New Year. New House. New Budget

Lurker1972

:j:j:j
Woo goo, this morning weigh in has made me ridiculously happy, lost 2lbs!!!! More importantly have dipped up the nasty 12 stone barrier that has been plaguing me for some time.

To celebrate I am finishing the digestive biscuits for pre-breakfast.

That's all. Had to share it & the purrbabies don't really get it!!

Lurker1972

Well I think its been a good day today

Worked 4 hours, did meal plan & shopping list while there, got through a reasonable amount of work, without creating me too much more for the coming weeks.
Did the supermarket run, almost spent on wanted but not needed items, but resisted...well they went in the trolley & then out again at the end of the aisle....saved £6.56 on multibuys which isnt bad but there is now nothing left in the grocery budget for the rest of the month:eek:. Could be interesting.

managed to have a cuppa outside in the fresh air while the fluffies explored the garden. hopefully tomorrow will be like today so I can get some washing on the line.

have unlocked online banking for grocery account, updated spreadsheets & am tentatively optimistic that we are through the cashflow issue.

Now to make a start on the ironing - ideally I will get most of it done and have time to sort food out before MrL gets home...

trouble is, I am comfy & have a kittie curled up next to me...it wouldnt be fair to disturb her now would it??!

Lurker1972

Have lost my mojo this morning. Can't settle or decide what to do or in what order!

Washing machine and dishwasher are on cleaning cycles, fur babies are not on my bed so I ought to strip that before they go for the next nap of the day. Need to meal plan and shop, but have a mental block about the first part. Cooking for 2, but the second person will be eating about 4 hours after the first. Shouldn't be too hard yet am struggling!

I think the weather is to blame for lack of mojo. Want to get washing drying outside, but that's not looking likely for some time to come.
MrL is horrendously busy at work and is bringing it home with him, so although we spend the evenings together he is pre-occupied and not the best company. He needs time off, but can't even look forward to the Easter break as he is working all of it. I'll have lots a me time I guess...pamper session required!

Right. That's enough wallowing. Meal planning doesn't do itself!!

Lurker1972

Seem to have missed the chance to strip the bed. Fur babies have sneaked back in and I don't have the heart to shift them. I could however take Dyson for a walk upstairs and they are likely to run to the opposite side of the house to escape.

Meal plan complete. List done. Shopping done. Had voucher for £6 off a £40 spend....spent £40.10! Am quite impressed with that!

Also filled car up with petrol as I have to drive myself in all this week, had voucher for that too - 5p off each litre.

One way of looking at it is that today I have almost saved enough to cover the weeks parking (not something I am used to paying out for since MrL drops me off on his way in)

Right, what's next

• Unpack shopping
• Strip bed
• Remake bed
• Resettle kitties on freshly made bed
• Walk Dyson
• Snooozzzzzze

Lurker1972

Lazy Easter Sunday..... Feeling at a bit of a loss. MrL is working ALL weekend as his company are undergoing a facelift and most of the work needs to be done out of office hours.

I made plans for Friday and Saturday. But not today. Changing the clocks and not knowing when he will be home has left me wondering what to do!

Have been out for walk, have ironing to tackle and a mound of clothes to send off to music magpie. So that's what I'm doing isn't it? Nope. Am curled up on the sofa, watching property programs, and anticipating a nap!

Need to decide what to do tomorrow as had hoped MrL would be finished today and would get at least one day off work, but now know that's not going to happen. Probably as good a day to start a spring clean as any, at least it will be NSD!

Lurker1972

Oops , almost 3 weeks have past since my last update.

Nothing much is happening, MrL is still working stupid hours, which means by default, so am I. Trouble is, he carries on working when we get home, which leaves me doing everything else. There are evening s when he doesn't even make a drink, which does annoy me. But he,s looking so tired these last few days he needs the TLC more than me.

Leaking radiator has been fixed, eventually. Complaint has been made to BG, am hoping for compensation for a wasted day when they didn't show up but am not hoping my breath. Fire risk dishwasher has been fixed, courtesy of the manufacturer, house is mostly presentable and this is day 2 of 3 day weekend. Am feeling quite chilled.

My friend and I are attempting to lose weight together, we are using the my fitnesspal app to track calories. It's been 5 days so far & although its not weigh in day until Monday, I am hopeful. Assuming of course the weekend doesn't ruin all my hard work. Letting the app work out calories in recipes has been interesting. Can see where some of the excess has come from already.

