Risen from the ashes ...

rising_from_the_ashes

MatyMoo wrote: »

My one year old mini schnauzer thinks we should get up every day at 6-6.30ish. On Sundays he is allowed upstairs on the bed with me for an hour or so - it is the only way I can get a lie in

It isn't that he wants out, he just seems to want company. We were up at 6.30 today and the first time he asked to go out was 9.30 :mad:

:rotfl:that sounds like Maisie too!

I didn't manage to get her to go for a wee before bed last night and she'd certainly not been when we were out for our walk (around 8ish) so goodness knows the last time she'd been:eek:

I did manage to not get up until 7:10 which is pretty good for us *sigh* - a long lie would be nice sometimes!


Going to pop up to the market and see if they've any covers cheap up there - if not, I'll probably go for the muddypaws one!:D

rising_from_the_ashes

OMG think I've found the perfect thing

(big problem with a lot of them is the width - usually around 140 - 145 cm ....... Dinky is only 120 wide!:eek:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003VRJXAM/ref=asc_df_B003VRJXAM9476703?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&!!!!!googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B003VRJXAM

Will need to check the dimensions with the seller as they seem a bit odd but they've got one that looks identical @ PAH http://www.petsathome.com/shop/complete-boot-and-bumper-cover-by-pet-gear-%28online-only%29-37621 which looks perfect! (just more expensive)!

Thinking this would work - hang from the back of the front seats, the "boot" bit would cover the floor of the car (with the seats down) and a bit to cover the bumper ....... bit more expensive but .......

Will debate on it for a few hours!

rising_from_the_ashes

mmmm doesn't get very good customer reviews - doesn't seem to wash well...... not the best with a mud magnet for a dog!!

rising_from_the_ashes

Budget update

Unfortunately not looking that great as had to do some pot raiding last month to try to balance the books - 1st time this year.

And, I've also not paid to a couple of them this month .....:(

It's soooooo not worth it as then when I get the next bill, there's no money in that pot to pay it :eek:

Lesson learned ....... but need to stop spending!

Groceries were absolutely ridiculous last month :eek: - down to losing all the meat & other stuff out the freezer a couple of months ago & having to restock and fat club!


House & Car (£435.67)
£ 10.00 Landline - Advance rental (due May) - not paid this month
£ 25.00 House insurance (due May) - small payment this month
£195.63 Car - Tax, breakdown cover, servicing/MOT, repairs - need to look at this with new car costs & service, tax etc being in a different month (thankfully not before Jan when the old one was due! - however, it should've been a small service for current car next year (approx £130) but will be a big service for new car (approx £250):eek:
£180.00 Car - Insurance (due Dec) - may be starting a new policy when I get the new car (Tues:)) which will put this in a deficit. Trying to find T&Cs for cancellation on current policy
£ 25.04 Emergency fund

Pets (£108.88)
£ 18.77 Dog - :eek: not making much progress on this one
£ 20.00 Dog - walker - hoping to get rid of this - see below
£ 70.11 Cats - not too bad, big cat due his booster tho!

Others (£100.39)
£17.18 Clothes - but have spent £80 on Sept's bill:eek:
£15.50 Hair - needs cut but will have to wait!
£12.38 Dentist
£16.25 Presents
£ 4.17 Anything else - :eek: this is the one that's gone really wrong ....... no money in it to pay for things on this month's bill (so will have to come out "my" funds instead)

mmmmmmm not great:(

I seem to have totally lost the plot the last couple of months :mad: - a few of the pots have had part payments this month as just not enough dosh to pay them fully ......... I know the groceries was a massive overspend (which has been dealt with - freezers full & should just need fresh stuff this month) but everything else's gone tits up too!:(

rising_from_the_ashes

I think part of the overspend problem the last couple of months has come from the lunchtimes for the dog: dog walker - £45 and around £30 fuel.

It was never budgeted for and I don't have a huge amount left once everything is paid (incl pot payments usually).

I've been trying to leave Maisie for a bit longer - usually a Friday as I can go in a bit later & we finish early ...... and she's been fine:j

I can't finish early other days but thinking I may have to go in late at least another couple of days so that I can leave her ....

I think of the dog walker as a "net" cost ie £5 minus the fuel, so only £2.50 in real terms IYKWIM so £10 / week only really costs me £5 / week (£20 net cost / month) but the extra fuel was never budgeted for either - it would be around £60 - £70 / month.

By getting the dog walker I'm 1/2ing this to around £30 - £35 / month ...... but then add on the average of £40 / month for the dog walker ..... she's costing me around £75 / month for lunchtimes and this was never budgeted for.....

New car is heavier on fuel than the current one so those costs will be going up :eek:

If I go in later, I should be able to leave her but it means I'll get less days off ..... think I'll have to give it a try tho!

rising_from_the_ashes

On a more positive note, I've been to the Sunday market and managed to get a cover for the car :j:j

Perfect width and comes about 3/4 of the way down the full length of the car (the longer ones seem to be much wider too - I guess for bigger cars). She'll probably be going in/out the back door rather than the boot (there is a bit of a lip which makes it a bigger jump) so it should be fine & I can easily put old duvet covers / towels over the whole thing!

It was only £12:j:j (luckily there was enough in the car pot for this!)

slowlyfading

Wow, lots to take in there! Do you write everything down? Meal plan? Batch cook? We all have months where we spend more - August always seems to be a spendy month for me - and so September can be the month where everything is stripped back. I think that eating healthier can be much more expensive, but I'm trying to do it as cheaply as I can - I'm going to get some basics apples and pears for my breaktime and then get big bags of couscous/bulgar wheat/brown rice and something to mix into it to make it taste a bit better. I'm also trying to cut down my portion size a bit more which will be better for the wallet and waist line :rotfl:

I like your idea about the dog walker - whilst that's a lovely idea in principle, if you can't continue to afford it, then you need to try something different - even if it's only in the short term. How about posting another SOA and we can see if we can see other areas and offer help?

rising_from_the_ashes

sorry!

Wanted to get it all off my chest!:)

I will re-do the SOA if no-one minds ...... I'm going to sit down this afternoon and try to work out costs for the new car so will post it after I've done this.

There is a positive - I'm currently paying £23.50 for my car insurance each month and putting away £20 so I can pay in full at renewal.

If I can manage to cancel the current policy (not sure if you can as it's in the last 3 months - need to dig out the paperwork) and start a new one - that's £23.50 saved:D

If I can't it's only until December ......

rising_from_the_ashes

However....... need to watch the F1 first!

Knitting_Nora

*snort* F1 indeed...I'm doing the same thing - but with Jane Austen's Emma and a pack of minstrels...