Debt
Student Loan: £11952.02 at 0% APR.
Credit Card: £134 (Groceries - to be paid off at the end of the month)

Assets
Checking: £66.14
Emergency Fund: £500
Reserve Money: £0

Well, I suck. I've burned through a stupid amount of money in the last week, and I've only myself to blame. And this awful cold I've gone down with, which makes me want to stay in bed all day - and y'know, not cook. Also, to compound matters, our drain clogged, so we were unable to do dishes. A dirty kitchen + a cold = take out. And take out = money burned for nothing.

I have had a few driving lessons as well (£100-worth) and I know that some of that emergency fund went on buying the tools to sort the drain out (which IS an emergency) but far more of it went on laziness. I could have bought microwave meals for a tenth of the price of eating out, but I didn't want to walk to the shop.

Because I felt miserable, I compounded the errors by spending money on quick-fix mood boosters... like chocolate. It would have been better off going to fresh fruit!

So. Major set back this month. Major money spent. Luckily it's pay day on Wednesday. But it looks like I'll be doing a very frugal thanksgiving for my other half.

On the plus side, it's money that I had, and not debt (the credit card solely went on groceries - the take-out came from my bank account - and will be paid off on Wednesday)

Here's hoping this cold clears up, and my drain doesn't clog up again.

Just curious - you do Thanksgiving in the UK now?

No (not really) but my spouse is American, and we can't afford to fly back to the USA, so we try and do something here with a turkey dinner etc.

Debt
Student Loan: £11952.02 at 0% APR.
Credit Card: £0

Assets
Checking: £782.11
Emergency Fund: £1000
Reserve Money: £0

December was a much better month for me, despite it being Christmas. I got some overtime payments that helped pay for the few presents I bought - but for the most part we stayed frugal.

Inheritance money went into my Emergency Fund, boosting it to the aimed for £1000, and making me very happy to have achieved that goal before the end of '09.

Achieved in 2009

Paid off overdraft debt: £1,278
Got permanent job
Started pension: 5.9% of each paycheque goes towards it. It's a fixed salary scheme dependent on my final salary and the number of years worked in Local Government.
Saved £1000 emergency fund.

I have spent some time today improving my finances. Switched to online billing for my gas & electricity, and discovered I am £172 in credit (!). So as soon as the change processes, I will request to have my direct debit lowered. Phoned my water company and discovered January's payment will be my last for this financial year, and I get two months 'off'. It re-starts at a lower rate in April. Similarly, my Council Tax will be switched off for Feb/March (not sure why so many places go by ten months instead of twelve).

Looking Forward

My main concern will be to keep my budget balanced (Spend less than I earn!) and to continue my driving lessons.
I will be due an automatic pay rise in April-ish time.
I will also have around £1000 going out in June - as the next stage of my husband's visa application is due.

So 2010 is going to be very un-sexy. Save for the visa payment. Keep bills as low as possible. Keep the job. Try and find my spouse a job (looking less and less likely as his right to work visa expires in June). Let my student loan tick over on minimum payments for now - unless anything radically changes.