Trying to Save

December goals:
- get and complete budget card application form
- hand in completed application form
- finish cash-only Christmas shopping

I need to write down exactly what I have to buy. If I ever get my vouchers that is. I forgot about my two small (second) cousins so will have to get them a little something too. They're both under 2 and I never see their mum but I am getting their cousin a gift so I have to get them something too.

Ok, here's a rough draft of my 2011 goals:
[] Save for road tax with budget card
[] Apply for a loan
[] (if accepted) use loan to pay off DH's CC debt
[] Increase regular savings
[] Save for a cash-only Christmas
[] Clear credit card 1
[] Clear credit card 2
[] Clear catalogue
[] Start car maintenance fund
[] MOVE OUT

Wow that's more than I thought. I don't know how next year will go so they may change.

It started to snow on Friday night. I last used my car on Friday afternoon. My car has been sitting in the car park for three days. I looked at it today, completely covered in snow. I know I wanted to save on petrol but I didn't ask for all this snow. It was snowing again today, in fact I think we've got it all week.

I was going to do overtime this week but I'm rethinking it. I haven't agreed to any. Plus it is taking me longer to get to work on the days that I'm meant to be there. I was late to work yesterday and today. When I got to work this morning there was only me and another woman. Tomorrow I'm walking to work with hubby since the buses and taxis aren't on. It'll mean walking back home though.

I've completely failed my lunch challenge this month. A hot breakfast is so much more appealing in this weather.

I've also not done well with NaNoWriMo. I'll try again next year.

I've been thinking a lot about next year, goals etc. We're talking about taking out a loan to clear hubby's credit card debt. We could pay her back then focus on saving since hubby would be able to help me. Then we could build up our savings then move out. Of course this all depends on if I would actually get approved for a loan (my credit rating is better than DH's) I really don't want more debt but I'm trying to think about the bigger picture.

This is what I end up asking myself a few days Ouafter payday. I mean I've been working extra, I should have money left over. I wish. I only got paid on Friday and I have £198.16 left. I'm going to have to claim the money back from my contact lenses so I don't end up overdrawn this month. I'm gutted, I wanted to put it into savings. Practically all of my money goes towards debt. Anyway, here it is:

average pay: £788 (every 4 weeks)

Outgoings:

"rent" £160
car payment £101.79
car insurance £94.83
catalogue £80
dental plan £12
phone £30 (average)
petrol £40
cc1 £40
cc2 £40
Love Film £18.99
savings £5

Total: £622.61

Note: all payments listed for catalogue and credit cards are above the minimum.

Next month my road tax is due - and I haven't got any money put aside for that. I could just kick myself. Anyway that will take me to £707.86 (Next year I'm saving for road tax!)

Ok, if you managed to read all of this, thank you. Vent over.

I would love to take all my leftover money and put it into savings/clear debt.

I've overspent on hubby's xmas presents. We agreed on a £50 budget. I've spent £70.47. It doesn't include a dvd he asked for though but that was only £8.

Still waiting on xmas vouchers. Gave MIL the rest of hubby's money tonight. Next year I will save half with a woman I work with and half with MIL. I haven't got much more xmas shopping to get so i don't even know if I will spend them all.

Got £20 GC from work. Had to add £3.85 to it. Bought cousin's birthday present, hubby's socks and BIL's dvd.

Working extra this week.

Found out about a budget card that the Post Office does. Going to get an application form and use the card to save for road tax next year (£150)

I wish we had our own place. It's getting to me living here. That's obviously one of my goals for next year, although sometimes I feel as though it will never happen.

Got £20 GC from work today. Spent it on cousin's birthday present (£11.25), hubby's socks (£4.50)and BIL's dvd (£8.10) Total: £23.85 so had to put £3.85 to it.

Still waiting on xmas vouchers. Next year I think I'll save half with MIL and half with a woman at work. Me and hubby were talking about it today. I'm not sure if I'll even manage to spend them all when I finally get them cos I seem to be doing ok so far xmas shopping, I haven't got that much to get. I don't think so anyway.

I have overspent on hubby's xmas presents. We agreed a maximum of £50 and I've spent £70.47 (i'll need to double check this) £50 budget didn't include a dvd that he picked but I'm still well over.

That reminds me, I need to work out the rest of my outgoings for the next four weeks...

