Pick up Snakes..........

No49. Have a Monthly Games Night with no TV. We have had our first games night (OK so it was actually a games afternoon but who cares). Uncle W came round for a visit, he is my kids hero. Each of them in turn have learned great things from him. He is definately the family joker, and he is always a welcome guest in the house. Mouse is particularly fond of him and he has always been her pal.

Anyway the 2 of them decided to play "pick up snakes" (jungle version of pick up sticks) Needless to say, Mouse is a dreadful cheat, and the hilarity that ensued was brilliant. Then we all played "Sorry". I lost!! This was a board game we bought at a church fair years ago and it didn't come with instructions but we play it our own way. Great fun had by all.

Also I have had my first "No Spending Day" (No17 on the 101 list). I am so pleased.

How Much is That Doggie in the Window........

Today I start daily tracking on my money. How much I spend on what and where. I want to see exactly where the little dribs and drabs go so I can change the overall expenditure. I will not be stopping shopping or doing without, however I will be attempting to reduce expenditure where possible. By shopping wiser and cheaper I hope to improve my spending habits thereby reducing my debts.

Today I dropped Babes off at work. This was because he was running late(not organised in time) but it means I have wasted petrol and added to my carbon footprint. Babes drives a bus therefore gets free bus travel. If we had been organised he could have left on time and got on a bus to work, and I would not have had to use the car.

On my way back from dropping him off I went in past "Iceland" and bought a Weight Watchers ready meal, and some bread and salad. The bread is a necessity although I should have gone to "ASDA" where I could have bought it cheaper, but the WW ready meal was an unnecessary purchase. I had food at home to eat, I just didn't want to waste time preparing it. The salad although delicious was dearer than I would normally pay. It will not be wasted in anyway but isn't it funny how eventually it all comes down to organisation and planning.

When I did my weekly shop if I had bought more bread at the cheaper price I could have put it in the freezer. We all know all fuller freezer is more economical to run. If I had done better menu planning I wouldn't have needed to buy a ready meal I would have had the ingredients all ready to go, perhaps even cooked.

My quick pop in to the shop cost me £4.30; not major finance but it could have been spent wiser. It is my hope that daily tracking will show up patterns, patterns that can be changed.

So I'm off to find the knitting needles and prepare to knit a new financial me!!!!!