Keeping up appearances.......

PinotGrigio41

I just peeked inside my very extensive shoe closet, and I just couldnt choose which I should wear for the job ! The Christian Louboutins or the DM's ?? Therefore I decided one of each would do the trick !!

Totally agree , a quarter of a bottle of wine ? Whats wrong with the girl !! :rotfl:

Piquant_2

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

I just peeked inside my very extensive shoe closet, and I just couldnt choose which I should wear for the job ! The Christian Louboutins or the DM's ?? Therefore I decided one of each would do the trick !!

Totally agree , a quarter of a bottle of wine ? Whats wrong with the girl !! :rotfl:

Hmmmm and you wonder why you've got a bad back...

A quarter of a bottle is taking things too far, definitely!

Piq

PinotGrigio41

Oh how I wish the bad back was due to the Louboutins, or the Jimmy Choos !! I think they would make the pain all worthwhile !!

Now, shall we wake Mrs Happy and share the remaining 3/4 of her bottle of wine, or shall we drink it ourselves !! :rotfl:

Piquant_2

Let's be polite and not wake her, on this one occasion we'll drink the rest of it. The things you do for friends huh?

Piq

brizzledfw

Hey..same in my house...just polished off a bottle..when just half would have done. OK I did share it with my OH but even so..not very MSE...but very nice:D

I agree about treats. Everyone needs something sometime.

I do like the idea of money magic and financial failings..sounds like the small things thread to me which I am addicted to and totally adore..so will enjoy reading your musings and will continue to get inspiration from you Happy!

Brizzle

chevalier

The thing is, this time you knew they were going to eat you out of house and home, and you planned for it as best you could. I am sure in days gone by, you were 'surprised' by how much extra you spend when they were home, and worried about how to pay for it. If you noticed at all. So this is still progress.
chev

poohbear59

Hey Mrs Happy, You have done brilliantly so far but have had the kids home and I know what a difference that makes. I too have strayed from the straight and narrow and really need to concentrate on the NSDs and keeping my electricity consumption during economy 7 times. I will help you if you will help me. It is easy to start to let things slide. I should know. I am behind you all the way to your Debt Free day.

poohbear59

Also I think that without any treats at all it can be a bit soul destroying especially if you are battling on alone as you are. I feel the need for a tiny splurge so I do understand how you must have really enjoyed your meal out together. In fact I think that when it becomes more of a rarity you enjoy it more.

HappyNow

:) I have literally sneaked into the computer room for one minute just to say thanks to everyone for all the support, and I will be back with a full update asap. I couldn't get near the computer at all last night because Mr [STRIKE]Silly[/STRIKE] Happy needed it, but I have put myself firmly back on the financial track. My 'money magic' report will follow as soon as I get a few minutes alone and I can't wait to get my fix of everyone's diaries :)

HappyNow

Phew, I have finally got the computer to myself and no-one in the house peering over my shoulder.

Well I have rolled up my sleeves and, as Ninno put it, got right back on that MSE horse. I think the effort of trying to hang on to all the purse strings while all the other Happys were holding out their hands for cash got to me a bit. As they don't know we're so skint I really can't blame them, and no-one was asking for anything outrageous. Still, a few quid for bus fares and hair dye and make up and new socks soon adds up and I got a bit disheartened. But no serious harm done and as people have pointed out, the fact that I could even see a problem developing shows the progress I have made. So, heartfelt thanks for all your collective wisdom and support and it is now GAME ON!

So, over the last two days:

Money Magic:
Home-made lunches taken into work (and they were lovely salads using fancy humous/tzatzikis/haloumi that I had extravagantly bought, so healthy and delicious too!).
Washing machine and dishwasher run only in Economy 7 hours.
Immersion heater remains off as it uses so much electricity and we really don't notice the lack of hot water. It will only be switched on the night before weekly cleaning.
Fire not lit in the computer room - I am wearing my dressing gown for extra warmth.
For the last two days I have bought just a 20p Fudge bar for each afternoon's chocolate fix, and cut each one into 35 tiny pieces so it lasted aaages and I didn't feel deprived. I even bought them using money from my copper jar.

Financial failings:
Food waste has been high - two peppers, a portion of shop-bought mashed potatoes, a few slices of bread, half a tin of tomatoes. Probably only £2 worth, but I had that down to zero.
I haven't checked my bank accounts and have lost track of them a bit. I MUST do that today.
Didn't get round to posting the cheque for the coal bill which means I can't take the 5% discount given for paying within seven days - approx £5 lost.

That doesn't sound TOO bad, and the magics offset the failings, so I have probably been financially neutral! But neutral isn't good enough, so today I will do a full fridge/cupboard inventory to use anything going off, sort out those bank accounts, get that slow cooker going (rice pud ) and, most importantly, enjoy quality time with Little Miss Happy who goes back to uni on Sunday. If it costs a few quid to really enjoy her company, so be it.

Supposedly working from home now so must get on, but I will be catching up on diaries in my lunch hour x