Discretionary ‘treats’ budget

WOOHOOO Payday has arrived! (not that we see that money but…) WOOHOOO pay day all the same.💁🏼💰

Ching chang getting paid over herr.

When we first started saving I was COMPLETELY in the zone. I only gave myself £40 a month to spend on what I wanted and it worked. I saved quite a lot of money in that time but I was also miserable. I could only probably afford one social outing a month (I know, I know. Poor me) but it also meant that if I needed anything like new socks or shampoo or any basic essentials, I just didn’t have enough to cover it.

Saving that extra bit more just didn’t warrant how miserable I was. Saving isn’t supposed to be fun but its not supposed to make you completely depressed either whilst living in clothes with holes in. Of course my toiletry budget took priority over any kind of clothes, its one thing to go around in shit clothes but quite another to go around smelling like shit😩

The final straw was probably when me and Caine were in town and we saw a homeless person in a doorway. Caine actually said ‘oh look at that Bry, that homeless person has better bedding than us’

It was actually true, he did. Our pillows were as flat as a pancake. So much so that I stuffed one pillow case with 3 pillows just to feel like I did actually have a pillow. It doesn’t help that I like to sleep with my head at a 90 degree angle. We also might as well have just covered ourselves with paper from a public toilet our quilt was that thin.

That leads me on to the mattress. I was constantly waking up with a bad upper and lower back. It got to the point where I would struggle to sit up out of bed and when I did, every bone in my back and chest weirdly enough, clicked. Definitely not normal. It started to continue through the day too where it would just get worse and worse.

I took the decision for both of us to banish the mattress, burn it! And get a lovely new one. This was bought on the credit card as we had absolutely no dolla to pay for it. We went to Bensons for Beds and chose a mattress that we both loved and was in the sale for just under £500 which is quite a bargain considering the prices in there! We also bought lovely pillows from there too, I have a side sleeper one and Caine has a duck and down feather one. We then just got their normal climate control pillows as second ones.

This is how my blog/Instagram got its name. The mattress is currently the only thing we own and all we pretty much live on whilst being in one room. We will go from mattress to maison🏡😊.

I want to say ‘started from the bottom now we here’ but my 13 year old sister told me to never say that again because I’m waaaaaay to old.

It was completely worth the money and we both feel so much better for it. It was also all paid off within 2 months.

This situation showed me that I really needed to give myself a bit extra each month. I worked out that to afford one social outing a month (maybe 2), have money for a toiletry budget and treat myself to 1 thing around £30, I would need to give myself £100 a month to myself so that is what i’m doing now. To some it might seem like too much but I feel like I have learned a valuable lesson from this mattress business. Its totally not worth making yourself miserable and ‘uncomfortable’ over. We have to have a life besides saving and we have to be able to afford to just live in general. I don’t want to look back once we have a house and say ‘yeah great, we did it. BUT look at everything we also missed out on to do it’. We are still in our early 20’s so that’s highly likely. It is all about having  discipline though and learning what you need and should spend the money on versus what you just want and would like to spend money on. We have had to learn to say no to things that we would love to do/have.

I’m even starting to think I should give myself £150 a month? If me and Caine had this extra each month for the next 10 months this works out at £1000 out of our savings in total. Which makes me think we shouldn’t?

I have been so miserable this month though and today has topped it off. I have had to say no to going out with a really good friend who I hardly ever see, had to cancel plans to go to the harbour side festival with my work friends, had to turn down seeing all of my friends at the end of the month for food and had to cancel Deef’s agility classes. I have also had to make plans to stay in Saturday evening with our couple friends but we have ZERO pennies for a takeaway. I’m not shitting you when I say I have 17p to my name right now.

I think the final straw has just came. I cant even believe i’m going to write this on my blog as i’m so embarrassed.

Got home and my mum said go to McDonald’s for tea, I have 3 vouchers for a burger and chips and you can buy the drinks separate. Me, my mum and my sister were eating so off I went. Ordered 3 sets of burger and chips with drinks and got to the window only to be told I couldn’t get my order because it wasn’t 3 vouchers, it was one. How sad is that? Its like the adult equivalent of a kid dropping their ice cream.

You’d think he would have taken pity on me. You know something like ‘things must be bad if shes arguing with me over a voucher so i’ll just give her the meal’

So off I drove home with NOTHING.

