Coffee and chocolate

miggy

Hello Poo, nice to have you visit!

I have thought about going for the '2 cupboards' idea. The idea was to pay DH's salary through one of those Halifax accounts where they give you a fiver for putting the money through. I think it has to be a grand a month, can't remember off hand. My salary wouldn't be enough. We would then have to ensure the mortgage came out of that account too, either that or set up a standing order to pay nearly all of it back into our main account. I just have to set aside some time to check it really is a good idea, then do something about it. It's only taken me four and a half months so far...
It would be worth £60 a year to us so would def be worth doing, but wouldn't solve my issues with not feeling in control of our money.

It would be good to follow your suggestion and leave an excess in the Halifax (or wherever) to put towards Christmas.

Poosmate wrote: »

I know it's going to take a long time to pay off my debts but I think I've struck the right balance between paying them and having a bit of a life. And to be honest, this is not very MSE I know but, I'd rather take a year longer to pay them off than watch every single penny and be miserable.

Yes, I've had a share of miserable years and don't particularly want to go back there! I suppose I could if I have to but it's frustrating when other members of the family spend on stupid stuff and waste what is bought (thinking of one DS in particular!) - things that are still big treats by my way of thinking.

I see I have issues to work through!

With regard to enjoying ourselves - DH and I splurged a bit and spent £20 on tickets for a local dance show yesterday. I had seen them before and knew they were first class. I have no idea why they've not been on Britain's Got Talent, the standard and imagination is extraordinary. Anyway we had a great evening and I don't regret it even though it's not paying anything off. After all life's a journey and we might as well get something out of the travelling!

Poosmate wrote: »

I've now got into the habit of checking my emails every day and completing all the surveys I am offered. If I can make enough vouchers/cash to pay for Christmas, I'll have more to pay off my debts - bonus!

Ah - a target - me likee! I can see I need to take this surveys business a bit more seriously. I still havemy goal of using Lightspeed points to get an airbed. I used to do all sorts of things where you click for pennies but it all got a bit time-consuming and I never claimed anything back. I wonder if it's still out there waiting for me somewhere?

miggy

Another list for me to add to from time to time. This one is called

The Decorating List

kitchen repair paper over door (can't be done till leak from shower definitely no longer happening!)
lounge nothing urgent
hall/stairs/landing repair paintwork on ceiling, paint door frames, repair back door
dining Room everything! This is one of the big ones. Needs money and is a logistical nightmare as requires shifting piano, storage heater, dinign table & chairs, computer corner, 20 gallon fish tank on stand, sideboard, bureau and far too many homeless books. Argh!
DD's room DONE! YAY!
DS's room new flooring, other than that DS1 has done it.
our bedroom (sigh) would be nice... not too urgent but would be great to have it revamped, and to repair the missing mirror in the wardrobe door.
bathroom Floor finished by DS1 on 10/7/10! This is the other big job. Still needs walls done... can we solve spillage from shower?
(and while I'm thinking about the house) the garden just keep chipping away for now

Maybe I need to make friends with the DIY thread? One thing at a time, though.

miggy

Today's money savers:
picked about a cup & a half of raspberries from the garden, mmm!
Fed copious amounts of dandelions to the rabbits, who approved.

Decluttering:
a couple of hours in the garden, reclaiming from the jungle. Have told DH I'm leaving the flower bed by the dining room window alone, as there's a tiger in there.
Found a couple more scarves to put in the scarves & gloves box which I recently started and which is going in the loft if I feel I've got them all before the summer ends. (Lots already up there but in a rather fragile bag).

miggy

No sooner had I posted the above, than I thought well, actually I've had a pretty nice weekend, and seeing as life is stressful at the moment, I ought to make sure I include the good stuff: keep me focused on positives and maybe spread them around a bit.
So here is some nice stuff:
Yesterday: longish shift, I was ready for a rest after but it was on top of my usual hours and the money will doubtless find a home. In the evening DH and I went for a walk, which at the moment tends to be to the fields just outside town. There is a beautiful view which I've only just discovered after years living here; you can see right over to the Dales. Oddly we discovered a completely parched field high on the hill. It could have been in another country, yet further down were green fields.
Today, Church in the morning and DS came with us which I was happy about. Afterwards there was a mini-service to open the town carnival. It was very windy but in the spirit of the Great British Day Out people put on a brave face - even me who dared smile at one of the clowns. This risks being at best danced down the road, but he just raised his hat to me! LOL.
This evening - loads of gardening as mentioned above, then DH and I watched 'Prince Caspian', which I've never seen before. It was lovely, of course. Did you know I have a weakness for medieval battle strategies? It's odd, as I'm a wimp. Oh, and DD and her b/f turned up and gave me a peice of their pizza. Diet starts tomorrow.