I'm working six extra hours this week. Hubby was surprised that I'm working extra. My money seems to disappear - mostly towards debt (car payments, credit cards, catalogue) so I need to get extra to try and clear it. And save too. I wish I was putting more to savings than debt, rather than the other way. In fact it'd be nice not to have any debt.

I found out that the Post Office now has a budget card. Once you have the card you can add money to it to save towards a specific bill. I think I will get one and use it to save towards my road tax next year.

I'm going to have to think of goals for next year. I'd love for us to move out, it feels like it'll never happen.

I paid the last of my washing machine debt yesterday. I'm so pleased it's gone.

Still waiting on xmas high street vouchers.

My xmas night out is paid for. Just need to put money aside for the actual night. £30-£40 Going to wear the dress I wore to the wedding i went to last month, just change my accessories.

Ordered a few xmas presents from Avon. It wasn't part of my budget but I just thought I would get them. £25.50

I have £2.63 left in my bank account till payday (Friday) I could be wrong but I think this is the least amount I've had left in a while.

I still haven't received my xmas savings vouchers yet. MIL said she is waiting on hubby giving her the rest of his. Everyone at work that is doing them has them and has spent them already. I just want to get my xmas shopping done!

We've started watching the Harry Potter movies from the beginning.

I've finally thought of a plot for NaNoWriMo - with hubby's help.

I'll be picking up an extra shift this week at work.

That's about it, I think. Hope everyone else is having a good day. I need to get ready for work now.

My manager has been trying - poorly, I might add - to get me to work extra this week. She included me in her To-Do List ("SG o/t?), pointed out that I can write whatever shifts I want this week, I just have to add it to the rota. Finally today she said that she hadn't got me down for extra this week. That's because I'm not doing it. I explained to her that I wanted a break this week, and pointed out that I have been working six days for the past few weeks. I told her I would pick up extra next week - but not when I'm going to see Harry Potter.

I know I shouldn't complain. But this week I just want to have a break.

HB invited me to his house for his birthday. Through FB. Two days before his birthday. I'm not going.

Still not wrote anything for NaNoWriMo however that should change this week now that I have some time.

It was the engagement party last night. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to it cause I knew my dad* and half-brother would be there. I was right, they were both there. Half-brother did talk to us my dad didn't, which I am so pleased about. Before we got married last year my dad was at a party I was it and he tried to talk to me (although I found out later that it was cos my HB had told him to. I told him I wasn't interested. It was nice to know that he had actually gotten the message as he didn't try once, he did end up dancing near me a lot though. I found out later from his friend that he had said "my daughter's here tonight"

I ended up drinking more than I had planned, therefore spending more. It was a good night though.

I haven't even started to write anything for NaNoWriMo yet.

Bank balance is dwindling down. Think I'll have under £5 left by the time payday is here.

I bought breakfast at work this morning. One week in to November and I've failed a goal already.


* He fell out with me in 2006 after only talking to me for about six months. I blogged about it then.

After reading on here about fellow bloggers writing a novel for NaNoWriMo, I googled it this morning (about half an hour ago actually) I didn't realise that anyone in the world could join, I thought it was only for Americans. Anyway I registered this morning. Right now I'm browsing the site.

I used to love writing stories in High School. However, that was the last time I wrote anything!

I came home from work today to find a letter from my credit card company (CC1). I opened it and found a card for 2 for 1 dining. I've just checked online and I can use it at a few restaurants nearby. I haven't got the money right now, but it's nice that they sent me it anyway. They said it was to thank me for being a loyal customer.

We checked hubby's bank balance today. He still has money left in his account for a game that's due out this week, thankfully, otherwise I would have had to transfer money to his account - and guess where that money would have had to come from? Savings. I'm so glad I don't have to. Hubby's not bothered that his mum borrowed money but I am. He said that he might say to her instead of giving him the money back she can use it for her birthday meal. I wish he wouldn't but he will.

My work has been told to spend their wages. Apparently the store is majorly underspent. My manager said today that she was very flexible, if anyone wants to come in earlier/stay later. I'm only off one day this week so I didn't volunteer to do any more since I am already doing overtime. To be honest, this is the worst I've seen it, although I am quite pleased in a way cause it means I can get all the overtime I want.

In other news I have a feeling that this meal for MIL's birthday may not happen. She hasn't said anything to me or hubby but she did borrow money from hubby (she's going to give it back to him when she gets paid) I'm hoping for a night in, to be honest. Also she didn't tell him how much she borrowed. We're going to get a statement this week and check.

