Managing Mat Leave

FacelessNumber

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend! Got my list done yesterday as well as having a lovely day with the family and some friends.

Spending:
6.04 nappies
77.19 fuel

Got a small refund from grocery shopping too as the milk was leaking when we collected it. Also had an unexpected increase in income for the month so that will cover our expensive month and help increase the savings buffer a little.

Today's list:
*Exercise bike
*Finish and submit assignment
*Put 3-4 loads of washing away - I'm good at getting it washed and dried, putting it away can be a bit slow!
*Post thank you cards

Money Saving:
*Got my first vinted payment through, need to list some more things on there.

FacelessNumber

Got everything done yesterday! I also managed a row of crochet in the evening, but just one because then the baby got grumpy. Not much on today, mostly just pottering and trying to sort some bits out, depending on how the kids are. 

NSD yesterday. I get paid tomorrow, just less than full pay which is easy enough to budget with, it's next month that will get more difficult! Hoping to get through my half pay period without taking anything out of savings for normal spending.

Money saving Activities:
*Continuing to meal plan
*2 phones sold to recycling site will hopefully get us £20, should be able to post those this week

To do today:
*Continue washing - got it all out away yesterday but did another load that will need sorting
*Sort out baby clothes - list some bundles on vinted if time
*Start photo album - I need to start collecting and organising old pictures for this
*Tidy/clean bedroom
*Gym
*Walk

Quite a lot to aim for, will see how far I get. Might be a chuck the baby in the carrier kind of day!

FacelessNumber

Didn't manage to sort baby clothes or start the photo album yesterday. Rolling those over to today's list but I'm out for a while so not sure I'll get to them. Food shop done yesterday, just over £60. Have meals planned, need to get dinner in the slow cooker this morning before I go out.

To do today:
*Money catch up - I'll do end of month moving money around tomorrow or Thursday after all transactions are sorted. 
*Walk
*Sort baby clothes
*Washing

FacelessNumber

Nice day yesterday, spent £16 on lunch out with a friend. Also picked up a couple of bits for the baby but had vouchers for those. Had a nice long walk afterwards too. Didn't get a money catch up done or any baby clothes sorted, and not sure whether I'll manage it today as have both kids at home.

Also remembered that I need to do my tax return, obviously have plenty of time but would like to get it done sooner rather than later!

To do (not necessarily today):
*Post phones - should get us £20 into holiday savings
*Sort baby clothes, list some on vinted
*Money catch up
*Walk
*Gym
*Washing

FacelessNumber

Phones packaged, will take to the post office today. Gym, walk and washing all done. Going out for a long walk with the dog and the baby today. Will try and do money catch up when I get home and update savings and debt totals.

Spending:
3.83 groceries
3.95 cakes

To do:
*Washing
*Money Catch Up
*Exercise Bike
*Walk
*Post phones 

FacelessNumber

Only washing and a walk done yesterday. Not going to try and do much today as I'm tired, going to have a chilled out day with the baby. If I get the money catch up done I'll call it a win, and need to put dinner in the slow cooker around lunch time. Should also be a gym day but I might roll that over to the weekend, it's my last planned workout of the week so plenty of time to get it done still.

Lonelygambler

Hey. How’s the two going? We have seen our eldest starting to show real signs of brotherly love, He is 3 and youngest is 1. Lots of hugs, hand holding and sharing  

I hope you have a good BH with the family 

FacelessNumber

It's so lovely, my eldest is 3.5 and is very sweet with his little sister, he likes to hold her and stroke her head. I'm sure that will change when she's old enough to annoy him! Hope you have some nice family time too.

Had a takeaway last night, also a couple of quid on groceries and 2 new car seats for the eldest ordered so quite a bit spent.

Today my main project is starting a photo album, I'm going to visit some family to raid some photos, will take up most of the day with the driving.

Out tomorrow all day as well so won't be doing much otherwise. Hope everyone enjoys the bank holiday weekend!

FacelessNumber

Lots of spending over the bank holiday weekend, but we had a couple of lovely days out, haven't broken the budget.

We've managed to surpass our easy access savings target of 7k, mostly thanks to an unexpected increase in income for the month so throwing some money to the mortgage and our investment accounts. Anything that stays above the 7k will be distributed between these I think.

Money saving:
*Got a too good to go bag yesterday, it was a really good one, also picked up some reduced fish and meat when I was there so will meal plan around that for this week.
*£22 in my holiday savings pot - this is just made up of selling things, have got £60 cash that I need to bank and add to it.
*£1k overpayment made to mortgage
*Phones packaged and ready to post for another £20
*Another item listed on vinted, I have loads of maternity clothes to get on here

Money saving things to do:
*Check mortgage rates and whether I need to make an appointment or just switch online
*List more items on vinted
*Compare broadband prices, possibly switch
*Start a car fund - my car is 12 years old and should get another 2-3 years out of it but should start trying to save a small amount, maybe just £50 a month whilst I'm on leave. Have always bought my cars outright and would like to do this again next time!

That's about it for now I think! Just pottering around the house today, trying to tidy up a bit.

FacelessNumber

Meal plan written yesterday and grocery shop done, have spent £70ish in total this week and still need a couple of bits. We do have a lot of stuff in the freezer though so should stay under budget for the month. I budget £350-£375 a month that includes food, nappies, toiletries and occasionally other bits and pieces from the supermarket.

January we spent £372
February £300
March £385
April £335

I aim for £70 a week but it's rare that we manage it. Continuing to work on it though as it's the easiest part of the budget for us to try and save on! We do buy a lot of fruit and other snacks for my son which adds up, he's already eating us out of house and home and he's only 3.5!

I also posted the phones today so should get another £20 soon for that. Need to pop into town this week, maybe on Friday. I have money to pay into the bank and want to go to the library to look for a recipe book for some new ideas. Also need to replenish the snack cupboard which I forgot to do when doing the online order!

Money spending today, a few quid each on a coffee and some compost. Not planning to buy any more coffees this week, I have a free one to get that I'll get when I'm in town.

In other news the gym is going well, I'm managing to consistently get in there 3 times a week. Following a work out plan which I like as it keeps me focused.