£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

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  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,306
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    edited 8 July 2017 at 9:40AM
    Bags of HM fudge? you could make 3-4 batches and then mix them in small cellophane bags with a pretty ribbon and a brown card tag with your children's personal messages to each teacher written on - you could even get the children to help with the non-heat critical parts!

    A quick look on Amazing and tags - £1.35 for 50, cellophane party bags 50 for under a fiver - I haven't priced ribbon as my heart believes you will have some in your Christmas wrapping box (you are among the most organised people...)
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
  • Maybe I'll go for something homemade but not perishable. We have jars of homemade jam and marmalade that we've made this year that I could give with a card I suppose?
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • Feeling pleased this evening - managed to clear an entire big piece of work off my to do list today, which really takes some pressure off - squeezing in work this week with zero childcare has not been a whole barrel of laughs.

    to do today
    1. Make packed lunch for DS1 who is off to a day for gifted primary pupils at the local uni. Done.
    2. Pare down the camping shopping list and research prices/cashback. Not done, but am so short of time that the only thing I'm going to get time to order any time soon is the bed, so it's kind of unintentional money saving!
    3. Continue with contract work. done, with some good progress.
    4. Do some social media, for both businesses. done.
    5 Tidy up a load of follow up emails and messages that have come in this week and been pushed to the back burner while I was in deadline hell. Done.
    6. Think about teacher presents - there are absolutely loads of teachers and TAs, and the DSs always want to do presents for them all. Any ideas? Think I am set on jam/marmalade.
    7. menu plan and my supermarket - we have friends over for lunch tomorrow so need to do food shopping today. Am holding onto my receipts this month and am going to look back when I have a few weeks-worth and see where my key overspends are, to decide whether I just need to up my budget or if there are any more reasonable cuts. Done. Not cheap, but since we have under-spent on entertainment this week and the extra money has been spent on stuff for a barbecue with friends tomorrow, I'm borrowing from peter to pay paul (or entertainment to pay food...).

    to do this week
    1. Buy a washing up bowl!!! (bets on whether it happens?!). I tasked DH with this today and he has also failed.
    2. Order camping gear needed.
    3. Clean the house thoroughly one room at a time. Two rooms down. Ho hum/COLOR]
    4. scribble out some plans for the architect to look at (don't panic, I'm not commissioning him for any work for the near future!). Done.

    Aims for July:
    1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap.
    2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt.
    3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • Treadingonplaymobil
    Treadingonplaymobil Posts: 1,895
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    edited 9 July 2017 at 6:51AM
    Week 22: Day 1

    Beautiful morning here, DH has been running and I'm about to do some yoga. Barbecue later, so need to do some tidying and food prep.

    Just done my weekly round up and have paid off precisely nothing this week, which is extraordinarily dull. Hopefully next week will be fractionally more interesting.

    Also, have realised that this is the furthest we've got into the month (and I do appreciate we're only on the 9th of the month!) that we have ever got without tapping the savings pots for Christmas, car maintenance etc. If we can get through the month with even some of those pots intact it would literally be a first for us. Embarrassing.

    to do today
    1. Finish off last piece of contract work due tomorrow.
    2. Prep food for barbecue.
    3. Order camping bed
    4. Order cat scarer thing for front lawn from amazon, and throw in a washing up bowl while I'm on Amazon (have literally not placed an amazon order since I started this hunt, and they have lots of WUBs as add on items)
    5. Do some batch cooking, or if there's no time to do it, work out with DH when one of us can do it this week.

    to do this week
    1. Order camping gear needed.
    2. Continue with cleaning the house thoroughly one room at a time.
    3. Make strawberry jam with the big batch of strawberries in the freezer
    4. Order walking boots for me, preferably on sale or with some cashback to take the sting out of it.

    Weekly round up
    Last week's debt total £55,821.62
    This week's debt total £55,821.62
    Total paid off last week £0
    Grand total paid off £2,786.51

    Aims for July:
    1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap.
    2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt.
    3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • Honeysucklelou2
    Honeysucklelou2 Posts: 4,642
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    edited 9 July 2017 at 1:29PM
    I'm a teacher and the best present I ever received was a framed picture drawn by my pupil with a message written to me underneath. It was given to me 20 years ago by one of my first pupils. Another touching present was a bunch of dahlias grown by the family. It is kind when families do give gifts and all staff appreciate it but we are just doing our job. That's not meant to sound ungrateful at all but I would hate parents to feel pressured.
    paydbx2024 #2 £480/£5000 . Mortgage £144k start ~ £148k Jun 23 -
    2024 savings challenge £5/£2000
    EF £140. Savings 2 £30.00. Weekly savings envelope #17
  • A bit early for my evening round up today, but I am intending shortly to fall into an epsom salt bath (good for yoga aches, and fairly cheap!) and get an early night with a book for once.

    to do today
    1. Finish off last piece of contract work due tomorrow. Done! Hurrah!
    All immediate deadlines met.

