Don't Panic, December is frugal this year.

[Fluffycloudland77]

NSD = no spend day
LSD = Low spend day

Once I find my work bonus voucher I'm replacing towels have wanted to do this since last Christmas.

I've €10k of debt but I dont think I'll clear that in one year, will just pay min on credit union loan until rest is cleared. Like needastrongone I need to get back into just spending from wages, I run a weekly Unislim class & used to put that money to one side before but since I returned to work after mat leave it has become spending money, this must change. Our tax credits are not evenly distributed so from Jan 1st they will be so I should have €80+ more weekly in my net pay.

NSD yesterday. Won't be so lucky today.

New Year's resolutions:
It's a short term one rather than the whole year but I would like to have £100 more at the end of each month to Mar, than I had the previous month. That should give me a 700 buffer for emergencies. Would like to get that to £1000 by the end of the year.

Also going to sort out the bad habits I've slipped into with eating. Hopefully that will benefit my IBS and my finances in equal measure. Might start by using up the storecupboard stuff over January which will reduce my spending. If I manage to lose some weight in the process that'll avoid me having to buy new clothes as well. If not that'll be another resolution.

Morning all!

Yesterday was a NSD - today won't be as youngest and I are off to the cinema with my mum.

Just did a meter reading (last sent one on 31.10.14) and looks like I have used £303.17 including VAT and there was £304+ in the account with a direct debit payment still to be sent on 31.12.14 so looks like I shouldn't be getting a "we are increasing your direct debit" message.

Have managed so far to avoid buying anything online (except for the fridge freezer) which I have to say is mainly because I haven't seen anything I have wanted to buy.

New Year's Resolution is to not spend on everyday stuff on my credit card - I have a habit of doing this towards the end of the month when I get scared at how little there is in ready cash so I'll put a tank of petrol at £60, and then a week's shopping at £75 on the credit card just so we have some access to money. I need to keep a handle on money better.

Wishing all my fellow frugaleers a Happy Christmas.
Ive been an infrequent visitor over the last few weeks as I haven't felt very frugal at times and have managed to end up with an overdraft again but at least now I'm confident it'll be gone again by February. I think I've been on this thread for 2 years now, what a fantastic support it has been.
strong I love the idea of a cheap m&s trolley of food, think I need to try that. What sort of time do they discount? Definitely don't need to go shopping for a good few days now as we have enough leftovers to feed us for a while! Bubble and squeak today, turkey and ham pie tomorrow then anything else will go in the freezer for when we get back from the visit to Devon Sun-Tues.
Will try to get back to more frequent posting now to keep me on track

Ooh I love your review of the year Six for Gold

greatest achievements
Saving up £517 for Christmas just from putting a bit away here and there - shame I spent nearer £700 but that means it didn't all go on the credit card.

must do better
1.Must stop using credit card for every day spends just because the available balance near the end of the month is looking feeble.
2.Must resolve to check internet banking every 1-2 days
3.Try to post on here daily / keep a spending diary

favourite frugal habits
1.Wombling receipts (finding a receipt in the trolley or car park at Asda or Morrisons and putting the points / money off voucher onto my own account). Asda definitely don't mind people doing this, Tesco don't like it, but I'm not sure how Morrisons feel about it yet. I'm planning on saving the Morrisons points up until next year and buying my Xmas food shop - I have £10 already so it's looking like £5 a month is possible. When I get an Asda price guarantee receipt, I slip the money from the grocery budget to the Xmas fund - every little helps and all that.

bad habits
1.It's not a bad habit for me but as soon as I try to get a grip on spending, DH turns on sulky, belligerent schoolboy mode and puts the brakes on.

1. We only have one debit card - and a bad habit I have is NOT getting the card back off DH when he has used it and as he's back to drinking a bottle of wine per night and smoking twenty a day, he is withdrawing £10 cash daily which we cannot afford.
2. Getting bored midway through the month and falling off the frugal wagon

best bargains
Erh.... not sure. I did buy a Fridge Freezer in this year's sale (my fridge is freezing everything) and I resolved not to spend over £300 but I managed to get one for £199

waste of money
Amazon Prime - barely anything I ordered on Amazon was eligible for free delivery and I haven't watched any of the videos online yet.
Amazon Kindle - I spend more bloody time shopping for bargain books than I do reading the sodding things.

spending aspirations for 2015
1.To have some money left over at the end of the month

1. To start building up an emergency fund so the thought of a disaster doesn't terrify me.

Good one, bantam. I'm getting better at that, but it's a bit of a throwback to 12 months ago when I had nothing and was having to go without eating some days. I still get that fear when I get to the checkout that the debit card will be declined at the end of the month and whip the credit card out. Rationally I know it's stupid because I know I have the money in there and putting it on the credit card costs more in the long run but the anxiety takes over.

