I'm trying to spend as little as possible this month. So I was pleased when hubby said that MIL had brought over some food from her work (she gets it for free, otherwise it gets thrown out) She brought scones, about a dozen rolls, sandwiches, haggis and black pudding. Hubby had the last two since I hate them both. I'm taking one of the sandwiches to work tomorrow, possibly a scone too. The bread that I bought will most likely end up in the freezer while we work through this stuff.

I have some snowflakes to add to my credit card: £5 from using coupons and more than £1 from using my discount card. This month there will probably be less snowflakes since I am aiming to spend as little as possible.

I made pasta ratatouille bake tonight. We had loads left over so we will have it tomorrow too.

Next week we will have:

- pasta ratatouille bake
- moroccan-style chickpea soup
- macaroni
- fish and chips

I also found a basic flapjack recipe so I will try that out.

http://britishfood.about.com/od/eorecipes/r/flapjack.htm

I will spend as little as possible.

Today is payday and I've already spent £40 that wasn't in the budget for anti-virus. I need to get a birthday present for my 7 year old cousin too. Also, my friend's little girl is turning one and we've been invited to the party. I told her I would go but that will only be if we get transport sorted since we no longer have a car.

I'm going to decide our meals for next week tonight. I'll post my meal plan later. I'm considering trying to make flapjacks or something similar to take to work since I buy a box of cereal bars every week to take to work.

During April I put £9.83 worth of snowflakes towards credit card debt. This was money from savings using either coupons or my discount card. I'm sure March was less than this but I ended up using it - therefore ruining all of my hard work. I haven't used it all this month.

Hubby told me that a reminder about our anti-virus expiring popped up onto the screen recently. I'll need to check how much it is. I made sure not to tick the auto-renewal box when I paid for it last year (with my credit card I think)

We're both on holiday so I haven't been meal planning as such - well not blogging about it anyway. I think it's because I'm not as worried because I'm at home. However, I did read Patient Saver's lamb stew recipe and it sounds delicious

I paid £4.63 to CC1 - my biggest snowflake yet. This was from coupons and my discount.

DH and I are off work next week. It's my mum's 50th so we're taking her out for lunch. I've bought almost all of her presents in - pyjamas and chocolates, just need to get flowers. I also bought a frame which will be from SG with her picture in it. We're going to print out the picture at home.

I'm away to read everyone's blogs now!

I set up Faster Payment through my bank for CC1. This will make making extra payments easier, and also quicker too. It currently takes two days for my debit card payment to be processed, I'm sure by using Faster Payment it will hit my account the same day.

I took SG to get weighed yesterday. She is a dainty little baby. She is 16lb 8oz. I was a bit worried about her weight gain but she's gained a pound since her last weigh-in a few months ago, so her weight gain is steady.

After I took SG to get weighed, I went to the local shop. I almost bought an Italian meal for 2 for £5 (main pasta dish, garlic bread and tiramisu) I was tempted to buy their chicken and spinach pasta bake since it sounded nice. Well, I decided not to since I've spent a lot of money on food shopping recently. I am, however, going to find a recipe for chicken and spinach pasta bake.

I'm starting to think about next week's meal plan. I was watching Superscrimpers today, and they referenced a few websites to use to help with planning meals:

resourcefulcook.com
cheap-family-recipes.org.uk
recipes4us.co.uk

I've looked at a couple of them already, just need to decide what to make.

I also received some money off coupons for nappies which can be used within the next few months. More snowflakes. Great!

I saved £1.72 using my discount so I sent a payment to CC1.

I saved £1.50 by using coupons, and I also saved 35p using my colleague discount. I paid £1.85 to CC1.

I've not had a successful first quarter of the year. However, it can only get better from here. I'm going to find more snowflakes to put towards CC1, and, more importantly, not use it, even if I do happen to get a lot of unexpected gifts - or SG does (which is unlikely to happen)

Today was payday. I spent most of the day thinking about our meals for next week. I'm trying to have some meat-free nights. We will have:

-garden vegetable spaghetti with feta
-home-made burgers (already have mince) with salad
-leek, potato and pepper frittata

We can have leftovers on other nights. I might make soup too since we will have plenty of crusty bread. Also I can make a batch of soup for SG too.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I used my credit card again. My cousin text me saying that she had an easter present for SG. Well I had forgotten to get something for her boys so I used my card. £30 on gifts and then £18 on shopping because I was there. I am still going to try and achieve my basic goals this year, it will just take me longer now

I had to use my credit card today to put £20 into our gas meter. We've had lots of snow recently so our heating has been on more than usual. Meter was at £4 and payday is next Friday. There's no way we could have made it. I'm not happy since this is the first month that I've been snowflaking money towards this card and I've gone and used it!!

I made a payment of £2.82 to CC1. This was from snowflakes from using my colleague discount.

I saved £1.70 on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday by using my colleague discount. I made a payment to cc1 as soon as I came home. It's actually quite addictive once you start.

