Ok - so my birthday money exactly covers the REM ticket, so I am OK there. I'm just going to have to admit that this month I have really badly overspent. Nect month is also going to be difficult as it's mums birthday AND mothers day. I believe I can cut down on the amount i am spending on food, and I am not planning on travelling anywhere much (apart from work!) so that should cut down the petrol bill.

I've also remembered that in Feb and March there is now council tax to pay, so this is a blessing. This means that my major payments this month are a)petrol and b)credit card. As I am transferring 50 pounds from my savings into my bank account, i think I will actually not be too badly off.

I'm still going to have to radically look at how much I am spending and cut down. No evenings out this month. I have my blockbuster card where i can get two DVD rentals for the price of one. I am giving serious thought to signing up fo one of those postage dvd rental places. For about 8 quid a month at blockbuster I can over 1 dvd out at a time, but unlimited dvd's out over the month. This compares with 2 new releases from blockbuster or choices. I would only need to rent 3 every month for this to be viable.

I have to say though, that the rice cooker (which I bought with christmas money from my grandparents) has been an excellent buy. It cooks rice perfectly, and when i do plain rice i can batch freeze it, and thai rice gets done every couple of days for lunches. Much more cost effective that the lunches i was buying.

I have nearly finished tma01 for a209. I have about 100 words left to write, although i am struggling somewhat. I am going to have a go at doing some of the typing tonight. This will get a lot out of the way, so that I can think and finish typing on Saturday before going to REM!!!