£304.71 to last the month

shopaholictiedtheknot

Well, I have just depressed myself totally and worked out my finances for the month, after paying all my bills/mortgage/loans and credit card payments I have the grand sum of £304.71 left which is for groceries/entertainment/unexpected expenses.

I know this is by no means a desperate situation to be in but I just feel really fed up, I have managed to pay off £150 extra this month on my cahoot loan on top of my other debts and if I can do the same next month I will have cleared that debt - then I need to move onto my credit cards.

I don't know why I am posting this really, maybe for someone to say I will manage and it is not that bad or maybe for any advice on how not to spend any more than I have - I have an overdraft of £300 of my disposal but trying desperately not to use it anymore

Sorry for waffling and thanks to anyone who reads!

charlottevwa

i think you will be fine. It does us all some good to budget every now and then... as you say, it isnt a desperate situation, and I'm sure you can live on tesco value food for the month Good luck with it xxx

jo1972

Shoppy, yes I'm sure you'll be fine, especially all the money you'll be saving from the other thread

I'm going to do a 'feed my family for 50 quid' week next week as I'm borasic as usual. There are 5 of us so will be difficult no doubt, but hey ho!

xx

sweetpeas_2

Bit depressing when you sit and think about it sometimes isn't it..

Hows this one then...
I've got £333.07 available in bank, and £560 of bills to come out... hmmm....

doodledo_2

Shopaholic - I am sure with some good budgetting and planning you will get through the month with that amount. Its hard though isn't it when you see it in black and white.

Is there anyway you could bring in a little bit more cash to tide you over? Got anything you could sell on Ebay/Amazon?

AnnesWitterings

hiyas
will watch your thread with great interest, I have £100 to last me till July 31st so am going to scour the boards on here for ideas.
Are you going to update your thread and let us know what you spend etc?
Best of luck
Anne

shopaholictiedtheknot

I will keep updating as I go through the days - I am terrible with budgeting, only really trying 'for real' last month for first time ever :eek: I usually just make lists and then bin them! Last month I managed to end up only £46 overdrawn and didn't spend anything on credit cards which is some kind of record for me, this month I am DETERMINED to stick to my budget!!

I am going to list what I can on ebay (although their fees are sooo high now!) , I have been trying to earn a bit on Quidco too, have £80 to be paid in August from switching car insurance and £20 in September for Lovefilm free trial

And yeah Jo, sticking to my other plan will definitely help!!

pm2326

Hi , just wanted to say good luck

I've also been paid today and after bills etc have £75 to last me until 25 July for food etc !! I too have an overdraft i can dip into but i dont/wont use it ......

Already spent £31 .........lol

**Amy**

Honestly you will be fine.

I survive on £30/40 a week for food and going out for the whole month.

You should be congratulating yourself on your over payment as well. :j

Easterbunny

Hey shopaholic - chin up mate you should be giving yourself a pat on the back first and foremost for overpaying one of your debts this month :T :T
Howsabout turning this around and instead of thinking I have only got X amount to spend this month - challenge yourself to try and not to spend it - you'll be surprised at how the days/weeks will go by and the fact you are conscious of the amount will make you try extra hard to resist temptation:rolleyes: before you know it you'll be into next month and hopefully a few quid extra in your pocket ... go on - you can do it :j keep us posted.

Easterbunny X

shopaholictiedtheknot

Thanks everyone!

Easterbunny - I think I may try that, I thought I might draw the whole lot out of the bank and keep it in my safe at home, that way I can physically see the money I have left and when it starts to dwindle I will hopefully panic and not spend it whereas if I just use my debit card I can never properly keep track of it and end up overspending!

I need to go to town at lunch today to buy a present for my friends DS
( I have already accounted for this outside my £304.71) but I also need to buy some cat food and some potatoes so will post amount spent later.