A 'lil bit of bad, a 'lil bit of good

The bad: I splurged on Subway for lunch
The good: I got a £2 coin in my change, gone straight into savings!

Pizza!

The inventory got cancelled.  We finished work as normal around 10.15pm, stuffed our faces with pizza pre-inventory then discovered that the system hadn't set itself up properly for us to actually do the inventory.  Cue lots of faffing and trying to sort, and eventually my boss decided to give up.  So I didn't get paid all that extra time until 2am, but I did get paid an extra hour, and got to eat some pizza.  Mmmmm pizza : )

Sadly my employer #2 is too stingy to give us free pizza even when we have to stay late so I had to pay for my half, but in my change I got another £2 coin to add to my pot, so win win!

Off to bed now with a belly full of pizza, happy me : )

Bleurgh...

...working late tonight - normally finish around 10.15pm in job #2 but will be finishing about 2am instead as doing inventory tonight.

Still, must look on the bright side, this whole shift is extra - I took it as the girl meant to work it got fired and they needed cover.  Only found out it was going to be a late one a couple of nights ago, but it's all extra money!

Buffer money

Ok, so I didn't make it to £2.83 - forgot I needed to give someone 50p for something... however, still saved the rest, and from my new weekly budget on Friday I have already had a £2 coin in my change so that's been added to the savings pot courtesy of my £2 saving resolution.

Also been saving everything I earn over my regular salary e.g. hours over my minimum contract of 8 a week in my job #2 , and petrol expenses and overtime in job #1.  This is something I have been doing for a while, but I was getting into bad habits of dipping into the buffer a little too much.  The current amount I have stashed is to see me through my birthday month of February, and to pay for anything else that might come up that I can't afford from my meagre weekly budget.

Plan is to try and keep my buffer as high as possible, and use bits every now and then to pay down my debt, but still leave myself some as fall back money.

Of course, I definitely have some extra paying down debt to do, since I splurged on clothes for that interview (co-incidentally, I found out today that I wasn't successful), and have the cottage break for my birthday to pay off too - so about an extra £200 - yikes!  Am hoping to sell some stuff soon though and use that money to pay off some of the £200...

Yes, I know, I could use my buffer money to pay down my credit card, and logic would say that's a good idea.  However, I want to get out of the habit of using that credit card (my other credit card has a large balance I am consistently paying off), so want to keep the buffer to ensure I don't touch the card again for a while.

Going to add the buffer amount to my savings at the bottom of my blog page to give the whole picture.

Staying strong

81p found from the depths of my car and added to the tin, making £13.74 in savings so far this month.  Didn't start until 13th though, so pretty chuffed with myself, as although I admit the figures are small, it will all help. : )

Just got to make it through work #2 tonight without caving and buying anything (I'm surrounded by sweets, chocolate and crisps there), and I'll be able to add the remaining £2.83 from this week's budget.  Must be strong!  Haha

Moral support

Bless one of my friends, writer of the blog "squashedkitty." - check it out on My Blog List.

He's put this on his blog and said it was for me: 

"Being broke is a temporary situation, Being poor is a state of mind."

Michael Todd

Thanks matey, wise words. : )

What the...?

So a curious thing has happened.  It turns out I like saving.  Yes, me of all people!  Who'd have thought it?!

My living only off cash NY resolution is making me very careful about how much I spend as I can visably see my money reducing.  My weekly budget is £37.50, starting on Fridays (as I get paid in job #2 every fortnight on a Friday).  The last two weeks I only withdrew £60, £30 for each week, to see how I got on, idea being there would be a bit extra in the bank to draw on if needed, and although there is a cash point that dispenses £5 notes near me, £30 is a nice round figure to get out.

First week I had £4.44 left.  This week I'll have £2.83 left, providing I don't buy anything tomorrow, which I'm sure I can manage.  I also then had £15 left in the bank which I ended up using to put some much needed petrol in my car.  So not only did I come in well under budget, I also managed to get some petrol, and save £7.27!  And that is despite my earlier posts this week flapping about going over budget on my date and the like...

I have a little tin that I'm saving my £2 coins in (see other NY resolution), and I've added the £4.44 to it, and will add the remaining £2.83 tomorrow night, provided I don't spend it.  Also in the tin are some coppers and 5p coins I had kicking about the place, and soon I'll put the bits and bobs that are floating round my car in there too.

Will add a savings total to the bottom of my blog, alongside my debt totals so you can see my progress : )

Plan is to pay the savings in to my bank once they build up sufficiently, and use the money to pay off some of my smaller debts - e.g. money I owe friends, or my small credit card that I used recently to pay for interview clothing and mini holiday for my birthday.

