Diary of a home owner wannabe (my 6 year journey)

Dobbibill

pennyforthepot wrote: »

I used to have a travel mug but for some strange reason my DH decided to drill a hole in the bottom and use it as the base of a megaphone for a fancy dress murder mystery party we went to :mad:

PFTP x

At least he didn't buy a megaphone, which is very MSE :money:

Families fill our life with ups and downs but essentially it all makes for fond memories. Overcoming challenges whether physical, mental or emotional will make you all stronger individuals.

I'm glad you are updating the diary regularly and if it means more focus on other things before money in some of the posts then so be it, that is what a diary is all about. It's about the journey not just the savings & bills but also the peaks and troughs of daily life.

keep posting........challenges, successes, giggles, laughs, moans, groans and good old fashioned rants..............it's the scenic route :T

DB

pennyforthepot

Dobbibill wrote: »

At least he didn't buy a megaphone, which is very MSE :money:

Families fill our life with ups and downs but essentially it all makes for fond memories. Overcoming challenges whether physical, mental or emotional will make you all stronger individuals.

I'm glad you are updating the diary regularly and if it means more focus on other things before money in some of the posts then so be it, that is what a diary is all about. It's about the journey not just the savings & bills but also the peaks and troughs of daily life.

keep posting........challenges, successes, giggles, laughs, moans, groans and good old fashioned rants..............it's the scenic route :T

DB

i like that DB - The Scenic Route :T

PFTPx

pennyforthepot

Busy start to my weekend - got all my washing ironing and vacuuming done first thing in the morning and then took DS to his programming course which I normally do on a Tuesday, and dragged DD along to get her out the house. Managed to find DS a gaming hoodie in a charity shop for £2 :money: and also picked up some cheap fruit from the market - I wish there was one nearer home as I saved a fair few pounds on it. Picked up an xmas pressie for DD and also a new razor and pack of blades for her that cost a bloomin fortune :eek: - spent the rest of the time window shopping in clothes shops with her. It's such hard work with her at the moment and she is stretching my patience to its limit.

Managed to defrost both the freezers which has been on my list for several weeks now-got rid of a few bits but not too much. I was hoping to cross a couple more things off my list but after cooking dinner I resigned to the sofa. Downside to the day was the heating broke DH thinks that the radiators need bleeding as the one in our bedroom works and DSs is on slightly so I'm hoping he will look at that today. Oh and also had to lend DH £20 as he is still skint and he had to take DSS2 to a university open day in London - not sure if I'll see that again!

Today I really must get on top of my admin which keeps sitting at the top of my to do list without being ticked off. I also have to do some food shopping for the week, cook sunday lunch which is roast pork and finish off some sewing which has been hanging around for a couple of weeks. Oh and make some cakes for the school macmillan coffee morning tomorrow. Did I mention business accounts :eek:

Daily food budget:£12.87
Daily gas & electricity usage: £4.99

Enjoy your Sunday

PFTPx

gallygirl

pennyforthepot wrote: »

took DS to his programming course which I normally do on a Tuesday

Crikey, that's a bit early isn't it :eek::eek::eek:

edinburgher

Positive thoughts for DD PFTP, I've had my own battles with depression and it can be a horrible, debilitating illness to fight. From my experience, the best thing that you can probably do is to make sure she talks to people about it, even if it's not you. Most people struggling against some form of depression won't do it themselves, so a bit of loving motherly pestering may help

Ps. Completely unrelated, but some male shaving products are cheaper than their female counterparts. Granted, not so much razor blades, but Mrs E has discovered that it costs less than half the amount if she uses my sensitive shaving foam with aloe vera etc. etc. than buying a 'girl' equivalent. Now that I think about it, the crafty woman has just got me to pick up the tab for her beautification! :rotfl:

slowlyfading

I hope things with your DD are alright - I had a nightmare of a time throughout my teenage years, and sometimes wish I had talked to someone at the start before it got so bad but, just talking to someone (even if it's not you) will be a massive help, if she's willing to do so of course, knowing she has a loving, supportive family network will also go a long way, so well done you too

Also, aren't female things so much more expensive than the male stuff?! I use the male version of sensitive shaving foam as it's half the price and although the smell is more manly, does the job just fine

pennyforthepot

Thanks guys for the support with DD - your right Edinburgher its so debilitating for her and frustrating at that age as she so wants to be happy but can't understand why shes not. I think that may be half the battle with her - not know why she is so down. We do talk as much as possible but its fairly limiting as she can't say what the matter is, hopefully seeing the school counselor will help her too.

Such a busy week this week. Off to work early today as we have an event on, should be resting in bed on my day off! I have also managed to squeeze in some more hours for my friends mum who I looked after not long ago. Her cleaner is having an operation so I am taking over for 6 weeks - just four hours a week. I'm a glutten for punishment.

Fairly low spend this week. Not much on food as I already had most of it. Hoping for a NSD today

Need a shower to wake me up!

PFTp x

pennyforthepot

Wow what balmy weather we're having - how nice not to put the heating on in October :money:

Spent yesterday at relatives - visiting the new baby. Aww how cute - though happy to hand her back after a cuddle. It was nice to see my mum again - its been a while.

