Countdown to Part Time…

lucielle

lol @ chutney graveyard!  But I know what you mean. 

L

Blackcats

Ha ha to the chutney graveyard - that must mean I've got a chilli/hot sauce cemetery on the top shelf of my fridge

Spinayarn

Oh dilemmas, dilemmas. I’ve just realised that the new academic planner that I buy each year is being released for pre-sale on Saturday. These are the things that trip me up. Old me would happily whack £50 of stationery on the credit card without batting an eyelid. New me is trying to justify £30 on the planner. That said, it is an item that gets used every single day at work. That works out at 15p per day. But I will only order that, and none of the pretty but unnecessary extras. And the money will have to come out of the incidentals pot so that will take a good hammering from it.
Hmmm… and there is talk of going out for a work meal next week as well. That’s definitely not in my budget this month. I am really going to have to not spend anything else this month which could potentially be tricky. Aaargh.

[Deleted User]

@Spinayarn . Am I correct in assuming that you are a teacher? Just checking because you talk about receiving overtime payments and seasonal work too. In another thread you mention about dropping your TLR in a couple of years too. Maybe I’m just confused lol!

Spinayarn

Yes I’m a teacher. I was a little cautious about giving too much personal info away. I’m an exam marker too so that’s what the seasonal work referred to, and overtime was probably linked to that. I was probably referring to extra papers I was marking.

Spinayarn

Personal spend of £5.05 last night on fruit tea and chocolate biscuit at Starbucks for Knitting group. 

I’ve got a tin of soup out of the cupboard to take to work for lunch as I don’t have much to put in sandwiches. I’ve got a big presentation to do at work today - feeling a little nervous about that but it will probably be fine once I start talking.
1st Feb is always nice as I see interest going into my savings accounts. As someone who never used to have anything in savings, this is quite exciting each month!

Spinayarn

Well, I haven’t been on for a couple of days because I didn’t want to admit to falling off the waggon. I bought the shiny new planner on Saturday and it was £40. To start with I took the money out of my “gifts” pot as a gift to myself but then I told myself that was ridiculous and I have put that back in. I’ve just sucked up out of my incidentals pot. I still have £60 tucked away for my day trip to DD at uni.
BUT, I then remembered another purchase I had organised for this month. £50 on an item that was definitely a want rather than a need. I do have enough money for it out of the spare I was going to add to overpayment pot so again, I’ve just taken it from there. 

I feel both of these purchases have been frivolous in some ways, although the planner is the same brand I have bought for the last 4 years and I know it will get used daily. I guess I just have to make sure I budget for it next year so it doesn’t come as a surprise.

Ho hum, it’s all good though really. 

I was looking through all the accounts yesterday morning and I really noticed just how much interest I pay each month on the two loans I have. I can’t believe that for years and years I just ignored it. It was like white noise I think. Anyway, I have about £850 left on my 0% Barclaycard and I think I can actually pay that off this month if I use some money in a savings account. Then I can start overpaying the loans. I think I can have the smaller loan paid off by the end of the year. I would still have £800 in the emergency fund and can top that back up to £1000 fairly quickly. 

Spinayarn

Well, I’m disappointed to wake up to rain rather than snow. I was hoping for a sneaky snow day! Got a long day at work. I went out last night but kept my spends to just £4.50.
Not much else to report at the moment.

Blackcats

It's strange isn't it how our attitudes to spending and saving can flip when we eventually have our light bulb moments 
like you I'm always delighted to receive interest rather than pay interest after years of perpetual credit cards and loans.

having a plan to get rid of a loan by the end of the year will be motivating.

according to my sums £3.33 a month will buy your planner next year - guilt free

Spinayarn

Blackcats said:

It's strange isn't it how our attitudes to spending and saving can flip when we eventually have our light bulb moments 
like you I'm always delighted to receive interest rather than pay interest after years of perpetual credit cards and loans.

having a plan to get rid of a loan by the end of the year will be motivating.

according to my sums £3.33 a month will buy your planner next year - guilt free

Thanks Blackcats - you’re always so encouraging. And £3.33 per month is nothing to put away, is it? I have an empty “pot” so from next month I’ll take that from my incidentals and tuck it away each month.