i WILL do it this time!!!.....my new diary.

sparky0107

carrie.1985 wrote: »

hi guys

managed to spend only £17.11 in asda yeseterday to stuff to last until thurs. im so chuffed normally i would spend £30-£40. even got the girl to put my change on one of those christmas savings cards. now that i've got my shopping in i shouldn't need to spend anything until fri. 6 NSD's in a row would be fantastic! normally im climbing the walls if i don't spend something everyday. im really getting into this though coz most challenges i set myself i end up getting bored and quit after a while but i am determined this time. lunch today is lasange which i've got from the freezer.

take care xXx

Morning carrie,
Hope it was a home made lasagne & not a ready meal. I'm attaching a recipe for a tomato sauce, which is very easy to make & the amount you make can be split into about 4/5 1 litre portions and frozen. Plus it costs very little to make, hope you enjoy it

Tomato Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

· 3 large onions
· Olive oil
· 6 tins of crushed tomatoes or 4 bottles of passata
· 6 cloves of garlic
· 2/3 tablespoons of Italian herbs
· 2 bay leaves crushed
· 2 teaspoons of salt
· Pepper to own taste
· 3 small tins of tomato puree
· 2/3 teaspoons of sugar
· 2 large glasses of red wine

Method

Peel & chop the onions, peel & crush the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the Italian herbs & crushed bay leaves, add the onions & garlic and stir, add salt, pepper & sugar to pan, keep stirring until the onions go soft and clear.

Add the tomatoes or passata and bring to the boil, lower the heat & add the tomato puree, also add 1 glass of wine, check for seasoning, adjust to your own taste. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Take the second glass of wine, sit in front of the TV and drink the wine! Enjoy.

This is the perfect base for any Italian dish, and works well with Beef. Chicken, Turkey mince or any white fish.

The sauce will freeze perfectly, that's why you make such a big pan full.

Also try it as Bolognaise, spooned onto garlic bread slices, topped with mozzarella cheese & sprinkled with herbs, a tasty mini pizza snack.

Let me know what you think folks, and pass it on if anyone else wants a copy.

Sparky

carrie.1985

it's only been 4 days but i've slipped up :mad: im soooo annoyed with myself. not so much for spending the money but coz of wot i spent it on....slimming pills. im such a !!!!! i don't even really want them, think ive just deprived myself of spending money. oh well its done now, theres always tomorrow.

on the other hand ive just had my 1st bingo win:j was beginning to think it was never going to happen!

xXx

carrie.1985

been trying really hard with keeping my spending to a minimum today i tried myself. breakfast - £1 (can of coke & a ripple) lunch - £4.89 (KFC). which just proves those slimming pills were a waste of money:mad: used to spend this kind of money (and more!) everyday so at least im improving! i no im going to end up spending a fortune tomorrow coz ive not bought anything all week but ill try to keep it to a minimum!!

xXx

carrie.1985

need to go shopping today, its my brothers girlfriends birthday party tomorrow nite so i need to buy her a prezzie! for the 1st time in a long time though im not going to buy a new outfit! before i started moneysaving i would normally have spent abiut £60 on a present for her but today im aiming for £30-£40. also need to get petrol and a couple of other things, hope i dont spend too much!

xXx

carrie.1985

not been on here for 12 days and things have gone from bad to worse! increased my overdraft to repay my credit card as the interest isn't as high. increased it slightly too much though and seem to have spent the excess on going out, will i ever learn! anyway whats done is done. have decided the only way i can stay on track is if i log in here and put down EVERYTHING i am spending so i can see exactly where i am going wrong so im gona make the time to log in at least twice a day to update whats happening

have had a look through some of the ongoing challenges and even though its later in the month/year im gona do the following challenges as it helps me stay motivated:
20p savers club
£2 savers club
olympic challenge (going for bronze) - going to update this when i actually have the money in my account
£10 a day challenge - going to update this as and when i do something such as bingo or surveys

counted out the change in my purse, £9, this should hopefully keep me going until friday!

xXx

kika

Looking at your first post you seem to have 3 savings accounts, monthly savings a&l savings and isa. Have I missed something because that money could be used to cut your debt.

carrie.1985

hi kika im mad i know! the isa account is for emergencies that im gona put £200 in then stop. this is just so i don't get any further in debt by using my credit card etc for emergencies. the best way for me to pay it off my overdraft is to pay it in a lump sum hence the monthly saver. i no im gona end up pay more interest but from past experience this is the only way i can do it. the monthly saver matures in may so then i can take a good bit off the overdraft. the a&l account i opened through quidco and got £25 for it, just save a small amount in that each month which again will go to pay off the overdraft.

taken food from the freezer to work today so it should have been a NSD but im going to post my old mobile phones to Mazuma. i could use the freepost address but this seems a bit risky, altogether the phones are worth around £30 and don't want them to get lost!!

xXx

carrie.1985

postage to mazuma was £2.54, bit more than i thought! went out for dinner with my friend (she bought dinner a few weeks ago so i had to repay) £20 and a few drinks (soft drinks!)£1.50 so all in all i spent £24.04 :mad: absolutely shattered so going to bed, will update more in the morning.

xXx

carrie.1985

ive had a think about the savings vs overdraft and ive decided to go with the overdraft. transferred the £120 i had in it towards my overdraft today!

was at a meeting in work today and everyone was going out for a meal so i felt obligied to go. onl spent £10 so not to bad. gona have to be very strict with myself until payday, next friday. going out with a friend tomorrow, going to stick to the soft drinks though. should be staying in the rest of the weekend though so i should be able to manage on £30 no probs. (i hope!!)

xXx

carrie.1985

still mananging to keep under the £30 limit i set myself, only have £6.50 left though. need to go into town later on as its my other brothers girlfriends birthday on tuesday do need to get her a pressie. have vouchers for both river island and boots so will get her something from there and not spend a penny! also need to go to asda as well to get shopping for lunches for the next week, also have vouchers for here as well so again no spend! going to buy my friends kids easter eggs i saw them in morrisons last week for 99p each so i'll pop in there and get them (unfortunately no vouchers :mad: ).

just realised as i have 7 kids to buy for i don't actually have enough money so ill need to get them after i get paid on friday, hope theres still some left! need to get petrol today as well but ive already budgeted for that so i don't feel so bad spending it.

need to try and find my bluetooth thingy for the computer so i can transfer my photos from my phone to the computer, got lots to sell on ebay but cant get the pics on! also going to have a go at ciao recommendations later and see if i can make a few pennies. got my cheque in on friday from mazuma the whole £36 which im very impressed by! (maybe ill recommend them on ciao!) going to have a go at paying this in through the cash machine today as i don't want to have to go to the bank and pay it in tomorrow as this means going past the shops. Also got my cheque in for the balane on my cc. overpaid by £25 so this will be going in the cash machine also. also need to really get into the £10 a day challenge as im flagging at the back only £38.90 and were on day 16. need to get a move on!

xXx