Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Makingabobor2

Thanks FG x. That is most helpful.Makes perfect sense & seems a great way to do it. I think I've been over complicatiing it. Also I have separate pots for each thing, so think I may combine some of them & just keep track of what amount is for each one.

badmemory

I do a spreadsheet of what I expect my future bank statements to be.  So at the moment that is Nov, Dec, Jan & Feb. I need to have a certain amount in on the last day of the month.  Jan 31st is looking interesting.  The figures are taken from the spreadsheet which covers a full year.  I copy & paste for the next year & update (as in increase) the figures.  It means if something new crops up I don't miss it in the next year.  Anal me never.  One thing I have learnt is that it is a whole lot easier to find how you were £100 out than it is to find a penny. 

Humdinger1

'Wishrithmetic' is my word of the decade @foxgloves! It's all in there...love Humdinger xx 

Suffolk_lass

My spreadsheet uses the columns for each respective month. Now I shop less frequently I use 3 headings for the grocery challenge; Groceries, Stores and DD & Subscriptions. I have rows for each of Treats and Entertainment, Fuel, Pets and Bees (outside supermarkets). I track all the rows based on an annual budget for Groceries collectively, and the others individually. Each are tracked by target amount month and year to date; actual and percentage.

 I also record monthly CC bills in separate rows (all CC are cleared by DD, these would be double counting if I recorded them under the headings) I like to see that and ensure the money is waiting.

In the same worksheet I record savings and add it interest, PB wins and all my Tilly tidying amounts. I don't track shares growth as it goes up and down but I do include any dividends paid out and not accumulated in the holding. 

I've got separate worksheets for monthly and annual budgets, savings and investments... I do love a good spreadsheet!

Makingabobor2

Suffolk_lass said:

My spreadsheet uses the columns for each respective month. Now I shop less frequently I use 3 headings for the grocery challenge; Groceries, Stores and DD & Subscriptions. I have rows for each of Treats and Entertainment, Fuel, Pets and Bees (outside supermarkets). I track all the rows based on an annual budget for Groceries collectively, and the others individually. Each are tracked by target amount month and year to date; actual and percentage.

 I also record monthly CC bills in separate rows (all CC are cleared by DD, these would be double counting if I recorded them under the headings) I like to see that and ensure the money is waiting.

In the same worksheet I record savings and add it interest, PB wins and all my Tilly tidying amounts. I don't track shares growth as it goes up and down but I do include any dividends paid out and not accumulated in the holding. 

I've got separate worksheets for monthly and annual budgets, savings and investments... I do love a good spreadsheet!

OOh, that one sounds complicated....lol

foxgloves

@badmemory, @Makingabobor2 & @Suffolk_lass - Thanks for your comments. I think reading about everyone's particular way of managing their household accounts, it demonstrates more than anything how important it is to have a system which works for us as individuals. I have settled with how I run things now because it is proven to work for us, but it is my 3rd or 4th method, as the first  attempts had built-in flaws, which I wanted to eradicate with my current system. Really, they were beginner's issues because despite being in my 40s when I started debt-busting, I'd never tried to budget my money before, so it was trial & error, with plenty of error in those early days. I still implement the occasional tweak, but I have now been using this method for a good few years.

@Blackcats & @Humdinger1 - I'm glad you think that 'wishrithmetic' is a good descriptor of our financial methodology back in our Spendy Years. If I am honest, there wasn't really much 'rithmetic' from where I was standing either, just plenty of wishing....that my financial situation would change for the better without me having to change my frivolous ways one iota,  & also a sort of ever-present hope that today would NOT be the day when my bank decided to put a stop on my card in front of a big queue in S*insbury's or that bar steward cashpoint announced 'Insufficient funds'!
F

foxgloves

Afternoon m'dears,
I was up at 5.50 this morning, which I'm glad about as it meant I got to see the amazing stars, including a particularly impressive shiner which Mr F informed me was actually Jupiter. I was surprised how icy our car was, too. Even after the heating had been on for 20 mins, the thermostat was reading 14 degrees. I didn't really make any plans for today - instead I thought I'd just potter around tackling this & that, & it's been a pretty useful day. Some bits of it money saving, others more about getting organised, but I generally find that the two are linked, so in no particular order, this is what I've been up to today:
*Ironing. Let's get that frog swallowed good & early.
*Baked bread.
*Filled up bird feeders & added toaster crumbs for our robin who loves these with his songbird mix.
*Thawed the bird bath & refilled with water any self-respecting bird might actually want to drink.
*Stamped our Christmas cards - I usually buy Christmas ones to make them more festive, but I have plenty left from the pre-price rise order of pretty ones I did earlier this year, so used those.
*Wrote December's birthday cards as will defo be seeing one recipient next week so that will save a stamp.
*Added a couple of Christmas cards to giftbags of people we know we will be seeing in person. More stamps saved.
*Unpacked our online grocery order & put it all away. 
*Took delivery of a present & wrapped it straight away.
*Ordered the final 2 presents having abandoned hope of a reply from the first company when I flagged up (3 times, twice by emails & once via social media) that their online shop only works as far as ordering the item & inputting one's details. The payment part of the process doesn't work at all. I don't have a deal of patience with big firms which ignore customers so have ordered the items from somewhere else. Anyway, that is all the present shopping finished, including Mr F's birthday presents too.
*Tonight's nosebag will be tamale pie with carrots & kale. Have rounded up a few use-it-up items from the freezer to include in that.
*Squeezed a lonely lemon which had been denuded of its zest & froze for next time I have a recipe requiring lemon juice.
*Wrote a list for town tomorrow.
*Cleaned the bathroom.
*Did a couple of surveys.
*Cashed out of Ips*s for another £10 for the Savings Pots.
*Emptied bins.
*Revisited the leftover lump of pastry I foiled & lobbed in the fridge last night after I'd made the quiche & upcycled it into some savoury cracker-type things for Christmas (will pop a photo up after this if I remember).
*I didn't manage to make a start on re-knitting that tricky section of shawl last night so I am aiming to crack on with that shortly while the house is quiet & I can concentrate. I also want to see how much of my Christmas piano music I've forgotten since last year! I have plenty so at least I shouldn't be tempted into buying any more.
Isn't it funny how you can just decide to potter around the house 'getting things done' & then end up doing more than if you'd actually made a formal list?!
The light is already falling. I like the dark, though not so much being out on my own in it as I am a life-long magnet for weirdos. 
Enjoy your evenings all,
F x

foxgloves

Right, so here's what I made with that lump of leftover shortcrust pastry......
Mum used to make her leftover mince pie pastry into cheese straws when we were little, but
for these, I rolled it out & sprinkled with a bit of finely grated cheese & black onion seeds, folded & re-rolled, then cut out using my small star cutter. Forked the top, brushed with milk, sprinkled with a little piri-piri spice mix & baked at Gas 6 until golden. They can be festive snacks......well, as long as I get them packed into a box & into the freezer before Mr F gets home! I think I won't mention them at all & see how long it is before he triumphantly spots them in the freezer! I'm going to put them right at the back on purpose.....bet he's found them by tomorrow. He's a right Mr Miss Now't!
F x

badmemory

He'll be able to smell them as soon as he walks in the door.  I actually thought for a second that I could smell them.

rtandon27

If your MrF is anything like my OH, he scouts out all the good stuff!  I have a shelf at the top of the cupboard with a few pre-bought goodies & have had to label it 'Hands Off, or I'll be mad at you!'