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Original poster

Judicious January Jangling & Juggling *blows budgeteering bugle*

999 replies

claretandamberforever · 30/12/2013 18:22

Sorry, couldn't resist going overboard on the J's

Happy new year y'all. Welcome to expert budgeteerers, newbies, lurkers and de-lurkers. We're a very friendly, non-judgmental bunch so please use this thread as you choose whether it's as a spending diary, to confess your money sins, ask for help or have a general whinge at the cost of living.....

OP posts:
Cocolepew · 31/12/2013 12:21

Well this morning went well. I burst into tears in front of the DDs Blush. DD1, who is 16 and should know better, told my mum that I had stolen money from them to pay for something. This was after my mum said she had savings for them and DD said this. The way I heard it from DD2 was my mum had said I'll keep it then in case your mum steals it. I pulled my mum in this and she said it was a joke to what DD1 had said.

So this morning I told them nothing leaves the house about money or any family business, that includes telled my DPs. DD admitted it was her and it turned out the money I 'stole' was their pocket money that I had left out for them. I used it to pay a pumber who knocked money off for cash, I was going to pay by cheque, and I needed it to make up the money.
They got it back that afternoon.

Cocolepew · 31/12/2013 12:22

Sorry that was a bit epic. I don't really know why I even wrote it Blush.

Skiingmaniac · 31/12/2013 12:24

Oh dear coco - it sounds like something that would happen to me. dd1 was probably not thinking about how it would impact you when she told your dm......your mum will understand.....tell dd she will get her money but she needs get all the facts before she starts moaning to others. Thanks

Cocolepew · 31/12/2013 12:32

DD is incredibly materialistic and self absorbed, especially compared to DD2. She did apologise.
I think I was just annoyed as we have spent over a thousand pounds over the last few years trying to fix our heating, its rookied, and that doesn't include the extra electric from having a heater on last year when we had no heat in some rooms. But DD seems obilivious to everything Confused.

I'm just feeling sorry for myself today Grin

WoodBurnerBabe · 31/12/2013 13:18

I have to say one of the last things to go for me would be the cleaner! She comes every other week for 2.5 hours and completely blitzes the house - it allows me to halfheartedly keep it under control until the next visit without it descending into a midden. I really would like every week, but it's a bit of an extravagance. Plus she doesn't do school holidays, so last clean was 20th December, next one is 17th January. It does save a bit of money having it term time only, and I'm often off (although not always) in school holidays. Luckily my childminder is on a term time only contract as well, so I haven't to pay any childcare for the 2 week Christmas holiday and I'm hopefully off for 2 weeks over Easter as well :-)

I will be economising on the food bill, mostly in the takeaway area Blush. Seeing as I've finally got DH on board with the losing weight challenge, this might be easier than I thought, but we are terrible for phoning Dominos. It's not even that nice! And is expensive for what it is when I can make better pizza for 1/10th the cost. This hopefully will pay off the Nationwide credit card.

I spent £3 today on lunch. This has to stop. I'm not at work again after today until Monday, my challenge by then is to have made a weeks worth of soup and frozen it to take each day. And I can only use things I already have in the house, we have loads of random fridge bottom stuff that I can use, and turkey stock from Christmas, so won't be too hard!

WoodBurnerBabe · 31/12/2013 13:19

coco you are doing the best you can - my Mum used to borrow money off us all the time and we never thought anything of it. I think teenagers generally are fairly oblivious, I remember drifting through my teens in a haze of self absorption, and I'm sure I wasn't alone...

Cocolepew · 31/12/2013 13:57

Thanks woodburner. Smile.

This year I have an incentive to be more frugal, me and DH have both just recently been diagnosed with (separate) chronic illnesses. If I need time off my employer has very good sick pay rates. Unfortunately
we know DH needs an op to remove half a lung. He'll be off for around 12 weeks and he gets 1 weeks sick pay.

So I need to have some money saved. There is no reason why we should owe so much money. We both have a wage coming in.

WoodBurnerBabe · 31/12/2013 14:02

Same here. We earn good money, we do have high childcare costs and a large mortgage, but in reality there is no reason for the large debts. The B&Q was an interest free offer, so we justified that by being able to use our savings to buy stuff outright that wasn't interest free (like a roof for the extension - kind of necessary!), but I still want it gone ASAP. My personal bits are on nothing. Literally nothing that I can remember :-(

WoodBurnerBabe · 31/12/2013 14:02

I hope your health improves soon

NK5BM3 · 31/12/2013 14:13

Coco - glad dd apologized. We borrow from the DCs all the time which sucks but I guess needs must. We do pay them back... Having said that they don't even know because they are still small (5 and 3).

NSD today. Electric is off as men are outside the house replacing the telegraph pole that fell during the storm - still with a gas fireplace and gas cooker we didn't have to go out for lunch thank goodness!!

wonderstuff · 31/12/2013 14:27

I've flipped my card balances so most of it is interest free, I've got details so I can set up a standing order and actually make in roads into my debt rather than just paying the minimum balance. I'm part way through a budget for January, going to get back to the monthly budget reviews and keep on top in 2014. I've been lazy since I went back to work and it's cost me a fortune.

Cocolepew · 31/12/2013 14:29

What cheesed me off was I hadn't actually given her the money yet I had just left it out of my purse and then took it back.

