Moving on

Cherryfudge

It's been too cold and wet to do anything with the garden or laundry but DH collected my medication and later reminded me I was supposed to be doing some cleaning at church. I've actually spent quite enough time playing on the computer so I got myself out and about this afternoon, found a discounted diary suitable for spending records, bought more bird food as the shop has restocked and went to do the cleaning only to find someone has gone home with the key to the cupboard!

I found some supplies under a sink so I did some basics then divided the rest of the time - since I was already there and I could hear heavy rain outside - between some deep cleaning of the area the children use (satisfying, and all the more so because I wasn't under any sort of obligation to do it: isn't that odd?) and tidying the stock cupboard that the group leaders use. Some time ago a lot of coloured paper was moved there from the office, which wasn't using it and it was assumed we might. But how often do we use it? Once in a blue moon. I've filled three boxes with it and shoved them into the bottom corner of the cupboard and as a result we can reach everything else. I took a photo so the team would be aware things had moved, but when I looked back at it, the untidy bits of the shelves seem to show up more than all the sorting.

Anyway, it's done. DH came to give me a lift home and the rain stopped so we walked to the supermarket and bought various unnecessary calories as they were reducing prices. Dinner tonight was tuna pasta so we have used some chopped peppers from the freezer. I made the mistake of having a third coffee so I got the beginnings of a feeling of doom, which is never a good thing and I should know better than to push my limits.

Housework-wise, DH has oiled some kitchen surfaces: there are more to do tomorrow once these have dried. I cleaned the bathroom and sorted through the box of Christmas wrapping paper ready to put it away. We've put the tree and decorations in the loft and the lounge is just about back to normal. I've also entered this year's receipts into the new diary. Tomorrow I must update my timesheets.

Spending
Stationery 1.49
Pets 2.00
Housekeeping 14.65
Unknown but probably oil for kitchen surfaces 5.00

Cherryfudge

It's beautiful outside today: clear sky, bright sun and a sprinkling of snow, so light that I mistook it for frost.

DH has gone out for the morning to an auction and I'm writing this to get myself motivated to do something or other. I was a little annoyed as a mouse has clearly been in and nibbled the bulbs I had growing in a pot. I think they will recover but the cheek of it! And to ignore the mousetrap I'd prepared specially...

The early night didn't materialise but I was a little earlier than I have been, so I'll count it as a step in the right direction.

Things to do this morning:
laundry
clear kitchen surfaces and do the roast carrots for the spicy carrot hummus
finish getting dressed  

Cherryfudge

Amazingly, I did my morning list, all of it! DH came back with a painting (I don't know what he paid for it but the aim is to research it and hopefully sell on).

Dinner was fish from the freezer with potatoes and veg, and that's the end of the Christmas carrots. Next time I need to prep and freeze some rather than try to keep them in water in the kitchen, as there was a fair amount of waste. However, I've now got lots of carrot hummus so I won't be short of snacks or protein. (I've also got one and a bit lots of blue cheese, half a pack of cream cheese, lots of plain yogurt and some vegan cheese and DH doesn't eat any of them so if I'm not careful, I will balloon).

(I also have a cake mountain - DH has Chelsea buns, I have a couple of Eccles cakes, there are small buns left over from the other day and a quarter of the Christmas cake - as well as some hot cross buns).

We walked into town to collect my parcels: a book for DS1 (Christmas stocking) and a shirt for DH. I'm very pleased with both and longer term they save money as they're from V1nted. I'm also puzzled as there's a note on my orders that the book is at the Post Office - but it isn't, I collected it elsewhere.

I've ordered a Christmas tee shirt (£5.09) and a Cath K1dston tote bag (also £5.09). I don't suppose either was really needed but the bag is to replace one that was 50p at a car boot sale and whose main attraction was capacity. Very useful but not pretty, and the faux leather eventually tore so a cheerful large bag with handles that can go over the shoulder and that's quite tough - that sounds good to me.

On the way back I thought to check Ol1o for Ice1and discounts, and came away a few pounds lighter and with a lot of things: 12 large free range eggs for £1.50 instead of £3.25 (DH has already used some while baking for a lunch he's going to tomorrow), chicken fillets (£1.65 instead of £4), sausage meat (half price at £1), 10 rashers of back bacon (94p instead of £1.75), ham slices (£1.22 down from £2) and easy peelers (52p instead of £1.49).

Ice1and didn't have the chocolate I wanted so I then went to L1dl where I bought not only a few groceries but also more bird food as they have an offer on, and a couple of storage boxes which look a better size for the children's books at church than the one I used the other day. These can count as a donation unless, of course, they don't fit in which case I will probably use them at home. They did save me having to buy another carrier bag, as I loaded them up with grapefruit and stuff then DH caught up we me on the way home and helped carry them.

So there has been a bit of exercise, a bit of housework, a bit of buying and rather a lot of playing Age of Empires but at least I put that to run on the fast version.

Spending:
Donation 7.87
Pets 4.08
Housekeeping 11.00

Incidentally, the sky is partly clear and there's a really good chance of seeing the aurora at the moment though I'm not succeeding.

