The Three C's - Coffee, Clothes & Credit Cards

Sarahwithlove

Aimingforthegoodlife said:

Hey, the savings are looking really good, so that's a big positive! And you are working on a plan for the debt so that is also really positive. Hope you are feeling better soon

Yeah I'm ignoring my loan to my dad at the moment as he likes me giving him £100 a month as that covers difference between his pensions and general expenditure so saves having to transfer from his savings each month. He likes to eat out alot and go places as gets bored easily so spends above his means. Not ideal but his mobility is getting worse and won't be too much longer before he can't do it anymore. 

I've been rejigging my monzo pots again, set up additional savings ones and narrowed down categories for my main everyday ones. I'm loving the app and being able to set goals and regular payments into the pots. I can see why so many people use it. I've also tided up all my other accounts and have left only enough for the final DDs before the switch and a few £s for any potential variations. Not expecting any but you never know. Once the leftover funds transfer I'll feed them into my CC pot. I've set my save the change and will transfer my interest into that pot as well. I also want to look at doing PADs where possible as want to motivate myself to get the credit card down. 

Sarahwithlove

I had to have a difficult conversation with my brother today and tell him I couldn't afford to go to his wedding in October. He's getting married in Denmark and only gave me 3 months notice and I can't afford to get into more debt to go. I've been looking at prices and I wouldn't get much change from £500 and that's just flying out night before and leaving day after wedding. So no sightseeing either really. I can't afford to have any kind of holiday at the moment so if I was to go I'd want to make it a longer weekend and see some sights. That then means another 150-200 on costs. He was very understanding when I explained financial situation to him but i feel so bad as no one else in family is going either. 
This is a 2nd marriage and they are only going to registry office and then for a meal out after so seems alot of money and a long way to go. I think the anxiety of it all has been causing my IBS to flare up as I do feel relieved now I've told him. 

I'm also not going to my friends birthday party today either, so that's saved on petrol for that. I'll put her card in the post tomorrow as actual birthday isn't until Tuesday. Trying to have a day of rest as IBS tummy pains are not good. Hopefully now the anxiety has been relieved a bit it might settle. Though now I just feel guilty instead. May do some shredding later so today isn't completely wasted.

I'm off work this week so I want to try and get some jobs done and stay away from spending money. Though Friday is my nephews birthday, need to withdraw cash for him but this is budgeted and sat in my bills account waiting. I have the hairdresser on Friday as well but found someone who is cheaper that does haircuts from her house and reduced rates in school holidays as her young daughter is around. Seeing as I only have a trim as wear it toed up 99% of the time, I thought I would give her a try. Her normal prices are still less than my normal hairdresser anyways and sadly loyalty doesn't pay. 

PennysIntoPounds

Sorry you're feeling shoddy but don't feel guilty, we can't help when bodies go awry. 
Really brave and responsible of you to have that chat with your brother, definitely the right choice.
Hope you have a chilled Sunday being kind to yourself and feel refreshed for a new week of money saving opportunities tomorrow ☺

Sarahwithlove

Thanks. Feeling a bit better today but still not 100%. Hoping I will feel better tomorrow and can get some of the jobs I wanted to this week done. 

Spent the day at home today, did walk to post office to send my friends birthday card. So £2.10 spent which I rounded up to £5 and transferred into my CC pot. 

I also got my ocado refund confirmed so that's £3.15 to come back onto my card. 

My sinking fund is almost fully funded, next payday I should be able to fund it ready for the annual car costs to be paid Oct-Dec and then can switch to monthly payments into it. 

Sarahwithlove

Good news, return for garden furniture has been agreed and I won't be charged. So that will be £90 back. I'm also going to return the extras I brought in store which will be another £50 back. 

Sarahwithlove

Back from returning items £51 to go back on my credit card. I also returned 3 small items on amazon which has given me £13.39 credit on amazon. So when I next buy something or my sis in law asks me to order something I will put the credit towards credit card. They also told me I could keep one of items so will try and sell it on Vinted. Would probably only get £1-2 for it but all helps. 

I also popped to tesco to do a mini shop, which came to £20.98, I used £20.50 of vouchers and 48p change from my purse. Will transfer £21 to my credit card pot, £5 from personal for my coke zero, £1 from house pot for hosepipe adapter, the £15 from groceries. 

I resisted coffee and lunch out, usually I probably would have had a coffee and panini without thinking about it. 

Sarahwithlove

Me again. Had a fairly quiet afternoon, though I did spray weedkiller on half the driveway. Hopefully at end of week I can pull the weeds up, lay the stones back down and then move my car and do other half. One of downsides to having such a big driveway for just me. 

Spent £5.11 on postage to return an item, decided it was worth it for £62.99 to come back on the card for an impulse purchase. I used parcel2go to find cheapest option. Rounded it up to £6 and put difference in my NW CC pot. 

I've estimated after my just above minimum payments to the cards I will have £240 left in my budget. If I want to clear my Virgin CC before it's 0% runs out then I need to pay an additional £145 a month into my Virgin CC pot. For my Natwest I'd need to pay an additional £80 per month. Natwest does have an additional 5 months so I would be able to divert the £35 from Virgin to that and focus my remaining funds on it as well. For now I will focus on Virgin for most part and put my PADS into the Natwest pot. 

Both pots have been locked to try and prevent me taking any funds out of them. Only thing is this £240 also needs to be used on refilling my sinking fund or emergency fund if used. So just need to hope for the best when it comes to expenditure, mostly the car costs in October and November. 

I really would like to get the cards cleared before end of the 0%. Wish me luck!!

londoner2019

Just dropping in. Sorry to hear about your brother's wedding, plus your friend's birthday. It's really nice that your brother was understanding about it. 

Those red numbers are coming down nicely - and having the sinking fund there is great - it makes things easier, and genuinely much less stressful.

Sarahwithlove

londoner2019 said:

Just dropping in. Sorry to hear about your brother's wedding, plus your friend's birthday. It's really nice that your brother was understanding about it. 

Those red numbers are coming down nicely - and having the sinking fund there is great - it makes things easier, and genuinely much less stressful.

Thanks, I really struggle with spending from my sinking fund so need to get better at it and build myself a better emergency fund. I think I will then feel safer using the sinking fund and can start to overpay my mortgage. Though still a long way off that. 

Sarahwithlove

A NSD here for me. Had a quiet one at home. Feel rather lazy but got some odd jobs done. In fact I'm going to make a list.

- Wrapped my presents for my nephew and sis in law for Friday.
- sorted washing 
- printed label and packaged up parcel for collection tomorrow 
- made up a weeks worth of meds in my pill dispenser. 
- cancelled monzo extra 
- changed my card lebara gets paid from
- allocated DDs to monzo pots 
- found and refilled Reed dispensers instead of buying more 
- sorted through shoes, bags and clothes to sell on vinted. 

I'm thinking I may look at doing a car boot sale on bank holiday weekend for anything I don't sell on vinted or Facebook in the mean time. I just want the stuff gone now. I need less clutter in my life.