Pet Insurance - Crucial

Friday 27th June, 2008 - £8,888.53 in debt…

Today is that magic day when I get my first paycheque from my part-time job, and I can stop restricting my spending to £20 a week. Or can I…?

I’ve come to a conclusion, of sorts, about budgeting: I like it. The main thing I’ve noticed while I’ve been restricting my spending is that it’s forcing me to think about my money differently.

I’m thinking about the money that leaves my account, and not the money that goes into it.

This is great! I realise I sound like a crazy person, but I’ve never thought about my money that way before – I’ve just gone out and spent it, usually after some deranged thought process that says I must spend it because I’ve earned it.

Despite my new-found zeal for controlled frugality, I’ve realised that I’ve been going about it in a stupid, stupid way. This week, I went over budget by £35.88.

As it turns out, £20 a week just isn’t realistic when you spend £70 a month on petrol (well, duh). Even trying to conserve my fuel as much as possible, I still have to get to work, go on mystery shopping assignments, visit elderly relatives, etc etc.

So I’ve decided to make a new plan: I’ve worked out exactly how much I have to spend per month on essentials, including petrol, and I’m giving myself another £15 a week for other stuff. Anything I earn beyond that amount is going on my Barclaycard, and I’m going to darn well keep track of it.

My essentials (rent, household bills, car and pet insurance, bank account fees and overdraft interest, food, credit card standing orders and petrol), plus my £15 a week budget, come to £933.72 in total – more than I expected, but the bank statement never lies.

So that’s how I’m going to budget from now on: £15 a week at the most, and every penny I earn over £933.72 is going on my biggest debt. Let’s see how long this one lasts.