She who never saves a penny will never have many

choogirl

Good morning

I can't believe that its soon long since I posted here.

Building work is going well, we're on the final push to get all contractors offsite asap so we can reclaim the house as ours. The house is trashed so I'm looking forward to having it all put back together and looking beautiful.

On the money front everything is going well, just finding it a struggle juggling everything routine as well as dealing with contractors and finding the time to get urgent things sorted.

I've managed to sell a few bits on ebay so have updated the signature accordingly, however DD has managed to lose all my spreadsheets on my laptop so I've lost my survey spreadsheet but I'm almost at payout for a few so need to find the time to complete a few and have a cull on a few of the ones I'm signed up to.

Work is going well, the payrise that I received is been saved up so a nice little pot is building up, might spend it on a holiday later in the year or use it to decorate and spruce up the kids bedrooms.

I think thats about it from me, I'm just off to pay for some keyring tags that I won from Ebay. I have a box of keys that we have no idae what they're for so I'm going to label them all!!! Oh the excitement in this house gets too much sometimes!!!:rotfl:

Right better go and get showered and dressed before the next wave of contractors arrive, I'm sure they don't want to see me in my pjs :rotfl:

Hope everyone has a good day xxxx

mummytogirls

Hi Choo,

Wow it has been a while hasnt it! Im glad everything is going well in the house, good luck for getting everyone out and everything back in its place.

:rotfl: to the excitement of key fobs!!!

x x x

debtfreewannabe321

Morning choo (and mummy)

Builders in doesn't sound fun, but i bet once it's all done it will be lovely i can't wait to do things to the house once we've got rid of the debt!

Don't leave it so long next time....

xx

choogirl

Good evening

Sorry for not updating earlier but life has been manic with school holidays, work and builders. Its all over :j we just have a few small bits to finish off but then we're done. The kitchen looks stunning and I'm so pleased with it.
We added a few extra costs to the build such as moving/blocking up a few doors but because we looked after the builders by supplying copious amount of drinks/cake etc he didn't charge us anything extra which I'm really grateful for. We're just waiting for the electricians bill to come in now and then everything is paid for.

Budget wise has been expensive due to decorating, soft furnishings etc but we've covered the cost with my payrise so no damage has been done. DS has also started secondary school and the uniform has cost a fortune, all needs to have a school logo on!! He's also got a mobile now, so thats all had to be budgetted for.

No summer holiday due to all the work and expense so I'm saving this years budget up and will hopefully go somewhere really nice next year. The kids are hoping for Florida so we'll see (I really want to go back as well) No way will we be staying at home during the 6 week holiday next year. I'm surprised I haven't been carted off to the funny farm yet, they have driven me mad over the holidays with their bickering and fighting.

My food budget has gone over this month due to lack of control so I need to get that sorted and back under control.

Work is ok, just plodding along with it, I keep toying with the idea of finding something more challenging but the hours and flexibility suit me so for now I'll stay put. I might look for a move in 2 years time when DD starts secondary school.

I think thats it from me, hope everyone is ok xxxx

pennywisepoundstupid

Hi choo, the kitchen sounds fantastic and brillant news about the builders not charging more.

My food budget is all over the place with the mad summer we had, well my whole budget is all over the place, can't wait for october when i can start a new month and have some control back.

mummytogirls

Hi Choo,

Glad to hear the house is now back in order and everythings going well for you.

xx

choogirl

Hi Mummy and Pennywise, thank you for popping by xx

Well I need to keep my diary abit more upto date as it keeps me on track, today has been a busy cooking day, I have made:

• 2 banana cakes
• ciabatta bread
• pork & ricotta ravioli with a tomato sauce
• made apple sauce with some cooking apples that my mum gave me
• apple pie (had to be deep with sliced apple not mushy apple) as requested by DH

I have also washed the school uniforms and line dried them, so tomorrow I'll get them ironed ready for Monday morning.
I have devised a fly lady type schedule for myself which is working really well. I do a few rooms each week day and then I don't have to spend the weekend catching up with cleaning!

Thats about it from me xxx

choogirl

Good morning

A belated Happy Christmas to everyone x

Wow its so long since I posted. Money is plodding along, trying to keep DH in check is hard work and I daren't look at the bank balance to see what damage he's done over christmas with his work expenses. He was desperate to buy a new tv yesterday but I put my foot down and reminded him that there are alot of expenses coming up in 2013 that need to be saved for.

We've booked flights for a holiday in the summer holidays so we need to save all our pennies up for that. I didn't spend this years summer holiday budget so thats going towards it but it all adds up and belts need to be tightened.

Its not easy though when DS keeps growing at the rate of a weed! I bought him new PJs in November and already they are too short but they'll have to do. He's also growing out of the chinos that I bought for him in November but again he'll have to make do until they are too short. Hopefully he's finished his growth spurt and they'll be no need to buy anything else until Spring when he can wear shorts.

The grocery budget needs to be kept in check as we have loads of stuff leftover from Christmas and I need to stick to the £300 a month budget. Its the popping into the shops for a few bits that blow the budget so I need to stop doing this.

Organisation wise, things are good the house is tidy, the washing is managed and my ironing pile is miniscule.

I need to keep updating my diary so will hopefully update it more in 2013.

I hope everyone has a good 2013.

Choo xx

choogirl

Good morning

News Years resolutions

Cut back on alcohol - only drink if I'm out of the house, its too easy to drink a bottle Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

No alcohol for me tonight, we've socialised quite alot over xmas and I'm fed up with alcohol fuelled distrurbed sleep and feeling rough the next morning so its an alcohol free night tonight.

Try and lose some weight, start off with half a stone and see how it goes.

Save up for next years Christmas food using Mr S and Mr A savings
cards

Keep the food budget to £300 per month and no more.

I've already bought next years christmas cards and wrapping paper at half price from M&S so thats going to be put away with the other wrapping.

Todays plan is

Get the washing and ironing upto date
Go and buy a single airbed due to DD having a friend for a sleepover later in the week
Do some extra work (paid but helping out on a project at work)

I'm going to update my signature with AFD (alcohol free days), xmas savings and weight loss progress!

I'm also going to try and keep my diary upto date with the usual drivel.

I think that should keep me out of mischief xx

lionheartedgirl

Hi choogirl, great to see you back! I've been away too but am back now, need to get focused again and this place really helps me do that!

The new kitchen sounds amazing. I'm so glad it's all finished for you, and that you've been able to book a holiday.

I'm with you on the alcohol too, it's a huge weakness of mine and i've got to knock it on the head for a variety of reasons! I'll have a couple tonight but that's about it, and will cut right down in Jan.

Happy new year to you all, hope it's a great one X