It was payday on Friday. Paid extra to both credit cards, my aim is to find snowflakes to put towards CC1 between now and next payday (four weeks time) When I go shopping at work I will put my discount towards CC and also if I use any coupons.

I'm still waiting on a few people letting know if they can make SG's little party. It's a week today but I told people to reply by today. I have a few more things that I need to buy. I won't be spending too much though since SG won't even know, but I do want to make it nice.

Meals this week:

- vegetable risotto with roasted tomatoes
- minute steak sandwich with salad
- baked potatoes with cheese or baked beans
- tuna and sweetcorn pasta

I'm making roast lamb for dinner tonight. There will be leftovers. Any ideas? It's the week before payday so running low on fresh veg but I do have a bag of onions, frozen peas and frozen oriental veg. Other than that, I will be making:

- lasasgne
- chicken stir fry possibly
- macaroni

This week we will have, in no particular order,:

- chilli con carne with rice
- salmon with potatoes and veg
- macaroni
- leftovers for me when hubby is at work

Bus pass has not shown up so we are going to buy a weekly pass next week.

We went to a First Birthday party today. SG got a nice toy in her party bag. It's got me thinking what to include in our party bags when SG turns one next month.

Today was one of those days. Electricians were working in our building so the electricity was turned off from 8.30am until 3pm. Luckily I went to a mother and baby group with SG in the morning so that passed some time.

Later, hubby phoned me to tell me he had lost our four-weekly bus ticket on the bus. I phoned the bus company then emailed them later on too. It's unlikely we will get it back. There was two weeks left on it so anyone finding it will get two weeks free travel. I can't see anyone handing it in.

I phoned CC2 about the letter I received a few weeks ago. According to the letter, my interest rate was going to increase in April if I didn't get in touch. I didn't know my current interest rate, I found out it's 22.95% and they were going to increase it to 24.95% Well I told him to cancel the card and I'll keep my current interest rate. He did offer to leave the account open but I said no.

Phoned AA today to cancel my breakdown cover.

It's almost lunchtime, hubby at work so I'll be having leftovers.

I just checked my email. Nothing exciting. There was an email from Play saying that my order was on its way. I opened it, thinking I never ordered anything - and also haven't budgeted for it. Well, it is season 2 of White Collar which I pre-ordered about 2 years ago. They kept pushing the release date back, then back again, then again. I gave up and eventually stopped writing it as one of my future expenses because I thought it was never going to be released here in the UK. Part of me is pleased, the other part is kicking myself.

In other news, when I finished work today I spent about £1.40 on reduced meals which I put in the freezer for when I'm too tired/lazy to cook. We'll be having one of them tomorrow.

Yesterday was payday. I paid the bills and finally made a payment to the fridge freezer (only £20 so will need to pay more)

Well I bought a Dominos pizza for us. I'm still feeling bad about it as I eat the leftover pizza for lunch. The money would have been better off elsewhere but I was feeling tired and lazy so I ordered one.

It's been a few weeks since my last update. I'm on holiday from work just now so I'm trying to be as productive as possible.

First things first, my car is gone. I got £120 for it. It was the best price I could find for a twelve year old car. The money will be used to buy a four-weekly bus ticket, and the rest will be put towards SG's first birthday.

I phoned my insurance company to cancel. There's a charge of almost fifty pounds for cancelling. Next I will phone and cancel my breakdown cover. I should have done it yesterday but I spent so long on the phone to the insurance company that I didn't want to.

Last week I got a letter from CC2. They are increasing my APR. I'm going to phone and tell them not to bother. I don't use the card anyway. By refusing the increased rate, I'm agreeing not to use the card but continue to pay back the amount owed. Not a problem.

-Chicken enchilidas
-Baked potatoes with beans and cheese
-Beef enchiliads
-Soup with bread rolls

Bought a four-weekly bus ticket for £73.50. Hubby paid for half since we are sharing it. I've been driving my car as little as possible since I know something is wrong with it, but I am getting rid of it this month. One of the drawbacks of getting the bus is that I end up shopping while I'm waiting. Keep spending two-three pounds when I'm at work. On the plus side though, our cupboards have more staple items in them now since I have been finding things reduced e.g taco seasoning for 40p. I also found some Christmas decorations for 50p so they have been put away in our Christmas box.

Still not managed to find any snowflakes but I am not giving up.

Meal planning has stopped since I have been back at work, although I really need to organise it again. Hubby has been pulling his weight in the kitchen now so things are a bit better on that front.

Today hubby and I took all of our glass bottles to the supermarket to recycle them. We also recycled all of our cardboard and emptied bins too. The flat is looking a lot better now. I just need to start decluttering other areas now.

Spent some time yesterday and today making up meals for SG for next week. I put them in the freezer and take them out when needed.

It was payday yesterday. Paid more than the minimum to CC1. Still aiming to find snowflakes to throw at the credit card debt. CC2 hasn't updated yet.

