Monthly Round Up - March

March has been a good month.  I've paid off my credit cards again this month and they now seem to have far less on them from month to month, on account of my spending less, which leaves a bit more room in the budget for the odd treat or day out with spending money, such as the one I had at the Knitting and Stitching Show this month.   I've continued to pay money off my overdraft, which is going down gradually.  I've also managed to make the money I have last well this month and have not been financially stretched as the month came to a close, which is a first for me. 

I've stuck to the menu plan pretty closely and used up more of the things from the overflow cupboard.  I managed to use all the frozen items and halve the remaining items on the list from my February Food Challenge.  Anything still on it will get used up eventually, especially now that I'm onto it and trying to include dishes using the items in my menu planning, so that challenge has come to an end.

April might be a little more expensive with Easter on the horizon, but I don't have any birthdays to speak of, that require expenditure.  I do have the expense of renewing a passport for Little Bird, but I think there is plenty of room in the budget for this.  I also need to pay for her trampolining lessons, but again there should be enough for this too, as they aren't too expensive.

I have finally got around to doing some dressmaking in the last couple of days, which has been really satisfying (post to follow), and I will hopefully be making more garments in April if I manage to find the time.   I also managed to complete a couple of other projects this month, which has reduced the list somewhat.  Sorting through my wardrobe and sewing room has also meant that I have created a 'to make' pile with fabrics and dressmaking patterns ready to go , so I'm hoping next month will be much more productive.

I managed to get all the jobs done at the allotment that I needed to this month and sowed some seeds at home in the greenhouse, although only a few have actually germinated thus far.  Having sorted through all my seeds and put them in date of sowing order, I will have some more to sow next month once the weather warms up a little more.

The house got a good de-clutter and clean, on account of having some guests to stay this last weekend.  It feels good to get on top of things for once and have some breathing space for pursuing some of my other interests.  

Finally, the challenges I have been joining in with have continued to help motivate me to complete tasks and read books, which in turn often results in yet more clutter being re-purposed or leaving the house, which has also been very satisfying.  I'm hoping I can keep up the momentum into April.

I hope you had a good month too.  Have you got any plans for the coming month?