Lilt and Jellytots most excellent adventure...

Ali-OK

Lovely to hear all your news, work certainly sounds like it'll be a nicer place once nasty colleague departs and the project sounds right up your street

Happy mud training!

belleandthebudget

Sounds like things are going great, especially at work. Glad to hear it!

supersaver1000

Am so pleased to hear things are going so well Lilty. What a difference just a few weeks makes :T

liltdiddylilt

Hello ladles and jellyspoons.

It is a couple of weeks before Christmas and I have to get back in here because things are going to get dire. Pay rise = tax credit drop that the raise doesn't begin to cover. Next year it will drop off a cliff. I am in no way in bad financial shape, but my goals remain the same. Save, save, save. And I won't be able to do that so easily.

So... I am going to wrap my head around Christmas, and then I am getting back on the horse and counting every penny I absolutely must part with.

Love you all. Hope you are all ok. I see so many hundreds of posts!! How will I ever catch up. xxx

apple_muncher

No need to catch up - just tag along and pick it up as you go along!

Lovely to hear form you xx

BILLIE

So Lilty what are you resolutions for 2016 going to be then? Great to see you back posting . Need to tighten my belt to. I have a big birthday next year and want to celebrate in style. But with Christmas around the corner am going to spoil my nearest and dearest and then prepare my spreadsheets. How is our little Jelly? You still keeping up with diet and fitness? And how is mum? I am loving new Metafit classes and Boot Camp on a Saturday morning outside - regardless of the weather!! Look forward to hearing your plans? Xxxx

Westie983

Welcome back my friend,

I have missed you :-)

MeandO

I'm here and tagging along for the ride

XX

stepuptothepl8

Welcome back xx

liltdiddylilt

Why is January so expensive? Why does it take so long to get to payday? Why don't I have enough money despite having thousands floating through accounts right now?!!?

Evening ladies and gents. It's taken me longer than I thought to wander back... And I totally have not kept up with YNAB again. And my receipts are all over the place. So I have to restart it... again. I'm not doing too well.

Knowledge to impart: If your fridge acts dodgy and ruins all of the raw meat... also throw out any meat you already cooked and stored in there. Don't take it to work on a Monday, contract campylobacter and end up losing 6.5lbs over 2 and a half sleepless days and nights. I had my first sick day in over 18 months today and the blooming weight will go back on shortly. Today I have managed a protein shake and some shortbread. I still have a terribly sore tummy. Live and learn.

Tomorrow I will be back at work armed with my real diet food and hopefully back on the wagon properly. I was doing so well stupid fridge.

What else to tell you? I saved money the other day by taking the hairdressing scissors to Jellytots hair myself. I even cut in some long layers which are lovely. In total I took off a much needed 4 inches of hair. It is taking some getting used to but it had a tendency to turn into a rats nest overnight so it was required.

Meanwhile: Nursery costs are skewering me. My extra day at work is earning me less than expected thanks to tax, NI and childcare. I found a ballet class for Jelly only to find that despite paying the money upfront for 3 lessons the class I had signed up for did not exist. So back to square one. Got my money back. When she goes to school in September things might be better since so many different gym and trampolining classes etc open up for her at my sports centre.

My dad let me loose on his cash ISA. I transferred it to a FNW stocks and shares ISA and all was going well, £56 up in 3 weeks, versus the £41 he earned on it overall in the last 12 months. And then chaos hit the markets and suddenly he was down a lot :eek: but the loss has halved and though the markets are crazy I am keeping him in the game.

Not much else to tell you right now. The stomach cramps are nasty and I struggle to concentrate. Work will be fun tomorrow if this continues. Love you all. xxx