Little steps: My saving diary

Skint_yet_Again · 8 June 2019 at 5:28AM

Well done on the grocery shopping. Did you work out a meal plan for the month? I am still doing a weekly shop but thinking it may work out better monthly.

I agree with SW, the birthday do sounds great !

thrifty-hayley · 8 June 2019 at 10:20AM

Thanks SW and SYA

Strictly come dancing murder mystery thing was fun and my team came 2nd :T We were really close to winning but the other team just beat us on points. I got a wig plonked on my head and pulled out of the audience to play the part of claudia winkleman, except in this version I was called Claudia W*nkerman :eek::eek::eek: I don't like being the center of attention but after a couple of drinks it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, it was quite funny. My friend thought it was hilarious and has conveniently filmed the whole thing :rotfl:

SYA I really struggle with meal planning because my job can be unpredictable. I bought things that I know I will eat and can make meals from and I've got a written down inventory of everything in my fridge/freezer/cupboards. I use that to plan what I'm making and cross stuff off as I use it up. Makes planning meals/shopping much easier!

savingwannabe · 8 June 2019 at 1:01PM

The strictly night sounds like it was really entertaining. :j:j

I am bad at meal prepping etc too. I get inspired by you all to be more MSE. I think we can't be perfect all the time but it is good to try to as much as we can. :beer:

thrifty-hayley · 14 July 2019 at 8:39AM

Its been a while since my last update but I haven't got very much to report.

Last months grocery challenge went well. I spent £92/£100 so I was pretty happy with that and adjusted my target to £90 this month. So far I have spent £32.72 of that. Unfortunately I'm struggling to make ends meet this month and really trying not to dip into my small emergency fund, so instead of aiming for £90 I'm now aiming for as low as possible.

Its getting me down a bit that I'm working so hard but don't feel like I have much to show for it. I know all I can do is keep going and hope that in the end all my effort pays off.

savingwannabe · 17 July 2019 at 6:31PM

I relate to what you are saying. Everyone at work is rich and they have nice cars and holidays and must have savings whereas i have to struggle to just save. Thrifty you have to remember that you are way ahead of most people as you are saving. You have a budget and discipline. It may feel that you are progressing slowly (i feel the same sometimes) but we are way ahead of others.

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare- the tortoise won the race in the end. Hang in there. If you need motivation log on to Dave Ramsay on you tube he is fun and educating too.

pinknsparkly · 18 July 2019 at 11:33AM

Congratulations on the grocery challenge!

I think when it comes to feeling like you're struggling more than most people, it's good to remind yourself that actually the reason that a lot of people aren't (or don't appear to be!) struggling is because they are doing a lot of their spending on credit, and racking up debts. At some point those have to be paid back, with substantial interest too! Whilst your steps forward may feel like you're wading through treacle, they are still steps forward rather than backwards, which is what spending on credit without any plan for paying it back would feel like!! Plus, after the end of August you'll have no more car payments to make and you'll feel LOADED in comparison

Big hugs, from an outsider's view I can assure you that you're doing great!

thrifty-hayley · 31 July 2019 at 10:30AM

Thank you SW and pinknsparkly for the motivation. I've been binge watching Dave Ramsey on youtube and I'm feeling a lot more positive now. I'm not in debt, I have one payment left on my car and my outgoings aren't that high. Problem is neither is my income! I'm working on that though.

While the children I look after are at school I've started walking dogs. I've got a pair of spaniels I walk twice a week, although I've stopped while the children are on their summer holidays. In September I'm hoping to build this up and get a couple more clients.

My grocery budget came in at around £50 this month, I lost a receipt so don't have an exact figure, doh! I'm going to aim for the same in August.

savingwannabe · 2 August 2019 at 8:55PM

Well done on realisng how ahead you are. It's great that you have started dog walking. V cheap grocery spend omg, what do you eat for that price??

Hope the weather is good by you.

thrifty-hayley · 17 August 2019 at 9:44AM

SW I haven't managed to stick to the £50 this month, there are a few things I ran out of that I've bought in bulk so I'm on £55 at the moment. Hoping to just buy milk for the rest of the month though as I've got plenty in the freezer and cupboards. I eat a lot of soups, stews, egg related things, pasta and don't eat much meat anymore. Its expensive! But I've never really been a big meat eater, I prefer fish.

In other news my car is now fully paid off _party_ :j so that's one less thing to worry about. I have the mot and insurance to sort out next month but after that it should be smoother sailed hopefully and I can get back to focusing on Dave Ramsey's baby step 1, my emergency fund.

savingwannabe · 17 August 2019 at 2:20PM

Thrity dont apologise what do you eat? I have just spent £41 on me for two weeks. OMG. How on earth do you survive on £55 of food? OMG. Im not that fat. lol.

Little steps: My saving diary - Page 2

MSE NEWSFLASH 18/1

Little steps: My saving diary

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