Need fresh eyes on my budget!

honeybee1234

Thanks @janb5 @foxgloves @Mands @KxMx @MFWannabe for the thoughts!

I go to a specialist hairdresser, I have looong thick curly layered hair, and unfortunately have had way too many unfortunate experiences with hairdressers saying they can absolutely cut curly hair, then cut and layer it like it's straight then dry it using a brush like a blow dry - I've ended up with a mushroom fluffy haircut too many times despite me explaining exactly what I want before and during!

I was discussing the price of my hairdresser with DP and how I can a) space it out, and b) potentially cut my fringe myself. It is also a self-care issue, and a small challenge to myself with leaving the house. She is very local luckily so it feels relatively OK if I plan it on a comfortable day at a comfortable time.

I am crushingly tired today. Unfortunately this happens when I have been out, the adrenaline crash affects me a lot. I don't have to go out now in the next few days so I can relax.

MayDogsandCoffee

I used to have a fringe and most hairdressers do an inbetween free trim when you have your hair cut on a regular basis (or used to), but I grew mine out which is a moneysaver as I now go for a cut every 10 weeks rather than eight weeks - so less over the year.

honeybee1234

@MayDogsandCoffee I'm the opposite - I got a fringe a couple of years ago when I had a restyle and I love it! Unfortunately it does require that regular maintenance. My plan is to book another fringe trim in a few months after I have my next proper haircut and observe carefully then have a go myself the next time it needs doing. How hard can it be? 😁

I've just been doing a mid-month check in. Things are very steady. I've only utilised the grocery pot, the kids' pot and my personal spends pot so far this month:

• Grocery pot: 96.11 remaining from 300.00 for the month to cover two weekly shops from Lidl, so roughly 48.00 each week - this is very doable. Spent on one 'start of the month' bigger shop from Lidl plus a small Sainsbury's delivery of things I can't get at Lidl needed for the month, then a smaller Lidl shop the following week, plus a couple of Asda smaller shops. I'm planning to roll the Asda shops into the Sainsbury's shop as it's too easy to pick up bits I hadn't planned there.
• Kids' pot: 50.01 remaining from 80.00. Spent on 2x Ubers for DS1 and a skincare item for both DSs. This will cover x2 more Ubers and any other incidental items for DSs, then the rest will likely carry over until next month.
• Personal spends is done. I put in 50.00, and have bought hair dye (I wait until it's on offer), lip balm and shampoo (again on offer), a small amount on snacks for DS2 when he was out and hadn't eaten lunch, then some further misc. items and toiletries which took me to the end of my budget. I did deliberately make my personal spends relatively low as I wanted to focus on furnishing other pots, so this isn't a problem as I planned April as a low-spend month and I don't have anything else I need to spend on. If anything comes up, I'll have to consider how necessary it is.

I have identified for the May budget I need to include somewhere money for the pets (vets and meds) and also dentist and opticians (I'll probably roll these into one pot to cover check ups and treatment, and also glasses as I have yearly sight tests and wear glasses.)

Quiet day today at home. I plan to start my May budget and have a play around with the pots to build up the funds and make sure yearly costs are fully accounted for.

elsien

I have a health pot which covered dentist, optician and any prescriptions.

And I used to have a dog pot which covered everything dog related - food, vets, insurance, training, replacing things he destroyed while with dog sitting parent (we won’t mention the £1000 hearing aid or the set of false teeth) That was by far my biggest pot, I’m richer now he’s gone but oh do miss him.

Spendless

I have a friend with curly hair and a fringe who has the same problems maintaining it you describe. Shes decided that paying for the hairdressers who know what theyre doing is worth it (too many disasters elsewhere). Id say your hair maintainance is an essential part of your selfcare/personal spend budget.

MayDogsandCoffee

@honeybee1234 I had my fringe for years and cut it myself for years too, only made a mess twice and that was because I cut it wet. Lesson there cut dry and don't pull it down to cut :) I don't have curly hair but then I used to use nail (small scissors) and snip upwards for a bit of a wispy finish - I have really thick hair

honeybee1234

So yes, I shall keep the regular haircuts for now, probably once every 3-4 months. I'll have another fringe trim after my next proper cut, and see if I can tackle that myself from then. I'll report back on progress when this next happens!

Things are ticking over quietly. I did my weekly shop the other day at Lidl, and had to stop by Asda to pick up a few bits that Lidl didn't have. I did use more than budgeted as I stocked up on some items I usually buy that were on good offers. I did deliberate over this as it dipped into next week's money, but on balance I was happy with this as I now have a good cupboard and freezer stock, I have enough for a modest weekly shop next week (a touch under £30), and the boys are with their dad next weekend so I don't need to cover their food.

Happy to report I haven't had to dip into any pots except for their intended purpose. My focus again next month is to have another quiet month apart from some as-yet undecided activity during the May half-term which will be planned and budgeted for. So all in all, things are going really well this month, I feel very focused and building up the pots is providing a feeling of stability I hadn't felt before.

Blackcats

well done to you! Great progress. I completely agree about the stability that various money pots bring. I've just been tweaking my various categories to take us through to the end of the month, mind you, I now find it difficult to dip into my pots even for the intended purpose even though I used to be a prolific spender.

Dakota_Rose

I can relate to @Blackcats re spending from my pots. Well done for sticking to it this month. It sounds like you’ve got a really good handle on things this month 😊

honeybee1234

Thanks @Blackcats and @Dakota_Rose , I am actually feeling similar about not wanting to dip into the pots right now. I need to get some clothes. I hate buying clothes, I always feel guilty? As a child, teenager and an adult, clothes were never really prioritised in different ways. I had the bare minimum as a child/teenager, then as an adult when the kids were little, we were always struggling so the kids got clothes and occasionally I'd get myself something. I've always had a few things I cycle through frequently as I don't have a lot in the rotation but I've decided it's actually OK to have enough clothes for every day of the week instead of needing to wash things so frequently.

I always look for bargains and spend time researching what I want/need so why am I carrying guilt about buying literal life essentials? I don't know.