Also pleased to announce I have over £100 saved for "Birthday Month" (February), as no doubt it'll be an expensive one, what with turning 30 and all... (eeek!)  This money was saved from overtime worked in job #1 and hours worked over my contract in job #2 during January : )

Oh and today was a No Spend Day. Got fed breakfast and lunch free of charge in the venue I worked in today (as normal for a Tuesday or Wednesday), but also got fed dinner free of charge too, as had to stay late for an event.  Result!

: )

Date went well, that's all I'm saying... : )

Not much money left for the rest of this week though, ooops!

Uh-oh

I think the budget's going way out the window tonight!  Bought some food yesterday, now only £12 left 'til next Friday and I bet I'll want to spend at least that tonight as I'm on a date and dates always cost money : (  Got some spare funds I can dip into if necessary, though will try and be good : )

Right, am off to the opticians, on the positive, at least they're now letting me have eye tests for free (no longer £20)...

New weekly budget starts today...

... and I have £4.44 left from this week!  Going to pop that straight in my 'lil savings pot, as to coin a phrase, 'every little helps' : )

Ooooooh

...and today I bumped into the other victim from my 'cupid with a sledgehammer' post - he was back to normal with me and nothing was mentioned.  ~Phew~ embarrassment over!

No Spend Days

Am doing pretty well with the old 'living off cash' New Year resolution.  So far this week I took out £30 (below my £37.50 budget) and still have £7-odd left for tomorrow (as well as the £7.50 I didn't take out).  Success : )  Next weekly budget starts again on Friday.  I'm hoping if I don't actually take out the whole weekly budget amount again in future I might even find I can live off £30 a week instead of £37.50, and put the remainder each week towards my debts.

Probably just as well as getting ready for that interview was a total splurge-fest.  I really wanted to look the part and ended up buying a matching handbag and shoes on my credit card as well as the dress I'd already bought, ooops!  Am yet to hear back regarding the outcome; they said most likely they'll make a decision next week.

Anyway to the title of this post: No Spend Day (or NSD) is a term used on the forums on Money Saving Expert.com.  Basically the plan is really to have as many as possible in any given week, month etc.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best for me to attempt this, as I get fed at the place I work at on those days.  However this Tuesday I ended up down the pub in the evening, and today I ended up buying a packet of crisps at my second job this evening as I was ravenous!  Going from one job to another straight away with no dinner has a tendency to do that to me...

In better news, I went on a night out on Saturday and spent a grand total of 45p all night!  Soda and lime, what a bargain!  Rest of the night was water and a freebie drinkie from a mate.  I swear I'm going to owe so many people drinks when I'm flush again...

Daring to be ladylike

So yesterday lunch time I went shopping for an interview outfit.  Yes, it's going on my credit card, bad me, but yes, I feel I really need a killer outfit to nail this interview.  Decided it was time to 'speculate to accumulate' ya-da-ya-da...

I've never been much of a dress or skirt wearer, as I don't know, I've always just felt more comfortable in trousers.  However, I've lost a few pounds recently (amazing how being single means less nights in scoffing my face with pizza) so thought I'd try a work type dress.  Went into Next, found a lovely navy blue tailored dress.  Just the ticket :)  And at £45, cheaper than buying a full suit.  Got a grey ruched shoulder jacket at home already to wear over the top, and VOILA!  Très ladylike, and super smart.

Am going to be a 'lil bad though and try and get some decent shoes to go with it today - my last pair of posh interview shoes rendered me crippled after a few minutes; I'm not going through that experience again!

Strange addiction

www.moneysavingexpert.com forums are taking over my life...

I guess I could form an addiction to worse things.

Cupid with a sledgehammer

So there I was whinging in earlier posts about how hard it is to meet someone and date when you have limited funds.  With this woman on my case - no longer!  Hahaha cue the random story below...

Today I was just quietly minding my own business, having some lunch (free! mmmm) at one of the venues in which I work, when all of a sudden a woman, let's call her the above title, struck.  I was having a quick chat with a male member of staff, during which she comes over, talks to me about my role, then starts telling me, in front of him too, that he's single, then suddenly asks if I'm single.  Well I don't want to lie, so I say 'yes', very much to her delight.  Said man I was talking to disappears into his nearby office (no doubt, as embarrassed as me).  She tells me she's worried about him being single and alone and would love him to go out on some dates even if they are just 'friendship dates'.  Then she tells me because we both blushed we obviously like each other!  I told her I was just embarrassed!  She even asked if I come over to eat near his office and flirt with him often!  Subtle as a brick, this one.

