Thursday 3 April 2014

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off...

... and start all over again.

Remember the vets bills I thought were all done? They weren't.

Running total:

£100.36

New Monthly Target: £223.77

Thursday 27 March 2014

Hullo again!

Here I am, turning up like a bad penny -speaking of which I had to open my 'Found Money' jar as it was full, - total £19.94 in just over three months!

Although I've been away my eBay and other bits have kept on rolling, I've lost track of what came from where but I've added £67.96 to my total. Normal service SHALL resume, I promise!

Added in March so far: £422.59
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£1132.62

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Teeny Tiny Tuesday Top-up

And it is teeny tiny as well! Today's additiion is £2.83 which I saved on my fuel at Tesco as my kind friend let me have her '6p off a litre' coupon. And that's all I added today!

It will be complete radio silence from me for the next week as I'm out of the country - see you on Thursday 27th.

Added in March so far: £354.63
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£1064.66

Monday 17 March 2014

Monday's Mutterings

Two very small additions today, £2.00 from selling a bin (of all things!) and £3.60 from Cash4Clothes. I've sent off a few more books to WeBuyBooks as well, and popped a cheque into the bank today for some other bits which I'll add in when it clears.

Added in March so far: £351.80
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£1061.73

Sunday 16 March 2014

Sunday's Snippets

Well, I did the car boot sale - hurrah! It was a very early start, particularly as I didn't sleep properly for fear of not waking in time, meaning I actually got up at 5am! But it wasn't as cold as I'd been expecting, the sun was already shining by the time we got there at 7am, and I made a grand total of £82 after pitch fee.  Most of this has been diverted into other areas, but £8 went into my fund along with £2.25 used in Asda vouchers, £15 in old stock sold and £9.41 from eBay. Today's total, £34.66.

Added in March so far: £346.20
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£1056.13

Saturday 15 March 2014

Saturday's Savings

Another excellent day for my challenge today. I delivered another piece of furniture sold via FB, collecting £20, and also a pair of shoes sold the same way, another £5. I also sold some old stock, £22! So a lovely total of £47 today.

And I AM, really really, doing that car boot sale tomorrow! Up and out at 6:30 am... not looking forward to that!

Added in March so far: £311.54
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£1021.47  - Hurrah, I'm halfway!!


ps, sorry, mabelandmaisy, I'm not ready to slow down just yet ;)

Friday 14 March 2014

Friday's Frugalities

Today was a good day for my fund! I made £50 selling some furniture on Facebook, £6 on some old books, £2.51 eBay and £5 on old stock - and I sold some other items for which I'll be collecting the money over the weekend. 

Today's total is a whopping £63.51!

Added in March so far: £264.54
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£974.47

Thursday 13 March 2014

Thursday's Thoughts

Today has brought in £11 from old stock, £5.23 from eBay and £2.16 in vouchers used in Asda - a total of £18.39 for the day!

I have also cracked on with sorting out car boot items and arranged to sell a few items via FB as well.

Added in March so far: £201.03
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£910.96

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Wednesday Witterings

Ooh look at me, actually posting on the right day!

Well, I've had some very large vets bills this week but so far have managed to avoid dipping into my £2014 fund - but my other reserves are running very low indeed now so let's hope my poor pooch doesn't need any further treatment.

Today the fund grows by £12.63, which is a combination of £3.31 'oddses' and £9.32 eBay. I've been taking my mind off the dog's illness by clearing out the office and have produced a lot more eBay stuff - I could really do with another free listings promo for business sellers though!

Added in March so far: £182.64
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£892.57

Tuesday Top-up

Today's given me £4.96 eBay and £2.50 in 'oddses', totallng £7.46 - and I've started to gather that carboot stuff into one place! This Sunday could be the day, if the weather holds...

Added in March so far: £170.01
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£879.94

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Monday's Mutterings

Monday's additions in brief:

eBay £12.48
Qmee £1.26

totalling £13.74.

