NST November: battening down the hatches!

CEW

Hi All,

Sorry I've been AWOL for the last couple of weeks or so. Been a bit of a strange time. Finally left work due to redundancy on Friday. Not sure it feels real yet but enjoying not having to go in every day :j

The last couple of weeks were hectic with leaving lunches and do's plus training my successor. I managed to read all the posts but didn't have time to post myself :eek:

It feels a little strange at the moment as we have no transport as our vehicle was my company car (I don't drive so we only had the one car) and that went back on Friday. I could have kept it for a few months but decided with the deposit and fees it was probably better just to get rid of it. Have to say it's quite liberating having to walk everywhere but I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon especially when we need the next big shop :rotfl:

Started renovating our rental property on Monday. Have a detailed budget with contingency and a full schedule of works - how organised am I ?

So far everything going well and it looks like we will be ahead of schedule by the end of the week but I'm sure that we will encounter some unforeseen problems that will eat into any time savings we make.

I am aiming to come in under budget and have so far seen ways to make savings on the kitchen, bathroom, flooring and garage but again I'm sure other problems will occur that will eat into some of these.

Lost track of spending and SFD's but will end the month with money in the various accounts and pots so must be doing something right.

I promise to work harder in December and am determined to get back on the challenge wagon.

I will spend the rest of November on the naughty step due to my lack of posts and record keeping so please can I borrow the cushion

Hope everyone who has been poorly is starting to feel better. Have a lovely final few days everyone.

Sorry for the essay

Chez x

apple_muncher

Gosh - lots of poorly people out there! Do hope you all mend quickly. Dh is ome of the poorly ones and is cutrently snoring away, asleep! Dd on the other hand is not... And won't be for up to another hour...


Today I am grateful for 'pay at the pump' petrol pumps, for lovely work colleagues, for yummy homemade soup (curried squash and sweet potato today), for yesterday's tiny crescent moon, for our colour printer.

liltdiddylilt

Caeraugirl and anyone else who wishes to chip in with advice, hypotheses or just cheerleading ref Jelly - please feel free. applemuncher has given me some lovely support and useful idea too. But we have given up. When a 2 year old is holding everything in for 5 hours at a time before she HAS to go, and then chooses anywhere except the potty, then she is obviously not ready, although I applaud her skills at holding it in. Nursery nurse was very helpful and made me feel a lot better. She said Jelly is an exceptionally bright child and will tell us when she is ready but is giving no signs now. And not to worry but when she is ready nursery will be there to help us through the worst. How lovely.

Stewby I am saying this purely as a concerned outsider, and I do not wish to say your situation is anything like the awful 6 months I spent living with my ex after I split :rotfl: BUT we pooled all of our money, and I somehow always felt guilty for spending bits on me, but had no issue with ex spending as he pleased. (I think it is where my desire for £100's of groceries a month lies. It was the only thing I spent guilt-free on in all the years we were together (Wow mini LBM) - after we split, we split everything down the middle. I didn't care that he had more income than me. I just wanted everything to be equal. Suddenly, I went from having no money at all and us always waiting for payday... to having an extra £600 at the end of the month. Turns out I was covering a huge proportion of my ex's spending habits. So maybe it is time to sit down, split everything evenly and then pay for your own groceries each. It isn't fair that you are carrying the burden if he is spending more than you on that but putting the same amount in.

apple I do hope DD is asleep for you!

CEW I buckle my pram (minus Jelly) weekly under the weight of shopping. This week I had to go to Mr A's with it, go home, unload and then go back out past Mr A's to Mr L's where I again buckled it. I feel for you but enjoy the extra exercise rain isn't great either, but other than that I really don't mind! Hope your rental renovation goes well and you get it in under budget and on time. Enjoy your time out of the grind as much as you can.. xx

I am firmly on the naughty step. I budgeted for paint and any tools I might need. I did not budget for a £12 junior duvet cover/sheet & pillow case for Jelly & a 13.5 tog replacement kingsize duvet for me... £84 in total, on pink, blue, white gloss, bits bobs and aforementioned. So I am definitely on the naughty step.. In fact I have been superglued to it.

I have done a lot of the sanding/prepping & gloss work in Jellys room today and will do the paint up tomorrow. Hoping for one coat but expecting it will need 2 to cover the super bright yellow silk.

Am getting tired, so I bid you goodnight. I will update my sig tomorrow with the horrors of my groceries.

Night guys xx

Fmess

Quick check in as I'm on my phone and tired.

Payday and spendy day. Treated OH and I to a takeaway Transferred over all monies to debt so I think I'm now just over 43% debt free :j Also did tutoring so more money to debt and started the £365 in 365 challenge, but decided to do double so I've put £60 away this month ��

See you all tomorrow

speakingofart

Morning everyone! Sorry I haven't had time to catch up on the thread, uni last night and need to be in work early (AGAIN ) today. Will catch up tonight though - spendy day today as I'm going to see the hunger games after work, been holding it off as a treat for when I finish my essay, so very excited. SFD yesterday.