miggy

A rainy day. I had almost forgotten what they are, and of course I have several loads of washing expecting to be done today!
On the plus side, I've spent hours reading Memory Girl's thread which was fun as well as full of good ideas. The whole 'sending ideas out into the universe' idea isn't quite for me, though I think most of us could do with focusing more on the positives. I think it's an alternative to prayer for some people - not that God's a vending machine, but that there really is something going on, and those who don't believe in God have found another explanation for things that happen in response to a request...
Anyway, this is a day off - some money will be spent but I need to be a bit focused and use up some stuff from the fridge and freezer, do some tidying, clean out some of the animals, prepare for a meeting tonight... ordinary stuff really. Oh, and for fun, have a quick sort of my wardrobe. MG and friends are 'Gokking' theirs, but I'm not that tough. I always like things to do with clothes though, and having lost a bit of weight, what fitted six months ago looks quite different now.
The sky is getting lighter - I will be brave and put a load in the washer.

miggy

Coffee & Chocolate doing a nose-dive! I took DD and her b/f out for lunch, which was fun. Managed to bust both diet and money-saving but I'm going to put that down to experience and plan to tidy up, get baking and feed them at home next time. Someone make me answerable!
I did managed to recoup about a fiver's worth of spends by getting Wilko'#s own brand 2 for 97p mouthwashes instead of the ones I initially picked up which were about £3 each. I hope these taste okay.
Oh, and then the best part of £15 in Tesco - it's getting so expensive, though some of that was good offer on our favourite sausages which effectively saved two pounds - one pound against today's food, and one against another day's as I'll freeze some.
I wanted to get some plants for my neglected hanging baskets but it's getting late in the season and what there was, wasn't brilliant so I resisited. I may be able to get some at the car boot some time.

miggy

So much for saving money by feeding people at home: £25 for this evening's meal!
Before you all go :eek::eek::eek: there were seven to feed, which is more than usual, and there were tons of left overs. I think the two big lasagnes I made came to about a dozen portions, some of which are now in the freezer (you never know how much you'll need where teens are invovled). There is also extra mince, tomatoes, etc. which were surplus to requirements and will make another meal, so all in all not as alarming as I first thought.
Also we had a really nice meal - all of our kids and their significant others together for the first time.

I don't know if it counts as money saving, but I lost a couple of items I was bidding for on ebay! Nothing too significant, I can keep a look out for alternatives and for now we still have the money.

miggy

After the big food spends so far this week, and because both freezers are full, today I need to eat out of the freezer/pantry/fridge.
I also have to go and spend money on behalf of DD, who is off on hols tomorrow and needs mossie repeller and possibly some other bits & bobs. First I need to Facebook the folks she's going with and see how many of these she actually needs - I received a message to say three (THREE!?! £20 worth?!?)

miggy

I have just had a chat regarding DD's holiday... have offered to get the suncream and mosquito repellent, as they're paying for the rest and it's only fair we make some sort of contribution.
Good job there are good offers on these things at the moment!
Also good job we have full freezers: now I must crack on and sort stuff out or we will be paying extras and wasting food.

P.S. Lunch was finishing up some ham from the fridge and some salad from last night so a very small virtous glow from me!

miggy

I managed to sort dinner from the freezer without any problems, HOWEVER...

• spent £40 in Superdrug, largely as mentioned above but about £10 on some shampoo & conditioners that were on offer - our favourite brand and we get through lots of it. Also a couple of toothbrushes for me (one to keep at Mum's) as I needed them.
• resisted some nice plants (cheap) off the market as I wasn't sure I could carry them. (I was right and saved £2).
• They say never shop when you're hungry. Same applies for thirsty. I remembered Netto are doing 6x Pepsi max for £1.29 and Pepsi Max is my favourite. Well, I could have got just 1 drink for that amount elsewhere and it does help me with my diet... my excuse anyway. The trouble is I also got spread for baking (planned) and a cute thing for brushing mud off shoes (unplanned).
• Made jammy muffins - quite MS, and useful for feeding kids/visitors and using up jam . Not good for diet.
• £3 on a top from ebay - for autumn.

Last night I was worrying because Mum didn't ring me - she's spent a lot of time in hospital recently and I get her to ring me to say she's all right. The good news is she rang tonight, had just fallen asleep yesterday. Phew!
DH and DS went to Tesco this evening - this is definitely one of the areas where I'm not in control of spending! I don't know what was bought apart from some strawberry laces. However, keeping this diary is making me realise I'm quite a major culprit myself even if I'd rather have coffee than sweets.

The plan for tomorrow: DD is off on holiday and I think she may still need insect spray. I forgot it despite all my lists. I have a medical appointment, nothing urgent though. Dig deeper into the freezer and find something nice for tea. Watch the rest of 'Mary Queen of Shops' on catch-up. Dh has the day off but is spending lots of it in Manchester what with taking DD to the airport, so it's more or less a day to myself. (I don't have them all the time, but I have a week's annual leave this week). No major spending expected.