The march to financial freedom

Ali-OK

Brogden wrote: »

Ali in orbit!!

Powerful stuff....whatever you're on I'll have some too :beer: !!

Broggers x

I was on a roll...not a bread roll due to gluten . Phone calls were tricky as DIYer was cutting through house brick and breeze block for the electrics and it was noisy!

Today was delivering work, whilst the garden moved on with curvy border now set with plywood and ballast delivered and some laid in the garden - rest tomorrow along with compacting (another cost £35 hire) and I think some more electrical work.

It's DS's Sports Day tomorrow but he's not in any events (thankfully he says) and he's not fussed about me attending, so I've got a day at home. Cake baking is top of the agenda and an early weekly food shop I think - have run out of lunch stuff for the DIYers.

Financials:
- bank account checked
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Inbox Pounds - up at £16.59
- Qmee - still at 72p in the pot

Annual interest statement for DS's own savings account (Christmas/Birthday money one) arrived and he's chuffed to see his £2k ish earnt him £64 odd in interest for the year. He likes free money too .

Hope everyone's had a good day - looking like a warm sunnier one here tomorrow thankfully.

Ali-OK

Evening Diary

A quick (for me ) update today as already late.

Another lemon cake made this morning - with a lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream icing - see how those DIYers work a bit quicker with cake inside them :rotfl:. Garden progress is ballast all laid and flattened with the hired wacker - the good news is DIYer got it FOC :T .

Weekly food shop done early as expected - spent £36.29, but £9.99 of that was a square set of quality cake tins . I usually avoid the non-food parts of the store but these caught my eye and join the 1 round cake tin I own. Got to watch I don't start on a treats-fest.

Dinner was an Ald! shoulder of pork - highly recommended - great crackling and very tasty with roast trimmings, plenty left for tomorrow evening and the DIYers have opted to have it with HM wedges and sauce.

Lots of work stuff coming in, so the part-time few weeks is looking a distant dream - the curse of SE is doing everything in case it dries up, the upside being garden spends/savings get replaced quicker.

Financials:
- bank account checked
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Inbox Pounds - bigger jump to £16.79
- Qmee pot still 72p
- New survey from P!necone in and done - another £3 on it's way :j

Banked the £31 in change too.

Busy day tomorrow - all the patio stuff arrives, as does sand and stuff. I'll be at DS's school for the afternoon, then out with him to the school show for the evening. Bit of work in the morning and Friday too.

Soon be the weekend at the rate it's flying by

AlexLK

All good news, Ali.

Food / cake sounds delicious as always, I wish Mrs K enjoyed cooking but don't suppose that's going to happen anytime soon. My son has been asking if we can make a cake again, any ideas?

Ali-OK

Alex, I was pleased to read about Little K enjoying his new school and looking forward to September - excellent stuff.

I'd recommend the Mary Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake - it really is easy and I adapted it slightly as 1.5 eggs doesn't make life easy :rotfl:

4oz unsalted butter softened (I chopped it, put on a side plate and microwaved for 20 secs)
4oz caster sugar
4oz self raising flour sifted
2 large eggs
3/4 (three-quarters) level teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 (half) fresh lemon zest finely grated

Mix it all up in one go.

Put some greaseproof paper in a loaf shaped tin with it sticking up all round and put the mixture in. Smooth it down to level/into corners.

Bake in a 160C fan oven or 180C electric for 35 minutes. Should be golden, springy and do the knife trick (stick in and if comes out clean it's cooked inside).

Lift out of tin by the greaseproof paper and unpeel. Leave on a cooling rack.

You can decorate in several ways:

Top with a lemon drizzle - which is 2oz sugar and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice mixed together and spread over.

Top with a lemon icing - 1oz of icing sugar, few drops of water, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, drop of yellow colouring - and spread over.

Cut in half and fill with lemon buttercream (1oz of butter, 1oz of caster sugar, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice) or as I did today, lemon curd (I used SB Basics from a jar) spread in the middle and put the buttercream icing on top

If you don't like lemon, substitute that with some C@dburys hot choc powder in the cake mix and make a choc one, similarly for the butter icing and then I sprinkled some choc chips on top.

