Progress not Perfection

Sun_Addict

That's Monday done.

Worked in the office today until just after lunchtime then came home to finish up.

Stopped off at Lid! on the way home and picked up some bread and two grab stick things. Their grab sticks are the best I've ever bought and really handy for Mr SA picking up the dog's ball on the park and for litter picking for me. They don't have the little string which is always what snaps on cheaper versions. 

New 4 week budget period has started today, totals totted up and an underspend of £173.01 declared. I thinks that's the best underspend for some time! Have sent £3.01 to the Christmas pot, £70 to personal spends, £50 to the house pot and £50 to the entertainment pot. 

New totals:

Debt:
Mortgage £7472.48

Savings:
Emergency fund £5000.00
Principality RS    £1000.00
Nationwide RS   £1000.00
YBS Christmas Saver £300.00
Premium Bonds £400.00
Sinking Funds £3830.00 (this is made up of lots of different pots: holidays/Christmas/home improvements/annual payments/entertainment/personal spends/glasses/vets/appliances/birthdays)

Exercise today has been walking to/from work 18,000 steps plus I'm going to find a nice yoga/stretching session on YT or the FitOn app to do before I have a bath later.

For tonight's dinner I'm going to use up the dough leftover from when I made the herb dumplings last week and make a pizza to have with some salad. 

Not heard anything more about what happened last night. These things happen and you never find out what went off. 

badmemory

Over £150 UNDERSPEND!!!  The way things have been going recently I have been lucky to manage a very small 57p overspend.

beanielou

Awesome underspend.

Onebrokelady

Wow thats an amazing underspend 

Sun_Addict

Morning all, happy Tuesday.

WFH today so a nice relaxing start to the day with a coffee and my book. Also made a start on today's Spanish lessons. 

The underspend isn't just on groceries it's all the 4 weekly spending pots combined, so groceries, alcohol, entertainment, household and personal spends. The underspend was on spending pots overall. We didn't spend much during January as we didn't go anywhere and Mr SA didn't come up with any pesters. We also had a fair amount of food/drink leftover from Christmas stock ups when offers were on hence a low spend for January. 

Having savings and underspends of any sort is still a novelty to me. When Mr SA was well and working there was no way any savings would've been built up. It sounds madness but we're actually better off for him not working as it often cost him more to go to work than he earned. For example he used to spend around £300 a month on diesel getting to/from jobs, he was constantly buying new tools and was often getting rained off. He was a sub contractor in the building trade and very picky about which jobs he took on. He would often prefer to sit at home earning nothing than work on a site where he didn't like the foreman! I found it very difficult to budget in those days and I had the added battle of trying to get Mr SA on board. Any sort of attempt to get him on board was met with arguments and him storming off. He was also very picky about what sort of weather he would work in it seemed to always be too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy etc for him to work.

I always remember him saying to me one morning when he was going to work how fed up of it he was and how could he get out of it. Well this was 11 years ago and little did he know he was going to get out of it in a few weeks but obviously not in the way he intended. Talk about be careful what you wish for!

Today's exercise plan is dog walking later this morning, bums & tums at lunchtime and resistance bands tonight. 

Tonight's dinner is Mexican rice from freezer stocks with salmon and steamed veg. 

Money wise it will be NSD 3 of February. Seems strange not having a Mr M delivery this morning!

enthusiasticsaver

The underspend is awesome SA. Mr SA sounds like he was difficult even pre illness. Enjoy your relaxing start to the day. 

Blackcats

That's a brilliant underspend for January.
Mr SA's work ethic reminds me of my ex's.  He was very unlucky as it seems he managed to work for lots of idiots and annoying people 🤷‍♀️ and wouldn't just get on with his work but would pee off his customers.  The worst was 2 days into my unpaid maternity leave in a long, cold January when he came home at lunchtime and told me he wouldn't be working for a particular customer/idiot anymore because they had asked him to do a task that he didn't want to do.  My ex was an outdoor worker so regular jobs that paid year round were a godsend.  Apparently over 35 years later he is still plagued by idiots as customers!

EssexHebridean

I can see why you say that budgeting now is actually easier SA - not least as you've got far more control over what goes out for the most part. 

foxgloves

Ooooh, got to love an underspend like that, @Sun_Addict! Great start to this year's financials.
F

RelievedSheff

Brilliant underspend SA.