NSK;The Tortoise and The Mad MARCH Hare!!!

clippy_girl

morning all

sfd for me yesterday

feeling very proud of myself this morning as i have just fixed the toilet which had broken this morning :money::j

it wouldnt refill so i googled it and said probably a blockage. opened it up and it was full of blue sludge from the toilet blocks i use :mad: scooped it all out and scrubbed the bit the water comes in with a toothbrush and was a small improvement but not much so fiddled with the ball !!!! which seemed to be sticking and then it worked! it still feels like its sticking a bit so after it refilled i have dumped a load of bathroom cleaner and vinegar in to dissolve the scum from the blocks and some limescale remover. will leave to do its job and flush tonight. not sure how much it would have cost to get someone out but feeling :A :money: as i didnt have to pay!

will never use blocks again though :mad: will need to clean out upstairs one before the same happens

luckystarr

Morning all

hope everyone is well and hugs to those having a tough time at the minute

yesterday was a spendy day and today will be as the car is going in for it's MOT :eek: and will be purchasing my food bank supplies today.

please can i have some advice ... we are currently renting a house that i do not like living in (private landlord) location not great. we have been told that there is a house coming on in a great area and near our friends ... but it means spending the money we have saved to pay off our £3000 debt . what are everyone's thoughts ??

Apart from that not a lot to report will check in later to report the car damage

have a good day all

cottage_retreatist

morning all - declaring my 5th NSD today!

Its so simple! I just don't carry any money on me! No - it's not simple, it's taken a lot of hard work mentally to get to this point when I don't wander into sainsbobs after work like its a ritual for carp food, chocolate and alcohol. I can only say thank you to the lovely members of MSE & of course NSK for this! :kisses3:

Saturday will be a shopping day though and next Wednesday I've booked myself in for my hair (finally) so that will also be a spending day.

I would love to know how to use my sewing machine properly! I have recently used it to sew my old curtains onto the back of my favourite linen curtains so I can use them in the living room but I'd love to know how to make dresses etc - I've often thought about buying the patterns but then thought 'well, if its terrible its a waste of time and fabric'!

I'd also love to know how to knit properly! I can do that too - but not properly either!

Maybe we should have a crafting get-together? share our skills!
I make jam!!!!

hope everyone is well?
xx

Living_a_good_life

Morning all, happy day in Lagl cottage, after much procrastination turns out Dd and friend can go on trip and the other Mum and I can accompany them - I actually woke her (just after bed time) last night to tell her we had the green light - the grin from ear to ear broke my heart I know that I cant protect her from everything but in recent months she has been through the house move falling through and great grandad in hospital - the real world is real enough to her - she is only almost nearly 7.

Also we have another viewing on Saturday morning - DH is going to be left with a list of what to do before he goes out. The estate agents are on the case!

Mr W came and delivered - fantastic service and the chap sounded like he had escaped from the world service! If they dont have what you want they replace it with better or bigger at no extra cost and you can choose whether to accept it. If the fresh stuff they have in store has a shelf life of under 2 days you get it for free. Most of what I ordered was from the essentials range and seems lovely so far.

Anyways - work to do - cold is being dealt a blow each evening by a dose of Amaretto and coke - dont knock it till you try it and we are out of wine and beer!!

Luckystar - if Im honest I would go for it. If you are not happy where you live and its a better area with friends it may be too good an opportunity to miss. The debts wont go away by themselves but if you budget for the move and truly weigh up the pros and cons of moving along with the living costs of the new house vs the old one and it seems realistically doable then I would put life over the debt for the move and then knuckle down to the debt shifting asap when you get there.

Re the sewing - Dd has been bought a beginners sewing machine book for her birthday - it has a simple skirt pattern in it - I suspect we will both be going on this learning curve together. She got her mini sewing machine for christmas. Now I can use one but have never attempted clothes!!

Love to all
LAGL xx

dolly84

luckystarr - my advice on the house would be to go for it, it will make you happier in the long run then focusing on your debt won't seem so bleak.

