MoneyQueen's now to retirement and everything in between diary

MoneyQueen

We have decided that we will leave the fridge and freezer switched off when we go on holiday so I am trying to use up everything that's in there. I am also taking this as an opportunity to bring my kitchen cupboard stock levels also low as currently it's difficult to close some of the cupboard doors.

As Aldi recently had both mushrooms and pepper at 69p a pack, i bought quite a few( I love mushrooms)

Made the following dish which was so quick to make and quite healthy too

Vegetable pitta pockets

Wholemeal pitta bread 31p as they were reduced
Pepper-2 46p
Mushrooms- 175 g - 35p
Red Onion- 1 - 10p
Fajita seasoning+ Mango Chutney : 10p
Pickled gherkins (cut in small pieces) and capers : 25p
Meat free burgers -4 : £0.75 (£1.50 for 8 and 2 for £3)
Spinach: a handful : £0.25 (sliced)
Carrot: 1 (grated) : £0.07

Stirfry muchrooms/ onion/ pepper
Microwave the burgers and cut in small pieces and add to stirfry along with the fajita seasoning and mango chutney
Toast the pittas.
Cut open one side and fill with the stirfried mixture.
Top with fresh spinach, grated carrot and pickled gherkins and capers

Total: £182.82 for 6 pitta pockets (£0.30 each)

wantabetterlife

HI Moneyqueen, i remember your diary over on the mortgage free wannabee board...i was amazed at how dedicated you were. At one stage i think you mentioned a threat of redundancy for either you or your OH...did this ever happen?
Goodluck with the fertility problems...i know it doesnt make it any easier for you to deal with but at least your hard work means that financially treatment is an option for you.
Im sure you will love vegas, we went there on honeymoon and thought it was amazing!
Goodluck with your plans and be sure to keep us updated. WABL

MoneyQueen

wantabetterlife wrote: »

HI Moneyqueen, i remember your diary over on the mortgage free wannabee board...i was amazed at how dedicated you were. At one stage i think you mentioned a threat of redundancy for either you or your OH...did this ever happen?
Goodluck with the fertility problems...i know it doesnt make it any easier for you to deal with but at least your hard work means that financially treatment is an option for you.
Im sure you will love vegas, we went there on honeymoon and thought it was amazing!
Goodluck with your plans and be sure to keep us updated. WABL

Hi wantabetterlife,

Thanks for visiting my thread. None of us were made redundant in the first round of redundancies but in the due course both of us switched jobs as the thread of redundancy was always there. I am not spending that much time to the MSE aspect of things anymore as my current job is much more busy than the last one but I am really enjoying my work and have been working with lovely people so am very happy. But that does mean that I am missing coordinating and organizing finances as I am knackered when I reach home but hope to change it in 2012. We are still waiting for our first appointment with the Fertility Specialist. TBH I am not really looking forward to this as any discussion about this affects me emotionally and I just feel very depressed.

Anyways, I hope you are having a great time on Christmas.

MQ

MoneyQueen

In the last few days, I have sorted all the document files and have made a list of all the accounts that both of us have. I could have cried at one stage!! We have a total of 50 accounts (both current and saving) in over 20 banks and building societies and I am not even sure how much some of the accounts hold so I will be spending a day next week to phone around and update my spreadsheet with details.

There was a time when I kept track of everything but I have fell off that wagon and need to get back on track

MQ

MoneyQueen

I have been thinking about some new year resolutions for 2012 and I thought listing them here will keep in on the straight and narrow

1. To loose weight before the trip to Vegas. I will be joining the gym again in the new year and also cut down on all the rubbish that I eat.
2. Not to buy anything other than the fresh fruit/ veg/milk and eggs to bring down the kitchen stock levels and clear the fridge freezer before the Vegas trip
3. Not to buy any toiletries till the stash is all used up as I have got enough on Christmas to last time atleast few years and have also placed an order on bath and bosy works to pick up in the States. I also need to use rather than keep all the nice stuff for a special occasion
4. To keep track of all the financial stuff and also keep all the money so that it's earning maximum interest that it can.
5. To try to be a better wife
6. To be on top of the house work rather than spending most of my free time on my IPad

I think thats enough for now.