All varieties have gone done well here . Happy Baking with Little K

AlexLK

Thanks, I'm rather relieved (and so is Mrs K) about him enjoying school but do wonder if pulling him away from the new puppy will prove to be a challenge yet. :rotfl: I think we've made the right decision, I know my old school would not be anywhere near so accommodating and expect he just 'got on with it', which I'm fairly certain wouldn't work with my son.

Anyhow, I will give the recipe a go, it doesn't look too difficult. Lemon first and then if we like it we'll do it as a chocolate cake (son's favourite). As for the butter, it's soft at this time of year anyway??

in_need_of_direction

Alex, I do the most ridiculously simple but unbelieveable tasty chocolate torte made with only six ingredients. Would you like the recipe?

Ali-OK

Post it up INOD Sounds like my type of cooking

Alex, my butter is kept in the fridge so it's hard/cold.

Another bill in today - water - big credit which is why I stopped the ridiculous yo-yo'ing DD, so for the year it's £54.24.

Just totted up the work I've got booked in for delivery next week...after tax/ni deducted that's the patio costs clawed back :T. Could be seeing the mortgage capital payment go up to £940 with a bit of budget jiggery-pokery

Ali-OK

Evening Diary

Everything gone to plan today, except 3 slabs short on the patio order so a phone call tomorrow to sort. Least it's a fairly local firm so can go and collect them. Patio laying starts in earnest tomorrow whilst I'm at work - looking forward to returning to hopefully good progress - expecting it to be a few days job due to cutting, size and the amount of setts to lay.

DS won 2 awards today :T:T and came home with a fab school report which is particularly pleasing as it supports his GCSE choices, albeit the option he didn't get he got a higher mark than the reserve choice, but not much in it. Parking cost was £1.

Bad news he's not got a place on the school transport in September due to their system not having all his SEN details on it so he fell down on the criteria list (distance/age/special circs). I'm going to have to drive the school run, which means my working hours are once again going back to short days :mad:. He is top of the waiting list should someone drop out. Furious doesn't cover how I felt when I got that news and it might stop me taking on another office for now as I might not get the utilisation from it that I do with full time hours. Something to ponder and maybe it's all a blessing in disguise with the health stuff.

Financials:
- bank account checked
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Inbox Pounds - up at £16.88
- Qmee still 72p
- Water bill paid

Noddle free credit report in and they've made the credit score free for life instead of being a sheep like the others and charging for it. Got a nice high number in the Excellent category - that'll do me.

Got a clash of appointments on the date my wisdom tooth is due out, such ashame I'll have to move the dentist back a day or 2 :rotfl:

Cake all eaten again - need to make another one :eek: I've never made so many in such a short space of time :rotfl: . DIYers had to make do with a pack of Ald! choc digestives with their tea this afternoon.

Think that's all the news here today

AlexLK

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Alex, I do the most ridiculously simple but unbelieveable tasty chocolate torte made with only six ingredients. Would you like the recipe?

Yes, please.

Ali-OK wrote: »

Post it up INOD Sounds like my type of cooking

Alex, my butter is kept in the fridge so it's hard/cold.

Another bill in today - water - big credit which is why I stopped the ridiculous yo-yo'ing DD, so for the year it's £54.24.

Just totted up the work I've got booked in for delivery next week...after tax/ni deducted that's the patio costs clawed back :T. Could be seeing the mortgage capital payment go up to £940 with a bit of budget jiggery-pokery

I forgot you're a southern softy, Ali.

Enjoy the £55 water bill whilst it lasts, mine is about £400 per year.

Glad to see the work is paying for the garden improvements and a £940 mortgage capital payment sounds great.

AlexLK

Ali-OK wrote: »

DS won 2 awards today :T:T and came home with a fab school report which is particularly pleasing as it supports his GCSE choices, albeit the option he didn't get he got a higher mark than the reserve choice, but not much in it. Parking cost was £1.

Bad news he's not got a place on the school transport in September due to their system not having all his SEN details on it so he fell down on the criteria list (distance/age/special circs). I'm going to have to drive the school run, which means my working hours are once again going back to short days :mad:. He is top of the waiting list should someone drop out. Furious doesn't cover how I felt when I got that news and it might stop me taking on another office for now as I might not get the utilisation from it that I do with full time hours. Something to ponder and maybe it's all a blessing in disguise with the health stuff.

Well done to your son. However, the transport situation is not good. Would it be worth telling the school you can't get him there due to you work situation and being a single parent there is no one else to take him?