Debt wise (since this is on DFW board). It's coming down slowly. Too slowly for my liking, but that's partially due to unexpected hike in gas/leccy bill which meant I ended up in my overdraft. I've now reduced that back down again & think I should be out of the o/d this month, which will put us back to normal. MrL is reducing the maintenance he pays to ex this month too, which probably wasn't good news for her, but it is for us. If I can find an additional £25 this month the debt will stand at £20000 exactly and I think would be on target to hit 18 when we need to shuffle again.

The sticking problem as always is the house and wanting to make changes and improvements. Or buy things for it. I have a jobs to do list. I think I need a things to buy list too. That way I can space things & budget for them.

We want a new steam mop (too much watching shopping channels), specifically the x5! But they are £100!!! Want new knives, in a block. Throws for the beds (now its nearly summer), a new shed.....and that's just off the top of my head!

Anyway, sun is shining so need to get in the shower, get to supermarket and then get out into garden. Fresh air here I come!

Lurker1972

My angels have been at work at sent me the £25 I was looking for in the form of a premium bond win. Debt stands at £20k exactly, and will be under just as soon as money from music magpie hits my bank account.

Was expecting to have to pay for parking today, but timing was right (for once) and was able to park on a side road, for free. Extra bonus is that it's also closer to work, which means I get home earlier.

The temptation for medicinal chocolate was high, but I didn't give in. So that's a NSD.
Am driving again tomorrow, so have the same parking need, fingers crossed I can time it right again! If not, additional will power will be needed to not have chocolate - it's that 'can't ruin a NSD if have already paid out for parking' logic.

I have a pile of ironing to do from last week, but have already made my biggest mistake of the evening....have sat down & put my feet up.......think I could be here a while.....

Lurker1972

Scaled the ironing mountain last night, now need to put the stuff away, which is a job I loathe more than the ironing itself!

Not NSD today as I had to pay for parking, but it does mean I had a 10 minute walk at each end of the day so not all bad. Didn't spend any other penny though, stayed away from the machine of gluttony so all in all a good day.

Also had a read back of this diary, hoping to see that I really have a grip of it this time.... And the verdict is....hope so, not sure!!!

Need to update my spreadsheets and might see how many pennies I have. Fun times eh?

Lurker1972

Haven't dared to updated spreadsheets, have serious case of ostrich-itus. MrL and I went away last weekend which is the cause, it was lovely but as a last minute thing meant hadn't really been budgeted for. Bad Lurkers.

On the plus side, I have extra money coming in this month from poll clerk duty, his nibs has lowered maintenance so it should balance out.

Furrbabies have lived with us a year now which means vaccination time. As senior kittizens they are offered additional health checks & our vet is now offering flea jabs. We have funds in the kitty account, but not sure it will cover all of that. Also have 2 vouchers for pets at home, 2 x £10 off £50 spend in May and June. Will use both and stock up on kittie litter, kittie yoghurt and hypoallergenic kittie treats. Good thing we have garage to store it all!

Today is overtime (if I ever get moving), then home for snack lunch, supermarket run (once meal plan and shopping list completed...no deviating from list) then pottering. Need to make more effort with decluttering. eBay v Facebook selling......not sure which way to go!

Lurker1972

I have finally diagnosed my problem.

I suffer from an extreme case of procrastination-itus. I am not sure there is a cure.

In the almost month since my last post I have achieved......diddly squat. Have sold nowt on eBay or Facebook. Made no progress with anything house wise.

I think, I plot, I make lists, have ideas........but run out of time to actually do.

So I have to find a better way of dealing with things.

The first new plan is to create an 'emergency/play day fund and to start making small payments to it each month. We've had to say no to a wedding recently on the grounds of affordability - a slush fund should help with future opportunities. Using MrL s ISA for this - he doesn't even remember he has it!

We do have stuff to clear and am approaching this from different directions.

I have challenged myself to decluttering a minimum of 5 items each weekend. That can be bin, sell or allocate to car boot pile. The last 2 weekends I have achieved this and should continue to do so for the rest of June.
This weekend we will be having a sort of the garage and sheds & building a swing seat. I will be taking pictures and putting stuff on Facebook. Any proceeds will be split 50/50 to reducing the card balances and slush fund. I need to be very tough with MrL though as he is such a hoarder.

Am planning a car boot sale with me ma, as mrL will be away at some stage this month. Same split with any proceeds.

Meal plan has been going mostly well, but I still give in easily to cba-ness if we are late home and takeaway is suggested. Maybe another mini challenge, none for a month.....something to consider.

Lots more thoughts going on but I need to shift myself and DO something!!!!