Don't hit me with those negative waves Moriarity

liselle

Ah yes, sorry, see what you mean.The same thing happened with Buffy the debt slayer, she just stopped posting.Also sadly missed.

LzzyIsGod

For a day off its been a super busy day. I knew I had a lot of niggly things to get through today and when I woke up this morning my brain felt like it might go into overdrive carrying it all. The only thing to do was write a list and work through it ticking things off as i went. 

Not a NSD as I need to purchase some flowers for a friend (on behalf of a group of us and everyone contributed ) and a birthday gift for a work colleague. We have quite a good system at work for gifts - everyone is allocated 1 person they are responsible for getting a card and gift so it only comes up once a year and saves on endless collections. From a budget perspective both these came out the Present Pot. 2 nice big ticks on the list.

I saw a Metal night advertised at a local music venue on SM which is happening next month and mentioned it to Dh - it's ticketed but free so we decided to get some. As dh said "ooo we like free!" 🤣 yes yes we do. His response proper made me chuckle.

2 days to pay day and I'm excited to see if the new budget and pots works 😂 When I first started reading diaries I didn't quite get why people got excited by budgets and spreadsheets ......... and now I do amd not only that i have joined them 🤣

Cara_

Thanks - I don't always comment but I read your diary every day. I'm pleased things have worked out for you and that your DH is fully on board.

Definitely tackle the mortgage as it gives you so much freedom when you own your house and no longer have the monthly payment to the bank.

Love a spreadsheet and free things too 

LzzyIsGod

Thanks so much @Cara_ I really appreciate that xx

I had hoped for a NSD today but I ended up spending £1.79 on milk for the office 🤣. Tbf it probably was my turn and I do like an office brew so i didnt mind too much. Managed to fund it out of the shrapnel in my purse which I was surprised by as I rarely find any cash in there !!  Colleagues present safely delivered so that's a job done for another year ✔️

Driving along today I was thinking about the budget (as you do) especially as I head towards my original LBM anniversary. I say original because I think it's quite an evolving process really.  I read back this diary and I can see the things I thought I couldn't compromise on at the beginning but then eventually did knock on the head and its like watching a story unfold. I've been thinking if there's anything I would instantly reinstate and at the moment I don't think there is ........ possibly the Audible subscription maybe as I have recently thought a few times "hhhmmm wish I still had that" and that's really surprised me, I thought there would be other things that I would have missed far more!

Looking ahead to next month (payday tomorrow yippeekayay!!!) I will need some cosmetics that I'm getting super low on (foundation and mascara mainly - yes I am very vain) and there's another dentist appointment coming up and that inevitably will cost more than I expect (I still have a slightly troublesome tooth).

Also need to make sure that Christmas pot is topping up ready for the festive season ...... although dh and I have agreed not to do presents this year - we don't particularly need anything and tbh being in a better financial place will be the best gift of all for both of us (cheeeeeeesy as it sounds!!)

rachmac3

Well that all sounds very lovely, on all fronts! 
It's definitely been a journey, hasn't it. I think I'll still be learning about it all this time next year. 
I didn't give up my audible, I use it to help me sleep so I counted it as a necessity. 

jwil

If your library uses Borrowbox there's plenty of audiobooks on there.

LzzyIsGod

It's funny I never think to go to our local library and yet it's an obvious MSE thing to do 🤣 Possibly because there's a nice coffee shop in there which whilst is lovely, it's quite pricey and coffee on the go is definitely one thing I have cut out over the last year.  The Audible was a real surprise because i didn't use it overly much but I've started listening to podcasts and books in the car a fair bit and whilst we do still have Sp£tify we don't have the books element.


Champagne Supernova - Oasis

well what a weekend that was. I love visiting London but you definitely need a Champagne Supernova budget compared to where I live 🤣 Thank goodness for family contributions and planning ahead. I definitely spent slightly more than i expected so it'll be a Quiet Month ahead til next payday 🤣🤣 but by god Oasis were fantastic even up in the Gods with my cheap tickets. I felt like a teenager all over again and yoof totally loved it. I didn't even think to take a CC with me unlike previous trips so very happy with that. I think I am definitely someone who shouldn't ever use CCs. I am much more in control with cash and debit cards.

And so to the week ahead - I have loads of AL stacking up which I had thought about selling back to work but with budgets being tight they aren't running that scheme this year. So I have 2 random days off now as it has to be used up or i lose it. I'd like to use them usefully so 1st thing is to clean and tidy the house after being away and maybe some (small) DIY, gardening or decluttering jobs.

 DH is back this week (yippee - we've missed him) although has been delayed travelling back by bad weather (he's away in a very remote part of the world renowned for delays getting there and back at this time of year) Disappointing but unavoidable. 

The side hustles are back in regular routine now the summer is over so I have 2 of those this week plus some gigs coming up which will also pay a small amount. I shall be starting Festive Shopping Planning with a vengeance from.now on - although I started cutting back on who we buy for years ago like good old Martin L suggests so it's not a ridiculous list by anyone's calculations. As dh and I aren't doing presents and 1 person had a birthday/Christmas present combined earlier this year I have a grand total of the yoofs (2) and 4 people plus work secret santa (strict £10 budget) to buy for. That feels pretty manageable.

Right best get up so as not to waste the day!

jwil

Borrowbox is an app, so as long as you are a library member, and they use it, you should be able to register.  You can get books, magazines and audiobooks so it's great.

LzzyIsGod

I shall look into it thanks @jwil.

 I still have "the fear" in the pit of my stomach so I'm holding onto the budget reins tightly and I'm not quite ready to sign back up to subscriptions (well not until that EF and my car fund are fully funded)

LzzyIsGod

Yesterday was not quite the day off I had planned due to illness in the house - so an unanticipated NSD.

however ive cleaned and "reset" the house back to normal and caught up with the washing which seemed to have backed up massively. I usually wash once a day which always seems excessive but when I don't I get an enormous backlog. Still the weather was kind so despite the washing machine being in overdrive, there was no tumble dryer use.

I also managed to meal prep for the week ahead (usually a weekend job) which I find essential to avoid unexpected shopping trips or takeaways. Some of my mates find it a bit weird that I meal plan the week ahead and stick to it but on my longer working days everything goes to pot if I don't, especially when dh is away.

I have an itch to redecorate 😂 but sensible head says that's a tomorrow job. Today's task is to declutter and reorganise the study ....... I may be some time ........