My first auto savings of £5 hit today, taking my new balance to £176. I should have done this at the start of the year, not the end. It feels good though, knowing that my savings have increased a little.

I have £47.90 left in the bank. £18.99 is for Love Film. I need to take money out for the engagement party on Saturday (£20 max) That leaves me with £8.91. Ouch. I already have £20 put aside (was meant to be used for taxis for the party last week but wee got a lift)so hopefully I won't need much more, say £10. My orginal budget for the party was £30 anyway. The extra would just be for taxis, although it would be good if we got a lift there.

I forgot about an extra expensee I will have when I get paid: my friend's leaving night. A girl I used to work in the same dept as is going to Thailand in a few weeks then she's going to Australia. She won't be back till 2012. The leaving night is at a pub so it won't be too much, and it's on a weekday so it won't be a late night.

Well tomorrow is the first of November, already, can't believe how quick this year's gone! I managed to only complete one out of three of my October goals (get overtime) I bought things at work a couple of times, so didn't manage to pack everything for the whole month.

The good news is that I just counted and I put £29.04 to savings.Bit of an usual figure but at least it's savings.

Overtime is flowing in at work so I'm taking it while I can get it. It's extra money going towards debt or savings, the way I see it. I'm working six days this week (45.5hrs) This is extra towards my November pay (19 days to go)

I've written down my basic expenses for November. £635.16 This includes getting rid of my washing machine debt. It's the lowest debt there, it has to go. Extra expenses (roughly) are £115. This includes 2 birthday presents, paying for rest of xmas night out,money for the actual night and three xmas presents. I think I will use the envelope method for these extra expenses - obviously not the online ones though. Total: £750.16 If I can find any of the presents cheaper, great!

My goals for November are:
-clear washing machine debt
-add extra to savings*
-pack 100%

* I'd love to add more than what I did in October. However, that was unplanned and I enjoyed it. I know if I want them to increase I have to add to it I just don't want the added pressure of having to put in a specific amount. I would love to beat what i added this month.

hope everyone's having a great weekend!

I've been saving for a cash-only Christmas since January. As soon as I get my £150 worth of vouchers I will get some more xmas shopping in. Hopefully I wil get them soon. Anyway here's what I will have to spend:

£100 high street vouchers
£50 ASDA vouchers
£20 ASDA gift card (thank-you gift from work)
£10 high street voucher (reward for completing a follow-up survey, received today)

Total: £180

I've already started xmas shopping. This is what else I want to get:

Hubby: White Collar First series (£26.99), spiderman socks (£5), Iron Man 2 (£9.99) Bought: The Ugly Truth (£7.99)
Mum: housecoat (£16), slippers (£6), wine rack (£10)Bought a few dvds already
MIL: pyjamas (£10) Bought: disney mug (£4.99)
BIL: golf book (£6.09) possibly a dvd too
Friend's son: toys (£10-£15 max)
Cousin1: clothes (£10)
Cousin2: same
pets: bones from Poundland
Friend: £10 (pamper set?)

Just worked out my outgoings, I know I done that before I got paid but I done it again and I will be lucky if I have £10 left at the end of these four weeks. I'm going to talk to DH tonight, see if he can get my half for his mum's birthday. I think originally we were going to do that anyway. I'll talk to him later when I pick him up.

I pre-booked tickets for me and my mum to see the new Harry Potter movie the day it's released (19th November)I spoke to my mum tonight and she was pleased. She has offered to re-imburse me for the tickets and make it her treat since I treated her last month. I might just take her up on that offer.

Also, I bought breakfast at work this morning. It was so cold (-2) Had to buy de-icer too.

Ok, no need to panic. I'll be fine.

Today - well yesterday actually, it's past midnight here - was payday. I paid the usual bills online, transferred money to MIL.

I took my change to the bank. I had £6 worth of change. Also on Thursday I added £15 to savings. That takrs my new total to £171.

Hubby hasn't given MIL money towards his debt yet. That's causing a problem. The reason he hasn't is that we know we will have a meal to go to for her birthday so we will need money for that. I would pay for both of us but things are tight this month for both of us. When we came in tonight, she had her notebook out and it looked as though she was working out his debt. It's driving me crazy. I wish we had our own place. I'm expecting there to be a new sheet of paper left for hubby with his new total (should match ours though) The only new thing should be the catalogue. He is going to give her money, just not today.