I would love to be able to make clothes and am currently loving watching the Sewing Bee but feeling very unskilled compared to the people on there. I went to night school to learn how to make soft furnishings and did 2 years there, I can do all sorts of tricky stuff but am scared of dressmaking.

Yesterday wasn't a SFD after all, I had £10 of points on my Debenhams Beauty Card which would be expiring soon so I ordered some of my favourite shampoo whilst they have 10% off and just had to pay £1.70 myself and I get free delivery.

DH collected the new car last night, it is so lovely, that new car smell and only 6 miles on the clock from bringing it home.

Today will be a SFD, have to work but just a couple of hours today, might make some bread and then a dog walk and maybe a bike ride if I get the time.

Shady2307

Found a very interesting article in the Metro paper today which said the average monthly spends for things from single people and people in a relationship. It was intended to show people in relationships spend more and less on some things, but I was just astonished by the totals!!

Groceries: Single £107 In a relationship £132
Drinks with family and friends: Single £48.08 In a relationship £38.44
Meals out: Single £38.37 In a relationship £40.78
Takeaways: Single £32.13 In a relationship £27.64
Days out: Single £32.62 In a relationship £26.91
Dating: Single £27.33 In a relationship £14.11
Clothes and accessories: Single £51.44 In a relationship £45.72
Beauty and grooming: Single £ In a relationship £
Rent: Single £228.21 In a relationship £285.22
Utility bills: Single £95.44 In a relationship £129.84
Insurance: Single £50.20 In a relationship £61.82
Transport: Single £70.82 In a relationship £84.25
Holidays: Single £227 In a relationship £352
total: Single £1045 In a relationship £1280

dolly84

Today I have achieved all my objectives:

Work - check
2 loaves of bread made - check
Cleaned bedrooms - check
1/2 hour bike ride - check
50 minute dog walk - check
40 minutes walking for school run - check
knackered - check

Today I am thankful for our gorgeous village green which has an amazing border of crocuses and our church which had it's bell repaired after local fundraising and chimed the hour as I walked past it today.

Have a lovely evening all.

ikesmummy

I am another one who would love t be better with my sewing machine. I have made curtains, blinds some fancy dress costumes for the children but have just started pushing myself a little more, the internet is a wonderful thing and have recently made a bag using a free pattern and tutorial I found on-line, I am currently making a dress but like you cottage_retreatist worry that it my be a waste of time and material if it doesn't come out well enough that I actually want to wear it. I was never really taught how to use a sewing machine (or use patterns etc) so either make it up as I go along or try to find video's on-line for specific things.

Hasn't been a SFD today, needed milk and picked up some YS bits while I was there. The best we ever seem to have down here is 30% off but even that is better than noting if it is things I would end up buying full price for later in the month, do have to remind myself not to buy things just because they have a YS though.

Work was pretty manic today so no energy for a propper exercise but did walk the mile (or there abouts) between my friends where I park and the office and back to save on parking charges plus the four flights of starirs to my desk a few times

ikesmummy

dolly84 wrote: »

Today I have achieved all my objectives:

Work - check
2 loaves of bread made - check
Cleaned bedrooms - check
1/2 hour bike ride - check
50 minute dog walk - check
40 minutes walking for school run - check
knackered - check

Today I am thankful for our gorgeous village green which has an amazing border of crocuses and our church which had it's bell repaired after local fundraising and chimed the hour as I walked past it today.

Have a lovely evening all.

I am presuming that is per person, felt awful for minute as some of my budgets are a fair bit higher but then realised my budgets are all for a family of four and several of them are still much much lower (holidays being a good example )

TiptoesDB

Wow, put your sunglasses on people, because this post is coming to you from a dazzlingly bright house! Have spring cleaned and sorted pretty much non stop from 8am to 6pm. Phew. As a result, no spends and no exercise as I am pooped!

• 2/20 SFDS
• £40/£180 groceries
• 0/15 LTW
• 4/20 Exercise