Goal - 3 debts paid by Christmas

Triggles

I've found a bunch of change in my "junk" drawer that I didn't realise I had. I have a tendency to dump change in there and forget about it. Didn't realise it was piling up. So will put that in the bigger savings jar.

We've been careful to stick with Farm Foods for our bread, milk, and loo roll. I need to add it up, but that definitely saves us a bit over each month.

I can't believe we're halfway through September already. Friends of ours have already turned their heating on today!! :eek: It's a bit nippy in the house, but we're still using the ceiling fans off and on, so I can't say I'm anywhere near ready to turn the heater on. Now that DS3 is over a year old and more mobile, I'm more comfortable bundling him up in a jumper this year, so we'll be able to keep the heater at a bit lower temp than last year when he was tiny (and I was paranoid about him being overheated! LOL).

As DS2 is in school now, we're not so tempted to buy unnecessary clothing for him - he has plenty to keep him in clothing afterschool and on weekends. And since thankfully the two youngest are boys, DS3 has TONS of clothes that were hand-me-downs from DS2 - so it's not even necessary to buy him any clothing either right now! :j

maman

Wow, youve been busy Triggles!! Well done!! Just last week, I bought a bag of frozen sliced leeks from Farmfoods. They are cheaper than fresh and I don't have to clean them and throw away the very muddy bits. I'm starting to get set up for the casserole season.

Triggles

I saw the leeks and toyed with the idea of buying them. DS3 loves them and so do I, but it would take some mighty creative acts to hide it in casseroles - they have a fairly distinctive taste. I may still give it a try though - just run it through the food processor first, and tell DH they're green peppers. LOL

Triggles

I've had a busy couple days. First of all - good stuff - had £100 win on free bingo - so that's going into the bank. YAY! That pretty much will pay for any remaining Christmas expenses, so that's sorted!!!

Our water bill showed up the other day - £150 due at the end of the month. Thankfully, I was expecting it, so it's not a huge problem. The next big one will be the MOT and the electricity/gas bill in the beginning of January. Again, we're putting money aside for it, so it shouldn't be a big problem. I can't believe we were so disorganised before, waiting until something huge like that was due, then scrambling for the money. It's soooo much easier to budget ahead, putting the money in savings (earmarked for that purpose) and then withdraw it to pay for the bill.

Had a bit of a row with the person who schedules radiology testing at our local hospital. I am scheduled to have a CT colonoscopy (yeah, not pleasant, but needs must, eh?) next month. The woman told me I would have to reschedule it as they couldn't take my word for it that I wouldn't be pregnant at the time of the test. :eek: what?!?!?! I know when the test is (and at age 44 and having 4 kids, I'm reasonably certain I know what CAUSES pregnancy!!! :rotfl:) so I can tell them without a doubt that I will not be pregnant at the time of the test - and took pains to point out that DH is getting an appointment for a vasectomy - does it SOUND like I am planning on allowing myself to get pregnant??!! Anyway, she reiterates that they can't take my word for it, as it's policy, but they can take the word of the consultant..... not sure why, as I'm reasonably certain HE doesn't have any control over it either, tbh. But they can take my word for the my LMP was. I was furious. Have to admit, this really aggravated me - a bit condescending that a woman can't answer for her own body, the consultant has to "confirm" that I will not be pregnant - not that he really has anything to base it on, eh? I'm actually grateful at this point that DH & I aren't having any more children - I do not like the growing attitude that women who are pregnant don't seem to have a right to make their own decisions anymore, seems like they are becoming public property - such as the recent NHS introduction of the little "blow in the tube" test they give expectant mothers to "confirm" that they are non-smokers. I can't say that would build a horribly good rapport between myself and the midwife - "yes, I know you said you don't smoke, but I want you to take this test to prove it - because obviously your word isn't good enough." :mad: and breathe........................ ok rant over... for now... lol

