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Frugaleer Festive Fun

987 replies

Unescorted · 05/12/2020 15:21

I went to post and realised we had nearly run out of room.

old thread here

Bring the sparkle on....

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DrDolittlesParrot · 06/01/2021 14:42

Not including rent no. It's very tricky, if I have them all going out on the same day I'm going to have a month of not having enough money to pay them.

Tightwad2020 · 06/01/2021 15:23

Hello Dolittle. I'm new here too. I"m not especially techy, although I did put in the time filling in a spreadsheet posted by a clever Mumsnetter some time back, different thread. If I can find it, I will post it. You need to work out your income and expenditure. Easier (I find) if you use cards for everything rather than cash. You can download your bank transactions to a spreadsheet and then filter/organise using the A-Z key and then you can see everything you spend at Aldi, Boots, Sainsbury's. If you spend a lot on Paypal or Amazon you might need to dig back into your transactions history on those platforms to find out what exactly you spent your money on - clothes, food, entertainment. Where are your direct debits/standing orders going. The point is, you need to know where your money is going, and if your expenditure is exceeding your income, where you can make cuts.

When it comes to planning your expenditure, I like Claer Barret's method. She puts her monthly income, minus tax, on a sheet of paper, then quarters it, and has one quarter for necessary expenses, one for debt repayment, one for saving and another for fun. Jason Butler is another good writer on money and he has a 'smart spending system' where, again, you allocate money against different broad categories (he has suggested proportions) and you set targets over different time frames, especially for saving/investing. He borrows from Dave Ramsey on this one - a 7 step goal. It sounds daunting, but it's not, you just have to put in a bit of research. All of them emphasise 'intentionality' - every £/$ has a job.

The Humble Penny is a good blog - lots of resources.

SnugglySnerd · 06/01/2021 16:34

Hello everyone! I thought I had posted again last night but I can't see it now. Oh well.
Sorry I haven't said welcome to newcomers - it's been a crazy week here! All much calmer today. I feel like I am getting more proficient with the online teaching and the kids are getting used to it too and have been fab today! Dcs all have key workers places and that is all sorted now which has taken a lot of stress out of the situation.

Realised last night that dd1 only has one jumper that fits, she must have done some growing! Just ordered a couple of lovely ones from M&S. I am trying to buy better quality for her so that things last to pass onto dd2. Some of the cheaper stuff I have bought has not lasted well.

Nice to see some new names on the thread. I'm going to try and keep up a bit better now after a bit of a mad week.

Unescorted · 06/01/2021 16:53

Hi Snuggly - glad things are better today. And there is clarity on GCSE assessments (kind of). I was not expecting that.

It is fairly straightforward to do both look back budget and dd vs pay days as separate sheets - the difficulty comes with combining them into an automated running cashflow that flags when you can't spend any more on any given day of the month. You could do it by manually entering the pay as a negative expenditure. ... let me have a further think.

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DrDolittlesParrot · 06/01/2021 18:15

@Tightwad2020, thanks. Nearly all my money goes on bills, with just enough left over for food and essential clothing. There's nothing there to save or have fun with - well, maybe a coffee or small takeaway once a month. I just want to find a way of spending as little as possible on essentials, so I can put away money for car service etc and to keep track so I know how much I have available after bills at any given time. Sadly the fact my income goes in at different times is making this very difficult to keep on top of.

AdoraBell · 06/01/2021 18:28

Spendy day 🤦‍♀️
Grocery delivery £95
Top up shop £9
Coffee and sandwiches in town, take away, £9.50. That’s got to stop but I had to go out for drain cleaner, just remembered another £4-ish spend, and DH had to drive to deliver documents and we we met up in town.

lifelongfrugaleer · 06/01/2021 18:47

There will be a way Dr and we will do our best to find it.
I wonder if you could split your bills into 2 weeks. So half comes out of one pay and half comes out of the other? Then you have the test of that 2 weeks clear budget.

Nsd but she has just not parked the car properly so it's rolled into the garage. New bumper needed.

DrDolittlesParrot · 06/01/2021 19:05

Yes that's a good idea @lifelongfrugaleer. I think it's the only way it will work. Thank you all so much for trying to sort this for me, it's been making me stressed for so long.

ememem84 · 06/01/2021 19:10

The deal with the 2 accounts is that one is solely used for bills. The other personal spends.

In our set up dh and I both get salaries paid into our own personal accounts. Then transfer enough for mortgage and bills to joint account. Then we know that what we have in our accounts is ours to play with. For me it makes things easier.

ememem84 · 06/01/2021 19:12

£27 filling up dms car which id borrowed. Had a mare trying to get petrol cap open. Thought it was like ours where you just push it and it opens. Turns out no amount of pushing or whacking would get it open. Because there’s a button under the drivers seat....

northender · 06/01/2021 20:03

NSD today.
Dd made a lovely toad in the hole for tea.
There seems to be naff all on tv so it's going to be reading & crochet again. Living life on the edge!

maddenlightfoot · 06/01/2021 20:04

DrDolittle that does sound really hard to get everything pinned down. I lived in NZ after uni and got paid fortnightly which I loved! But then I was a care-free twenty-something with no commitments! My suggestion was going to be to work on saving up the equivalent of one of your pay checks so that at some point you can start the month with a whole months' pay but I see from your most recent post that would be tricky. As life says, I'm sure between us we'll figure it out... welcome aboard!

