Finally reaching out for some help...

RosaBernicia

Hurrah for quiet windows... I love living somewhere peaceful, no idea how I coped with the city now. When I go back I have seriously considered leaving my earplugs in even when I get off the train!

Rosa xx

kerri_dfw

brizzledfw wrote: »

Hi again!!

This sounds good..liking the job AND liking the upside on the car use. I agree it will be wear and tear but does sound like it can go into a car saving account so that's all good.

These window wing nuts sound amazing..are you fitting them to wooden sashes? Can't really envisage what they look like but seems like a real find

Cheers

Hi Brizzled,
They are literally winged nuts nuts for bolts with wings on

I put this on the already in place bolt thingy that's meant to be used for security, but if you tighten them lots and lots they pull the window really close so the seals work properly Tighter the window is to the frame, the less noise. They're top-tilt split single-glazed wooden frame windows in a large bay and are over 6ft tall by 1.5m wide each. They close in the middle of them (where the split is) using one of those bar thingys with holes in which means they don't seal very well. So I think the extra bolt is to tighten them, or at least that's what I'm doing.

RosaBernicia wrote: »

Hurrah for quiet windows... I love living somewhere peaceful, no idea how I coped with the city now. When I go back I have seriously considered leaving my earplugs in even when I get off the train!

Rosa xx

I am never living here again when I end my contract in December. I'm moving to somewhere away from the main road that doesn't have smog, or dirty tube trains. I always have earphones in so don't notice the noise, although I'm sure my tinnitus has increased since I have lived here, it's never quiet anywhere.

I've just filed my expenses for today, so they should go through for next week I don't have any other expenses this week apart from today, so will be £47.50. My expenses from 2 weeks ago should clear tomorrow Then I can pay off some more of my cc. I'm going to aim for clearing the c/c by the end of next month before it changes from interest free, here's hoping.

debtfreewannabe321

i couldn't wait to move out of london, i used to have to go to bed with ear plugs, eye masks & black out blinds (traffic going past with their lights on & street lamps) I don't love where i live now but i certainly appreciate the quietness of it compared to city life!

PinotGrigio41

Mr Pinot wanted to live in London many years ago. He dragged me around all these fancy new build flats trying to convince me that I would love it ! Needless to say I won, and we didn't buy a fancy modern flat with high ceilings, exposed brick and a swimming pool and gym in the basement ! We are still close enough to visit easily, but we can escape back to the peace and quiet as well. I'm sure though there are many people who love it, I think if you are young and child free with a bit of money to burn as well, it could be a great place to live though.

Kerri, a new bed, do you really think you will be able to keep it a secret from OH, I would be so excited I would blurt it out. How is he doing anyway ? Really glad you are enjoying the job as well, things seem to be going so well for you at the moment. !:T

kerri_dfw

DFW, I've been wearing earplugs ever since I moved to London as I can't sleep without them! I've tried several different ones, but the ones I find most effective are some I got when I was a student for free from behind the bar
Pinot, lovely to hear from you we live in a Victorian flat with high ceilings and although we're North London and in a very green part it's still only 20 minutes into the City I can't stand how expensive and isolating it is here though.
Oh and I've managed to keep the new bed from him for a week, only 17 weeks to go. Oh how I can't wait until I can have a proper nights sleep though I almost fell asleep on the mattress in the showroom haha!

OH is doing well he's enjoying his scholarship but says he isn't liking being a surrogate Dad for the 20y/o that he's there with. He's cooking for this guy as he can't cook, and mothering him. I told him last night to stop doing that, he said he'd try Things do seem to have fallen into place and the new job is ace. It was quite overwhelming to start with, having gone from having 0 work to having piles of it, but I've created a tasklist and I work my way through it, although my PM could do with nagging less "I've just sent you an email have you had chance to read it yet?" "urm no, I've actually got better things than to email watch all day" hehehe. I think he's just keen and eager Right I must throw another £10 at the credit card now my expenses have been paid, get ready for that update then I must do more work!

Edit: decided on £20 instead of the £10, was feeling generous, besides I've got 3 weeks of £50 spending budget which = £150 so I really should be able to pay £30 from my £180 of expenses, but thought it best to keep a bit back for petrol. Oh and I've still got some money in my purse, should take a look and work out how much really.

kerri_dfw

Budgeting...

So I'm not very good at budgeting, and I know I said my budget started as of yesterday (as it was a Thursday) and I've been very naughty this week and bought window seals, wing nuts, bed + mattress, lunch, cake etc... But I promised as of Thursday I was allowed a £50 a week budget, and that's what I'm going to allow myself.

So I need to deduct £36.11 from yesterdays spends of:
Windscreen wiper: £15
Apple danish: 80p
Sarnie: £2.80
Lucozade: 2 for £2
Frazzles: 57p
T&M: £14.94 garden accessories collection.