Apologies for rubbish blogging but an awful lot going on at the moment, normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Added in March so far: £162.55
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £4.45
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!

Running total:

£872.48

Sunday 9 March 2014

Sunday's Savings

Apologies for my absence yesterday, I worked until quite late last night and was out at crack of dawn this morning to the car boot sale. Got some great bits for resale  - but still didn't pull my finger out and get a stall up together! 

This weekends additions are:

£8.77 eBay
£5.95 used in vouchers
£1.33 'oddses' 

Total of £16.05 going in! 


Added in March so far: £148.81
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £18.19
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!


Running total:

£858.74

Friday 7 March 2014

Friday's Fizzgogging Frugalities

Lots to add today! My cheque arrived for £35, I sold £6 of old stock and made £18.68 from eBay. A grand total to add to my fund of £59.68! I'm very pleased.

In other news, a possible expensive emergency has been spotted on the horizon. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing, but if not there's a strong chance I may have to dip into my savings to pay medical bills. I really hope not, but if it does happen, at least I've still got the rest of the year to rebuild. Fingers crossed, though.

Added in March so far: £132.76
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £34.24
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March DONE - YAY!


Running total:

£842.69

Thursday 6 March 2014

Thursday's Thoughts

I used £5.93 in vouchers today in Asda so that made a nice addition to my pot - along with £21.50 from eBay and 18 whole pence in interest on my savings account! Today's total, then is £27.61 - not to be sniffed at! There would have been some more from sale of my old stock but I blew it on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - or, to be more honest, petrol.

I'm awaiting a (small) royalties cheque in the post so that will be going into the fund when it arrives - and I really, really must do that car boot sale... *blush*

Added in March so far: £73.08
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £93.92
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £56.73


Running total:

£783.01

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Wednesday Witterings

I've been a very busy bee today and listed another thirty-odd items on eBay - sold five already! This netted me £26.25 but I've diverted £20 into other savings so just £6.25 for the pot today. Tomorrow is designated Sort Out The Office Day with the aim of digging out any more eBay bits I've overlooked, and also getting some stuff together to do this car boot sale I keep banging on about!

Added in March so far: £39.54
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £127.46
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £90.27


Running total:

£755.40

Tardy Tuesday Top-up

Late again! I'm rushing around like the White Rabbit at the moment! Just popping in
quickly to report yesterday's addition, which was £16.90 from eBay. I'll be back tonight with today's totals, I promise!

Added in March so far: £33.29
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £133.71
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £96.52


Running total:

£749.15

Monday 3 March 2014

Monday's Mutterings

Phew, I have something to report! £2.98 in vouchers used in Asda, £2.36 from a tiny eBay sale, and £2.68 in 'oddses' from my bank account - totalling £8.02

I have taken advantage of free eBay listings (for business sellers only, I'm afraid) today and relisted 44 previously unsold items. The offer is on until Friday so I must buckle down and get lots of other stuff on whilst it's free!

Added in March so far: £16.39
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £150.61
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £113.42


Running total:

£732.25

Sunday 2 March 2014

Sunday's (Lack of) Savings

I have NOTHING to tell you. Nada. Zip. Zero. Diddly squat. I saved/made NO money today.

Off to whip myself thoroughly with a birch branch.

Added in March so far: £8.37
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £158.63
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £121.44


Running total:

£724.23

Saturday 1 March 2014

Saturday Snippets

I thought it might be interesting to be able to see where my money was coming from and so I created a spreadsheet, with the aim of producing a pie chart. I'm having difficulty though because none of my headings are appearing! So for example column 1 is "eBay", column 2 is "Vouchers" etc. But when I create the pie chart, the key to the sections is just labelled "1, 2, 3" etc rather than my column headings. Any help would be appreciated!

Today's contributions come from sale of old stock (£5) and a 20% off KFC voucher I used when treating my sons to lunch today, which saved £3.37. So £8.37 in total.