I paid my xmas savings (£45) so they should be upto date.

Bought MIL's birthday present. Spent £20 in the disney store for pyjamas and a mug. The mug will be her xmas present. DH spent a lot on candles for her birthday (money which would have normally gone towards debt)

I bought cereal bars, crisps and fruit for my packed lunches for the next four weeks so they should last.

I can't wait till our debt is cleared and we have increased our savings.

Ordered DH a dvd online for xmas, it was on sale (£7.99)

It was my friend's wedding on Saturday and we actually came back with money!! Originally we had over £20 left over but I had promised my mum we would give my uncle taxi money so we came back with roughly £10. I asked DH what we should do with the money? His answer: put it into savings. It's only a small amount but I'm pleased we didn't spend it all. I'm going to go to the bank soon and put the money in.

We have a few new people at work. I think this means there will be less overtime in the future, although no sign of it stopping soon.

I was worried there for a while about not being able to get overtime. However, as it turns out, I didn't need to worry. I worked seven and a half hours extra today. For the next two weeks I am working six hours extra each week. I'm hoping that the overtime will help me to increase my savings and clear debt.

Speaking of savings, I just transferred another £4 over taking my balance to an even £150. This leaves me with just over £10 when my phone bill comes out next week but I don't mind. We have nothing planned next week, I pack everything I need for work, I have just under half a tank of petrol... I'll be okay. I'd love to have hundreds left over each month - well every four weeks- but that just doesn't happen for me.

I checked my estimated expenses for next month: £725. I think I should be okay as long as I watch what I'm doing, which I usually do. I need to get my outgoings sorted, I need to put more into savings!

I had a frugal customer today. The first thing she said to me was: "i've got three coupons" I thought, oh so nice to see someone using coupons! I sctually had a nice conversation with her about using coupons, mostly about her using coupons since I hardly ever use them. She said she got them in our store magazine, so I said I would look out for them. One of the things she did say though is that she's become frugal as she's gotten older. Hmm, probably not compared to fellow SA bloggers.

I love online banking. I just transferred £4.04 from my current account to my savings account. It's a small amount but it means I've saved something. I would have transferred more over but I'm still waiting on a couple of things coming out of my bank this month (roughly £44 worth)

Bought another dvd for my mum for xmas again today. £2.70 I'm keeping track of my xmas spending in a small notebook. I've only bought things for my mum so far but I know what I'm getting DH. In fact, I'm hoping to order it soon, just so I know I've got it.

I'm so pleased I've added to savings! Now I need to update my sidebar.

While hubby was working last night, I was registering with sites that will reward me for doing surveys. I've only registered with a few but i feel like I'm doing something. I checked my email this morning and there were a few surveys waiting for me. So far this morning I've done three surveys, and that was just on one website. I've asked to be sent as many surveys as possible. I'm enthusiastic right now so I've been checking my email a lot. I don't know how long it will take me to build up enough to redeem my points but I will give it my best shot.

I ordered a dvd for my mum for Christmas last night (through my cashback site) It was only £2.99. I'm trying to get little things out of the way so that when it comes to Christmas shopping with my vouchers I'll know exactly what I'm getting.

I usually get offered a lot of overtime on the run up to Christmas so I'm hoping it will be the same this year. Generally, after xmas there's never any overtime going, so my plan is to get as much overtime as I can just now (maybe even build up a buffer/cushion in my account? any ideas about how to go about doing that?)

I'm starting to think about goals for next year, although it is a bit early. There's just so much going through my head right now, I need to get it sorted out. I know I've got my road tax due in a couple of months, MIL's birthday... that's all I can think of just now.

Wow. This has turned into a long post.

I don't usually post twice in one day but I received an email requesting that I phone my insurance company as a claim had been made. I phoned. The woman I spoke to just wanted me to confirm that I had been in an accident and she wanted to hear my version of the events. She said that my insurance company will deal with the third party and, it sounds like, I won't be affected until I renew my insurance next year because I am a risk now. I'm hoping that my insurance won't go up too much next year.

I also got some other news today. My mum is going to England soon so she has asked if me and Hubby can house sit and dogsit. We're looking forward to it: our own space! It will only be for a week, and we will both be working, but it will be nice to come home from work and make our own meals and basically just have time together.

