Escaping the grind...in search of a life less ordinary

So received all second job income. Paid £520 off a card (£350 to go) and £36.29, £35.17 and £78.26 off other cards to meet monthly payments and round down totals.

Mainly stuck to no spending this week. OH sabotaged me one day as I had to pick up bevvies for him so that was £7.50 and another £3.90 on top up groceries. Then £7.97 on mother's day card, stamps, reduced flowers at a £2.25 bargain. Also spent £12.98 on other groceries, some for me and some for a friend. Throw in £15 on a gift and £11 to a friend for a ticket they bought and my no spending week was.......a big fat fail!

Total= £58.35

I do have £240.17 in my bank account to last 11 more days, so I'm aiming to save as much of that as possible to pay off my £350 card- that's what I owe to OH's card so priority. The more I save from my remaining bank balance, the less I need to pay from my March wages. If I get to this time next week and haven't spent, I'm tempted to pay £175 to OH to halve the bill. Will be a push as £30 due out as well so would only leave me £35 in my account for the final 4-5 days- do-able but tight!

Meal plan for the week done, all based on cupboard ingredients and includes lots of fresh veggies.

Anyway, for this week:

Wins

No bought lunches, all leftovers or lovely salads
Ticked off several big jobs from my list at work
Flat is tidy and chores mostly up to date
Made a start on my second job
OH planned a lovely date night in a couple of weeks
Back on the recycling wagon
Flowers from OH

Losses

No progress on decluttering
Added to one card- a takeaway (did last 4 meals but still), parts for second job (essential), a purchase for a colleague (will get a tenner back)
Worrying about stress levels and health
No progress on escaping the grind of our 70 hour a week jobs
Facing another manic week on work (resulting on me being jama-clad and chilling all weekend)
Working almost opposite hours from OH this week. Next week is a little better
Blowing out a couple of opportunities to see friends to catch up on much needed chill time- looking forward to not always being exhausted

So what's going well in the world of shoes?

Wins

No lunches bought for over a fortnight- having leftovers and salad or sandwiches each day.
Managed to keep £200 in my bank until today as per my target
No extra fuel needed
Got some overtime- probably only £50 after deductions but every little helps- not sure which paycheque it'll go into
Have another lot of overtime confirmed- between £50-100 take home in a few weeks

Losses
Made lots of progress on toiletries mountain then got seduced in b00ts and spent a fortune. Some of it necessary- specialist shampoo and conditioner, some of it ridiculous- whole new skin are range.
Adding to one card total- small amounts but it doesn't help the situation

Lots of positives really, plans to leave city life are afoot and we have worked out where we want to be. Still feel like I'm trudging through each day desperate to leave and struggling to find any joy! I need to snap out of it and be more positive as there are several months to go.

I have a pile of clothes to list on bay of e, maybe will do tonight on 5 day listing. Only £50 due from second job this month in wages. I'm only up to £250 this month in earnings which is half where I should be at the minute. Really lacking in motivation. Need a target. Ok. £500 by End of Sunday. Then reevaluate.

Facing a decorating challenge too- need to finalise a colour choice and get a whole room painted in hardly any time. OH will do the bulk and I'll do the edges as I'm (marginally) neater. Hopefully between us it'll look lovely and ready for the big move.

Had a surprise payment for just under £100 thanks to the tax man. Will send that straight to the card I added to the balance of- will make me feel better! I'll put the £50 wages from second job off there too.

Meal plan last week was a success- helped having 7 meals written down and then we chose what we fancied- with me having leftovers for lunches or meals when oh wasn't there. Think tonight is chicken stir fry or roast dinner.

Will need to pop to l1dl on the way home tonight- need salad, cheese, sandwich meats, washing up liquid and fabric conditioner. Maybe some bottled water too if OH feeling muscly. I have £14 in cash and £41 in bank so plenty. Used the other £159 to start to make this month's CC payments early. Looking forward to clearing my debt to OH tomorrow.

Onwards

Shoes

Update time for me. It's been a hectic 2 weeks. Lots achieved:

- the flebay listing has commenced in earnest- so far 44 items listed that finish tomorrow/Tuesday....will get that lot packaged and posted, well what sells of it, and then list next lot. Current total.....£64.41 with 24 items selling.

- one item sold on flebay already within minutes of listing it, made just under a tenner immediately so gave me a good boost to keep listing

- decluttering going well- one of my messy zones is all sorted- a whole black bin bag of old rubbish to do with home improvements is gone- nothing of resale value- and a lovely empty cupboard is what is in its place instead

- made £30 on bets which I need to withdraw from the betting account

- owed £50 in j!!! wages

- DIY project done- took 3 days but looking good

- used fue1save a few times between OH and my c1ubcard accounts which has kept spends low as we travelled to our families for easter celebrations

- stocked up cupboards with massive online shop

- moved some belongings to new house- drop in the ocean though really

- made two overpayments to the expensive loan

- set up council tax and made first payment- hopefully only 1 or 2 more before I don't live here anymore!!

- sent packaging to tesc0 of item I was overcharged for

- found £11.50 tesc0 vouchers

- found £20 5trada vouchers so cheapish/cheaper meal sorted for one night next week

-arranged another trip to new house and mostly planned what to take up in the car



Still need to do:
set up service charge payment
set up water bill payment (same for both of these, hopefully only 2 payments due before I am off)
chase up missing paperwork with solicitor
send 2 grumpy emails

Have:
£192.04 in bank account (13 days til payday)
£50 due in wages
£30 due in winnings
£64.41 in flebay earnings due in next few days, hopefully more

Expenses for this week:
- top up shop- OH's turn as I did big shop. Need salad, loo roll, margarine, marmite, bin bags, tomatoes but that's it. £20 max but OH paying

- fuel- have 10p of fue1save I think so will top up when I have OH's c1ubcard £30 max

-meal out on Saturday? OH not working so likely a yummy breakfast or brunch at home as we have all the ingredients and maybe dinner out- been a while since we've had a Saturday together and now it'll be 2 in a row

- cash for cleaner- already have this out and ready so doesn't really count as an expense

-takeaway tonight- end of holiday mourning treat

I think similar outgoings the following week. Fuel, the odd top up shop and hopefully a curry out or something.

Just blitzed the house-

washing up done
kitchen sides wiped down
2nd load of laundry hung out
3rd and final load of laundry currently washing
recycling bagged up
bedroom tidied
bathroom tidied
kitchen tidied
lounge tidied

Managed to withdraw £35 in winnings, leaving £6.80 in the account to slowly build back up hopefully. Will have in 3-5 days.

Have chased the £50 in wages

Flebay up to £68.51