two frugal years to freedom: a fritterer's tale

lobbyludd

you already are beautiful, intelligent and amusing, I don't think you need that other stuff.

spendy day :
£10 birthday present for ds' friend, (card from stores)
£5.95 on a floor length black linen skirt and sunglasses from cs for me.

£3.50 on a portion of chish and fips for the girl child and me to share for an early tea whilst DS was having a 6 hour water park adventure with the birthday boy.

none of this is bugetted for, but I've shuffled accounts, and realised that 2 dds have run their course this month (contracts I won't be renewing) so sod it basically.

I needed a skirt/trousers, as the skin on my legs is still covered in bleeding eczema from a massive flare in january, (the sun and man-made fabrics make them worse) and I only had 2 pairs of trousers that fit (although I've lost enough to get into another pair I've now discovered, hurrah!) which need repairing as the fabric has split (from over-wear probably).

the F&C were a splurge, but we enjoyed them a lot

2 loads of washing line dried, other food from stores, kids have friends coming over tomorrow, and DD (age 7) has decided she's giving me a makeover tonight......which I'm sure she'll enjoy LOL! I just need to hunt around and ensure I still own make-up remover before she gets going.

liltdiddylilt

That eczema sounds shockingly painful. What creams do you have for it? I've had everything going for psoriasis and all the steroids you can name and probably some more... but the one thing in the last 20 years that has actually done ANYTHING.. was cutting out sugar and carbs. Crazy really, but within a couple of weeks it had gone. Still flares with stress, my scalp is terrible and I had to have an emergency trip to the doctors Thursday night to get some steroids for my scalp, but other than that I haven't got it anywhere!

Hope you have a lovely girly time with DD. Mine (3) was in bed at 6 after I tried my best to keep her up a bit longer! Having none of it. Bless her, I wore her out fetching birthday gifts for her little friend and then heading back for the one we forgot. A lot of walking for little legs!!

P.S :o:o I don't think I am any of those things either... except maybe amusing. In a car crash, dear lord kinda way :rotfl: xx

lobbyludd

you are those things! - creams - nothing, I am using coconut oil at the moment as I used to use aveeno, but am now reacting to it, and most aqueous creams i can't use either.

very very fallow part of the month now, I've redeemed another £5 amazon from sb and £10 from mobileexpressions, and have ordered my replacement screen for the chromebook from amazon. won't be making any overpayments now until payday (21st so not too long to go) have plenty of food so that's fine.

ds have got a part as an extra in a tv thing, he'll be paid, but it's costing me bucks so far in Dr's letters for his license, petrol to and from etc. I'll be chaperoning for 2 days though and *think* I may be paid for that so hope that will cover it. He will start to save some money (I've said he has to save half of anything he earns).

lobbyludd

chromebook screen replaced, ds did his extra thing today and really enjoyed it, but it was in burning sunshine all day, and I (eejit) politely declined the offers of sunscreen and now look like a lobster - you'd think at my advanced age I'd learn. anyhoo no money news, just plodding along.

IWillBeFree

Hey lobby Luddenden, just checking in!

Hope the redness has subsided and you are feeling positive.

Look forward to the next update.

IWBF x

lobbyludd

thank you IWBF, all fine now!

friend came to stay for a few days - we have ended up doing things in different parts of the country that are slightly related and had a meeting that we both had to attend so extended it into a visit and had a fab (if spendy) time.

on annual leave now, so the fact that I've woken in the middle of the night and can't drop back off isn't a problem, but is irritating

pay day! have shuffled money into accounts - not going to make any OPs as everything is on 0%, and new t$B acc is on 5% - but I feel really nervous about this! - will i manage to keep the money there gathering interest without frittering it??

tomorrow is washing and packing for hols and cleaning house for return

Gretchen2012

Hi LL. Just read all your diary and I'm glad you came back. Love following your diary. Hope you are going somewhere nice and you get good weather xx

lobbyludd

thank you so much Gretchen,

back from hols now, had lovely time and came in on budget (overspent on "spends" but underspent on petrol so balanced out).

scores on the doors for end of July is

debt mountain at: 17033.5

this is minus 341.81 for July and down 10.15% in total.

I have some savings as well but can't work out how much until just before payday as it's all in TSB to earn interest, which is also my main account now - hoping it will be another 4-500 for this month to throw at the debt on the day before the first 0% runs out! but we'll see - this still makes me feel very nervous :S - I know it makes economic sense whilst everything is on 0% but I feel at sea with it slightly.

plans for the weekend are takeaway with friend, washing, cleaning, putting away from the hols and generally getting back on an even keel with everything. stayed in a round house at an eco-permaculture small-holding for part of the hols, which was so lovely and got me re-evaluating how I want to spend my life. Not the whole kit and kaboodle, but incorporating some things into how we live here and a renewed wish to wind down the time-spent in career-work.

and also going to investigate keeping urban ducks - i'd need to make sure they were safe and happy so want to see if there's a local person who is knowledgable I can speak with/help out over summer at all.

lobbyludd

food delivered yesterday, stocked to the rafters so today took left overs in for lunch and have had the first of what I hope will be a run of NSDs. Will need some fruit and veg on friday but otherwise nothing for the next week.

came home mid afternoon with a head-ache that had been hampering me all day and wouldn't leave (probably the shock of an impending NSD!) 2 hours of sleep and it has now gone thank fully.

won't have anywhere near as many savings as had speculated above; there was a copy and paste error in my all-knowing spreadsheet - bah humbug. However, if I am very very careful for the next fortnight I may end up with 100 quid to boost the coffers.

have made some school-boy errors on money-in-which account and dipped into my Hx overdraft (by small annoying amounts) that have negated my reward this month and will cost me c. £4 next month, only slightly offset with £2.50 interest in TSB: I'll never be a financial genius!
£15 in sb am*z0n vouchers on their way, and £20.50 in Tosco vouchers this quarter saved for chrimble.

This weekend I must collect the lavender seed heads and dry for lavender bags for chrimble also. this weather is driving me to think of the turn of the year.

Bobarella

Good luck having some NSDS sounds like you are well prepped to clock up a few!