Not going near any shops today but will need to go out tomorrow for dog food and the butchers. I buy a package from there for £19.99 which is a joint of silverside, 4 chicken fillets, 5 pork chops, a pound of sausages and a pound of mince. He changes the joint around now and again so it's not too samey all the time.

AdoraBell · 31/12/2013 14:59

Just checking in now that t'internet seems To be up and running.

Saturday saw a tríp To the clínica with DD2, £90 To be told 'she's constipated, avoid these foods'' followed by about £4 on a mild laxativa syrup.

No other spends by I will need veg later Today.

Welcome To newbies

Roar my DH is one of Those, any debt I have is a problem but his crédito cards are 'we only owe X'

Happy Fruggle New Year To all

CremeEggThief · 31/12/2013 15:17

Goodness, this thread is filling up quick!

Happy frugal New Year, everyone Smile.

MyGoldenNotebook · 31/12/2013 15:18

Well today was supposed to be a NSD but I ended up buying a Christmas present for a friend who I had forgotten. A parcel arrived from her this morning and I felt awful. She's ill and I don't hear from her very often. I could have at least remembered a card - I'm awful at that sort of thing Blush

I do work full time and have two small children but I must simply try harder. So anyway - £9 spend at Amazon!

It's my dad's 70th this month and I have one other birthday for a friend's little girl. Plus I have to pay for my DS's swimming lessons so I am aiming to break even rather than save in January as Christmas has been expensive and I don't get paid until the 25th.

The family allowance I get on the 31st is going straight into savings though.

Coco - I was very selfish with money as a teen. I knew my mum struggled but I wasn't understanding enough about it. It makes me feel sad now.

Does anyone have any other NY resolutions other than frugality?

roguepixie · 31/12/2013 15:26

Hello everyone, I fell off the wagon a few months ago but am determined to get back on with the frugaleering for 2014 - it really works when you make yourself accountable.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and will have a lovely New Year's celebration tonight.

Cocolepew · 31/12/2013 15:29

I'm going to lose weight .

Luckily no major birthdays coming yp. DDs are September and December. It's my brothers in January but he just gets a card, neices 18th in feb but I bought a bangle for her in Argentos sale last week.

Fluffycloudland77 · 31/12/2013 16:04

Well, dh rang our sofa supplier to get a discount applied that they sent us after we'd ordered & they are sending us a cheque for £109 so that's going into the savings.

I wasn't cheeky enough to ring but I'm really glad he did.

I'm writing out my resolutions, I won't bore you with them all but one of them is to try one recipe a week from Hugh f-w's veg book.

Seriously considering e baying an old washer dryer we have, it's about 10 years old but it's an aeg. It's got to be better than paying the council £18.50 to take it.

StuntNun · 31/12/2013 16:17

After an unexpected solicitor bill thanks a lot Nationwide for promising to pay that and then reneging we're £1600 in the red. This is going to require some nifty juggling of finances and frugal spending habits.

How do you get your other half on board with limiting spending? I told DH about our debt this morning and then he suggested I go shopping for fireplace tools - hardly a priority at the moment seeing as we already have a set.

eastmidlandsnightnanny · 31/12/2013 16:29

Deffo ebay washer someone will pay small amount scrap metal value at least.

Nsd here played at a friends n as i night nannied last night had a snooze this afternoon whilst husband played with toddler.

Lots food in freezer so will only buy any reduced bargains this mth.

TheOnlyMrsW · 31/12/2013 16:33

NSD yesterday, £32.71 in Aldi today and have meal planned up to next Friday............just now need to make sure I remember to take things out of the freezer in time!

SpangleMaker · 31/12/2013 16:52

Hello, can I join? I was here briefly earlier in the year but seemed to be spending so much on new (to us) house and then Christmas I wasn't feeling very frugal.

We are lucky that DH and I both earn decent money but we have a lot of work planned for this house - a project for each of the next three years - which means we will need to stick to a fairly frugal budget over that time if we don't want to end up in debt. I'm currently paying DH back for stuff he's already paid for for the house plus approx £350 credit card debt to sort out which leaves me with not much.

Hope everyone enjoys their new year celebrations Smile

JugofAle · 31/12/2013 17:08

Not a NSD here - £8 on a mop having decided we can't afford a cleaner any more, and £7 on a cashmere jumper (needed, and cheaper than a new one would have been). Plus milk, bananas and satsumas.
We had allocated £100 per week for everything, and have already gone over it by the cost of my jumper! Have plenty of food in though, so should be fine until Saturday.
My other frugal effort for 2014 is just running the tumble for 40 mins to get the worst of the wet out, then air drying clothes.

TheOnlyMrsW · 31/12/2013 17:44

Also meant to say that used the plans on the organised home website from last montgs thread for my meal plans, v useful, thanks to fluffy for those!

SeaDevilscanPlay · 31/12/2013 17:49

I am signing up for the new year. 2014will be the year that I take control of the little bits in my budget.

The biggies are down quite well, utilities, grocery, mortgage are the cheapest they can be, but I still spend money on little things quite easily. So I am going to try and have as many NSD as possible. I wanht to be able to save a bit per month that doesn't go to our mortgage overpayment, but instead into a savings account so that I will be able to do a Masters degree when I have finished my current degree.

Tomorrow will be a NSD as nothing will be open Grin