We bought a huuuuge chicken at Sains the other day. I was planning on buying chicken filets (£3) for a chicken curry, but changed my mind when I saw the enormous chickens for £5 on sale. Lots more chicken for the money, plus the carcass for soup. Definitely a good buy! We've had chicken curry, chicken sandwiches, chicken soup, and now tonight it will be chicken and mushroom pie. Plus I suspect a few more sandwiches will be made out of what's left of the chicken. :j Realistically speaking, a decent priced whole chicken is almost always cheaper than buying other parts or filets. I think frozen veg are also cheaper, as you can take out just what you need, instead of wasting, however, while we have a spare freezer, it's not huge, and we simply don't have the room to fill it with veg - so we buy tins and fresh - depending on what we're making with it. I like to use fresh, but it's always nice to have the tins on hand so there are always veg available at the last minute. We made a savoury rice the other day (packet mix) and added chopped up steamed broccoli and shredded cooked chicken to it for the boys. DS3 loved it - DS2 ate a little, but it always takes him longer to adapt to a new food so I think eventually he will be fine with it.

Triggles

Hamburgers out of minced lamb tonight for tea. Yum! And the boys ate them, which is nice. They're not huge lamb eaters (an acquired taste, maybe?), but they were happy to eat the hamburgers! :j The MS part of me noticed that the minced lamb was £1.59 (value at Tesco) whereas the same amount of mince (beef) is £2 on sale. Hmmmm... we may be having lamburgers more often.

Another CCA arrived in the post today - I don't THINK it's enforceable, but having it looked over to verify it. I am putting together a complaint to the ICO about Tesco - as they are refusing to send the CCA without DH's signature, and not only is his signature not required, but they're saying it's due to data protection ... however, they've been sending confidential paperwork to our address for years - statements, various correspondence, etc. So it's obviously just a stall tactic on their part. :mad:

We've requested the refund of the mis-sold PPI on our loan. The amount of the PPI is higher than the current balance of the loan, so provided we are given the refund, that will allow us to take care of one debt! :j

I've gotten the ironing bug a little. DS2's school uniform needs to be ironed, so I have done a few other things while I'm at it. I will admit that shirts look better ironed... but my poor iron is probably wondering what the blazes is going on with all the usage now! LOL

maman

Triggles wrote: »

Anyway, she reiterates that they can't take my word for it, as it's policy, but they can take the word of the consultant..... not sure why, as I'm reasonably certain HE doesn't have any control over it... .

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Life sounds good for you at the moment triggles. Those lamburgers sound yummy, can't beat making your own. Hope you get a result with the PPI, it would be brilliant to see one more debt biting the dust!

Triggles

Arrggh!!! One of THOSE days! Boys are absolutely nuts today!! DS2 is in "can't sit still" mode, and DS3 has only taken a 30 minute nap, as opposed to his 2 hour nap and has spent the day trying to pull himself up to standing with EVERYTHING! It's his new thing - pulling himself up to standing - and he doesn't realise that some things are not the best to use. So I'm constantly on the alert and he just cries and cries if he's not roaming free. sigh......

I'm exhausted and have now resorted to our recording of "Dog and Duck" that both boys love. 14 minutes of quiet and sitting in one place. I'll enjoy it while I can... wonder if they will sit through it twice?

I scrounged up some change and sent DH for fish & chips for tea. I haven't gotten any of the cleaning I wanted to get done today, as DS3 has been completely hands-on all day. I did manage to hang up some laundry and start cleaning the kitchen during his 30 minute nap, but that's it. Nowhere near what I wanted to get done. So I will probably be doing some cleaning tonight - I hate getting up to a messy house in the morning.

I have to eat a modified diet (that's a nice way of saying I can hardly eat anything at all - and mostly just clear liquids) on Sunday and Monday for that CT colonoscopy. And some disgusting powder stuff that will not be pleasant. Oh how I wish we could just hold a whirry buzzy thing to do a scan like in Star Trek and dispense with all this unpleasant stuff. I'll be glad Monday night when it's all done. But right now just stressed and dreading it all.

Heating still not on. I know some who have turned it on, but house isn't too bad at this point. The bedrooms are pretty comfortable - and both boys have warm pajamas (and we tend to layer them a bit, like adding a vest underneath or tshirt or socks) and covers (sleep sack for DS3, child's duvet for DS2), so they are nice and toasty. We're hoping the rooms will stay warmer this year as we now have decent carpets in all of them, whereas last winter we had bare floorboards. We've got a runner carpet over the bare floorboards in the hallway (upstairs landing area), but we're thinking of getting a carpet remnant and cutting it to fit up there next month, as it wouldn't be very expensive at all.

