There is always tomorrow

Sponge_pudding

Hi Doris17, very nice to meet you and pleased to have you along

I've completed the shopping order for delivery Saturday, hopefully I wont remember anything else I need, the total is £58.31.  Leaves £1.69 under budget.  I am going to be sneaky here but when I sorted out my totals on Monday and Tuesday I did not take into account the amount I had already spent in Tesco had already gone out so basically the full amount of last weeks shopping is still sat in the bank waiting to be used.  I can now use that and the under budget £1.69 this week towards the £191.46/£250 left to pay, that leaves £129.77 to find.  I have £11.40 in my eBay balance, £6.77 in Plum (I know!) and £6.99 in Vinted, they total £25.16 so that leaves £104.61/£250 getting there now.  

I have listed 20 items on Vinted in all today, will do more tomorrow but for now I am shattered and all Vinted out.  DH has part of a Camper Van seat set in the barn in good condition, we are going to clean it on Saturday and list it for sale.  Fingers crossed it can raise the rest of the money needed for this month and some towards the enormous July bill, they are on eBay for a few hundred pounds so there is a chance I suppose.

I have spoken with DH about using the food we have in until Saturday, he is fine with that as his motto is 'just never spend, make do with what you have' (Unless it is on a car or a holiday that is!).  

Sponge_pudding

As usual I have got myself in a money mess.  I find it so hard to get money in order and when I think I have it sorted, it jumps straight back out of line.  

Basically I am trying to pay for everything additional to the regular direct debits out of extra earned income until October.  If I do this properly on the 1st of October the overdraft will be cleared.  Then I can put money aside each  month into pots ready for the expenses.  Until then I am playing catch up and it is horrid   Today I feel really dispondent and miserable about it. I feel like my purse is emptying (it was already overdrawn) faster than any money coming in.  It has shown me just how we have got into debt, we are only on the 12th of the month and already in trouble.  DH just came to tell me he needs horse feed and wood. Yay Sat here waiting to see how much is taken from my card. I know he wont overspend on a whim and it is a necessity but all the same it's poo.  I truly know he wont spend unless he has to..........

I have listed about another 20 things on Vinted this morning in desperation.  I have had an offer overnight that amounts to £12 which I accepted (a bird in the hand and all that!) but they haven't come back to me and I hate waiting.  I've had a few other offers but silly prices that makes me feel I would rather bin the items than let them have them for those amounts - is that silly? Cutting my nose off to spite my face?

I've remembered we need milk so I have added that to the shopping list and have decided DH can have 4 greek strawberry yogurts instead of the greek yogurt, raspberries and honey I was going to treat him to, he wont care and he likes the strawberry ones.  That helped me keep Saturdays shopping under budget.

I think I am going to have lots more muddled days until finally I am organised.  I have a useless memory and am hard on myself.  I need to give myself a break, Rome was not built in a day and there is always tomorrow.

Sponge_pudding

I've been through the freezer and have around 6 meals in there.  Two pies, beef mince, a pizza, curry, one or two batch cooked beef stews, some char-grilled chicken things, two packs of bacon and a few pork loin steaks.  I've taken one of the bacon packs out and will have that for tea with chips (for DH) potatoes (for me) egg and bread and butter.  There might also be some sausages left over as well.  

I have refused to buy any chocolate biscuits this week (I may not survive till Sunday when DH finds out).  Instead I have bought a load of margarine to go with the flour, eggs and sugar in the cupboard.  I am making cakes and biscuits all day Sunday.  At least that is the plan.  I am going to freeze it all.  I had a rough night sleep last night and was up early so I made bread and have two ready for the freezer.  I will make another one dinner time.  Surveys are up to £26 now.

DH is back, Horse Feed, Wood and Diesel = £84.93.  Pretty impressive but still not budgeted for.  

I've made a spread sheet, showing a running total of debt in overdraft, credit card and loan.  Each time we make a non budgeted spend or happen to have some extra funds in, I update whichever column it is relevant to.  It shows me how much debt has increased or decreased.  The total debt at the end of the month after I make my regular payments as it stand today, will be a decrease in debt of £88.64.  I still need to find £265.28 and not make any more purchases outside the budget.  

Sponge_pudding

Not sure if this new system will work, typical me, think I've sorted things and then find I haven't.  For now I am just going to simplify things and track my additional spends and income, that way I can control my spending a little more and will see what the overall debt figures show at the end of the month. 

Good news is two items have sold on Vinted, only £8.00 but it's extra and surveys are up to approx £28 so got to count the good things.

I have 4 loaves of bread in the freezer, cooked bacon at dinner time for later and did the dishes.  I checked and the majority of the jam jars I saved have lids so that is good as well, just need to wait for the blackcurrants to be ripe.  In all I have listed around 50 items on vinted yesterday and today, didn't know I had it in me.  DH has started to get the seats ready for sale so we will finish that together on Saturday.  

I am tired today, it has been an emotional rollercoaster the last few days but I am pleased at the progress we are making.  On another note DH is currently looking how much he can save by booking a holiday last minute, finally!!

LzzyIsGod

I can remember when I first started I thought I'd combed through all the expenses and got them all and then others popped up!  It took several "combs" before I felt satisfied I had located everything.
(Reminded me of combing the kids hair for nits tbh 🤣)

Starting is always better than not starting. I've found a diary super helpful and I do sometimes go back and read mine - bit excruciating at times but you won't always feel super buoyed up with motivation (think moat people would agree with this) and it's really good for reassurance on those days xx

Sponge_pudding

Thank you LzzyIsGod for your sound advice and also for stopping by.  I am typical of this, flat out to start, all excited and then I wane.  I will remember your words when I get tired and fed up, this is going to be a long drawn out process for me and one I will find hard, thank you.

True to myself I have gone like mad and listed 67 items on Vinted. Now I am sat wondering why they haven't sold, so impatient!  Nevertheless, I have sold some which I need to be positive about.  Vinted total is now £32.49 which is a lot more than I had at the beginning of the week.  Surveys are around £30 but hard to tell as some are in dollars.

This afternoon is going to be a potter about, lots of tidying up, washing and possibly some baking.  Generally just trying to wind down and de-clutter my brain as well as my house.

Sponge_pudding

Made a sponge cake and then realised we were completely out of jam. Decided to check on the black currants and managed to get a pound and a half including some almost ready strawberries. A while later and..... 2 and a bit pots of jam.  Would have had more but used a smaller bowl and it overflowed so wasted some fruit, nevermind plenty of jam and lots of berries still on the bushes.

OopsIdiditagain1

How are you doing today Sponge_pudding? Home made cake and jam sounds delicious. It sounds like you are taking steps forward each day. Keep doing what you are doing but take time to look after your wellbeing too x 

Sponge_pudding

Awww thank you OopsIdiditagain1  for your kind words, that is really nice of you.  I do find it incredibly hard to value my own self-worth and self-care is something I rarely pay attention to.  Things need to change in more areas that one me thinks

It's been a very busy day today.  Up early and sorting out Vinted parcels, up to £50 sold and I have 86 things listed.  Lots of requests for me to lower the prices but they are already rock bottom so I have dropped them a tiny bit but can't do any lower at the moment, maybe in time I will.  No surveys today, just been too busy to look. But also another NESD.  I am calling my NSD's No Extra Spend Days NESD, because I want to be able to say I have had a no spend day but my direct debits go out all different times of the month.  This way means I can actually say NESD today even if I have paid a direct debit

Tesco came and the final bill was £57.50, really pleased with this.  Tomorrow I am making pasties, apple tarts, spag bol, chicken and mushroom pies, cakes and biscuits and freezing it all.  DH has had a panic this evening when he realised there were NO chocolate biscuits at all in the order. 'I can't cope without biscuits!'  Me: 'Well what about sponge cake and some of my biscuits', begrudgingly, ok, but what if everyone else eats them, Me: I will make more.  At least he agrees now. I think I am going to be cooking all week, never mind as long as it is cheaper and healthier.

I have found the limits of my frugality today.  I went to eat some chicken bakes that you cook in the oven, Tescos own. I happened to catch a glimpse of the words chicken from Thailand printed on the packet and nearly threw up. I am so naive, I automatically trusted Tesco and thought it would be British and a healthy looked after chicken.  Oh dear, not nice at all.  DH to the financial rescue though, saying chickens are chickens and ate them but I wont be buying anymore of them. I need to be much more careful what I buy from now on.

I'm shattered this evening, mentally and physically. I am sitting down to watch some TV and have a read of some diaries and then an early night and a sound night sleep I hope.

Sponge_pudding

Lots of batch cooking today. Made a chicken and mushroom pie out of 1 chicken breast, that has been cut up into 6 good slices, a corned beef pie made with a few slices of corn-beef and half a bag of potatoes that has been cut up into 6 but two are already gone so 4 left. 4 portions of spaghetti bolognese.  16 little mini apple pasties out of a jar of apple sauce and some more homemade pastry and as a trial a large saucepan of mash potato rolled into balls and frozen so we can use it as instant mash.  Needless to say freezer is looking good.  Very pleased with the amount of homemade dinners we had out of a small amount of money.

Next week will make a large curry and freeze that into portions and a cheesy chicken and bacon pasta bake that I will also cut up and freeze.  I do need to make more cakes and biscuits tomorrow though as they have gone like wildfire and I do not want to run out, especially as I said we don't need to buy chocolate biscuits

Vinted is doing great at the moment, up to £76.50 today.  Have posted everything out but 3 more things have sold this evening so will do them tomorrow. Today has been a NESD.