After every storm the sun will smile

b0nz0

Morning!

I seem to be in some kind of bizarre productive mode today, not that I'm complaining mind you. I'm going to try and make the most of it while it lasts. So far I've phoned tax credits to let them know I'm going to earn more than I thought. I've worked out that I think that will mean an overpayment of approx £900 :eek: hoping they'll just stop all payments which will mean ill only have a max of approx £450 to repay out of pocket which will be done as soon as we receive the letter. If payments somehow continue i'll put them in a separate account and leave them there until we hear how much we've been over paid by.

Have also phoned the electoral dept as my name appears very randomly on the electoral roll for some strange reason. They seem to have duplicated my first name and second middle name and completely missed off my surname?! Anyway, all sorted now

Next task is to get copies of all mine and the husbands credit reports and start the clean up. We've been discharged almost 3 years now so it's time to get the finger out and get cracking!

b0nz0

Been working a tonne of overtime so I've barely had time to scratch my bum (nice mental image for you all there) let alone spend money. :j Hubby on the other hand decided to take a random trip to family 2 hours away so a fair amount of £ was spent on petrol and bits and bobs on the journey (I wasn't there to supervise the spending hehe).

In my dfw frame of mind I refuse to dip into the first savings we've ever had so I've managed to buy enough food to top up the cupboards for the next week for only £25:T Have to say I'm loving the reduced section of Mr.T's! I managed to get:

6 finest leek and cheese pastry doodahs for £3.75 (should have been £15)
Whole chicken £2.79 (should have been £6.19)
5 x Various healthy living fresh steam meals at £3.57 (should have been £9.50)
2 x fresh pizza £3.50 ( should have been £5.00)

Also topped up on fresh fruit and salad veg and a root veg pack to make a big pot of soup. Still have a pack of mince in the freezer, a lasagne cooking for tonight, ham joint in the fridge and various bags of frozen veg, rice and pasta so we should be fine until payday next Monday. May need to top up on bread and milk but I know when to go to get the bread at 7p a loaf

I find this month dragging, I just want to hurry up and get overpaying. I am so impatient!! :A

b0nz0

Hubby's payslip was available to view today so I have been number crunching. I used to hate doing that but now I seem to get some kind of perverse pleasure out of it .

Anyhoo it got me thinking ... We waste so much money on food even though we meal plan etc. So, after payday I'm going to do the grocery challenge and try my best to stick to £250 for the month. It'll be tough but if I stay strong, don't give in to whines from the sprats or husband and make an interesting menu I'm determined we can do it! This evening will be spent recipe hunting and getting tips from the experts on the old style board

madhatter90

Gosh, I can't imagine trying to cook for others. I only cook for myself and I get so bored! But I'm a rubbish cook so whenever I get into a mood and try something fancy I never seem to get it right, sadly. I'm sure you know of it, but a great blog for cheap food is A Girl Called Jack and there's the website created by MSE-ers - Cheap-Family-Recipes.

It's the balance between 'tasty' and 'cheap' that's so difficult isn't it?

b0nz0

Thanks madhatter , I've nosed at her blog for a while and made some if her recipes which are great! I love cooking but sadly haven't had much time for it lately.

Soooo, been a while since I posted last but still on track. Again a shed load of overtime is being done which is handy

Hubby was paid last Monday. All bills accounted for plus paid for 12 months road tax, paid off the excess on the gas bill so we don't fall behind in case our dd doesn't cover it for some reason (paranoid Pete!!), and £100 has gone to the slush fund. I get paid on Friday so will overpay the car loan by £600 and we should be left with about £200 spending money for the month. :T
Hubby's bought himself a multi gym with the rest of the leftovers which I think is a fair trade as we have cancelled our gym membership which he wasn't thrilled about but now he is much happier, phew!

Did a mahussive shop and think we now have enough for the rest of the month. Will just need to top up on milk and fresh fruit&veg etc. have £100 put by for that so all should be grand.

Not so much overtime on offer as of next month for me but hopefully hubby can take over and get some in until I can get some more. This money saving malarkey is addictive!!!

b0nz0

Payday :T hoozah!!

Before we had a chance to change our minds I overpaid the car by £600 bringing us down to just over £2200. I'm glad I did because even by the end of the day I was mentally spending loads and if I had had access to it who knows what may have happened.

Hubby's gone out tonight and has taken £40 spends. Hoping he comes home with change but not too fussed if he doesn't. He very rarely goes out so I don't grudge him at all.

Eldest has a party tomorrow so will have to go out in the morning and try pick up a cheap bday present. I never have a clue what to buy.

Commission is looking pretty healthy for next month so far. Should find out final figures on Sunday or Monday. Now just to wait another whole month until payday again *sigh*