    2. Prep food for barbecue. done.
    3. Order camping bed. Done.
    4. Order cat scarer thing for front lawn from amazon, and throw in a washing up bowl while I'm on Amazon (have literally not placed an amazon order since I started this hunt, and they have lots of WUBs as add on items). Done. A WASHING UP BOWL IS HEADING TO TOPM HQ PEOPLE.
    5. Do some batch cooking, or if there's no time to do it, work out with DH when one of us can do it this week. No time, but have worked out a plan with DH to get a couple of dishes batch cooked this week.

    to do this week
    1. Order camping gear needed. Done - limited it to new self inflating mat for DH and I and a sleeping bag for DC3 (who never had one while in a cot, but will now she is out on a big bed). That's enough to see us through for now, but will need a single bed for DC3 at some stage (she can share the double bed with DH for the camping trip next weekend as I'm not going). Going to see if I can get through without buying any more equipment this summer, but who knows what will break on the first outing of the year.
    2. Continue with cleaning the house thoroughly one room at a time.
    3. Make strawberry jam with the big batch of strawberries in the freezer
    4. Order walking boots for me, preferably on sale or with some cashback to take the sting out of it.

    Aims for July:
    1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap.
    2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt.
    3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • Week 22: Day 2

    Week 22 - seems crazy to think that we're not a long way off six months on this journey.

    Feeling much more on top of things today, thanks to getting a huge chunk of work done on the weekend. So nice to be out of deadline hell (for a few days - will have another fast turnaround piece of work given to me some time this week).

    I can't believe none of you have opened the champagne at me ordering a washing up bowl! If you're really lucky I'll post a photo when it arrives. :rotfl:

    I have had a genius idea for rearranging our dining room space to make it feel a little less cluttered, so will be doing that today.

    to do today
    1. Feed sourdough. Already done!
    2. batch cook soup
    3. meet DS2's new teacher after school.
    4. sew DS1's new badge to his cub uniform.
    5. get ahead with regular work to free up time for fast turnaround stuff later this week.
    6. move dining room around.
    7. Tidy my bedroom.

    to do this week
    1. Order camping gear needed. Done - limited it to new self inflating mat for DH and I and a sleeping bag for DC3 (who never had one while in a cot, but will now she is out on a big bed). That's enough to see us through for now, but will need a single bed for DC3 at some stage (she can share the double bed with DH for the camping trip next weekend as I'm not going). Going to see if I can get through without buying any more equipment this summer, but who knows what will break on the first outing of the year.
    2. Continue with cleaning the house thoroughly one room at a time.
    3. Make strawberry jam with the big batch of strawberries in the freezer.
    4. Order walking boots for me, preferably on sale or with some cashback to take the sting out of it.

    Aims for July:
    1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap.
    2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt.
    3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,306
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Forumite
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
  • :D it's grey. I am super-imaginative. And it cost a whopping £3.99, for which I expect some kind of MSE medal.
    Trying to figure out a whole new life. Trying to figure out a whole new budget.
    Divorcing, unclear on final debt total right now, but focusing on building a financial buffer zone.
  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 21,202
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    edited 12 July 2017 at 2:14PM
    A Washing Up Bowl? A real one? No designer tags or labels or logos? Go you!! :rotfl:

    The badge needing sewn onto cub uniform made me smile - I remember when I was a girl guide you used to be able to use sewing on badges as part of your stuff towards your Sewing Badge - so Mum suggested I did that - which I did thinking it was a great way of getting another badge and that once I'd got it Mum would go back to sewing them on for me. No chance - once I got the badge she pointed out quite reasonably that clearly I was more than capable of continuing to do them myself! :rotfl:

    Well done on limiting the camping equipment purchases too - I had to replace my old self inflating mat at the start of this year too as the old one was literally deflating itself within a couple of hours. The new one is AMAZING!
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
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