I've spent £57.xx on food shopping so far... yet we are debating whether to get a takeaway tonight. Bad I know.

I still want to get rid of my car this month, waiting on my updated documents arriving first though.

One of my goals for this year is to snowflake money towards debt. Tonight I went on music magpie to hopefully sell some of my old CDs. I can't remember the last time I bought a CD. Well, it seems most of my CDs are too old because they kept getting refused. Out of the CDs I tried, they only accepted three at about 25p each! I need a minimum of ten to claim money.

Next I tried cash for clothes. I set up a paypal account. Well it seems that there was a problem with my form on the cash for clothes for website - it kept telling me to check my details. It's just not my night. I think I will try again in a few days when I'm not working.

If I can't sell anything, the extra money towards credit cards will have to come from other sources.

Ok I have updated my sidebar and done the math....

This is my credit card situation:

Credit Cards:
Balance-current min. payment

1 £1679.16 - £83.96 (highest interest rate @ 29.9%)
2 £4397. 41 - £76.92 (december min. payment, waiting on statement update)

Total CC debt : £6076.57!!!

The total is scary! I have to get it sorted! In the past I have cleared CC1 to zero then used it later for car repairs. CC2 has been used for "little" purchases, £10 here, £20 petrol etc and also bills, and car repairs too.

This better be my year for getting rid of a lot of debt. I'm going to try my hardest. Wish me luck.

We are now four days into the new year and I would love to say that I had started to work towards my goals. Honestly, I haven't. Payday is a week today so I will make some progress then, hopefully.

I wanted to be really productive this week since I am back to normal working hours next week. However I have been more tired than normal thanks to SG waking up standing in her cot during the night, and fighting her naps. So, I've just been tackling everyday tasks.

We have been living off leftovers the past few days. On Hogmanay hubby was working and I bought a few things that were reduced. One of them was a medium chicken for £2. We had roast chicken one night then I made the leftovers into chicken curry. First time I've made curry and it tasted good. We had the last of the curry last night then we had some leftover tortillas which I fried with some onions, peppers and cheese. I will be making soup either today or tomorrow since MIL gave us a dozen rolls she got for free from her work.

Over the next few weeks I want to declutter. I want to get rid of some old CDs - I won't get much for them - and some old clothes. Any money made will go towards CC1 which has the highest interest rate (30%) My car will also be gone within the next month since I can no longer afford the repairs - well to be honest I haven't been able to afford the repairs for a while now since they have all gone on the credit card.

I cannot believe that today is the last day of 2012. It has been a quick year with a lot of changes for us. We moved from my mum's to temporary accommodation, then finally to our home now. We also became a family of three when SG was born in March.

Unfortunately, I didn't accomplish the goals I had made for this year. I had to find my entry stating what my goals were, and this was them:

[] Reduce CC2 by half
[] Reduce CC1 by half
[] Car fund to £100
[] EF to £100
[] Savings to £700

Highly unattainable goals since I spent ten months of the year on maternity leave. While on maternity leave I added to my credit cards for things such as car repairs, utility bills that we had to pay from our old flat, petrol and food when we were really struggling. I hate that it's come to this when I was doing so well before maternity leave at the beginning of the year. Oh well, I can't do anything about it now other than not adding to the debt I already have.

This year's goals are slightly more realistic I think. Ideally I would love to achieve them all but the whole point of them was to make them realistic so I can achieve them. At the very least I should achieve my four basic goals.

I need to write down my budget for 2013, and adapt it towards achieving these goals. I'm also going to start trying to find snowflakes to put towards debt.

Today was payday. My pay was better than my normal maternity pay due to the fact that I have some holiday pay included.

I'm home alone tonight.. Hubby suggested I get a takeaway since my pay was better than we thought. Well I checked a few menus and decided that I definetly wasn't going to pay £7 for a portion of curry! So, I bought a rogan josh sauce, two chicken breasts and microwave rice. Sauce and rice were £1 each, chicken was £3.

My extra money will be going towards CC debt. I was thnking this morning that it's going to be difficult to reach my basic goals next year... but I will give it my best shot.

I go back to work in a few days after nine months of maternity leave. I was meant to be going to a friend's for lunch today but I cancelled because I have a lot to get ready for going back. It's little things like making sure SG's meals are ready for hubby that are taking up a lot of time. I'm not looking forward to going back but I know I have to.

I need to think about meals next week. Hubby will be at home while I'm at work, and I don't finish until 5pm. All hubby can make is baked potatoes. I guess I could have something prepared for the slow cooker the night before?

This year will be SG's first Christmas, and also our first Christmas in our own place, so we told our families that we are having it here, just the three of us. (We'll visit them in the morning though so they can see SG) Hubby wanted a turkey so I bought the smallest one I could find: 3.6kg. We will be eating leftovers for days.

Does anyone have any recipe ideas? I've looked online and found a few but I'm not sure which one I will use. I've never cooked a turkey before so I'm hoping to find an easy recipe.