An hour or so later I'm in a different room busying myself with some admin when she comes in to talk to someone near me.  When she spots me up comes the conversation again!  I'm at a loss for words, I don't really know the guy and don't have any opinion on him.  She asks me if we've swapped numbers... I say I haven't spoken to him since.  She leaves with a 'don't worry, I'll sort it'...

Whoa lady, calm down!!

Resolutions, they are a-starting...

New Year's Resolution number 1 finally started having received my first two £2 coins in my change.  Alas though, that was almost the last of my money!  Got to just hang on in there until Friday...

Resolution number 5 not going so well... done lots of research on more unusual items to sell (empty perfume bottles, shop carrier bags etc, who knew?) but not actually DONE anything yet!  Procrastinating, procrastinating, procrastinating...  Hoping I might get my arse in gear this weekend.  That said, I have an interview for a new job to prepare for so might be otherwise occupied.  Later this week I'm going to have to see if any of my old suits still fit or not.  I have a sneaking suspicion they will be too big, as I'm sure I'm about a stone lighter than I was last time I had to wear a suit.

Now the question is, whether to fork out for a new suit or not...? It will mean putting it on my credit card, as I have no stored funds left after Christmas and some urgent car work, but maybe it's a necessary evil to help me secure the job??  Hmmmm

New Year's Resolutions

I suppose if I write them on here they are immortalised and therefore binding??  Slightly concerning...

1) Save £2 coins. 

This a challenge I have signed up to on Money Saving Expert.  Basically, every time I end up with a £2 coin in my change I have to save it.  I will then use the money for something useful, depending on what is best use once I have a reasonable stash.  So far, I've not received even one of these elusive coins, but resolution 2 may help with that.

2) Only use cash. 

I have a tendency to buy everything on my debit card, and because the bank is always a day or two behind, it makes it very difficult to keep an accurate tally of my finances.  Also, paying on a card, doesn't really feel like handing over money, as you're not visually seeing your money decrease.   I'm hoping this resolution may help me be a bit more careful with my spending.  Plan is to take out £35 every week as that is around about my weekly budget (for food, clothes, going out, shampoo etc.).  I will then try and only spend that... think it's going to be hard!

3) Only ever drink 2 alcoholic drinks on a night out. 

This isn't only a financial resolution though, I just don't make a good drunk.  I still, after all these years, do not know my limits.  However, two, I'm sure, will be fine.

4) Be more positive - try to dwell on the good things, rather than the bad things in my life. 

Ever since I've been working hard to sort out my debt, I've felt a huge weight on my shoulders.  More than when I was racking up the debt in fact, as I wasn't really thinking about it!  I've come to look at life rather darkly, and had a tendency to be jealous of others.  Facebook doesn't help... you get to see the wedding pics, the baby pics, the awesome holiday pics... All things that are a long way off, if they even happen, for me.  However, I have great friends, my own property, a supportive family, not one job but two etc., and need to learn to appreciate what I have.  Afterall, many are less fortunate.

5) Clear the house of all my tat and make some money!

This one is obvious - lots of boxes of stuff I need to clear from my house, and lots of money needed to help my debt problem = must get off my arse and sell stuff!  Besides, I'm sure it'll improve my feng shui to have a decluttered house ;-)

It's the final countdown...

So now we've hit the New Year, my 30th birthday is not long away, in fact only just over a month from today... yikes!

Yesterday I booked a mini holiday away with my favourite girls for my birthday, staying in a cottage in the country for a couple of nights.  Am very excited, but obviously it's going to cost a little bit.  Thankfully a cottage shared isn't too expensive.  However, I'm feeling a tad guilty I've had to pay on my credit card!  Now the heat is on to sell some stuff amounting to the same cost so that I can pay my credit card back down... Facebook selling pages and Gumtree here I come!  Have discovered these are better channels to sell through as no nasty Ebay or Paypal charges...

I can't help dreaming about the holidays I'll afford once my debt is gone, Australia, New Zealand, America, Iceland, Madrid, Rome... it will be so nice to be able to afford to visit these places.  For now, I just have to hold on to these dreams, to keep me going through the skint times I still have ahead of me for the next two years.

Debt is at least going down nicely.  Am at around £12.5k now, but originally was at about £19.5k.  And only £9.5k of that remaining is with creditors, so only that amount is affecting my credit score.  Debt is going down quicker now I have a 0% deal on my credit card, which is something.

Dating is still going to be an issue though.  I have a date in a couple of weeks with someone I met and dated 4 years ago (bit strange I know, but I have my reasons).  Slightly worried as I think he still thinks I'm the same old party animal I was back then... he might be a bit shocked when he sees me decline dinner (as I can't afford it) and drink soda and lime all night (super cheap).  Am rather apprehensive he won't like the new, more sensible me.  Well I suppose if not, his loss right?!