Rafa - it's nice to hear I'm not the only one. It makes sense when I am doing it but it never gets paid off so it just builds up and up.

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a fabulously festive day. I did :o

25/12
£40 to friends for my share of joint presents for hosts (was just over £30 but I rounded up)
So not an NSD! But amazingly, on top of very generous presents (DCs were spoilt rotten! Really looking forward to making lovely thank you cards with them this year!) my older friend (other friend's mum, who was like a second mum to me when I had DD and used to visit a lot) also gave me an envelope with "seek and ye shall find" written on, it was a very fancy card with lots of layers and she had folded up and hidden £100 in the layers! Quite glad I opened it on my own, as I was a bit and overwhelmed. No idea what we will use it for.

Anyway. I love the financial reviews and will definitely think about my own answers, I must talk to DH about it too (he's taken the DCs to the park by mum's flat, since I got up with them and was building more lego by 7am actually pretty fun :o).

What's coin sweeping though please?

Staying firmly at home today, but will venture into town tomorrow to exchange a jacket DH bought me, I love it but it is too big. If they don't have a smaller size I'm hoping they'll let me exchange for something else as it's from a shop where I get a lot of basics.

We also want to get some shelves for the study and an armchair so it could be spendy but all budgeted for. I might put off the armchair until after January pay just to make sure.

In the New Year my financial goals are:

Save a fixed amount every month, firstly paid into a grown-up emergency fund of 6 months expenses, later paid into ISA for house deposit. Just get used to living without this money, so we don't miss it.

Earn extra money from marking and save for Christmas and birthday gifts.

greatest achievements

paying off £17,900 of debt, ending year with £1000 baby emergency fund saved

selling on eBay, working overtime and changing habits to do this - we are genuinely different people now from the couple we were in January

must do better

we spend too much eating out and on parking when we go into town etc., this is limited in termtime as I work Mon-Sat so we only have Sunday off together and v little time to spend but then in school holidays it goes crazy.

I have mostly conquered impulse buys but have been victim of "it's a bargain-itis" buying too much on eBay/in charity shops and never wearing these items. NO MORE clothes shopping online or in shops where it can't be returned, unless it is a dream item.

Similarly I am guilty of chucking "treats" in basket at supermarket, crisps, wine etc - we need to set a budget for these and buy them intentionally because we can't afford it otherwise.

favourite frugal habits

Using online banking - I never fear the bank statement now as I check my balance 3-4 times a week and monitor stuff.

meal-planning - we waste next to no food when this is done right. I love seeing the fridge and cupboards slowly empty and knowing all the food has been eaten up.

Realising that supermarkets do great, decent quality basics like vests, socks, pants, pyjamas etc for rock bottom prices.

bad habits

buying lunch/dinner when out as we stay out longer than planned and I get the rage. Need to bring snacks and control my a bit better

Amazon "buy in one click" - I have spent a shameful amount on books, DVDs and CDs. No more.

best bargains

Winter coat for £59
lovely 100% cotton flannel PJs from Tesco for £10

awful waste of money

c.£100 on eBay/charity shop clothes that went back to the charity shops unworn

going £1.14 overdrawn by accident and bad planning this week, despite having lots of money in another account - waiting to see if they'll charge me or it'll be ok because I put money in today. It seems to have gone OD today when lots of debit purchases came out all at once (purchases made on 22nd

spending aspirations for 2015

kitchenaid mixer
shelves for study
armchair for study

I hadn't heard of wombling, well, not in the financial sense anyway

fuzz That's a kind and thoughtful present from your friend. How lovely.

northender - I usually pop into M&S around lunchtime, on my way home from work, as I do the company banking on the way, and park there. This can really be anywhere between 12pm and 2pm, unusual time to reduce, but they do seem to do so. I think the big reduction trolley that I got was a Saturday though, but around the same time.

Interestingly, DN was telling me that sales in the M&S stores that are close to Aldi and Lidl have rocketed (complicated how he knows this, I won't explain, it's boring!), so they have bought land close to further such stores, with the view to opening their food shops capitalising on the fact. I am guessing that folk save at Aldi and Lidl, then feel they can justify their luxury food items at M&S. None of the other big chains have cottoned on, apparently.

DH has just told me he has earned £200 cash back for buying two laptops for work (not both for himself!), so that's a benefit too and will pay for the balance of the horse box MOT.

needastrongone the Aldi near us is right next door (1 min walk) from a Waitrose we've been guilty of doing a big shop in Aldi and then spending almost the same amount on "treats" in Waitrose.