Added in March so far: £8.37
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £158.63
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £121.44


Running total:

£724.23

Friday 28 February 2014

Friday's Frugalities

I missed posting yesterday, real life got in the way! And I'm only here with a very quick round up this evening, I didn't want the month to end without tying up the loose ends.

Today's (and yesterday's) combined additions to the pot are £24.12 eBay, £5.00 from selling off my old stock, £7.12 from using Asda vouchers and £3.67 'oddses' from my bank account. A grand total of £39.91!

Added in Feb so far: £346.23
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-179.23 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-196.74 Hurrah!

I'm really pleased to have done so well in what has actually been quite a lean month in the Challengee household - by going over and above my monthly target I've made the March target significantly lower which is good since I'll be away for a whole week towards the end of the month. With £1298.14 to go, next month's targets look like this:

Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £167
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £129.81


Running total:

£715.86

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Wednesday Witterings

Well, today has been a landmark day - I finally received payment from MusicMagpie! They rejected a couple of my DVD box-sets due to what they call 'damaged artwork' - I can only assume they meant the covers were a bit scuffed. It's annoying as they don't return the items they reject and I presume they still sell them on in some way - they're hardly likely to send large quantities of perfectly watchable DVD's to landfill just because the covers aren't brand new. So somewhere along the line they made a few extra pennies at my expense. Still, hey-ho and on we go, I shan't use them again and I'm just glad to finally get paid - £9.70!

Additionally, I sold £12 of old stock and made £6.19 through eBay, so today's total is a healthy £27.89.

Added in Feb so far: £306.32
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-139.32 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-156.83 Hurrah!

Running total:

£675.95

Belated Tuesday Top-ups

I didn't post last night as I came upstairs much later than planned (I blog from the 'office' computer upstairs as I find the iPad a pain to work from) and fell into my bed without a second thought!

Yesterday's contribution was the £12.99 I used earlier in the month (here) on a giftcard - I couldn't put it into the pot at the time but the end of the month is more fruitful!

I'll be back this evening - thankyou to those who commented on my last post to say they're still reading!

Added in Feb so far: £278.43
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-111.43 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-128.94 Hurrah!

Running total:

£648.06


Monday 24 February 2014

Very Dull Monday Mutterings

If I have any remaining readers clinging on out there, I think you deserve a medal. This blog is fast becoming as interesting as watching paint dry!

Today's addition is solely £12.47 from eBay. I did get some good charity shop bargains which will be going onto eBay tomorrow - but I really must think of some interesting way of making money!

Added in Feb so far: £265.44
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-98.44 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-115.95 Hurrah!

Running total:

£635.07

Sunday 23 February 2014

Sunday's Savings

My Qmee total reached £1.07 again today so I cashed out, and with a couple of small eBay items (£7.75) I have a total of £8.82 to add to my fund. 

I've had a 'payment processing' email from MusicMagpie today - which says 'please allow several days'. I discovered yesterday that weBuyBooks also buy Cd's and DVD's - I know where I'll be selling in future. MusicMagpie's time schedule is a farce, and their online reviews agree with me!

Picked up one or two resaleable items at the car boot sale this morning, and stopped the car to get out and pick up a coin I spotted - only to discover it was an old-style 5pence piece! I now have 70p in old (huge) decimal coins - apparently Lloyds will exchange them for face value when I get to £1. There's no end to the embarrassment I'll go through for the sake of making money :D

Added in Feb so far: £252.97
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-85.97 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-103.48 Hurrah!

Running total:

£622.60

Saturday 22 February 2014

Saturday's Snippets

This evening I decided to treat myself to an Indian takeaway (the first this year!) and as it had stopped raining for a nano-second, I thought I'd walk down to collect it rather than have it delivered. I didn't realise that the restaurant offers a 10% discount for orders that are collected in person - so I was delighted to save an unexpected £1 off my order! That's gone into my pot, along with £5.88 from eBay today - and I'll be collecting my food every time from now on!

Added in Feb so far: £244.15
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-77.15 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-94.66 Hurrah!

Running total:

£613.78