To successfully manage a small budget I've discovered you have to plan meticulously in advance.

Every daily activity, every journey made needs to be inspected so as to work out the most economical way of doing it.

Failure to do this could mean wasting money on something that could have been avoided.

I've already berated myself for things such as forgetting my packed lunch.

Today I realised an even bigger waste.

I was so proud of my switch to a cheaper weekly rail ticket.

But now I realise I made a mistake.

Last week I only used it for three out of the seven days it covered.

What a waste- it would have been cheaper to buy individual tickets for those three days.

When I realised this I was genuinely gutted... I thought I was being so clever with that weekly pass but I hadn't planned enough.

I'm not sure, but I think I've wasted about £15.. think of all the extra food I could have bought with that.