. I really don’t want to spend much. I have vouchers which I don’t mind using but I’d rather avoid using ‘real’ money 😂 I also need to work out how many euros we’ll need, and book the airport parking.

The girls are now in bed so I’m going to light my candles & chill out until it’s my bedtime 😌

Pink_Butterfly

What a miserable day! ☔️ We have just got home from taking DD2 out for her swimming lesson. I’m drinking a coffee while I wait for my washing machine to finish so I thought I’d pop on!

We will be heading back out later to get birthday presents so fingers crossed the rain clears off soon 🤞🏼 I also need to get some bread & milk & a few other bits.

I’ll be dropping the girls off at their dad’s house at around 5pm and then I’m off to an ice hockey game with my friend 😀

Nothing much to report money wise. I’m hoping that these birthday presents come in under budget! I must admit I feel like my mindset is much better now when it comes to my finances. There is still room for improvement, but you know, baby steps!

Pink_Butterfly

Well yesterday didn’t go to plan but I still managed to tick some things off my list!

The rain was forecast to stop for good at lunchtime so we went out early afternoon, however we ended up getting soaked as it started raining again and it was pouring down 😂😂☔️ The weather man lied! The girls spent some of their pocket money but that was it, so we just came home as I couldn’t find the presents I had in mind.

I ended up using part of my One4All gift card balance on an Argos online order once I got home so that’s one birthday present sorted! And it meant I didn’t have to use “real money” 😉 I picked it up straight away and then went into Sainsburys for milk & chocolate 😊

I had to give the girls their dinner early so I ended up taking all 3 of us to McDonald’s before I dropped them off at their dad’s house - big mistake! £15.13 for all of us… that’s definitely increased so I won’t be going back there any time soon. I’d rather pay a bit more for better food or save the money & cook at home.

The ice hockey game was good and we won 😀 My friend bought the tickets and wouldn’t take any money for mine so I bought us drinks & snacks. I’ll pay for the next game we go to.

I need to go out once my washing machine has finished as I need to go to the supermarket, plus I want to try & find some shorts for DD1 (she likes to wear shorts under her school dresses) and school tights for DD2.

I have received new receipts from the dentist so let’s hope Medicash accepts these ones 😂 I should know by next Friday.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone!

Pink_Butterfly

I’ve requested a refund from CIMA for the exam I’m not going to sit (until later in the year). So that’s £120.00 making it’s way back to me, which will pay for my hair extensions next month. This will probably be the last time I get them as it’s time to stop damaging my hair 😂 I just want one last run, mainly because I still have half a pack to use up, and I want it nice for my holiday 😊

My childminder is still poorly & says she won’t be able to collect the girls from school until at least Wednesday. Bless her, having covid is really taking a hit on her financially. My mum says she will keep doing the school run until she is back 😊

I did the food shopping & bought the girls their uniform bits they needed, plus I paid my phone bill ☺️ I am going to finish the housework now & then I can chill!

Sarahwithlove

Good news about getting the money back for your exam. I think its a good idea to stop the extensions, you'll be surprised at how quickly your own hair grows if you treat it right. Have you looked at doing any of your own beauty stuff at home? I have my own lamp for example and do my own gel nails rather than paying someone else. Saved me a lot in long run, but I do have to stop myself browsing am@zon for new colours. 

Pink_Butterfly

I have really fine hair which is why I have extensions as I feel really insecure without them, but I know they’re not good for your hair so I’m going to have to bite the bullet & stop having them put in. At least it’ll save me money I suppose!

I also need to stop bleaching it. My poor hair! 😬

My friend bought me some nail wraps for me last year and I plan on using them instead of going to my nail technician. I’m a bit sad though as I’ve been going to this lady for over 11 years so I class her as a friend now, & have always loved supporting her as she’s a nice person & very talented. Needs must though I guess!

Pink_Butterfly

Until today I thought I was going to have to borrow some more money 😬 I thought I wasn’t going to be able to pay the balance of my holiday, and that I’d need to borrow an additional £2K. I didn’t want to cancel the holiday but also I didn’t want to add to my debt! I’ve been trying to find ways of not needing to borrow the money by playing around with my budget spreadsheet, and I’m pleased to say that I think I’ve managed it 😀

Now, some of my figures are estimates as I’m not sure yet what the actual amounts are going to be, but if my guesses are correct and I tighten my belt then I can definitely go on holiday without increasing my loan balance!!

Despite “tightening my belt” I will still be able to do & pay for the following between now & April:

Take mum to London for afternoon tea (Christmas pressie)
Get hair & beauty treatments done (although not as many appointments)
Pay annual car insurance
Take girls to London to watch Frozen the Musical (Christmas pressie from their dad’s side of the family)
Celebrate DD2’s birthday & buy pressies
Mothers Day gift & celebrations
Dad’s birthday gift & celebrations
Brother’s birthday gift & celebrations
Friend’s birthday gift & celebrations
DD2’s swimming lessons
My ice skating lessons
HOLIDAY!!! 😎

Plus I have to pay about £1K for 6 months worth of service charges and ground rent, and way over £1K for allllll the childcare fees 😱

So, all in all I can’t really complain at that!

I’ve budgeted absolutely nothing for clothing, meals out (except for birthday celebrations), or entertainment such as cinema trips, bowling etc with the kids, so that will be the test as ‘old me’ loved splurging on those things! I do have vouchers as I’ve said before, plus some Clubcard points that can be converted, so we’ll see how I go with them 😉

In May it should start to ease up a bit, even though it’s DD1’s birthday that month, & it’s car tax month (I like to pay this annually). It’s also my birthday month so I’ll need money to go out & celebrate 🙂

3.5 months of cutting back (although not really when you see that list 😂) - I can do this!

SueP19

That sounds like a win to me, half the battle won, and a better holiday knowing its debt free

Pink_Butterfly

Indeed!

My new tax credits amount is showing so I’ve updated my spreadsheet. I’m getting about £50.00 a month less. I can’t complain as my pay rise outweighs that 🙂 I’m looking forward to receiving my first pay slip so I can see what the exact net amount is going to be… I hate putting in estimated figures in my spreadsheet 😂

The exam refund has hit the account 😀 I will transfer it to my hairdresser friend soon so that she can order my Rapunzel hair 😁

Not much else to report really! Only spends this week have been on food & petrol. Work has been busy but tomorrow I’m taking an extended lunch break so that I can go to the cemetery to see my baby girl who was born too soon 9 years ago. It feels like yesterday when it happened. DD2 gets very emotional about it bless her 😞

Time to wash up, sort my laundry out, get the girls into bed and then call my best friend for a catch up 😊