Half term for the kiddies - 2 weeks! This could be an expensive one. DD has plans to go to Thorpe Park on Tuesday (so glad I got the annual pass from Tescos points as an xmas pressie) and DS is off to ComiCon next Saturday with a friend. I'm going to see if I can reduce my work hours for the next couple of weeks as I would like to spend some time with them. DD went to see the school counselor on Friday and then went for a sleep over at her friends and then off to her dads for the weekend so I've yet to find out how she got on but the very fact that she went to her friends and has plans to go to Thorpe is definitely a good sign.

Did a big food shop on Saturday as the kids will need lunches as well as dinners. I have written the menu plan on the wipe board in the kitchen and lunch options on there as well so there is no excuse for them to go hungry.

Not a massively spendy week - house insurance and weekly food bill were the biggest expenditures. Picked up a little pressie for the new arrival and some flowers for the new mum but nothing at all extravagant. I bought DD a gluten free recipe magazine from Mr T - it wasn't until I checked the till receipt that I realised that it cost £6!! won't be buying that one again!

Off to do a bit of admin before sitting down for the evening - so nice not to have to cook sunday roast for anyone it gives me so much more time.

Predicted savings for this month currently stand at £250 :eek: that's what happens when you buy a car!

Daily food budget:£8.48
Spend to date:£348

Daily gas & electric usage:£2.37
Spend to date: £83.82

Just seen my signature - not sure whats happened to all the dates!

PFTP x

pennyforthepot

First week of the half term gone - as has lots of money! I seem to have lost my extreme MS touch - its the little bits here and there that I seem to have lost control of and these are the bits that make all the difference. I gave £20 to DD for her trip to Thorpe Park - she has helped me cook dinner everyday this week and is going to next week so I think that is a fair swop), I've spent around £10-£15 on the kids (a couple of magasines for DD to try and distract her from feeling down, a few bars of chocolate etc etc), I had to buy DS a new belt -£16, parking in Westfield £6.50 blah blah blah- you can see where I'm going with this. DS is going to ComiCon with his friend so I paid for his ticket and also his train fare and lunch - around £50 in total. I have said that if he's sees anything there that he really wants to get it and I will give it to him for his birthday as he is 16 next month and I'm struggling to think of something to get him. DD and I went to Westfield on Tuesday where she bought all her Christmas presents for the family and I bought all her Christmas presents and birthday presents (bday at the beginning of Jan). She mainly wanted makeup and body stuff. OMG the price of make up in MAC!! but that is what she wanted so that is one person sorted for xmas and bday Also managed to get some slippers for DS and DH. Slowly getting there. So all in all an expensive week.

I worked two full days this week and two half days with one day off which worked well because it meant I was able to do stuff with DD and still earn a bit of money- I'm hoping to do the same next week too.

My tax, MOT and insurance are due for my mini next month and I have decided to SORN the car for 6 to 12 months to see if we can manage with just the one car. Ideally I would like to keep hold of the mini but I'm not sure how it will thrive not been driven for a couple of years - I will need to look into that. I still need to get it MOT'ed and serviced to make sure it is in good condition but should save some money on my insurance for a year.

Busy weekend again - minimum amount of house work though as I am determined to tackle those business accounts :eek: Also need to do my menu plan and shopping for next week and hopefully going up to see my DM and family tomorrow. Must let her know there will be an extra 6 for Sunday dinner

Daily food budget: £12.71
Spend to date for October:£361/£450

Daily gas &electric consumption:£4.99
Spend to date for October: £113/£160

Have a great weekend guys
PFTP x

pennyforthepot

How lovely to get an extra hour in the day - more time to finish off those business accounts :eek:

DS and his friend had a great time at ComiCon yesterday - although Iwas expecting him to come back with some change in his pocket!

I dragged DD out in the afternoon just for a walk to try and distract her from her black cloud. In my quest for minimalism several months ago I got rid of a lot of plates bowls cups etc with a view to having enough for everyone and a couple spare for guests - forgetting of course that no one in this house other than me and DD is capable of washing a plate or even turning on the dishwasher. So we decided on our walk that we would purchase everyone their own distinct cup bowl large plate and small plate. £40 lighter we walked out of Cargo with a multitude of different coloured crockery. To our suprise everyone thought it was a great idea -lets see if they are happy to wash their own stuff up. Lets call it a piece of mind spend

Popped into Tesco to pick up a few bits and came out having spent £74 :eek:I did buy DS an electric blanket for £25 as part of his xmas pressies (is that wrong poor kid-I remember getting a double bed for my 16th birthday - never got over it!) It appears to be mainly on fruit and nuts that the money went as I didn't buy anything for a meal.I can't believe how expensive nuts, DD and me are trying to incorporate them into our daily diet as they are highly nutritious - bloomin' highly expensive too :eek: I think I will look into bulk purchasing them in large bags - may look on Amazon or Holland and Barrat.

Have agreed with DH that I will SORN the mini and see how things go. I'm going to tax it for 6 months as my car insurance isn't up for another couple of months and I have a full tank of petrol in it.

Ok so my spend wasn't great yesterday, this is a prime example as to why my savings will be around £300 this month (oh and the new car!)

Off for a family visit to my mums this afternoon - looking forward to it. As there are so many of us and they are already cooking for 11 I have cooked up a chicken and will do some potatoes to take with us

Daily Food Budget:£6.83
October Spend:£409/£450

Daily Gas & Electric Spend:£5.37
October Spend: £119/£160

Enjoy that hour in bed

PFTP x