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  • Had a really productive day on Saturday. Actually got time to sow some sweet pea seeds and snapdragons. Those seed trays are now on a window sill to maximise light. The sweet peas are in the insides of toilet rolls to be more MSE.
    The downside has been coming down with a horrible cold on Sunday. Am really cross with myself that we've had a bad food day today as I ended up sleeping twice yesterday in the daytime which is unheard of! Totally unprepared for today which resulted in having to buy extra bits in the village which although convenient is considerably more expensive than the supermarket. Hoping for a better MSE day tomorrow...
    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
  • Honeysucklelou2
    Honeysucklelou2 Posts: 4,642
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    edited 21 January 2017 at 10:49PM
    A busy week has gone quickly. Still battling a horrible cough and cold which has left me feeling very tired. As a result my menu plans went pear shaped last week. Got quite cross with myself for not being organised. Today I sat down and planned a menu for the week. Got a large chicken for tomorrow which will do nicely for a roast. We can then have chicken risotto or chicken pie for Monday. Thought I might experiment with cooking rice pudding in the slow cooker for one day in the coming week.

    DD is excited and nervous in equal measure as she now has 2 interviews one day after the other. am so pleased for her. I did get quite anxious though about the travel costs. Sat down this afternoon and tried to weigh up the options and work out which option was best in terms of money, time and childcare considerations. DD had a health issue that means It's best if someone is with her for longer distance travel. Still thinking on that one.

    On the plus side lots of snowdrops out looking so beautiful. Have seen 3 daffodils in flower in the garden. The first signs that Spring is coming are always so welcome and precious.
    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
  • The horrible cough turned into a horrible chest infection so have been laid low for the last week or so. Thankfully feeling better now. Yesterday was the first day that I really felt I had energy to tackle things.

    Eldest daughter went to her interviews. My parents took her to the first as I was too unwell. I drove her to the second this week and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't take as long as I thought it would. Also pleased that the car seems to perform well on longer journeys and we did the whole journey on half a tank of diesal. Daughter pleased as interviews resulted in 2 conditional offers.

    Had a statement come through from a postal savings account that I have been making small regular payments to since last May. I went back to work after maternity leave in May and was concerned I have no savings to my name at all. I set up a s/o to this account and now have over 200 pounds in there. At least the start of an emergency fund!

    The sweet peas I sowed a couple of weeks ago are all up, so hoping to get some more seeds sown today. In the past I have been able to sell any leftover plants at the gate or I have taken a table at a local sale. It's a bit hit and miss especially as large supermarkets can sell so cheaply but if I try less usual varieties people canbe interested.

    Was paid this week so regular loan payment has gone out...hopefully only 6 payments to go and that loan will be cleared. Bills have been paid...it's good to be able to pay from wages and not be having to be late or having to get deeper into debt to pay as has been the case in the past. Thankful to be able to pay the bills on time now.
    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
  • Had a busy day on Saturday. Rang the phone company as I realised, as I went through the bill, that I'm paying for a package that gives me anytime calls but since I'm at work during most of those times, I'm not here to make calls so I've asked them to remove that and the answer machine service as I figured that if A call was urgent someone could ring again or get me on my mobile. Hopefully will have saved 20 pounds a bill now.

    Sold a couple of plants at the gate today, which I was amazed about and thankful for in equal measure...every little helps!

    Menu plan back on track ( went a little AWOL) when I was feeling unwell but now am feeling better have got back to menu planning. Today was homemade pizza. Yesterday we had homemade veggie burgers made with chick peas...an interesting meal!
    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
  • Had a NSD on Sunday. I've signed up for 10 NSDs on the challenge board so am hoping to get a few more days in next week. Tomorrow is eldest son's birthday so will be more of a spendy day. Navigating birthdays now that my husband and I are separated is unchartered waters, so we are going to have a meal out so that both of us get to celebrate with all the children. Going out means neutral ground so hopefully all of us will be able to enjoy the occasion.

    Budgets blown this week as extra spent on course materials for oldest daughter and cooking ingredients for GCSE practical for 2nd daughter. Still struggling to get budget to be able to take account of surprise spends or even spends that aren't a surprise but come in as more than intended.

    Saw lots of minature irises out the other day...absolutely beautiful. A sea of blue in a pot! Spring flowers are always so very welcome.
    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
  • Honeysucklelou2
    Honeysucklelou2 Posts: 4,642
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
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    edited 13 February 2017 at 1:44AM
    Meal out for my son's birthday worked out well and the ex paid half towards it which is a major step forward ( he has chosen not to contribute towards utilities or other household expenses for a few years) so to have a half contribution to the meal was amazing.

    On Friday I ended up with toothache which started to cause my face to swell. By Saturday morning I was getting a little worried so rang the emergency dental line. Got seen by 10, abscess diagnosed and offending tooth removed. Really kind dentist treated me who put me at ease as I get extremely anxious.