Triggles

I will take the time to mention that the fish & chips was only £6 - which was tea for DS2, DS3, and DH & I. So I'm happy to have that little expense occasionally. As far as takeaways are concerned, that's pretty inexpensive - and I'm not horribly comfortable cooking fish in batter, so I'd rather let them do it. LOL

Triggles

OK - had my medical test on Monday. Didn't post for a few days as was feeling miserable and didn't want to come on here and just moan. LOL

Anyway, I STILL had an argument with them about the whole pregnancy thing. While I was there for the scan, they insisted I had to be within the first 10 days of my cycle, I insisted that if it was STRICTLY for pregnancy concerns (which is what they stated), then as I knew for a fact that I was not pregnant and was willing to sign the little slip of paper they gave me that I wasn't, I didn't see why they were making an issue of it. Again "we can't take your word for it that you're not pregnant" :mad: and I finally said "but you can take my word for it that I'm on whatever day of my cycle?!?!" Either way I could be lying, right?! aaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh! So ... I said "fine, then put I'm on day 10...." and they did. :eek: Can you believe it?!?! What a load of nonsense!!!! But nevermind, test done now, would prefer not having to EVER do that again. LOL (I think I will bring up the whole pregnancy thing with the consultant and ask them who the appropriate person to speak to about making a complaint would be, as I feel this was completely inappropriate.) Now it's just a wait for results....

DS2's first full day of school today. It was supposed to be yesterday, but he was ill and ended up staying home. He'll probably be so tired that he will be asleep in his tea tonight. :rotfl:

Let's see now... I've completed the complaint to the ICO regarding one creditor that is refusing to give us the CCA without a signature. I sent off a letter to another creditor asking for the correct information as the CCA information they sent us was incomplete (and thus unenforceable at this point). I'm awaiting a response on a request for reimbursement of mis-sold PPI and am preparing another request for reimbursement for mis-sold PPI to another creditor.

MS things we've done recently:

- managed to purchase another Christmas present for one of the children for £5 brand new that previously was £15. And it was a specifically requested item, so we're pleased about that.

- we had to purchase a new winter coat for DS2 as he very uncooperatively grew since last winter. But we managed to find a nice one at Primark for £9, plus gloves and hat (plus spare) for him, as well as socks for DS3 (who managed to outgrow the ones he had already!) for a total of £15! So very happy! DS3 is completely set for winter coats as we have the two that DS2 had at that age, and they are in brilliant condition. :j

Triggles

Alrighty then! DS2 is happily at school for the day (until 3pm). DS3 is taking his morning nap. DH & I are awaiting a frozen pizza that is cooking in the oven (brunch LOL but it was cheap).

We've just returned from a quick trip to do school run, stop at Sains, then at Farm Foods on the way home. I picked up all the ingredients for our Christmas cakes, plus a few items we were low on. Then picked up our milk, bread, loo roll at Farm Foods. I technically should have paid for the cake ingredients with our Nectar points, as we generally use them for Christmas expenses, but I decided to save it until closer to Christmas, just in case we get a bit short of cash in November or December. We will be making 4 cakes (technically, although 3 cakes worth of ingredients) - one for our house for Christmas, one for MIL for Christmas, and then the last one will be made into two separate cakes - one just a little smaller than the regular cakes, and one small one for the kids. DS2 loooooves Christmas cake, so I'm making a smaller one that we can have small slices off between now and Christmas. None of them will be iced, as very few of us like the icing on it. MIL was such a help to me the first time I made a Christmas cake, so now that she is not baking them anymore, we bring one of ours to her.

I have to say, I love that Sains has some of the dried fruit for the cake in basics. Last year, I bought the dried mixed fruit (basics) instead of separately, and it worked quite well. They didn't have enough of the basics mixed fruit for me to get it this year, next time I'll prepare better so I can do that.

A friend gave us another jar of homemade jam, as well as a jar of applesauce she'd made recently. Yum!! Nice to have the little treats!

I didn't make the apple pie I planned the other day, so that will have to be made today.

I'm off to browse through the free Sains magazines that I picked up at the supermarket and then go over the October budget to get things organised.