This leaves me with £13.89 from this weeks budget, from which I need to deduct £10 for half a veg box (was split between myself and my HM). So that leaves me with £3.89, gosh how quickly the budget disappears!!! However, I still have £16.32 left in my purse from last week so altogether that leaves me with £20.21 to spend this week. Hmm that doesn't seem like very much, but if I will go spending money willy nilly, then I have to accept the consequences. Besides, I will just have to start making food instead of expecting the SM to make it for me. I might have a cook off weekend and make up a load of batch food, I quite fancy a few HM veggie cottage pies using some soya mince that I can freeze then whack in the oven when I'm feeling lazy

Fingers crossed I manage to stick to my budget this week. Next weeks budget is already planned as well eep! There's £10 for veg, £14 liquid facial soap for Mums MD present, £16 mascara for me so I get the free bonus gift (I will fleabay this), so that leaves me with £10 for the week eep! I think I will have to get back on the fleabay this weekend just so I have some money next week. Although, if I have veg then surely I should be able to cope on £10, and the following week I will have a £50 budget again. I can see this all proving to be quite challenging

Cherryjack

its hard sticking to a budget..but much better to strive for one as without you could be spending 300.00.. if you go over a little it will still be less than what it could of been x

kerri_dfw

Cherryjack wrote: »

its hard sticking to a budget..but much better to strive for one as without you could be spending 300.00.. if you go over a little it will still be less than what it could of been x

Very true
I just went out to the SMs to get some bread, yoghurt, and cheese. I went in Mr W, Mr T, Mr B*dgens, and finally Mr MS (we have all of these within 100yds of each other!). I scoffed at all the things in the shops and only in MS did I find anything I wanted and that was a push!
£4.29 750g cheese and it's cornish, not plastic
£1.45 bread (could have got it cheaper but I had had enough by then)
25p engagement card (don't need one, but for that price!!!)
£1.00 mothers day card (I'm not spending more than necessary on something she'll throw away as soon as I go home)
87p pink cranberry lemonade (unnecessary purchase, but I fancied it)

So of my budget I now have, urm...£12.35 to spend. But, I shouldn't actually need anything else this week other than maybe another loaf of bread at some point, oh and the yoghurt which I'm sure was meant to be on offer grrr.

kerri_dfw

Hmm ok having a spendy day again. Have just spent £17.46 on 2 packs of chicken breasts and 2 packs of beef stir fry strips for my sister & dad. They'll split them between them. I've told them if they like them then I will order them in advance whilst the offer is on, to arrive on a fortnightly basis alternate weeks, and they can pay me weekly for the meat. They think this is a fab idea as they don't have the disposable cash to be able to do it themselves, but they don't want me always buying them meat So after cashback it works out about £3.50 - £4 a week that they'll give me, but they'll be eating amazing quality meat, from well looked after animals and honesty the quality cannot be bettered by the SMs.

kerri_dfw

Right, I'm being a lazy bum today and this will never do, so let's make a list of things to do.

[STRIKE]1. Today will be a NSD (nothing is needed and I don't need to go anywhere)[/STRIKE] Slightly cheating as I've ordered a new sewing machine spool pin (mine's lost), sewing machine light bulb and 4 spools of white and 4 of black overlocker thread. Cheating in that I'm paying for them tomorrow when I get my invoice from the fleabay seller So tomorrow will not be a NSD, but today is.
[STRIKE]2. Fit window seals that arrived today to windows[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]3. Fit wingnuts to window bolts to tighten seal[/STRIKE] It's still noisy, but it's reduced slightly at least Now it's just like having single glazing instead of living on the road
[STRIKE]4. Photoshop fleabay pictures[/STRIKE] Have started doing some, but have not finished there's just too many photos.
5. Make veggie cottage pies using soya mince, cottage pie sachet, whatever else it requires
6. Make a veggie soup
7. Sort one of the black boxes
[STRIKE]8. Put away work clothes which have spent 3 months in suitcase[/STRIKE] I'd forgotten about some of the clothes, maybe I need to fleabay some of them
[STRIKE]9. Remove any items from wardrobe which don't belong there[/STRIKE] I own too many rucksacks! Need to find a place to put the bag of plastic bags, might make one of those dispensers from some pretty fabric
10. Be cruel to be kind with clothes aka sort through and remove anything that's dated, ill-fitting, etc
11. Spend 1hr reading book-club book
[STRIKE]12. Ask OH about paying me back the £175 I lent him[/STRIKE] He's said that he'll gladly do this when his cheque has cleared I did check with him whether his OD is 0% and he says it is, told him I wouldn't have asked if he was being charged interest on his debt. So I should have a tidy £175 to throw at the OD this week sometime
[STRIKE]13. Put up curtain tie backs[/STRIKE] Two metal tie backs to tie back 3 windows worth aka 4 curtains. They look very pretty even if they are metal swedish funiture ones.

There's a lot to get through, but I always have tomorrow to do it if I don't make through it all today

OH had some fabby news today, his Mum called him at 8am his time to say Lloy have sent him a cheque for £1200 for PPI refund, fantastic news! This means he's not going to be stupidly skint and can pay off some of his overdraft. I might ask him if he wants to pay me back the £175 I lent him for his new coat and the airport currency exchange. Will approach him about it later and see what he says, but as I'm paying interest on my debt and his overdraft is 0% he should really pay me back. I can then throw it at my credit card Although I don't want to leave him completely skint, hmmm I wonder how I approach him about it... I'm sure he wouldn't mind, he's good like that.

Evening update:
This evening I made a plastic bag dispenser from a Clarke n Clarke fat quarter I bought before Christmas when I had one of my mad buying sprees. I've setup my sewing machine and it was so easy to make I have no idea why people buy them Although I need to practice sewing in a straight line more, but it'll do for something that's going to live in the wardrobe

OH is going to pay me back the money he owes me, and I've promised to put this straight towards the credit card. With regards to the c/c it's 0% interest this month as I paid in full last month, Aprils will be 0% too as I've paid in full this month then used it all again. So I need to clear my credit card before 20th May otherwise I'll get charged interest on the balance. This seems incredibly easy to do. I am getting charged interest on the HSB OD but I'm hoping with my budgeting I'll be able to bring that down too

Ooh I completely forgot about the budgeting when I was thinking about buying the bits for the sewing machine, drat! That's £21 I'm going to spend, hmmm where will that money come from? I'm going to have to fleabay some stuff for certain.