£15,000 to 0

Popping in to make a quick observation... not seen the OH this month because of scheduling problems. Bank balance is looking decidedly healthier than it usually does at this time of month - in fact I've hardly spent anything at all. Hmmmmmm :think:

Hiddenidenity wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: Is this your way of blaming OH for spending

We all know I'm beyond reproach so it must be OH's fault, come on Hidden




I'm going up to see him over the weekend which means at least £40 spent on petrol :eek: I'm driving my parents' car for such a long distance for the first time, I've not driven up there since my little car went kaput back in April. Bit nervous but to be honest my parents' car is much safer than mine was so I'm sure I'll be fine.

I now comfortably have enough savings to clear my overdraft completely this month, hurrah! But I'm actually going to keep it in my Nationwide 5% saver because frankly, I like free money and need to train up my self control

Parent debt now stands at £12,500 :money:

Now I just need to figure out a way to control my spending whilst I'm with OH...I've roped him in on a 'diet' with me (I think restrictive diets are stupid so my idea of a diet is just keeping an eye on what we eat rather than restricting anything and making sure we do at least 15,000 steps a day) so that will help with spending too since a large majority of our spends were on food.

Unfortunately my laptop's battery has died and so I need it plugged in all the time which is infuriating, since I specifically picked an extremely lightweight laptop to do work on the go. Luckily, it's still under warranty so it's just a case of sending it off to be fixed - and getting around to actually doing so!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend :beer:

Popping in for a natter and an update.

Trying a new thing this month where I leave the balance on my credit card until it's actually due (20th) therefore leaving money in my 5% account for as long as possible accruing interest. On paper it's sensible but it is definitely giving me a bit of anxiety! I'm keeping a very careful close eye on it.

If things keep on track I'll pay off my overdraft in its entirety this month. Still not sure if I'll ask them to cancel it or keep it as a sort of emergency fund until I can build up my emergency fund.

I should be moving next month but the flat still isn't actually finished so it's possible the move won't be until October. I have two big birthdays between now and then (OH and little sister - both in the same week!) so a bit worried about next month's budget. I haven't been putting money aside for birthdays because I've been trying to pay off the overdraft ASAP.

Had dinner with my boss and one of his buddies yesterday. Went to a restaurant I could never afford, had amazing food... bill came to just shy of £500!!! Very grateful for the experience but it's a bit shocking, that's an entire month's rent for lots of people.

Also went to lunch with the new intern but that came in at £8.50 so not too bad. No good for my waistline though!

Things are going strong diet wise but I always get to this stage, think I'm doing so well I deserve a treat, and fall straight off the wagon so it's important I dont fall into that trap again!

On that note though, I'm going out for food TWICE, AGAIN on Sunday. So that'll be four meals out in a week! Sunday I'm seeing my old housemate who I haven't seen for about two years and we're going to get some pub grub. And then I forgot that I committed myself to some kind of show of a friend's girlfriend in London so we will probably get dinner before that. Good thing I've hardly spent any of my entertainment budget this month.

7 days until payday!

Long time no "speak"!

Quick update so I don't forget.

Parents: £12,250. Will be £12,000 once I remember to send their money this month.
Natwest overdraft: £0! Yay!
Amex: £0! Yay!
Help to buy: £400
Nationwide: £0

I now have £191 to last me until 28th. We're going to vienna for a week to celebrate OH's birthday and I anticipate I will need £150 spending money. Since we're leaving the UK on 28th and I get paid on 28th, I will be putting that £150 spending money on my credit card for a couple of days and then paying it off when I get paid, I think. I'll be honest, I'm defiantly not sorry for booking a holiday. Work stress is really getting to me and I need time off.

In a similar vein, I have been trying meditating as a technique to block out the stress of work whilst I'm not at work. It's a work in progress because I've always dismissed it as silly, but I think it's actually going to help.

Moving house has been put on hold yet again. House is still not ready. Typical construction works!

Next goal is to set up an emergency fund. Since I don't really have anything in particular I'd desperately need to pay for (no car, I'm not responsible for any appliances, etc) I think probably £500 will be fine for me for now. I do have the £400 in the help to buy which is a makeshift emergency fund at the moment but would prefer to have something else put aside as well.

Well, I figured it was time to resurrect this thread seeing as circumstances are about to change.

I am FINALLY (!) moving in to my sister's flat next weekend!

My boyfriend moved into his new flat about a month ago and unfortunately it cost a lot more than budgeted because his planned flat fell through at the eleventh hour so he had to either take whatever was available or commute 600 miles a day for a while and figure out what to do...

In the end it cost him almost £3k in deposits, fees and first month's rent. He had saved and budgeted £2k for it thinking it would be more than enough so we had a bit of a meltdown there.

So I lent him £800 of my "temporary emergency fund" ie....my overdraft. He will be paying me back £150 per month starting January. Love makes you do stupid things!

I have also decided that I will be buying an entire year's worth of oyster season ticket when I move in next weekend, rather than buying it month by month. This is because it saves me £300 over the year so it makes sense. But this also means I'm borrowing the rest of my overdraft back...which, thankfully, remains at 0%. I will of course be paying this back on a monthly basis.

So this is how things stand:

Owing:
£12,000 to bank of mum and dad
£2,000 to overdraft.


Balances:
About £50 on amex, which will revert to 0 of the refunds I'm due comes through.
£2,300 sat in my 5% nationwide account, still accruing interest.
£400 in my help to buy.

Owed to me:
£800 from the boyf.

I'm reeling a bit from the change in finances but I think it's manageable and will continue to chip away.

I'm pretty much done for Christmas, I anticipate that I will spend about £150 more. This covers two of the boyf's family members (11 people to buy for...curse him and his many siblings), one of my sisters, my parents, a meal out with my family, a meal out with his family and also my dad's birthday, which is annoyingly a couple of days after Christmas. This year has been a very expensive Christmas but I've already said that next year we will do stockings filled with joke presents and chocolate, and perhaps one larger item inside (still sub £10!) per person, which I think will be fun and thoughtful, but also moneysaving. Will be keeping an eye out for discounted stockings etc in the Jan sale.

I have to pay rent to my sister at the end of the month (£600 covering 6 weeks) but that will come out of my next pay.

I think I can do this.