Cherryfudge

And (drum roll please) I've started this year's finances spreadsheet. Last year I didn't do one at all, just wrote things in my notebook. It was too complicated to keep up, so this time I've reduced the categories, which are currently as follows:

Housekeeping, Household (including insurance), Council Tax, Utilities, Tech and online storage (includes broadband and phone bills), CPD and union dues, Donations, Transport, the hobby car, Leisure, Holidays, DH's credit card (so he doesn't have to tell me what he spends), Medical, Pets and garden, Gifts, Post and stationery, Cash, Charges (for if library books are late, CC isn't paid in time etc).

Have I missed anything? There's no rent or mortgage as that's paid off.

Also, for those more knowledgeable than I am, this is derived from a very basic spreadsheet I made a couple of years ago and I feel I should be keeping a running total of outgoings deducted from incomings. Is that right? I've just been totalling up and checking there's more in than out but perhaps I should be entering all expenditure as a minus figure? It may be a silly question, but where does one learn these things?

Rhyddid2026

They do short courses on Excel, a friend of mine is doing one next week. I can do the basics, simple sums and formulas. I'm happy to show you my spreadsheet if that helps? I have dds/bills in columns for each of my 3 bank accounts, another column for food/fuel etc, then those totalled and subtracted from my incoming wage to show how much I should have left for overpayments.

badmemory

I'm not going to be any help!  What you have on your spreadsheet depends on what you yourself want to know.  I have 3, one of which is housekeeping which is because DS used to pay his share, he no longer does because it seems pointless me accumulating money when it is all going to him anyway, but it becomes an item on my 3rd sheet.  Another which gives all my savings & when interest is due & where it is going to come from when I suddenly decide to spend £11k on solar!!

The 3rd is my bank account, well the estimate of it.  All the way to 31st December 2026.  It means those nasty repeating items don't get forgotten.  Being a bit anal I also track every penny of my credit card cashback.

I made the mistake of comparing housekeeping over the last few years.  10% a year is the polite version.

WelshmansDaughter

Generally I just have a dashboard format where I have two boxes. One for costs (sum of outgoings) one for remainder which is income minus costs. 

Cherryfudge

Rhyddid2026 said:

They do short courses on Excel, a friend of mine is doing one next week. I can do the basics, simple sums and formulas. I'm happy to show you my spreadsheet if that helps? I have dds/bills in columns for each of my 3 bank accounts, another column for food/fuel etc, then those totalled and subtracted from my incoming wage to show how much I should have left for overpayments.

That would be very useful thanks @Rhyddid2026. I'm not sure my simple layout is the best, even though I've reduced the categories. I've had a look at the Excel courses, and can get a certain way through but I think I need a person to teach me. I got a place on a local course but they withdrew the date I could do, so it never happened.

badmemory said:

I'm not going to be any help!  What you have on your spreadsheet depends on what you yourself want to know.  I have 3, one of which is housekeeping which is because DS used to pay his share, he no longer does because it seems pointless me accumulating money when it is all going to him anyway, but it becomes an item on my 3rd sheet.  Another which gives all my savings & when interest is due & where it is going to come from when I suddenly decide to spend £11k on solar!!

The 3rd is my bank account, well the estimate of it.  All the way to 31st December 2026.  It means those nasty repeating items don't get forgotten.  Being a bit anal I also track every penny of my credit card cashback.

I made the mistake of comparing housekeeping over the last few years.  10% a year is the polite version.

Eek to the 10% - price increases are hair-raising, aren't they? Especially if you go back a few years and think that it's all compounded each year since.

You're right that I need to work out what I want. I'm struggling with that but I think at a basic level I want to know if we are spending unreasonably or money is leaking out where it didn't orta.

Years ago, we put everything we could onto automated payments, so there are lots of DDs and SOs which keep going out steadily, mostly against DH's income, which is steady. Mine isn't, so I have to keep an eye on that account so there's enough for the outgoings there. There are also some savings accounts that aren't currently being added to so at some point I need to get DH to set something up. The trouble is that he likes to see money in the current account (well, don't we all - but not just accumulating if it's not earning interest). I have to catch him at the right moment and have the data ready for his new account.

WelshmansDaughter said:

Generally I just have a dashboard format where I have two boxes. One for costs (sum of outgoings) one for remainder which is income minus costs. 

I think this is roughly where I need to be, but the examples of dashboard courses look very fancy for my level of knowledge. I suppose if I work on the one I've got, I could experiment with background colours and bits like that to make it less of a wall of data. Not very financially helpful, but perhaps more approachable.

A lot of the template ones seem to be American - I'd have a lot of wading through to change terminology, delete things that aren't applicable etc. I've downloaded the MSE one but it's needing all the data to get started, which is a faff as banking apps time out while I'm finding details and the laptop has decided not to talk to the printer, which is sitting quietly waiting for instructions. It does this sometimes - I have to uninstall and reinstall.

I had a look at the Natwest app, as it has a basic budgeting facility but not a spreadsheet and, as far as I can tell, quite a bit of guesswork. It thinks we've spent X amount on food, but actually that's probably based on where we shop and if we bought clothes in the supermarket, it wouldn't know they aren't food.

Never mind, at least I'm trying to engage with it so perhaps I'll make some progress somehow.

Rhyddid2026

Drop me a message Cherry and we'll figure out if/how I can be helpful.

WelshmansDaughter

They do also have pre made templates in excel where you can drop your figures in. Or something like notion where you can pick a template