Two Pennies Left

Rainbow_Bridge

Love the lilly day xx.

The presents for family members sound really lovely and well thought out, and leather is definately an investment, so that can go in the asset column rather than expenditure ???

Fortune_Smiles

Mr F got home early today so we are wined, dined and roasting in front of the log burner already - bliss.

MS activity:

• a few more Fleabay items listed last night - mainly the Clinique bonus items I don't use so hopefully I'll recoup some of the cost of the products I bought recently
• Step class this morning. I can tell I'm getting fitter each time so money well spent
• reconciled the bank accounts - all is well
• a cupboard lunch
• Waitr0$£ delivered. Only 70p under budget but I have transferred that to the savings already. A couple of 2 for 1 offers so a free C0v£nt Gard£n Soup and Multi-pack of Mini Ch£ddar$. Two packets of Digestive and one packet of Ginger Nut biscuits in one bag which I didn't order and hadn't been charged for. Mr F will do well for packed lunches next week :rotfl:No point letting them know - they just tell you to keep anything that's been delivered in error
• rounded up the bank account so another 60p to the savings
• Meatball Stew made with passata and rosemary from the garden for dinner tonight (Mr F's choice from the menu plan). We had it with garlic flatbread and there's plenty left for another meal.
• my builder is coming to pick up the Project tomorrow. He asked if I could offset the cost (£160) against the money we are still holding for him for the garage and call it quits. Very happy with that as I'd kept back £200 just in case. So another £40 to the savings.

Mr F will need to do some work this weekend as he has a big presentation to the Board next week but at least he's at home. He's only away one night next week too. Good job - I may forget what he looks like soon :rotfl:

Have a great weekend

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

We had a lovely evening out at our neighbours Cheese & Wine Party last night. My Stuffed Dates and Spiced Nuts were a hit Mr F took some of the beer donated by DSS1 and I was provided for by Avi0$. The live directly opposite us across the lane so no worries about getting home either. A fun and cheap night out.

MS and non MS:

• had to refund a large Fleabay sale of Mr F's. He had given me a photo of the item but neglected to tell me that he poached it from a Forum and it wasn't the actual item we were selling. The photo showed the item had 9 parts - ours only has 7! I only realised once we came to parcel it up. £64 plus listing and Paypal costs down I will have to quiz him in future on his Fleabay items.
• made Curry Coconut Fish Parcels for dinner from the meal plan. It's a recipe I hadn't tried before and turned out to be very tasty but a bit dry so I will use a little more liquid next time. I bought Tilapia fillets for the recipe as they were cheaper than the other traditional white fish. Again, something new to us but I will definately continue to use them - they were lovely. I didn't know how large the fillets would be so bought 4 just in case. 1 each turned out to be plenty so I've put the other 2 in the freezer and will use them in the meal plan for next week
• a NSD yesterday and likely for today as well
• we put the heating on this week for the first time. Half an hour in the morning when we get up and an hour before bedtime. It's not hugely cold here but we have started getting a lot of condensation on the inside of the windows so it's to stop the house getting damp really. The log burner is filling the gaps nicely and our £20 a load logs are burning well.

I've been helping Mr F put his Board presentation together but I can see out of the corner of my eye that he's nodding :rotfl:Might settle down for a snooze myself soon.

Hope you're all having a relaxing day

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

My builder picked up the Project yesterday so the drive looks nice and tidy again now.

The remains of Friday's Meatball Stew with Carrot & Potato Mash and Peas for dinner. So minimal cooking for me :T

The trouble with log burners is they are very hard to leave - going to try to tear myself away now to do the washing up.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Heard on the weather forecast that arctic weather is expected towards the end of the week! Well that was enough to galvanise a girl into action. So:

• boiler service booked (that'll be about £100)
• oil tank filled (around £320)
• Klargester emptying and service booked (probably about £200)

We have a remote oil tank gauge which is currently reading 4 (goes up to 10). That should last us until December but if you get a cold snap it can go down quite quickly. Also the price of the oil goes up the further into winter you get. Went through Boiler Juice so got a good price and, if more people order before my delivery, it might go down a bit more. However, I hadn't budgetted for any more oil until next month so it doesn't leave anything to go into the savings this month Had to be done though - I mean... ARCTIC conditions :eek:

The Klargester won't help with keeping the house warm but it is due and that was in the budget as was the boiler.


