Getting it together...one £ at a time!

Homegrown0 · 26 July 2018 at 7:10PM

Thanks DIA for the positivity and pointing out the good bits! It's hard to see sometimes when you're in the thick of it.

My company is strange sometimes, they've just paid me today 5 days early so I've made a start on August's budget today.

My childcare bill is £50 less for August so I transferred that straight to the cc3 bringing it down a bit. I'll still pay the planned £200 to it later in the month.

We get paid an 'away from home' allowance with my company and I was paid £80 for that today so that's gone straight into the holiday fund which is standing at £123 ish. I'm aiming to save a few hundred pounds in there so we can do something nice in our week off in October half term. I was considering taking the kids to LEGOLAND but only if we can save enough and not affect anything else. I still have £22 That I'm waiting for from HMRC and am close to cashing out another £20 on PA so that will all help.

I have put away our gifts/ clothes budget for the month although this allocated 100% to school uniform this month. Our spending account cash is sitting in the account, primed and ready for the month ahead.

We have a day our planned on Sunday and i have money put aside for the entry fee already but I will be making a picnic and taking drinks with us to minimise spending. I hope the weather has to stay nice.

I really want to take the time this month to keep tabs on our spending in all areas to see if I can be more careful. I know I end up spending more sometimes because of a lack of organisation so will need to keep a check on myself.

Anyway, must go because I have a gym class in 15 minutes!

Homegrown0 · 27 July 2018 at 9:38PM

I had a reasonable spend day today considering it was a summer holidays day with 3 kids! £10 in softplay, £2 on sweets, £17 in Morrison's on lunch and snacks for all and £8 on ice creams. We went to a free museum and free playground in the afternoon. £37 in all which isn't bad considering the entry ticket to the science centre I was going to take them to was £40 alone.

It's been a busy and LOUD day so I'm glad to be having some peace and quiet now. I deserve it!

Busy day tomorrow with the kids running errands while husband is at work all day so I'm going to try and get an early night.

Homegrown0 · 28 July 2018 at 4:01PM

Had a busy day with the kids - clubs this morning then lunch with my folks at their house. I then went to pick up a new duvet cover (£32 down to £20 in sale and one of our two is ripped so need a replaced). Popped into the shop for a couple of treat snacks for the kids (£4) then home for movie afternoon since it's raining. Spent £53 on sweatshirts and polo shirts for son going back to school and £75 on filling the car with fuel. Both of yhese are within budget and planned.

I'm having drinks with my friend tonight but it's in her house and I have a bottle to take so free night out, bar £5 for a taxi home later.

Nice Saturday all round!

Homegrown0 · 30 July 2018 at 1:20PM

Had a lovely weekend, spent with the kids having fun. Sunday was supposed to be a free event but we travelled an hour to get there and it had been cancelled last minute due to weather. There was another place nearby (not free) but it was well worth the entry fee. Thankfully my husband had got up early and made a packed lunch for everyone, so we had no additional spends. The kids had a blast and we had a lovely time with them. They're definitely outdoor lovers, although that might change as they get older.

I'm going to spend some time this afternoon updating our spends and looking at what we have left for the month (i.e. are we on target or do we need to rein it in etc).

I'm travelling for work next week so must get organised. My husband is taking the kids camping for the weekend next weekend too so it's a busy couple of weeks indeed.

Work is busy, busy, busy! I'm back to struggling with keeping on top of everything in life, so going to write down all the things that are concerning me as this tends to help. It's almost my brain's way of allowing me to let go of it once i know it's on paper. I'm always worried I forget something or miss something.

I think i'm coming down with something - I can feel the headache creeping on and I have a scratchy throat. I could do without getting ill!

Must write a shopping list today and try to pick up what we need later since it didn't get done yesterday. The longer it goes on, the more money will be spent on lunches and the more time spent wondering what to make for dinner out of the random things we have in the cupboards. If I can get the shopping done before the gym, then we can prep lunches for tomorrow.

Homegrown0 · 30 July 2018 at 2:03PM

Another couple of PA studies done! Once these surveys are approved i'll have £19.30 so just one or two more studies until cash out again.

Homegrown0 · 30 July 2018 at 2:11PM

I also have £16+ in Nectar points right now, which I'm surprised about. I think I might try to keep these going until Christmas, since we'll be hosting Christmas dinner again this year.

Homegrown0 · 30 July 2018 at 2:26PM

I just found a Smyths gift card in my purse for £28.98 that i completely forgot about. I think i got it when returning duplicate gifts at Christmastime last year.

Homegrown0 · 31 July 2018 at 8:44PM

Not a lot to report today money wise - gave the little guy £1 to spend at the tuck shop while at his summer camp and then £37 in Aldi, £15 in Sainsbury's on the weekly shop.

Just three weeks and a couple of days until the summer holidays are over, and I'm not going to lie, i'm looking forward to getting back to a routine with the kids.

I've got some travel coming up next week so will need to make sure i'm organised this weekend, both for going away and for my husband and the kids while I'm away.

I bought a couple of things for *ahem* Christmas today - just some PJs for friends' kids and a couple of bits that were on sale. I don't normally think about it this early, but when I see things, I always think it's wise to pick it up and make a start.

Feeling a bit under the weather today, but could really do without getting sick right now. Fingers crossed it doesn't come to anything.

monz · 1 August 2018 at 8:33AM

Hope you feel better soon! I got pj cpl weeks for my nieces xmas... great minds

xx

efes_shareholder · 1 August 2018 at 8:40AM

i've picked up the odd bit for the yuletide but i've picked up a lot and put it back down again too

I see it , think "oh one of the kids will like that " and then I look at it again and think best wait as they may prefer something else

Non specifics like PJ's and gift sets etc I am always on the look out for and regulary look on hotukdeals

Getting it together...one £ at a time!

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