Today I set up a regular transfer from my current account to my savings account. It doesn't start until next month. I've made sure that it will come out of my account on the same day each month. It's only a small amount (£5). It was originally going to be more but spoke to DH and we agreed it's best for me to start off small. I don't know why I didn't think of doing this sooner. I know many of you guys regularly transfer money to savings. I'm obviously going to do my best to add to savings each month, and clear debt, but at least this starts me off.

I'm on Facebook a lot, probably too much if I'm honest. Anyway tonight I noticed one of my friends had posted this as their status:

YOUR PHONE NUMBER IS NOW ON FACEBOOK!! NO JOKE... Go to the top right
of your screen, click Account then Edit Friends. Go to the left side of
your screen and click Phonebook. Everyone's phone numbers are now being
published. Please repost to let your friends know this is happening so
they can remove their number!

I checked my friendslist and I could see everyone's mobile numbers. Just thought I'd post and warn you guys too.

I'm working 6 hours extra this week, and, if I'm lucky, I'll get a shift next week too. DH sat down with me tonight to work out how much I'll need next month and it's not as bad as I thought. There are a few things I can tweak like the Christmas savings, I could pay half this month and half next month, if need be, as long as I get it cleared by next month.

Dh now owes MIL just over £600. Back in June he owed £1400 so he's slowly getting there. We worked it out tonight how much he owes, although we haven't got the official number off MIL but it should match ours. If she disagrees we have it written down in a notebook to show her.

I'm working 6 hours extra this week, and, if I'm lucky, I'll get a shift next week too. DH sat down with me tonight to work out how much I'll need next month and it's not as bad as I thought. There are a few things I can tweak like the Christmas savings, I could pay half this month and half next month, if need be, as long as I get it cleared by next month.

Dh now owes MIL just over £600. Back in June he owed £1400 so he's slowly getting there. We worked it out tonight how much he owes, although we haven't got the official number off MIL but it should match ours. If she disagrees we have it written down in a notebook to show her.

It's only the third of October and already I'm hatiing this month. Why am I stressing?

- payment increase of £20 p/m for catalogue (own fault for ordering laptop)
- behind on xmas savings so will need to make that up in three weeks when I get paid (£45)
- DH's birthday pressie due out at end of the month £60

Thankfully we have money put aside for the wedding we're going to in a few weeks otherwise it would be bad. Aargh!! I'm going to speak to my manager this week about overtime.

I'm not the only one who is skint. MIL is looking for a new job cos she's not getting enough hours in her current job. Yesterday she was talking to me and hubby about making cutbacks - one actually. I've been saying to DH for ages that she should get rid of stuff she doesn't use/need. I don't know how bad things are but we will see. If she cuts the internet I'll go to the library. I said to hubby a while ago, did MIL have savings? He didn't know. In her old job she earned a lot more than now - I don't know how much- but she never watched her money. DH said it would be hard for her to save as a single mum. Well between me and hubby she gets £460 every four weeks - that doesn't include what hubby's brother gives her. Plus hubby gives her extra towards debt that he owes her. I don't know...

Hubby has cleared a lot of the debt that he owes his mum. I've been writing it down, however she said to hubby that next week she will give him his new figures. We already know. We've been keeping track of it.

This has turned into a rant. I'm off to read your blogs now

Ideally i would have loved to have a NSD but that just wasn't going to happen. Had to transfer money to MIL this morning (which DH gave me back today) This money ended up being used for food in Farmfoods. Also we had to put the lottery on for MIL.

So here's my spending:
Farmfoods £18
Lottery £10

Bought stuff for packed lunches and food for dinner tonight.

Since my last post, I've cheered up.DH persuaded me to go out on Saturday night with him and his friends.

We went to the hotel on Sunday. It was a nice room. We only spent money on food and dink. We went to a nearby pub for dinner neither one of us enjoyed our meal. We would have saved money if we'd gone to ASDA and bought some food, but I thought it would be nice to go out for something to eat.

We got back from my friend's yesterday. We might not stay again, DH's allergies were bad, even though he took tablets. Apart from that it was a good night, we had pizza and drinks.

October should be a quiet month. Apart from my friend's wedding, we really don't have other plans. My goals are to get overtime at work, pack 100% and to have money left over. It should be easy to get overtime, we have stocktake this month. Also the week after the wedding two people in my department will be on holiday so I should be able to get overtime.