£75/ £150 groceries till 15th December
£40.85/£60 petrol till 15th December
£49.80/ £36.70 spending money till 15th December
NSDs 12/20 (till 30th November)
16/20 exercise sessions (lunchtime walks, till 30th November)

CoffeeandStitches

Morning all!

Hope all your poorlys get well soon, sending tissues and hugs, and anything else you may need

Good luck to all those home improving / decorating / renovating, I don't envy you at all

And I'm rather jealous of all those cinema trips - someone let me know if it is worth doing an orange Wednesday for please

Stewby - Please feel free to tell me to poke my nose out but I just wanted to share my experience. DH and I had real issues seeing eye to eye with money. We earn very disproportionately, and used to split 50/50, but it just wasn't working so we pooled into one pot. I get paid monthly (about double what DH earns, no issue from me, just the way it is) and DH gets paid weekly. All the bills were coming out of my bank, and whatever was left was left. That didn't work either because the majority of my left overs were going on CC payments & food shopping, and the majority of DH wages were going out of the cashpoint on toot. So anyway, we sat down and worked out a PROPER budget and a plan, we both agreed to it, that was a few months ago and it is working like a dream! DH handed over his bank details so I can shift money here there and everywhere and said it was a massive weight lifted from him because he now knows what he's got. We both have a weekly 'spends' pot, £30 for DH & £20 for me, that's for petrol, and anything else we fancy. Slimming world for me, mainly food on the go & the odd magazine for him.

So we have a food budget, and the groceries come out of that. DH doesn't do any shopping or cooking, so the deal is I shop and cook, he eats what he gets, if he wants to take lunch to work there is stuff there for it, but if he wants anything else food wise (I.e. a tub of pringles or a Mcd's) it comes out of his 'spends' pot. Everything else is accounted for, so if there are any visits, outings or treats planned, it doesn't come out of our spends, it comes out of the monthly budget. Also, any big purchases are discussed before hand and agreed by us both (sofa-gate, anyone?)

I know it might not work for everyone, but for us it has completely alleviated any money stress, aggravation and annoyance at each other, and believe me I never thought that would happen in a million years! I do have to admit though, the DH was VERY open to the idea, and showed zero resistance. Not sure what we would have done if he'd not agreed to it. I try to keep him up to date on how much money is where and what's getting paid off, but he just says, 'No worries, I don't mind, you don't have to keep telling me it's fine i trust you....' Ahhhh. Marital budgeting bliss.

Sorry, that was a proper ramble. In other news, DH car is fixed... for now at least! Xmas shopping is pretty much all done thanks to amazon and swagbucks and I'm just about to draw up a budget for December.

Today I am so very thankful for all that I have, which is a million things more than 5. I did a foodbank donation this morning, and it really made me realise that I have so much, and so much to be thankful for.

Happy Wednesday all!

thriftylass

Good morning!

Today should be another SFD. Half day in work and going to take DS to get his vaccinations, not looking fwd to it . Made the mistake (well had no choice) to take him and see his wee sister getting jabs a few months back, now he's terrified. Got teddy and a treat ready in my bag for later.

The car got fixed and MOTed. The body work from the lamp post incident was "free" :T, as a mate did it for a bottle of wine. The MOT and the two new tyres might be £300 (one was sooo illegally smooth :eek:) but at least we saved the service as that was done not that long ago.

Can't wait for pay day Friday and get some christmas shopping done. Going to get DS (nearly 4) a wee snowboard. DH even agreed to a cheap play plastic one for about £30 to see if he even likes it rather than a brand £100 one as i feared. looking up the best deals for what else is on my list today too.

Bye for now

Calling14

Well been to the dreaded dentist damage today is 62.00 and another 350.00 to come in the New Year kicking myself I didn't take insurance out 2 weeks ago when I got a quote. Will just have to grin and bear it. Avoiding sweets now see if I get the temporary filling to last longer, could delay the crown.

I seem to be getting nowhere fast lately and just can't see a way out. Yes having a day when I feel like bursting into tears.

Today will be a SFD, got a day off tomorrow booked. Seeing Robert Plant in the evening so looking forward to that. May go and visit new Starbucks and treat myself in the day cheering up purposes.

CoffeeandStitches

Calling14 wrote: »

I seem to be getting nowhere fast lately and just can't see a way out. Yes having a day when I feel like bursting into tears.

Just wanted to say (in a non creepy way), keep your head up and keep plowing on. Everyone on here is an inspiration, including you. Hope you feel better!

Calling14

Thanks CoffeeandStitches decided I have just to - pull my head up off the floor and come up screaming. (lyrics from a fav song)
Registered again with the same Dental Practice can maybe get in their NHS one in 6 mths time. Even with NHS cost would be 210.00. Going to see how long the temporary filling lasts and work out a way to cover the costs.
These little blimps only making me more determined. Relisting my room on spare room.com

Put ham into my slow cooker this morning with Pepsi Max then panic set in then - was told not to use diet coke but found on the good old net - peeps had success with it. Can't wait for hometime now.