EH - Keeping on track. (AKA focus Woman! FOCUS!)

EssexHebridean

I think everyone records NSD's slightly differently, don't they. I've always taken it that anything that automatically leaves the bank account isn't counted, but anything where I have to consciously spend is - the other way wouldn't work for me as I'd be considering all sorts of things as "unavoidable" I suspect! :rotfl:

Puplet is a Cavachon - Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Bichon Frise - suspect this one is going to end up looking more cavvy than Bichon, but we'll see - she's clearly going to be a proper handful, one of those tremendously intelligent pups who makes connections very early on. Made one step of progress last night though - namely getting her settled in her puppy crate without clamouring to get out as she had been - think Mum was quite grateful!

So, diesel was £47 last night, and we're just one fill up away from getting another Morrisons £5 voucher too. their fuel loyalty scheme is excellent - gives you 10 points per litre, and 5000 points are worth £5. I'm going to be using those vouchers in the course of next month for Frugal Food february too, so another one to come next time is good timing. Shouldn't need more fuel in MrEH's car now until the beginning of February, and I'm aiming to get mine right through to the end of February without any more as she had a complete tankful last month.

This weekend is likely to be a bit spendy - I need to transfer some money over from my "fun" account to cover some of that. We're staying right in the city centre this time, accommodation is already paid - so that should cut down on the extra travel costs - we can walk to the beer festival venue on Saturday morning from the City Centre, although we will probably get the tram back as we'll be with other people. There will be cafe breakfasts both days (again, meeting others) and admission, food and beer at the beer festival. Meeting up with lots of pals over the weekend though so it'll be well worth it! :T:beer:

Pippilongstocking

EH - puppy whisperer! Puppy sounds supercute and clever

Enjoy the weekend! NSD's I count as non-avoidables or avoidables - I chop and change.



Well done on this months grocery spends - you're going great I'm looking forward to February too!

I realise (a bit like the tube) I'll need retraining in things when I move especially shopping for food/petrol/data stuff/transport on trains etc.

I'd like to request a pencil in retraining of pippi for sometime later this year please...........

mooomin

Am I right in thinking you're in the Islands somewhere Pippi?

Where are you moving to?

EssexHebridean

I'll swap you some "mainland retraining" for that oatcake making lesson then...! (Barter system eh - can't be beat! :rotfl:)

*whispers* Puplet is quite the cutest thing I've seen in a long while. I'm utterly smitten, I must confess! :happyhear

EssexHebridean

Silly little money saving thing instigated: connected my phone into the office wi-fi network (with permission, I hasten to add!) - that means I shouldn't use any of my data allowance during the day, regardless of where the pub over the road decide to keep their router! :T

Data now turned off altogether - I'll revert to consciously turning it on when I want to use it - should make me focus more on what I'm using it for, too.

Also, managed to get £10 Red Spotted Hanky Credit through o2 Priority moments this morning - thanks to MSE's twitter account. As long as it goes through OK we'll use that to reduce the cost of our onward train travel in Scotland at easter.

Greying_Pilgrim

EssexHebridean wrote: »

be warned Greying - I may be stalking your diary for inspiration! :rotfl:

But Hun, I'm going to be camped out on your blog for February - getting inspiration from YOU! :rotfl::rotfl:

Loving the sound of the festival of the foamy stuff Is it there that you discovered that really good 'greasy spoon' cafe? If so, doesn't time fly, coz you must of wrote about it last year on the blog

Greying

EssexHebridean

Ooh yes, I'd forgotten that I blogged about that - that's right though - The Koffee Pot - we're meeting pals in there for breakfast tomorrow! We saw it while we were wandering past, decided it met all the criteria (clearly full of locals, condensation on the windows, and a menu with a bit of thought gone into it) and promptly found about 8 of our mates wandered in a short time later! :T

I did score another NSD yesterday - so 10/20 so far this month. In theory I can get another 4 next week - we'll see.

Shopping this morning - and, get this - I'm 7p over my £75 budget for the month! BUT £11.50 of that was the washing powder/dishwasher stuff/kitchen rolls I had to buy, so actually the pure food spends are a lot lower - and all in all that's a pretty good figure for 2 adults for a month anyway, so all things considered, I'm happy! :cool:

Another silly little money-saving thing instigated - I downloaded the O2 Priority Moments app onto my phone yesterday. I've been meaning to do this for ages but niot got around to it, butn that was where the £10 RSH credit was on offer, so it prompted me to do it. A quick look this morning has revealed that there is a voucher there for a free hot drink at Caffe Nero on there too, so I'll be making use of that while I'm in London later I expect. Need to remember to check it once a week or so now. Might not necessarily save me money, but may mean that, like that coffee, I can get the occasional nice freebie, for example.

EssexHebridean

Woo! Just popped into TCB and the Churchill Insurance £50 payment that's been showing "pending" since August, and finally went "confirmed" on Monday, has now gone to "payable" - now winging its way to my bank account via BACS - it'll get shuffled across to my Virtual Sealed pot once it lands - that's the account which will be being emptied later in the year to pay for our planned extra trip to the Hebrides over new year next year. :j:j:j

starnac

The O2 priority moments sounds good. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume it's only for O2 customers?? Wonder if orange do something similar??

I remember you blogging about that cafe too! Wow was it really a year ago? Time flies!

EssexHebridean

Honest answer is that I assume it's for O2 customers, but I don't actually know...I guess orange would say that they do Orange Wednesdays, but that's not really the same thing at all.