Happy Christmas and New Year to all

MQ

MoneyQueen

I am officially starting all the preparations for Vegas in the new year which will include researching the places we want to visit/ shows we want to see/ all the shopping I want to do and also look at coupons etc. that are going to save us money. DH likes the surprise part of it so never does any research before going on the holiday but I like getting the best value out of a holiday so will be spending lots of time on it. What this means is that I will be doing all the work and he gets to enjoy the holiday with me!!

We have invested in a printer today as will need to take printouts of the tickets/ other money saving coupons etc. DH has done lots of research and finally we have bought a Samsung ML1865 Mono Laser Printer. Decided that we didn't need a fancy printer with scanner/ copier as we already have a scanner and don't need the copier. We also don't print any photos and don't need a coloured printer. This one comes with a toner saver option and was half price in Argos. :money:. We are pretty happy with the print quality.

I have done some shopping in the online sales so just waiting for them to be delivered.:j. DH has got me a S&G Big Splendour in the Boots OOFW which I am going to pick up tomorrow from Boots. This is a present for the new year in addition to everything he got me for Christmas so pretty chuffed about that :cool:

MoneyQueen

I have spent the whole day today looking at all the card statements for the whole year to determine how much we have spent in 2011 and it all adds up to £22,500.00 :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Now I know that this includes all the bills/ treats/ holidays/ presents etc but I still think that it's a lot for two people. And I never thought we are big spenders in any sense. I am mentioning the breakdown here so that I can compare at the end of next year but it does highlight the fact that I need to keep a track of spending on a regular basis rather than just at the end of each year.

Mortgage: £10,332
Energy: £876
Phone/ TV + Internet: £480 (This also includes TV License)
Council Tax(includes water and sewerage charges): £1500
Any shopping for the house(including DIY + house and contents insurance + ): £500
Travel (includes fuel/ any public transort/ car insurance/ Service/ MOT/ Any parking): £1800
Grocery: £1800
Holiday: £2000 (includes any holidays this year and flights for the Vegas holiday next year)
Shopping: £1000 (definitely need to reduce this)
Toiletries/ Hair Cuts/ Beauty Treatments: £200
Any One Off expenses (eg. a new appliance): £500
Presents/ treats : £1000
Miscellaneous: £500

MQ

MoneyQueen

DH is in the mood of some baking today so is making scones. Who am I to complain

I had big plans to clean every inch of the house before new year but with the weather so rubbish, all I want to do is just sit in front of the fire (electric ) and telly. Though really need to move my !!!! now and actually do something.

I have just got a delivery for some clothes shopping that I did in the sales. Though I am thinking of returning atleast half of stuff as I DO NOT NEED any more clothes.

DH has got me the Clarisonic Mia Sonic Cleanser for Christmas. I am really liking it till now and hopefully, it would save me money on Facials and Exfoliants. We never ask each other for any specific presents so presents are always a surprise. I had been looking at it some time ago but then decided against buying it as it was expensive. He probably noticed that.:j
I have checked Clarisonic website and it seems the prices in US are much less than they are here so I will be stocking up on the replacement brushes when I go there.

MoneyQueen

I am also looking at my current toiletries stash and with the S&G gift set that I have got, I don't think I need to buy anything the whole year so no more trips to Lush.

Though I need to come clean with something. I have placed an order for $50 at the US site Bath and Bodyworks after looking at some Youtube videos. Apparently they don't accept non US card and don't deliver internationally. Therefore a friend of mine has placed the order for me and I will pick it up when I visit her in March. It includes some candles/ body lotions and body sprays. Though in the true MSE sense, I used a discount code for $10 off and free delivery. :money: