TizerCats Fiscal Adventures

findingmyfeet

.......slips quietly in with tea and sympathy............

hoping you are feeling a little better today, sounds like you have had a miserable few days. Hate illness's like that, even when they go yoy feel not quite right for a few days after.

Well i decided i needed to get my big rear end a moving...............lounge has waited almost 3 years for me to get started on and kitchen cupboards were full of total rubbish and you almost got crushed everytime you opened one. !!! Im trying to do the jobs that people will see or use when they arrive at christmas. i have set myself the challenge of doing them by mid december (was hoping for the begining but that aint going to happen.......time for me to get real!!). Then as the plan goes after completion i can relax/chill / do whatever i feel like in the knowlegde that house is fine/shopping for gifts is done etc etc. I have joined the thrifty gifty thead too and you get a challenge list every month of things to get done so cant fail my first month can i?
I still need to paint the entrance hall-its tiny approx4 x 6 and i have about a third of a tin of paint left, give the kitchen a thorough clean down, find out all the decorations, bake mince pies, ice the cakes , wrap the gifts, write the cards, ....................shoot me now........on my knees already.
Believe me if i wasnt having most of my family here this year most of this wouldnt be getting done.

I have a party to organise for my bro and his oh and their 4 kids...i do this every year because they are always hard up, so we have a party for the kids, loads of food , (secret gift swop and stash in carboot so kids think santa has delivered them) and i always make him a hamper of food, tins, biscuits, sweets, pack of beer etc. He is my baby bro and times have seemed continually hard for them so i enjoy doing it all really . thats around the 19th dec. then i have to fetch ds back from uni. Then finally christmas day i have us 4 , my parents, sis her dh and kids all for the afternoon and lunch. me , my mum and sis take it in turns ...this year is mine.
I have booked time off work from the 23rd dec to 4th jan so i can relax after the big event .......only had to book 3 days holidays to give me all this time off because the others are bank holidays.

So work is very dead at the moment(as you can see.....my breaktime really) but i am off again this week ...thursday to go shopping for final gifts with my friend. Didnt have time off much in the summer so now have loads of days to use up....unusual for me because its usually the other way around.

hope the little horsey starts to behave again for you....still have ours and will try another ad in the new year. Did you manage to get the allotment digging finished ?

well better get my nose bck to the grind stone.....

tea n biccies on the tray

TizerCat

:T:T:TA very big thank you FMF. That really cheered me up! :beer:

I really don't know how you do it though...I hope you get every thing done before the family arrive... and that they appreciate all your hard work!

I have to admit that over the last weekend I really wished I didn't have any ponies ! I would be much better off and not nearly so tired :cool:

Then I go and look at their big brown eyes and pricked ears as they wait for me to feed them and I can't imagine someone else looking after them. Roll on next year and a fresh start!!:D

findingmyfeet

hi tizer

hope you are now much better ansd keeping that purse tightly closed!!!!!

afraid i opened mine yesterday..............but i did ok . got all the stuff i needed except a couple of large boxes and came in almost a tenner under the price i had budgeted for . so was really pleased with myself, i did stick to the list and found one or two items with slight reductions on. got my nieces some pjs and took them to the checkout and they had been half priced too....was soooooo chuffed (they had only been £6 each in the first place in primark so i got 2 for £6). had a nice lunch out with my friend came which in at just under £10 for main course and drink , so all in all i was pleased.

I also managed to put a coat of paint on the entrance hall too but it looks patchy so will do another one over the weekend.

So what are your plans for the weekend ?

speak later fmf

TizerCat

Hi FMF, well done on the PJ's! Isn't it great when you buy something for less than your budget?

w/e only served to prove that it is better to do a list of jobs and work through them, as didn't get very much done really. Also the money saving has all gone to pot this month!! If I'm ill and over tired I'm next to useless! I did manage to do a quick budget check and have gone over on most things, but not a huge amount. Will wait until the first and post my final figures for the month, as a sort of penance . On the bright side I still have cupboards full of food - alot of it for xmas so Dec should be alot better!

Have decided to move all 3 ponies to a new yard next weekend. I found one that is as relaxed as where we are now and has the advantage of a floodlit school while not being much more expensive and only 1.5 miles further away. Livery will be £40 more for the 3 and travelling will cost about £20 more a month.

The BIG advantage is that it is bigger and in the evenings there are lots of people around after work riding as the school is lit. I've really been struggling at the current yard as I don't see anyone all week! Am hoping to get a couple of loaners to help offset the extra cost. Which is more likely at this yard as they can ride in the evenings as well as w/e.

Once we have moved...it is worse than moving house I tell you all the equipment they have! Not sure If I should sell my hay instead of paying for it to be transported....Once we have moved I shall advertise GG3 for sale again and the other 2 for part loan.

Speak soon ...have to go and try put a curtain rail up this evening!

TC x

findingmyfeet

morning tizer,
hope that curtain rail is up !..............im rubbish at that sort of thing myself but not helped by my dh who wont allow me near any of his tool to try and do it myself!!!!
Got the entrance way finished and got a free curtain of my mother..shes had new patio window blinds etc and was binning her old curtains.....so i rescued them! they are plain cream so i washed them and have shortened the bottom of one slightly and its now my new curtain covering the front door so should be a bit warmer over the winter. I also bought a draught excluder thing from town for £3.99 too. was wondering if i can cut the other curtain in two to make a pair for a small window where my computer is, have to measure and see. ( i am not a seamtress either so dont get the wrong impression, im not good but have a go... im just doing my best to try and improve the place without more debt or spending what i cant afford).

So where did you put the curtain rail?

hope all goes well with the pony move and you like it there. Our yard has all the facilities too but for the time my dd goes riding these days it hardly matters. im lucky if she mucks out once a week!!! Well doubt if any horses will be going out today..........we have 4 or 5 inches of snow and its still falling, roads are bad and of course we havent seen a plough or gritter at all. so what you may be thinking...the road that passes my house is the main one for the region so if thats not cleared not many people will be able to move.
I am staying home today and will work another day later to make up for this.

hows the weather where you are ? bbc has just said its moving south so you may be next....haha!

see you later and dont worry if you are over budget a bit, at least you are now trying to sort it and improving every week

TizerCat

Nope curtain rail still stitting in the corner of the lounge laughling at me.!! DD wanted me to escort her to T£SCO as she wanted to go shopping but keeps being harrassed by a bloke there. This I didn't realise until he came up and she quickly introduced me! Didn't put him off though! Trouble is she is always polite and smiles and chats to these chaps and they think she is interested in them when she is just being polite ......

Well done on the curtains FMF, hope your hallway is warmer now!

Luckily although snowing here the roads are still clear but paths are slippery. I am right on the coast though. some people at work havn't got in who are about 10 miles away so I thionk it is worse for them.

Ponies all stay out in it ...as long as they have plenty of hay and the water is de-iced regularly they are happy!

:grouphug: hugs for all that are snowed in and hope that it passes soon !

If I can get on the internet tonight will post last months and this months budgets. At least January looks good on the money saving side :rotfl:

findingmyfeet

well we have been snowed in all day today, its up to my knees! this morning there was no electricity so no heating too. everything back on now though but still snowing.all schools/colleges closed tomorrow and friday as more expected, so me and dd watching
xmas movies and scoffing chocolate!

ahh feel for your dd, nice polite girl but obviously the boys oblivious to her lack of interest...................tell her to enjoy it for a while doesnt last forever:rotfl:

TizerCat

Well DD has gone on a date with BMW driver in flat 2 floors down! (Thats all I've been told about him) Have done my mummy bit and phoned her to see if she wanted a reason to escape but it wasn't required

good thing is i've recaptured the puter from her room :T And DS is watching telly so I've recaptured the broadband! Aaah bliss!

Budget from last month.

Monthly Expense Details Household bills
Mortgage................................ 313.53 Rent.................................... 295.33
Council tax............................. 128.00
Electricity...............................30.00Spent £40
Gas.......................................20.00 Spent £40
Water rates............................. 54.10
Telephone/broadband (land line)......... 25.00 Spent £26.26
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 16.50
Car Insurance........................... 16.79
Gas boiler cover........................ 27.06
TOTAL...................................926.31 £947.57 Actual
Debts
Lloyds overdraft..........................1.00
lloyds credit card........................1.00
Barclaycard...............................1.00
Housing Benefit overpay...................5.00
TOTAL.....................................8.00 Same

Horsies

Farrier.................................. 25.00 £35.00
Horse feed ...............................24.00 £25.21
Horse Livery.............................106.00
TOTAL............................................. ............155.00 £166.21

OTHER

Groceries etc. ......................... 100.00 £115.53
Petrol/diesel............................ 60.00 £119.85
Unplanned expenses..............................£116.97
TOTAL....................................160.00 £352.35

Dec/Presents(christma.....120.00 £46.50
Mortgage arrears..........156.77 paid
Rent arrars................87.67 paid
Balance Housing Benifit...123.70 paid
Dec/GG1 Vacinations........45.00 o.oo
Dec/xmas food..............50.00 £30.90


Normally I would have put my head firmly in the sand by now, so actually looking at what I've spend is actually some progress.

will post this months budget tomorrow...complete whiteout here. looks lovely over the roof tops though :j

Might have to walk to ponies tomorrow morning.....

Hope the snow clears for everyone soon ...

findingmyfeet

:Twell done on the arrears being paid. you are making progress.......go girl.

bmw man must be ok then if dd didnt need a way out:D

still snowed in here and its still falling, im going nowhere! main road still not cleared only thing i have seen use it is a tractor and a couple of four wheel drives. We are in semi rural countryside, must be nice to live near the coast....i love sitting on any beach just watching the water and boats.Dh attempting to go out to work at the moment he is with a friend he works with and they are goin to try and get in, they are loaded with shovels, flasks , food, phones and sleeping bags!!!they are crackers.
My boss is going to email me some work i can do at home and if he can get through today or tomorrow he is dropping a load of paperwork here. much prefer doing it over the weekend than trying to get out myself.
Least we cant spend as much when the weather is like this:rotfl:

TizerCat

Have got about 1 foot of snow...it looks so lovely. Had hearty breakfast to prepare for 8 mile walk to tend to livestock. Dug wellies out of car boot and was just putting them on when kind friend phoned to say she had already got to yard in her new 4x4 and she would hay everyones horses and sort out water. Can't say how greatful I am not to have to do that hike!:T:T

Duvet dog refuses to go out as snow past her belly! Has snuggled back under the Duvet. DS day off today anyway so also still under duvet! DD has been banned by her dad from driving her new car in the snow, so unless her boss picks her up in her 4 x 4, she isn't getting out of bed either! Feel like baking cookies and making hot chocolate and watching movies! Unfortunatly I can walk to work :cool:

Forecast is rain on Saturday, hope it clears the snow as have hired self drive lorry to move GG's Sat morning. New yard is 5.5 miles away across the South Downs so will be too far for me to walk when it snows. First job when I move is to get the phone number of who ever does the livery services there! Farmer said they put round bales of hay out last year when it snowed so that will be helpful! My GG's are pretty hardy and seem happy as long as there is plenty of hay and water!

Hope your OH stays safe....funny how resouceful employers can be to keep you working:rotfl: