The impossible dream

Tahlullah.H

My £150 rebate through Council Tax has arrived.  I was going to pay it into the Electric bill, but I think I will hold on to it to see where it is needed most.

Went to the office and that was a joy!  Not been in for a while.  The fuel cost was high, so I need to get used to budgeting for that on a weekly basis.

Waiting to see what my new wage is like, to see if it will cover my essential expenditure, or if I need to re-budget other money.

NSD's are out the window.  I seem to be spending on a daily basis, but never on anything frivolous.  It would be nice to one day just waste money on fripperies.

greent

I never have any success with NSDs ! - but I figure as long as I don't blow too much on silly stuff then it's all OK. Some months are tighter than others - but that's where our 'slush' account gets used - we send some money in there every month in case of need and some months its used, some it's not - like an overdraft pot of our own money instead of debt 😁

Trades people are so hassle nowadays - it felt so much easier a few years ago to book them and have them turn up - although maybe I have my rose tinted glasses on - if I looked back over my old diary I am sure I would also find hassles going back over the years! 

savingholmes

Glad you enjoyed going into the office even if the fuel bill was high. 

I don't do NSDs. I just try to budget in a lot of different categories so I have guilt free spends and know when to 'stop'.

TallGirl

Hope the building works gets done soon seems a shame to miss out on summer rentals as well. Garden office sounds lovely but time in actual office with people isn't bad either. Bit of a mix would be nice. 

Tahlullah.H

My BG smart meter has jus been fitted, so hopefully, that will help with regular reads. Shame it won't help with reducing the amount of electric I use!

Bad news is that my laptop is regularly missing letters, so it either needs cleaning, or replacing.  It is really bad.   May try a shop for repair first. Not had it that long, so really annoying.  Added expense I could do without.

Savings,  I enjoy NSD's as it shows I can control what I buy, but I feel ok as I earn about £100 a month on surveys anyway, so no excessive guilt with unbudgeted spends.

savingholmes

£100 on surveys is pretty good. I always used to get screened out so gave up. It doesn't help that I don't watch tv and I skip adverts / ignore them on utube as well so if they wanted feedback on an ad I couldn't give it!

Tahlullah.H

No, I don't watch TV to do surveys.  I only use Prolific, One poll and YouGov.  I do also scan my receipts, which help occasionally, but yes, I think it is worthwhile.  More money in my purse that I didn't have to earn.

I also do Shop and Scan, as well as collecting Nectar &Tesco's points for for Christmas, so these are not included in my monthly total.

Hopefully, things will sort in the future.  Right now, I think I need a real holiday, where I can just 'be'.  I just want a period of no drama.

savingholmes

No drama is good. I'm away this week and it's pretty much giving me that. It's nice to be away from the long to do list too.

Tahlullah.H

I now have a date for the delivery and installation of the Garden Room.  So much to do once it is up, but at least I will be able to use it, even if it's not complete.  Next step is to get power into it and buy the underfloor heating stuff to be fitted and then it can be tiled.  Until then, the wonderful invention called an Extension Lead will come into it's own!

Chimney still not done.  Really losing the will to live over it but not a lot I can do.

Have to cut the grass soon, it is getting long and I think I have done my bit for wildlife and the bees by leaving it alone this long.  Will try to get it done at the weekend.

Looked at the First Direct saving account, but have decided against disrupting everything/standing orders etc for it.  I know that any money coming in is worth it, but I just feel that £65 over the year isn't a lot, as I can earn that in surveys in a month.

The BG Smart meter doesn't work, it can't get a signal to transmit the reading.  Absolutely unbelievable.  You would think they would have checked to see what the most used network is in the area and then ensure they fit a system that uses it, but no!  The go ahead and fit the stupid thing and it doesn't work.  Oh well.  No loss to me beyond having to continue sending in regular electric readings.

The good news is that the laptop is ok.  It just needed re-booting so one less thing to worry bout financially.

Made a sale on Ebay - one more thing that has gone that is positive toward the great declutter, so I am already £44 into making my £100 for the month of May.  Plus, I have another item with a bid - hopefully they won't retract the bid, so all is good.

I have a lot of large items that I need to dispose of.  I know people talk about using Facebook.  I may have to have a look at that, as I am never sure that ebay really gets bigger items sold, due to distance.

The biggest expenditure continues to be Diesel. Based on 3 weeks, I will be averaging about £350 a month, which is definitely hurting my pocket and doing bad things to the budget.  But, it can't be helped at the moment.  I have to continue to reduce my expenditure and increase my income where possible so its available to fill the tank.

The weather still isn't great, so making the most of the open fire on an evening and the electric blanket at night, with the electric throw when working.  I really need to exercise!  So, I have also bought a rowing machine to help.  My fitness levels have dropped significantly and I need to do something - hopefully  a bit of rowing will help until I can start swimming again.

Waiting for a Calor Gas tank refill which should happen this month, another £900 for the talk they estimate; plus the electric bill is the big one to worry about.  Not particularly concerned at the moment, but it is always there as a worry come October.  I do not think I will have built up enough reserves, but every little helps.  Just use less of the things that don't matter so you can afford the things you want to do.

Positive - the liners for the air fryer were a great call, and I feel much better about using it, now that I don't have to spend my life cleaning it!  Definitely spending less on cooking with more use of the air fryer, the microwave and the slow cooker.  Still have to steam my vegetables, so I don't know a way to do that cheaper, without having to buy another gadget.  I am running out of room in the kitchen with all the added extras.  I may need to go through it all and see if there is anything that can go to make room.

So much to do and so little motivation!  I am hoping that summer makes a difference.

savingholmes

Glad your garden room is progressing even if the builder for the chimney is being annoying. Sorry about the impact it's having on your rental plans.

Annoying with the bills - and yes they are hard to juggle. I think a lot of people will need to cut back / watch their budgets a lot more carefully.

Hope you have a lovely weekend.