Benbenandme's Coffee Shop ... All welcome!

benbenandme

Okay, we're both dressed, guinea pigs have been cleaned out, hoovered through, made ds a new bedtime reward chart (wants to save up for mario kart for his ds) and sorted out ds pants drawer and binned all the 3-4's (he is 6 ), should really do it more often, only took a minute.

Still waiing for the M&S order to come, I wish it would hurry up as I keep looking out as my doorbell is very temperamental and I don't want to miss him :rolleyes:

Time for a quick coffee then its going to be time to sit and sort Januarys budget out

lellybun

:rotfl:Hi Benben, first time I have posted on your thread, and I am going to be cheeky!

Sorry but it made me laugh, I can imagining you hoovering out the guinea pigs home, with them mweeping loudly!:rotfl:

And I am not drunk yet - honest!

benbenandme

Lol Lellybun, yep I just read that back and I dind't write it very well did I? They love it when they're cleaned out as they always get extra food
Welcome and keep posting

benbenandme

Right, Januarys budget is done, I've changed a couple of bits for this year, I've increased our food budget from £150 a month up to £200 Now I know everyones going to scream at me and tell me to get over to the os board, but I have tried to keep it at £150 for the last year and I struggle. I will keep trying to make savings here but at least its built in to the budget if I can't. We don't have a freezer so it makes it dificult to bulk buy and batch cook etc, also I want to encourage ds to eat more fresh fruit etc, he's good with veg but needs more fruit and its not cheap :rolleyes: Anyway, will let you know how it goes but its probably what we've been spending anyway. Ds has packed lunches at school and occasional cooked meals there, this will also come out of the grocery budget whereas last year £10 was budgeted a month for this.

January is looking pretty good so far, I usually go for a pretty frugal start to the year so hopefully I may even be able to save a few pennies from my daily budget into the mortgage pot.

lellybun

My little fellas hate being cleaned out, they run around in all directions squeaking like mad - they forget that they will get some cucumber once its all over, and they love cucumber!

I do love reading your diary, I got into match betting after reading your successes and I did really well out of it,tho there doesn't seem to be so much around at the moment.

I think you are doing really well with everything and seems like you are doing a grand job with your little boy.

Hope 2010 proves to be a great year for you both money saving and personal wise!

lelly

benbenandme

Thankyou Lelly, mine have eaten their veg and are snuggled together

I've got a 99p on one item on ebay, no idea where the £10 a day money is going to be coming from, I really need to get some more stuff on there desperately, am off for a rummage round as I'm rapidly running out of things to sell on there now I do have about £50 of money owing on quidco, but only 54p in the received column :rolleyes: Quidco seems to take forever these days to pay out

hypno06

I've got £92 validated......but nothing marked as being ready to pay......as you say, it seems to take much longer now. But, as long as it comes through eventually, we will be happy.

I need to get back into ebaying - and also sort some things properly to do a couple of springtime car boot sales. I don't like doing either, but I have stuff, and I need money, so it seems that I don't have a great deal of choice in the matter :rolleyes:

benbenandme

Time for another update ...

• clean laptop
• remove xmas tree will do at weekend
• take tree (& last years ) to recycle will do at weekend
• sort, bin and put away all decs all done except for the tree, and box is ready for bits to go in
• take all car boot stuff down to the garage
• sort all kitchen cupboards/drawers DONE
• clean drawer / fluff bit etc in washing machine DONE
• clean oven
• clean fridge DONE
• clean oven hood
• [STRIKE]sort bathroom cupboard [/STRIKE] DONE
• gut my wardrobe
• gut my drawers
• sort tall cupboard in my bedroom
• [STRIKE]sort small cupboard in my bedroom [/STRIKE] DONE
• [STRIKE]organise storage for ebay stuff [/STRIKE] DONE
• [STRIKE]sort present box and cull for ebay [/STRIKE];) DONE
• clean car, inside and out INSIDE IS DONE
• sort smoke alarm
• mend ds curtains
• read electric meter on 1st Jan will do on friday
• sort wicker drawers in lounge
• [STRIKE]find homes for all xmas presents [/STRIKE] DONE
• gut all paperwork

Although I haven't done everything on the list I have managed to get several other jobs done. I called mbna and finally cancelled my credit card (took out a couple of years ago for stoozing), so thats £13 heading back to my account. Only took a minute or two, no idea why its taken me quite so long to do this one :rolleyes:

I've also sorted out another cupboard and drawer in my room, in a desperate bid to find stuff to ebay. Didn't really find much but did manage to fill a carrier bag for the bin and a box for the car boot so has to be good

2 bin bags of rubbish have gone downstairs, can't put anymore down there now as its completely overflowing, thank god the binmen are coming tomorrow! The hall is full of stuff to go down to the garage or go to the tip and thats before I've even attacked the xmas tree

Ds is about to have a laze on the sofa, he wants to stay up tonight so the deal is he has to veg and watch madagascar and wallace and gromit on the sofa this afternoon so he's not too tired. I'm going to try to get a few bits on ebay while he's doing that.

benbenandme

Just tried to enter the electric meter reading and it wont accept it as it is so different from the last one (they fitted a new meter before xmas so it began again from zero). Tried calling them but apparently today is a bank holiday so they are closed?? :rolleyes:

savingmore

you are amazing benben, sticking at a list and just ploughing through each day, thanks for an inspiring thread and have a great new year.....