    On Saturday afternoon I got a statement from the electricity company. I pay by direct debit which has been set at £149 a month. I hadn't questioned this before but having read a few diaries, was starting to think it was a little on the high side. The electricity company had set the d/d based on usage last year, when I was on maternity leave, but now that I am back at work the amount used has fallen. Best part is that they now owe me so should be getting £48 back this week and my d/d has been changed to £105 a month. I feel like I've had a double bonus! I'm intending to use the £48 to make an overpayment on the home improvements loan. Am undecided at the moment whether to use the money saved on the monthly D/D to overpay debts and thus clear them more quickly or whether to save that amount in case there are any up front accommodation costs that need to be met for my oldest daughter.

    A week off work this week, so am hoping to get busy in the garden, clean the greenhouse and get the house tidied and most of all spend precious time with my children.
    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
  • Honeysucklelou2
    Honeysucklelou2 Posts: 4,642
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    edited 17 February 2017 at 8:18AM
    Had a busy week,so far but sadly no NSDs. The electricity company paid me back £48 on Monday, so I used £40 to make an overpayment to one of the home improvement loans. I have 2 of these both for double glazing. They are both around the £1700 mark but each monthly payment sees very little capital paid but a large amount of interest. Glad to have got a small chunk paid off the capital.

    My DD1 had an invitation to interview with only 48 hours notice, so had to re jig the budget somewhat. It was in London, so braved the tube. Haven't been on the tube since I was a child on a day trip. The experience terrified me so i felt very brave to get on yesterday! Have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how clean everything was and seats were available. The toddler was really excited by each and every train he saw!

    Managed to sow some lettuce seeds and cornflowers and got some anemome corms in. Not sure if they will grow as I've had them in the cupboard for 3 or 4 years but they are in a dried state, so have put them in and hoping fora splash of colour within those.

    Had some lovely times with the children. We've been to the beach for an afternoon. The wind was just right, wild enough to blow the cobwebs away but not so wild it was a struggle to walk, if you what I mean. We've also been to the swimming pool for a fun session which they all enjoyed.

    Back on work on Monday so
    I'll need to be strict with my budget, to get further forward after my spends this week.
    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
  • Had a tough day today. The interview trip ate into my budget quite considerably but was one of those things that I needed to do for my DD1. When my budget gets very tight I end up feeling quite panicked about it which doesn't help.

    Did menu plan so at least I know what I'm feeding everyone over the next few days. Rang the bank today to check on the cc balance and to my horror it was £60 over my limit. ( I have set my limit at £500 to stop any overspending). I'd made a larger payment in Feb so I had been fairly sure I'd be making headway on that balance. I rang the bank to find out what had caused this. A annual subscription for computer security had come out. Unfortunately it is for a computer that I no longer have access to. The email account that would normally have had a message about it prior to subscription is on that said computer so I hadn't received anything to tell me. The computer is with my ex and is one that he uses for his business. The other computer that belongs to my DD has a different security provider. So frustrated that something I didn't think about (and indeed is an expense for that business computer) has tipped the card balance in the wrong direction, so an already tight week is about to become a little tighter.

    The good thing today is that I sold 2 more plants at the garden gate...every little helps. The lettuce seeds have germinated so have moved them onto a sunny window sill.
    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
  • Hey Honeysuckle - I've read your whole thread. Thought I'd comment as you might have been wondering if anyone was reading!
    Could you speak with your eldest child about financial matters? i.e. prepare her for the fact you may not be able to provide everything she needs for Uni. I hope you are encouraging her to find a job whilst studying, especially during the first year where it generally is just pass/fail (i.e. no weighted scores).
    Regarding the annual subscription, can you speak to your ex or the company about this? I had a recurring subscription fee around £52 come out last week. I spoke to the company and said i don't use it at the moment and they refunded me the whole money, because I'd not asked for refunds in the year I'd been with them. If you don't ask you don't get!
    Well done selling plants, keep on going, I'm enjoying reading your diary. :)
    Savings as of April 2023 Savings account - £26460.50(14474.88)Current account - £2140.24(4576.79)Total - £28600.74(19051.67) £1010 (£65pm CS/BS) £250 CS/BS/JS
  • Hi Zippygeorge. Thanks for dropping by.
    That's a good idea to ring the company. Will try and do that.

    My DD did have a summer job last summer that she really enjoyed. I've been encouraging her to get in touch with the manager to see if she could secure some work this summer. She and DD2 are aware that finances are tight and that their dad hasn't been contributing for some time. That's not me telling them but DD2 watching and realising I was paying everything. DD1 is About to apply for her student loan for uni so I'm hoping then that I'll have a clearer idea of her budget, what I will need to contribute and being able to talk to her about the whole principle of budgeting.

    Thanks for the encouragement!
    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
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