Another NSD for me today. I did think I would be shelling out about £13 for the cinema but my mum treated DS2 and I so no spends :-)

Will really be living out of the freezer this weekend as I need to get rid of as much stuff by Tuesday as I can in preparation for new freezer arriving.

Spreadsheet & internet banking done

20 days left to pay day (15th monthly for my spends account)
Money left in bank: £408.07
Money left in purse: about £50 (can't be bothered counting)
Money left in pound jar : no idea, hopefully around £20 (will count for tomorrow's update).
Available overdraft: £201.03 (looks like I will have to dip into this).

Sounds healthy but it isn't at all... for petrol (probably 2 more tanks - £120), grocery shopping (probably 2 full shops - £150), DH's reckless spending - currently £10 a day at least (£200) - my bus fares for two weeks left before payday (£28).

Uh - depressed now.

Nsd.

Hello all

Had lovely day ystd, very relaxed and got some lovely presents - am very lucky!

Made mistake of looking on Next online sale and bought three new tops £27 - oops!

Will need to get milk bread etc tomos and will be looking at cheap things to do with dd this week.

Nsd, been looking for a condenser drier, looks like option is B rated for £250 ish or A+ rated for £500 ish? Will prob go for cheaper, only used for towels and bedding wet/cold months.

Eating leftovers and feel fat....

I think ours is b rated and cost about that. Had it for about six years now, we get two hours off peak electric in the afternoon and tend to only use it then.

NSD yesterday, obviously, and today only bread and milk. Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I'm hovering on the sale sites but the top I really wanted from Pure Collection is sold out - I think I'm going to resist everything else.

I like the review of the year!

Greatest achievements

Saving enough to chip in my share of a new car for DM for her birthday and then replace the savings - her car had died, it's a significant birthday and DSis suggested it. I'm pleased that I managed to end the year with slightly more in savings than I started with in spite of that.

Must do better

I spend too much on food out. Much too much. Particularly, I'm shelling out c. £40 in the average week for lunches, which I'm not even getting much pleasure out of. I need to get my arse in gear and make packed lunches!

Favourite frugal habits

Ebay for my work clothes. I have some great dresses and skirts from there - I particularly like Zara and Hobbs. I need to look very tidy and presentable for work, and I must have saved a fortune on clothes over the last year or two.

Meal planning and buying meat from the butcher. We don't waste food at home.

Bad habits

See above about lunch. Also buying random stuff on Ebay while looking for stuff that I actually need - I have a silk dressing-gown and silk pyjamas that are admittedly lovely, but I really didn't need them.

Best bargains

Some fabulous theatre tickets. I went to see Helen McCrory in Medea for £15. Also Carlos Acosta in Don Quixote
at Covent Garden for £20.

Awful waste of money

An "Armani" dress on Ebay that didn't fit, and that I suspected wasn't genuine (but couldn't be sure so didn't open a case). £40 down the drain.

Plus my brain is totally convinced that being about £200 overdrawn is perfectly fine and acceptable (this has been the case ever since I was a student and has been constant since then, even though my income's fluctuated a lot - I have no idea what psychological process is going on), so I end up paying a few pounds in overdraft interest every year.

Spending aspirations for 2015

My main aspiration is to save lots for work to the house (probably to be done in about 2018-19), but I also want us to have a nice holiday or two along the way and buy a few pieces of furniture that look right in this house (we're gradually replacing things from our old house that just look wrong in this one). If I can be more frugal we ought to be able to have both.

Nsd

So £64 on taxis to and from the airport and £5.99 on new headphones for the tablet because I forgot mine. But mum gave me £20 for the first taxi, £50 as my Christmas present and 2 tubs of cold meat as I left the house so I'm even on the money and am sorted for lunch and dinner for the weekend.

And I haven't upset my sister by appearing an ungrateful wretch over my christmas present. Which I was worried I had done this afternoon and we've reached a sort of regifting solution. Which is a bit of a result.

Love all of your reviews - so interesting (= me being nosy!)

We drove over to great-granny's at 10am this morning and I spotted shoppers on their way home from the Next sale laden with bags!

Great-granny gave me a 25 Next voucher so I will be looking for jeans there first.

DH took both boys to Sainsbury yesterday as 5weeks old wouldn't nap so I could get an hr sleep anyway he got a load of pork joints reduced to £1.25ish, pks of mince for 99p n chickens for £1.25 shamme both our freezers are nr on full else he would brought more than he did.

He was disappointed as we always go there on boxing day for a wander n the gifts are normally 70% off then n we buy some as presents for bday during the yr but they were still only 50% off.

Yesterday
26/12
NSD!