Its February!! Finally the longest month ever has ended and we have got through four weeks of lockdown! Just two more week I excitedly shared with the boys until half term and we get a week off home schooling!
Avios and Nectar points are now in partnership [ad]
Before I launch into my spending diary I want to share some news I shared last week with Nectar and Avios. You can now switch your Nectar points into Avios and your Avios into Nectar points. It’s more difficult to spend your Avios points at the moment with ongoing travel restictions so it might be worth switching them over to Nectar. I checked my Avios and can switch them over to Nectar and get £90 in vouchers that I can spend in Sainsbury’s or Argos! Go check your accounts to see how much you have!
Week 4 Spending Diary £159
The past week has seen a bit more spending than the previous week, particularly as I had the boys for most of the week. Rather than a day by day breakdown I’m going to split it into categories for ease of explanation.
Food Spends £109
Food was the biggest expense of the week yet again. I had a car emergency, it broke down which meant I couldn’t get to the supermarket. Top-up shops from the Co-op, that we walk to, were the only solution. I managed to spend £70 in the Co-op in one week!
The car is now fixed for free, luckily its just the battery, turns out if you don’t drive your car much, as in lockdown times, the battery can run out. My neighbour got the car going with a battery pack (that I really must buy myself) and all was fine again. I was disappointed though to call RAC who informed me that my membership didn’t include home start, and the call out fee was £150. So glad I didn’t call them out for a simple fix!
We also had two lots of take away food, one Subway, a weekly favourite, but redeemed my Subway points to get a free foot long for one of the boys. Just £6 spent, but then we did Deliveroo KFC delivery on Friday night and spent £32. Total spent on takeaways was £39.
Fun Money, Savings, Regular Bills
My youngest is a huge Avengers fan and we spent £8 on Avengers End Game on DVD, a treat for brilliant week of home school learning. I spent £8 on gaming credits and £7 on most lovely coffee from Rave Coffee. They sent me a gift to try and I have bought a second packet. The decaf coffee tastes so lovely, as good as regular caffeine!
My very old and bargain prices life insurance policy was paid, £6 and £21 was transferred into my auto-savings Plum account, now sat at a very healthy balance of £517. This is the balance after four months of auto-savings with me doing nothing! These bits came to £50 meaning my total spend for the week was £159. Another really good week for spending. No doubt I could have saved with a trip to Aldi though!
Daily walks through the mud and floods
The daily walks continue and I love to explore the muddy fields near by in my wellies. The muddier the better, as there are less people! There is a road nearby that is very flooded, very nearly to the top of my wellies as seen in this picture!!
I spotted some very beautiful snowdrops this week too. Such a positive sign that spring is so nearly here. Getting through January is a BIG deal!
I did my Make-Up
This really shouldn’t be something that I declare a thing! But I am finding that most days I don’t put any make-up on, and I love make-up! Last Thursdays I did a Q&A with Lauren Pope and her ‘The Mum Space’ community on Facebook so I made an effort and did my make-up!
You can head over and watch it via this link. I answered questions on paying off debt, maternity pay, childcare vouchers, ways to make money during maternity leave and ways to save money. A brilliant session with many questions!
Interview with Kim B Smith Founder of Her Bold Voice Speaks
My latest podcast is an interview with friend Kim B Smith from Detroit, US of A! We had a great conversation about the power of using our voice in the right way. Its always such an empowering conversation with Kim.
Thank you for reading!! Oh and don’t forget my book is just £12.99 now. Get your signed copy here.
