Because I'm bl**dy well worth it!

gallygirl

You do rock missus .

I used to worry about you when you talked about buying a house on Newmarket Rd - it was bad enough you mystery shopping etc. to pay off ccards early, but I was concerned you were condemning yourself to a permanent way of life just to pay the mortgage. I remember thinking what about YOU .

So glad you are happy and content, you deserve it :kisses3:.

hypno06

Thanks gally x I would still like to be in the Triangle.....and perhaps when the children have left home I will make that move.

But in the meantime, THIS is the right house, the right home for us and I am more than happy that we found it. We didn't go looking for it, but as you know I am a great believer in things turning up at the right time for the right reasons, and this one did just that, and we decided to run with it. That was, and still is, the right decision. Other decisions will be made in the future and they will be the right ones too.

And, yes, I am content. I'm not apprehensive about the future for once. And that is a good place to be.

hypno06

Right.....payday has come a couple of days early, so the numbers have been crunched. And this time it is serious :rotfl:

The direct debits come to £2083.68 :eek: And this amount has been left in the bills account with the surplus transferred between the food/petrol account and the "spends and living" account.

The bills account will now remain untouched bar daily checking that nothing is awry. This means, therefore, that I maintain a roof over our heads for a few more weeks. Always a good start :rotfl:

I have transferred some cash to the food/petrol account. This is not a huge amount, but I am hoping not to be going too far, driving wise, in January, and it is also a typical month for eating up out of cupboards, finishing off Christmas food bought in a fit of gluttony, and generally trying to eat less as we work off those Christmas lbs, so I think I can manage on a slightly leaner budget for Jan and Feb if needed there.

I am reverting to the physical envelope system - over the last few months it has become more of a virtual system which is not so easy to keep a hold of. The physical envelopes worked really well for me for so long, so I have done my list of expected expenses and social things for the next month, and will dig out 15 envelopes in the course of the day. I will take the cash out of the bank at lunchtime and divvy it up tonight. This covers such things as my cleaner, bus fares, haircut, salon visit, beers and occasional cabs home for football matches, and this month it also includes drinks and a cab for Friday after work when I am meeting friends.

From there, I have also allocated £5 per day for everything else spending. This is for coffees, lunches, car parking on those days when I can't be bothered to get the bus, any other social stuff not already accounted for etc.

It therefore sounds ok to have £5 a day pure spending, but it really has to go a long way. Although, of course, I am very appreciative of the fact I *have* £5 a day! Again, compared with previous years, this is a very healthy situation to be in.

There is nothing left in the pot. I want to repay the money I have borrowed for my watch. There are things I want to do in the house. There is simply NO OPTION but to make this work.

There is little in the way of manoevering room, but it is doable. And do it, I will.

hypno06

I've got a standing order set up for £150 to a "holiday" account. This, in reality, over the last few months has been used for other things, and the holiday account stands at nil.

We don't have a holiday planned for this year - the children are both heading out to France to ski, but that is generally covered, and I have a watch, so that's me done!!! But we HAVE booked a number of gigs to go to - I'm seeing Snow Patrol in January with Pania, Coldplay and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in June, and a couple of smaller, local gigs along the way.

DD and I also want to do a couple of Theatre trips - either locally or in London.

So, I am thinking that this will be our alternative to a holiday this year. It will just be spread out across the year instead of consolidated into one or two weeks.

Therefore, the £150 is now allocated to Holidays/Gigs/theatre/Weekends away and may well be used in full each month rather than left to build into a pot with which to book a holiday. But it is there. And we will enjoy it!

hypno06

This time last year was the last day in my old house.

'Nuff said!!!

short_bird

And what an extraordinary 12 months it's been:D:j

taxi73

short_bird wrote: »

And what an extraordinary 12 months it's been:D:j

Couldn't agree more and am absolutely loving your thinking out loud as it's helping me too:T:T

hypno06

Yes, it has been an amazing 12 months. Ups and downs, but learning all the time!!

And generally speaking, it is all falling into place. Some way to go, but definitely heading in the right direction!!

yummymommy

Happy 1st Anniversary H :beer:, You've come a very very long way and should be soooooooooooo proud x:T

MrsMoo2U

Happy Anniversary and thanks for making my head hurt with thinking. Between you and Souk over the last few weeks I have been kicked into thinking about several things and I thank you muchly.