From one challenge...

Tracking my spending reveals almost exactly where the money goes, so I am glad that I do it quite strictly.  A glance at June's spreadsheet would reveal a high level of spending on toiletries, but I know that there was an offer on some feminine items that three of us get through quite a few of in a month, so I stocked up - that total will be lower for a month or three.

Then there is the washing powder mountain I accumulated in June too.  With Persil on half price at £6 for 50 washes, I'd have been daft not to since I had the money available.  I know it meant spending £36, but it is good quality washing powder which works very well, and the advertised 50 washes comes in at just 12p a wash, but I know that I get far more washes out of a box than that.  I reckon I have got more than enough to see me through Christmas, if not into 2014....

(image from britstore.co.uk)

Keeping track also reveals my weaknesses, which I do try to combat, but obviously not terribly well.  Magazines.  "Free from" cakes.  Books. With a combined spend of over £100 in June on those three sections of the budget, I am going cold turkey on them all in July.  I have heaps of magazines in the house which I could easily re-read, and there are books aplenty here, as well as other things to occupy my time - crochet, knitting, weeding and gardening, the tax return, Faith& worship - I do not need new books in June.
I may not record each time I walk past a magazine I fancy, and it will be a struggle, I know, but I need to do this.  £100 in the savings account would be a bonus.

We have spent just about £80 on clothes for the girls' holiday - and half of that was supporting charity shops, so we got more for our money than we would have done otherwise.

Yes, the poor savings account.  The £500 I thought I had managed to save in June has gone - it had to be moved back into the current spends in order to pay the bills.....and there have been SOME bills in June, so I am not entirely surprised!  We start July from scratch, and hope that we can do better this month!