Scottishmummy's Life and Debt Diary

Primula

Hiya
Just read your whole diary and enjoyed it (another Scot here!). Glad you had a good holiday.
re AA / RAC, I do RAC through Tesco Clubcard so it feels like a freebie really, it's a really good dea.
P

EssexHebridean

Holiday sounds great - I think we're going to invest in a tent ourselves - they're a decent enough price, and we both have sleeping bags already, plus a camping stove, so just a few bits to buy and we'd be all set. Can't see us camping when we do the hebrides (in APRIL?! :eek:) but it might be a good way of saving ourselves some costs when we head off for weekends away here and there. Really glad you had a good time anyway.

Scottishmummy

Have not been very good this week at keeping this up to date have I?

Welcome to my diary Primula. Had a look at the RAC through quidco and through Tesco. We don't have enough Tesco vouchers for the package we want so took note of the quotes and went back to AA to see what they could do. They knocked £50 off the renewal and gave us complimentary stay mobile. I thought we already had that but turns out we didn't. So this works out cheaper than the RAC even with quidco cashback.

NTS has been cancelled over the phone. Still need to log on to bank and cancel DD just to make sure.

Have reached my NSD target with a week to go:j.

Have looked out loads of stuff to ebay but not putting them up until after I have been away visiting my folks. Not sure how long I am going to visit for so wouldn't want to leave lots of potential buyers waiting on their stuff. Heading off next week some time. Not sure exactly when. Work has been a bit busier this week. If it remains this busy I won't be able to go before Friday. Kids don't know we are going yet. Might leave it until the night before, before telling them.

Scottishmummy

Still haven't told kids we are going north yet but have to phone mum tonight to discuss so they might over hear us.

Spent the last couple of mornings and evenings in the garden. I have sore hands from weeding around the established plants. DH was digging out most of the couchgrass and horsetail where the flower bed is empty flower wise but there is still a lot of plants that need hand weeding around them. Potted up a lot of self seeded plants too. Will give them a couple of weeks in the pots then may take them along to a car boot sale to see if we get anything for them. I was very careful to make sure there were no hitch-hiking couchgrass or horsetail before potting up Carex and Onopordum Acanthium (Scottish ornamental Thistle). Have also been adding compost to my growpod potatoes. Not sure how they are doing as certainly not all of the potatoes in the bags have shoots coming through and yet others are right to the tops of the bags.

Had a flying visit to Cupar today to hand in the School Clothing Grant forms. Don't know how long it will take to come through but that should be £100 in the bank. The woman behind the counter was hopeless. She couldn't find the bit on the Tax Credit letters that show our income. I asked her to hand them back as I knew what I was looking for - her reply, 'So do I, it's my job'. Well she obviously can't do her job very well as she handed me the paperwork back and I just turned over the page and was able to show her immediately.

Scottishmummy

Oooh, nearly forgot. On the way home we had the cheapest lunch ever out of a baker - four sausage rolls for a pound and four doughnuts for a pound. Four people lunch and pudding £2 total:j:j.

Then stopped off at a wee shop to get a bottle of juice and there on the counter was one very lonely bar of Orkney fudge so it had to be bought and immediately eaten. They get them in quite regularly apparently so I'll be able to make my favourite Orkney fudge cheesecake again:D.

Scottishmummy

Have started a thread to see where else i can help my parents out.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1846337

Was talking to them last night and it turns out their washing machine has gone on the blink so what do they do? They go to the nearest shop, buy one and pay the extra £99 for extended guarantee:eek::eek::eek:. Then, even though dad has a transit van they arrange to get it delivered and fitted - haven't asked how much this is costing. We bought our one recently from b&q after checking online it was the cheapest, stuck it in the back of the car and fitted it ourselves. I must get them sorted!!!

Scottishmummy

Working outwith work this week and then on holiday for a fortnight so won't get my payslip till after holiday but payment into bank is about £90 more than normal:j. Thanks to overtime. Still waiting on a payrise which will be backdated to April. Don't think that is included in that. If it is then payrise is carp. I think it got paid in the August wage last year so hopefully that will be same this year especially as overtime for August will be minimal.

Scottishmummy

Big school clothing shop done this morning. Would normally shop around and get some bits at George, some at M&S, some elsewhere etc but still had £34 of Tesco clubcard vouchers which we doubled up to £50 clothing and £10 toys. Toy voucher put aside for later in August as birthdays coming up. School clothing was 3 for 2 on everything.

So Tesco shopping included for DS returning to school and DD just starting school -

Trousers x 2
Pinafores x 2
Skirt x 1
Shirts x 3 each (6)
Polo shirts x 3 each (6)
Pants x 7 pack each
Socks x 8 pack each
Vests x 2 pack DS + x 3 pack DD
Shorts x 2
Plimsoles x 1
Shoes for DS - very basic as he goes through shoes like nobodys business
Pencil cases
pencils
Rubbers
Notepads
Pens
All stationery at 2 for £1

For me
Pants x 5 pack
Jeans £6 cheapie pair
Trousers - Linen reduced to £7.50

Plus regular shopping for tea tonight and juice, crisps, sweets for taking north.

Total £102.67
Multibuy savings -20.21
Clothing vouchers -50.00
Luncheon vouchers -1.50

Cash spent £30.96:j

And i got 2 x £2 coins in change so need to correct my siggie.

Still need to get proper school shoes for DD and trainers for DS but going to try and get them up north where the decent shops tend to be quieter. Nothing worse than spending two hours waiting your turn in Clarks.

boredofbeingathome

Don't you just love Tesco vouchers? As Wallace and Grommit would say, Cracking bargain.:beer::rotfl:

Scottishmummy

boredofbeingathome wrote: »

Don't you just love Tesco vouchers? As Wallace and Grommit would say, Cracking bargain.:beer::rotfl:

We were saving them thinking we might get a weekend away somewhere on our own at somepoint but it was never happening so when the double up vouchers started we couldn't say no.

In the almost ten years since DS was born DH has had plenty of nights without children when I take them to visit my parents - DH usually has to work. I, on the other hand have NEVER had a night without at least one child still being around:mad: