Juggling the finances

These last two weeks have been pretty bloody awful when it comes to money.

I realised this quite early on when my mortgage had to come out of the same money as my mid-month bills. And it's been cold, so either my heating has been on, or I've gone to bed.  Under two duvets.

I get ESA every two weeks, and PIP every four, but there is one week in four which is marked in the diary as 'no funds'.  The last week has been a no funds week.   I've been able to pay the mortgage. But TV Licence, Water bill and Phone/Broadband bill are going to be playing Russian roulette over who actually gets paid in the next day or so.  I can pay two of them, but the third is going to have to wait until Monday.

I know this sounds really penny pinching, but my bank will stick me with an extra £20 if my direct debit bounces. That's why later in the month, many things have to be paid manually, so that I can be sure I don't get penalised for living from hand to mouth.

In the last two weeks, I think I've spent £5 on food. My friends have been fantastic with buying a loaf of bread or a 2l bottle of milk for me.  Little things like that really matter.  As usual, my family has stepped up to the plate. I've eaten out of the freezer or with my parents. I've actually eaten more healthily than usual, because I do tend to be quite lazy and delivered food is just that bit more, well easy.  I think I've had chicken in all it's various ethnic versions. I've found fish in the back of the freezer.  I have a slow cooker to save energy and easiness.

So, regarding the hard bills, I sat down last week and created a table saying

• Date
• Money in
• Money out
• Action

I have planned out when I get my benefits, where I need the money to pay for the important things, when I need to remember birthdays and when I can buy gifts. I've even put in bank holidays and how that will reflect in the cash flow. And I've planned that until June.  Well, things change don't they?

This made me feel better as it gives me the illusion of being in control of something. And I hope it works.  I'll only find out over the next couple of weeks when it actually gets put into practice.