It's been a nsd day again today, or as I might rename them 'tbts' - too busy to spend 🤣!

I've had to change some things around at work which means now I need to go shopping on Fridays rather than Mondays. I don't think we can comfortably stretch it out until next Friday and as it was such a small shop on Monday (only £35), I'm going to do another weekly shop this Friday.

Unescorted · 06/01/2021 20:12

What the actuals is happening in the US???? Bonkers..

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maddenlightfoot · 06/01/2021 20:29

I'm flabbergasted but yet nothing surprises me now unescorted. It's crazy, they've got guns in there!!

Wolfcub · 06/01/2021 20:30

I despair Unescorted

northender · 06/01/2021 20:34

Crazy!
On a more trivial note, what is the sizing like on the Lucy Locket leggings? I'm probably between 2 sizes so should I go up or down?

northender · 06/01/2021 20:37

unescorted how is your ds doing? Dd is struggling to deal with it all. I am mightily relieved she had the dyslexia screen when she did so that can be taken into account and also that all work/assessments that she has done up to now has been with no extra time or support. I'm confident she will get what she needs for college & then it's a fresh start.

Unescorted · 06/01/2021 20:38

North you are in lockdown... I would go up a size. Others who are more focused with their extra exercise time could go down.

I think the whole world is slack jawed.

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Tightwad2020 · 06/01/2021 20:41

hi again Dr. My post made it sound like you quarter your income under 4 different headings, but I actually meant that you quarter the sheet of paper, then list your outgoings under the different headings. Most people will spend most of their income on bills/essentials, I'm guessing, for great chunks of their life. Maybe it was obvious what I meant, even if what I wrote was misleading. Sorry!

I've never used these, but lots of people swear by apps like Monzo, where you can set up pots very easily and allocate your income to different headings as it comes in. Might that work for you if your income is coming in at different times?

Unescorted · 06/01/2021 20:42

His school have sent a really good email - basically mocks will be an indicator, but all other work will be used therefore work you little arses off between now and May. It is just what DS needs and he is fairly chilled. DD has been good in making sure he keep focused but chilled. She has a career in the diplomatic service.

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Wolfcub · 06/01/2021 20:53

North I'd go down a size. Lockets are generous. I'm a generously proportioned 16 with thunder thighs and size 16 lockets are roomy on me. I take size 2 lounge

Wolfcub · 06/01/2021 20:55

Size 16 actives that should have said

lifelongfrugaleer · 06/01/2021 21:07

Just catching up.

Read the news, no words
LLL size down.

Stressed house today so not posting much. Not to worry we will be ok.
Sold board is up.

SnugglySnerd · 06/01/2021 22:22

Dh and I have been watching what's happening in the US in disbelief. You couldn't make it up!

A wall of tiredness has just hit me, I think now I am feeling less stressed the week has caught up with me. Hopefully dd2 will sleep!

Bit worried about our heating bills with being at home all the time. I have had my thermals and a jumper and warm sock/slippers on and still felt cold sitting still for long periods. Hot water bottle is coming out tomorrow!

DrDolittlesParrot · 06/01/2021 22:28

@Tightwad2020

hi again Dr. My post made it sound like you quarter your income under 4 different headings, but I actually meant that you quarter the sheet of paper, then list your outgoings under the different headings. Most people will spend most of their income on bills/essentials, I'm guessing, for great chunks of their life. Maybe it was obvious what I meant, even if what I wrote was misleading. Sorry!

I've never used these, but lots of people swear by apps like Monzo, where you can set up pots very easily and allocate your income to different headings as it comes in. Might that work for you if your income is coming in at different times?

Ahhh! Yes I did misunderstand and was thinking how can anyone only use a quarter of their income on bills! I mean, there probably are some people, but not me!

I've now switched on Lloyds Save the Change, thanks PP for that tip.

Thanks again to everyone helping with this.

Yesterday I had a NSD, but today my solar lights broke whilst moving them from the back garden to the tree outside the kitchen window where we can see them better, so I splashed out £5.99 on new solar lights, as dd and I felt quite down and need something to cheer us up now the Christmas decs have gone. Tomorrow should be a NSD, but Friday my rent and giffgaff goes out of my account.

I'll have a look at Monzo and similar, just not sure it'll work with fortnightly income, but I'll know more once I've looked at it

I've been knitting all evening and watching QI on Netflix.

Can't believe what is happening in the US Sad