Other MS news:

• Step class this morning. Really pleased at how my fitness levels are improving
• There was still some Meatball Stew and Carrot & Potato Mash left over so I had that for lunch today
• Neighbour came round to discuss replacing the fence so it looks like that's going ahead. Think he's waiting for all the foliage to die back
• Mr F is at home tonight so Hoisin Prawn & Noodle Stir Fry on the menu for dinner tonight from this week's plan

Mr F's company has two main sites and he splits his time between the two. We've already accepted an invite to the Christmas party for one site and have now received an invite for the other! Would be lovely to go to both but we've also just arranged to go to a Panto with some friends and the dates may clash. Going to a Panto is on our Christmas bucket list as neither Mr F or I have ever been to one. Oh no we haven't!

I'm off with the girls to Bromley tomorrow for an annual Christmas shopping trip. Will be a top day out but I will have to watch the pennies now. Still, I'll be coming home to a warm house

Happy Monday

Fortune x

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

Fortune_Smiles wrote: »

Heard on the weather forecast that arctic weather is expected towards the end of the week!

Yeah, I heard that too. And it might put pay to me bragging that I haven't turned the heating on yet!!!

Fortune_Smiles

Had an absolutely fabulous day out shopping with the girls yesterday. The total damage was:

• 2 pairs of pyjamas pour moi. The crunch came when I was cooking Mr F's breakfast this week and my pyjama bottoms fell down at a critical moment with the poached eggs I had worn them to the point of collapse! Sadly, the two tops and one pair of the bottoms will have to go back as they look pants. One pair are fine so, if I get some fleece pyjama tops to go with these and the too big gym trousers I bought a while back, that should see me through the approaching Arctic weather
• a scarf and gloves set to match my new winter coat
• piles of Christmas presents
• several refuelling stops - Cheese Scone & Hot Chocolate mid-morning, Crab Salad and a glass of Prosecco for lunch, Almond Daim Cake & Cranberry Drink mid-afternoon
• some Hotel Chocolat Eton Mess chocolates for dinner (Mr F is away)
• was so motivated by my progress with the Christmas presents I did a whole lot more Christmas shopping on line when I got home. So I've nearly finished all the presents :T

I haven't been out shopping on this scale since I finished work. It was lovely to have a bit of a blow out and at least I managed to stick to the budget on the Christmas presents. Mr Vi$a is looking a bit poorly now though - I did a whole afternoon's admin work today to try to redress the balance.

Now to get back on the wagon :rotfl:

Fortune x

lulabelle1

Wow Fortune, that sounds like heaven - the refuelling stops sound especially appealing.

I've got a lunch date with a girlfriend on Saturday and am really looking forward to it.

I laughed out loud in regards to your PJ bottoms!!

Fortune_Smiles

lulabelle1 wrote: »

Wow Fortune, that sounds like heaven - the refuelling stops sound especially appealing.

I've got a lunch date with a girlfriend on Saturday and am really looking forward to it.

I laughed out loud in regards to your PJ bottoms!!

Hi Lulabelle. Christmas is the only time I have a big splurge now. All the more fabulous as it doesn't happen very often. Have a lovely lunch on Saturday.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Woo Hoo! Pay day :j

Mr F's salary is looking very healthy at the moment as his temporary company car is very low on tax, HMRC have sent a new tax code which takes into account this year's overpayments and he doesn't start paying any pension contributions until his probation is over. I'll have to make sure I don't get too used to it though as it will come down over the next six months.

So the Monthly Money Shuffle commences:

• I got paid today for my admin job - again! They must have resubmitted my June claim when it went missing so I've been paid twice. I'm due to send another claim in soon so I'll deduct this payment from that one
• an a/c tidy up of £3.20 to the savings - just to get to a round £4k figure and exactly a third of our savings target
• a couple of hours more admin work this morning
• Wait0$£ shop yesterday - hoping to come in about £20 under budget
• tickets for the Panto have come through (they're behind you :rotfl:) - £15.20 each. We are going with three other families and will go out for dinner after.

No chance of an MS weekend - we're off to Poole for the surprise 50th Birthday Party. Mr F is keen to stay and have a look around on the Sunday so I'd better pack my winter woolies - the Arctic is coming tomorrow apparently :rotfl:

Fortune x