Now i’m sat writing this on the verge of crying (but I wont because it’s silly) eating a fucking Alpen Bar for tea. Oh my life. After the cat food soup I ate for lunch, I could have done without it

I know it is all for the greater good but I guess this is just a really low point in my life and our ‘house saving journey’ right now. It will get better, of course it will but for now it just feels like i’m actually killing myself for nothing.

Did I mention I have less than half a tank of fuel left in my car until the 4th? 2 work outfits left and hair that’s snapping off because its not been cut in so long?! Only so many hair masks a girl can do.

I even feel bad for complaining because the below is what I have spent my money on. #firstworldproblems

It still doesn’t stop me from feeling like shit though. I’m thinking I may give myself £150 next month. It is my Birthday month after all so I would like to go out with friends. We do have a few things planned next month too so I would like to not have to worry SO much! I can also look forward to my expenses being paid back in my salary on the 4th. That should give me the bit extra that I need.

I need to go to bed now and not think about this terrible day anymore. Maybe ill watch You’ve been framed to cheer myself up. Peace out.

What I have spent this month

So, below is pictures of what I have spent my £100 on this month

New phone case! Mine was absolutely battered and was missing half of it. I figure, better spend a fiver on a new phone case than have to get a new phone. I have finally got out of my EXPENSIVE phone contract and now have a SIM only contract which is waaaaaay cheaper. Which by the way, was £24 for unlimited everything and 4gb data. I went into the shop on Monday and questioned this because this seems abit more expensive for what I get than anywhere else and they have dropped it down to £21 a month with 20g data. How does that work? Not sure. Don’t care.

I had my holiday gel nails soaked off and re-applied. This was £22 but I love having fresh nails. It’s not something I usually would spend any of my treats budget on but I just really fancied it🤗. I always go plain. Bryony ‘plain Jane’ Hill. Does a girl need an excuse for this? Hell no.

I also got my Eyebrows done too at Superdrug for £8. For me this is kind of an essential thing as naturally they are lopsided which I CANNOT correct. They also are so bushy that they do need taming.

I had the dentist a few times this month. I could go the long way around but that would take 45 mins and then I wouldn’t make their awkward appointment times. I think I’ve spent around £4 in Bridge toll crossings. Not a huge amount but I do love this photo so thought I’d include it. Haven’t been charged for the dentist, result ✌🏼

Spent £30 from our joint account on getting the woofer groomed. He really needed it as he’s been struggling in the heat. The little shit won’t let me do it so I have to pay someone🙄. He does get a full health check, ears cleaned and nails clipped with the groom so it’s not too bad. ➕he does only need this twice a year

This all cost £18. These are essentials as far as I’m concerned. I’ve had really bad hay fever lately and my eyes have been struggling. But then it was buy one and get another for £1 so I bought the sparkling eyes one👀. Never tried it before but I’m hoping it will make my peepers pop! The toothbrush heads were the most expensive here, even at £9 they were on sale😩. I have had my existing head since Christmas which is so embarrassing 🙈 so it’s high time I had a new one! I need braces fitted and am having them in the coming weeks so the interdental brushes were also a must! I really had to reign myself in too because I NEARLY bought a £13 bottle of Bondi Sands self tan. I’ve wanted to try it forever but I couldn’t justify it right now😭 I talked myself out of it. I will settle for a £5 bottle of cocoa butter natural bronze from home bargains when the time is right.

These are the things I bought which I totes forgot to photograph. Yes yes, I went to McDonald’s! Okay… I also spent quite a lot on moonpig buttttt it was my best friends 25th Birthday and so I made her a special EXTRA LARGE card with pictures of us from when we were very young up until now. As I can’t really afford presents for everyone right now I love creating nice cards for people. It’s something that’s really personal and a good alternative to a gift. Or am I just convincing myself that because I’m so poor? and I do pride myself on being a good card buyer 🙋🏼. I also spent nearly £10 at service stations. In my quest to St Albans delivering the contract from my boss I had to get lunch however I will get this back on expenses which is totally fine. It just means I’m slightly out of pocket for now as I won’t get it back until I get paid again🙇🏼‍♀️. This also goes for my fuel for which I have £20 to last me until the end of the month now as I used half a tank driving there and back😬