Money Management Boot Camp ..... anyone interested?

[Twiglett]

OK the house of twig has been overspending drastically in recent months, so I'm about to start sorting it out again (took my eye off the ball you see)

I know we do style and healthy living makeovers on here

Anybody want to join my Money Boot Camp? Get control of your money and stay in control?

NB this may be well over my head though but I'm pretty good at this normally

sign-up if you wanna try .. we could start next month?

Would love to join this, need to control spending as the money just disappears each month.....
Have notebook, will also take a look at the budget planner

my dp says i've got to join... where do i sign up !!

Its a good idea I'd like to join if I may?I've been trying to note stuff down for a couple of months, I've done it on a spread sheet I'm notoriously bad with notebooks and scraps of paper. Its truly depressing as I had hoped all my money went on fripperies but apparently not, just day to day stuff. I don't seem to be spending a lot on rubbish , it just all goes. It has I think helped to keep me in check though as I try to allocate what I have left over after monthly bills and stuff into weekly bits so I can work out how much I have for food and stuff. I o/d on a week to week basis but am less and less o/ding on a monthly one. If i have spent my weeks money i look in the freezer to see what I can use so as not to go to the supermarket, it has really helped this month with all the new stuff for the beginning of term.

Ok - have downloaded file. It'll be scary doing it I think.

Definately definately definately!!

as some people know my dh owes £11500 that i didnt know about so i really need to learn to budget and cut back and manage our debt!

pleaseeeeee let me join!!!

Have you done your budgets yet?

Have you written down any money you've spent today?

Christie
SleeplessInTheStaceym11House
niceglasses
clutteredup
puffylovett
MadLabOwner
inamuckingfuddle
MascaraOHara
filthymindedvixen (you decided yet?)
auntyquated
brandnewhelsy
unknownrebelbang (you decided yet?)
chocolateteapot
tarantula
CountessDracula
gorgeousfeebie
GroaningGameGirly
bozza (in or out?)
yesmynameisigglepiggle

Am busy writing things down - I thought I hadn't spent anything really, but then remembered the £30 on petrol and £18 on dog food. Maybe if I spent cash rather than using cards all the time it would be easier to remember!

What is the general consensus on grocery shopping - should I write down groceries £60 or split things up like food £40 nappies and wipes £15 toiletries £5? I think this is where things go wrong for me, as really you can get anything in supermarkets these days, not just food, so it is so easy to think I'm spending hundreds on food when it is probably the kids clothes, new plates and a couple of books that I've bunged in the trolley that is actually costing the money. What does everyone else think?

I have spent £3.00 exactly on lunch today as left mine at home.

Had already done the budget planner.

Am doing my online shop tonight for next week and have meal plan and list.. don't need to get too much as lots of meat and stuff in Freezer

Get toiletries and things from places like boots when they have double poihnts weekends that way you can use your points to buy presents at christmas and stuff - aftershave/perfume etc

yes split it into food, toiletries, household, childcare, clothes when writing it down otherwise it doesn't help to look back on it

Sorry not started yet Miss (lol)

Will start doing my budget this week, scary thought...

Will join you twiglett, no idea what has happened to all my money but accounts are bare

ok so far spent today

About £3 having coffee and toast with a mate after dropping dd at school

Then nipped into charity shop and spent £23 on a really fantastic jacket and dress and a denim jacket for dh (so really a saving of £150ish compared to buying new)

Then picked dd up, ven did a packed lunch for her to have in car on way to JL so we wouldn't have to go to expensive cafe
GOOD CD, GOOD

Then took some curtains back to John Lewis (am queen of buying wrong things and not taking them back so top marks to me for that I think!)
so -£40

Then saw the kitchen knife of my dreams and had to buy it (have been on lookout for a year so seemed churlish not to buy just because of economy drive iykwim)
Plus a water bottle for dd to take to school

+£40
(so net zero in JL, vg as tried on luverly french connection top I really liked and rejected as thought of evil marmitey battleaxe tutting)

So £26 in total

Am going to waitrose tonight
any tips?
(other than don't go)

In. But have not done spreadsheet yet. Will do it tonight after I've done the cleaning . Maybe if I do the same as CountessDracula and put my spends on here it will embarrass me into not spening it.

So today:
2 slices of toast and a diet coke - 85p
Lunch - £2.68

Total £3.53

The 85p is fairly standard, but I was going to make my lunch last night but felt really rubbish. I will make something tonight as DS has school trip so need to do him a packed lunch anyway.

Plan your meals before you go and make a proper list to cover everything, not just guess at it. Now I need to take my own advice as we keep not getting round to a proper shop and end up spending the best part of £20 with not a lot to show for it . And even worse I did go to Sainbury yesterday to go to the cash point, which was broken. So had to go in to get some bits and pieces that I couldn't get where I wanted to with out the cash. I emerged with my bank account £117 lighter.

I've been much better today. Have spent £20.67 on cat food, collar, id tag & birthday card (cat food should last a good few weeks) and £7.29 on hoover bags. All now entered in spread sheet. I did the budget planner a few months ago so that is done.

Have told DH that we have to write everything down that we spend, he looked a little bemused.

ok

What shall I have then?

I want need to join.

The cash machine spat my card out at me yesterday and dh came home from work very pale and stressed about it all.

So any help would be very much appreciated.

Just going to check out your budget planner thingy.

I have usually spent a fiver by the time I get to work on coffee

Count me in. I am just rubbish with money, always have been, but now we only have one income I am finding it really hard to accept that I can't spend as I like.

I have downloaded the spreadsheet, will start filling it in tonight.

I have spent zilch today and it will stay that way too as not going out. Unless dh has filled up the car.

Spent too much at Somerfield today , just popped in to get tea for the DC and then remembered Dh is away tonight so got myself a pizza ( not the ones on offer but a nice one ). Also DD1 had her pre school injections today so needed to buy her a treat lunch she could eat at the clinic and a Kinder Egg as a reward, then I needed chocolate of course..........erm.......not much change from £20. Not good really as only covered tea for 3, lunch and another tea later in the week for the DC. Better get a game plan for food consumption, thimgs normally go better than this.
Any ideas on meal planning, DS is fussy so some plain food ideas would be good.

Um, not feeling very inspired on menu front as I have a stinking cold and nothing seems very appealing at the moment. Something seasonal, will be cheaper (but don't ask me what is !)

Ngb, what we did to get sorted out was sit down and work out our monthly costs are (see the link to the budget planner on Moneysavingexpert).

We then worked out how much a weekly budget and withdrew it in cash (need to do a couple of weeks where it lasts 8 days depending on how many days in the month). Having to hand over hard cash rather than a card made us much more careful, plus if we did end up spending the lot, there was never too long before the new week started. We need to go back to this really as have definitely been slipping.