Let the Adventure Begin

Thanks edinburgher - booked in to have it done in February, thought I needed something non MFW to look forward to!

Ok so today marks the start of my £250 challenge which will run until next payday (October 26th) i've just got back from MrT and so i'd thought i'd share my shopping list with you all;-

• Bread - 50p
• Fromage Frais x 12 - 80p
• Butter/Spread - 75p
• Jacket Potatoes x 4 - 49p
• Ham Slices - 93p
• Heck Chicken Sausages - £2
• Beef Mince - £1.81 (Yellow Sticker)
• Passata - 35p
• Beef Gravy Granules - 20p
• Pasta - 30p
• Longlife Milk - 55p (I usually use our work milk for cereal/tea during the week)
• Cornflakes - 55p
• Orange & Mango Squash - £1 (as I find it hard just drinking water)

Grand Total - £10.23
BUT, I found a £2 coin in my coat pocket so technically £8.23 off my £250 budget.

I will need to buy some 'top up' items during the week such as fruit & veg when I run out but with what I bought today and the stocks I already have in, Im confident this will last till next weekend!

So a rough meal plan for the week will include;-

• Breakfast - Cereal & a cup of Tea
• Lunches - Ham Sandwitches / Jacket Potatoes with Chill
• Dinners - Chilli / Spag Bol / Cottage Pie / Heck Sausages & Mash
• Snacks - Fruit, Veg & Fromage Frais (I'm trying to only snack on 'healthy things' this month too as I have the worlds worst sweet tooth)

I know this is probably not the most nutritious food plan out there but I am a VERY fussy eater so it suits me fine

We have the in-laws down tomorrow for the day so i'm going to have to think of a way to entertain them without breaking the bank - we do need some new curtains for the bedroom and have a £20 voucher from when we moved in for the big yellow and blue place so we may take a trip there

Anyway enough blabbering on, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and I will endeavour to keep you updated!

Thanks Julicorn - I do love my tattoo's, think I will always be saving for the next one!

We were very lucky when we moved in that everything was left for us (sofa, white goods, bed frame etc) so we've had minimal outgoings and will just replace things as and when we see fit (or they break). This has meant we could immediately start making overpayments

I also have a loan and credit card that i'm currently paying around £275 a month on, this will be paid off by next December so will then be diverting this money to overpayments

Good Evening,

Made that £80.76 OP this morning

Then I arrived at work to find out I'd won a competition, £10 Amazon Voucher :T which I used to buy some copper wired lights to go round our new bed frame, thinking of having them on some sort of timer to come on in the evenings, cost £12.99 so £2.99 spent!

THEN, I find out I've won another competition in work for a further £10 voucher which I haven't spent yet but I was feeling super lucky so bought myself a Euromillions Lucky Dip for this evening so £2.50 spent hehe (they do say everything comes in three's so keep your fingers crossed for me).

Bought some new blinds (£56.63) & shelves (£41.84) this evening using the £250 savings from the bed, just need to get B&Q to cut me up some battens so I can put up the shelves and will be putting whatever's left over towards OP - should be around £130-£140 leftover.

That's about it for today - whether many people read my diary or not i'm already feeling so much more focussed so thank you all for keeping me going!!

Actually - thought i'd just add that I received an email from our electricity supplier (outfox) confirming they would be increasing our DD from 1st November so must remember to shop around to see if I can get a better deal, it's a shame as only just moved to them. What's everyone's opinion on fixing in for a longer period? I feel like electricity just keeps getting more and more expensive

Thanks Greent - I never win anything so felt brilliant to finally be a winner for once!

After my post yesterday realised I had a £40 voucher for MADE (compensation for the bed delays) so bought a lovely new duvet set and only paid £3 for the delivery.

£20 spent this morning on a pack of train tickets - you can buy them in batches of 6 tickets which I find saves me money as I sometimes get a lift in to work of a morning/evening

Other than that spent absolutely nothing, even met a friend for a 'drink' after work to catch up but just got a soda water (free) - luckily my friends know me well enough so don't bat an eyelid anymore.

Really starting to feel the nights drawing in, winter is definitely coming asked for a call back from Estroga yesterday after my post about the electric, still waiting for a call but their 12 month fix seems to be the cheapest for me at the moment.

£210.29 left of the October budget so well on track to achieving this months goal and am hoping there will be some spare to put toward the OP pot at the end :T