This month has been the usual problem of trying to balance my budget. I have to say, I didn't help myself by buying some new towels for the house, which weren't really essential and cost £35. We could have managed perfectly well without them, but they are nice all the same.
The £18 purchase of a new greenhouse cover, was essential though and it was money well spent to make sure the greenhouse and it's contents are weather proofed for the winter. It wasn't a perfect fit, unfortunately, but it fits well enough.
I didn't go too mad on the thrifting front this month. Some weeks I stayed out of thrifts shops completely or couldn't find anything I wanted to buy, which helped. I did buy a couple of items of clothing, a book and some pairs of jeans to use for a sewing project, but I was quite restrained.
We had a trip up to Yorkshire, I had a couple of lovely days out with LB shopping at Canary Wharf and thrifting in Dalston, East London, a meet up with friends at a restaurant and a couple of other inexpensive social events that I attended. The meal in a restaurant was the most expensive of these, but cost less than £20, so I can't complain.
Mostly, I've just been grocery shopping once per week, ordering Xmas/birthday presents mostly online and spending time sewing and going to the gym. I've done quite a lot of sewing this last month, but I've quite enjoyed it and have made progress with a few things.
In terms of grocery shopping, I kept a tight control on spending, trying not to overbuy anything, but I did have the benefit of £25 worth of money off coupons in November, which helped with the food budget, although I still went over. It was, however, only £55 over budget, as opposed to £140 the previous month, so that was a win in my eyes. All other spending categories were also reduced, save for Home and Garden, the purchases for which I've mentioned above.
Going into December, I have done virtually all of my Xmas shopping and it is now just a case of buying the food we will need for the Xmas holiday. I've already bought some things, but there are quite a few things I still need to buy.
We're planning a trip up to Yorkshire to see family before Xmas and there may be the odd inexpensive social event to attend, but otherwise it shouldn't be too expensive a month. LB might be able to get me free tickets to the Panto at the theatre where she works, which I'm hoping to use with a friend and I've booked a couple of free films at the cinema, courtesy of our local council, which is cool.
I'm due a dental appointment and keep getting reminders, but I really can't afford the expense before Xmas, as the dentist wants me to have another clean, which combined with the checkup will come to £120, so I might just have to book one in the New Year.
It will be another month of getting on with sewing projects, particularly LB's denim pouffe, which I hope to have finished for Xmas, if not, her birthday in January. This should keep me busy inbetween doing other things. I'm looking forward to being totally free this year in the lead up and over Xmas, now I'm not working. I have time to shop around for the best deals and save money where I can and I'm not exactly out living it up and throwing money around, so it's fine. Having less money to spend, actually makes me appreciate the true meaning of Xmas more, which can only be a good thing.
I hope your finances are on budget coming into this most expensive time of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment