Women and cats will do as they please! :)

TheMagician

I do know what he's on now and when he started the job.
He is qualified though and I'm still in the process of.
I won't mention it if they won't. But they will, I'm sure

He's leaving the country and won't be contactable so it's all on me. He'll leave as extensive notes as possible. I'll also take them for anything I don't know yet.
I'm not afraid to ask for help. I've got someone intelligent to lean on but no real accountancy understanding. I'll just shout out every time I'm stuck and someone will answer, even if it's Google :rotfl:
Mostly though, I think it'll just be different more than anything else.

It's good when things come early. But then again, being philosophical, is it early? Or is it just in time?..

All going well the house purchase will come sooner and with a bigger deposit so yes, that's one big bonus on top of new experiences and more responsibility :T

TheMagician

Been doing all my shopping in Aldi recently, it's mostly OK.
The really nice foods:
mozzarella
basil
avocado
grapes
quality ham

The reaaaaaally bad:
85% chocolate :shocked: Positively disgusting, never again. Sticking to my G&B

Some ingredients are massively questionable, staying away from all the preservatives, poly/mono carp and E numbers but I guess they're in a lot of processed food, whether it's in Asd*, Ald* or Sainsbugs. So overall, if you pick the right foods, there's a good choice and it's cheaper :T So I'm sticking with it for now for larger shops and Asd* for bits it doesn't stock.

Today I've found every reason to not study... Need to work on these self defeating patterns. And I WILL study, I'll make myself to.

Really excited about tomorrow :j It'll be a good day.

Magician

TheMagician

It's been a good but busy day, learning lots of new things which I haven't done for a little while and that's always pretty draining.
But it's all good, that's the way things go.

Need to have the money conversation soon. I'll have to initiate it because I want to get it out of the way. Last one was a little like this :mad::wall::doh: This time I'll try to make it a bit more like this :dance:

I need to meditate a lot tonight, feel myself slipping away a little.

Magician

Levi-

Glad your day went well Magician! Bite the bullet and mention the money thing, just treat it like business as anything else, you'll be glad to get it over and done with Happy Meditating and hope tomorrow goes well xx

TheMagician

So it's month end and I'm declaring £810 worth of savings.
Electricity bill came and was double the usual amount due to me having had heating on all the time :doh: No more! That and my baby's birthday meal ate up into the rest of the month's savings.
But I'm now up to £4,400 and very pleased. Over £5k mark next month!!! :j 1/3 way through.

Thanks Levi I think pay rise conversations often go like this: hey, I think the job I'm doing now is worth £15k more.
Boss: erm, don't think so.
What do you mean? You're trying to say I haven't earned it? You're trying to say I don't deserve it? Does this mean you think you can keep me cheap? Why are you being so difficult?

It kind of gets personal doesn't it. Since we often value our worth at work by how much they're paying us.

But I'll stay very cool this time and see how it goes, will be sure to update.
At the moment it's all learn learn learn.

TheMagician

Hello, Diary

it's been an interesting week, lots of things to learn and I really enjoy it.
A little tired tonight but not too bad.

Going to have a spa day with DS tomorrow for his birthday and then it's all study study study for the next 3 weekends before my exam.
I really need to make sure I pass this one first time.

Other than work and studies, it's been nice and quiet, just how I like it. Been resting at nights, meditating and just relaxing in the bath. When days are busy, I need peaceful nights.

DS was very happy with his presents and the cake. It was amazing! Though I was really sorry for having a slice, it was obviously not gluten free. It's sitting in the fridge, teasing me. Hope DS eats it up soon I really can't...I felt awful after.

I feel I'm in a sort of an in-between stage at work at the moment. Hope there's a lot more clarity soon but one thing I've learnt a long time ago is to be patient. Things will get worked out with the next 4 weeks. It's a big change for everyone and definitely huge for me! :dance:

TheMagician

Feel like I need to stay accountable, this is what this diary is for anyway, so March's personal spends:
£39 Liz Earle, will last at least 3 months
£10 foundation, will last months
=£49.
That's me for March, though I really need a new pair of jeans. Budget is set at £30max. I might get them, I might not, see how it goes.

Food is set at £200, first bigish shop tomorrow, estimate at £30.

Had a great day with DS today, pool, jacuzzi and dinner were absolutely lovely. Though entertainment budget now sits at £30 for the rest of the month, no worries, we're good at entertaining ourselves :rotfl:

Got my nails done today, I really cannot stand them any less than well groomed. Just keeping it simple with protein see through nail varnish but looks elegant and clean. When I'm over this work/studies hurricane I'll get back to some colours which I love, they just need more maintenance.

Magician

connor08

TheMagician wrote: »

Hi all

I'm not actually in debt as such but I need this diary to keep me on track with all of my plans and for all the wonderful support people here offer

I'm 27 and I have a 6yo son, I'm a single parent.

I work full time in finance and study CIMA on a side, life can get pretty hectic

Me and my son terribly want our own home and a kitty (I absolutely loooooove cats) and I am looking forward to being free of restrictions renting causes.

So, the plan is to save as much as possible every single month and to put that towards the house deposit. We are both super duper excited about this and gonna work damn hard to get the money we need so I'm going to use this diary to record our milestones and keep us focused

Well done you I know it's hard I used to be a single parent too and it's not easy

Fortune_Smiles

TheMagician wrote: »

So, budget...

Our entertainment budget is £50pcm, it buys us 2 cinema trips (no popcorn, my son brings treats from home and I get a student discount) and 1-2 meals out. I feel that's plenty.

I don't smoke, I don't consume alcohol, last time I had a drink was about 2yrs ago. I don't go to bars, clubbing etc, when we're out it's for a meal with friends or they come to ours I don't enjoy big crowds anymore. So our entertainment budget is usually in tact come end of month.

What suffers is the food one... I need to tweak it and learn to save money on that so any advice would be great. I shop in Ald* and Asd*. I allocate £300pcm but that includes all toiletries (I have braces so need special toothbrushes, floss and wax and my skin regime takes probably £30 of the budget). But we still have plenty left over, especially as there's only 2 of us but I still struggle...
Problem is, I'm against all artificial carp and sugars so our diet is mainly meat, fish, dairy, eggs, porridge and veg, I always have apples and bananas too. We don't eat bread, pasta, rice, cereals, noodles...you get the picture. I've got a slow cooker but have found the last 3 times I cooked in it food turned out awful. I'd really appreciate some flavoursome recipes that don't involve sugar/sugar substitutes.

Thank you for reading and hope you all have a peaceful night

TheMagician

Hi there Magician. Sounds as though we have the same approach as far as food is concerned. I love healthy, organic food and cook from scratch every day. Let me know what type of recipe you're looking for and, if I come across anything appropriate, I'll send you a link. Eg do you need something you can rustle up quickly? Is there anything Littley can't have.


Fortune x

TheMagician

Thank you connor08

And thank you Fortune Smiles, how nice of you to offer.
I really prefer quick meals in the evening, 15min being the ideal cooking time. I can't have gluten but I've got all substitutes like wheat free pasta and flour. DS can have pretty much everything though too much gluten also doesn't sit well with him.

I like all food tbh, meat, veg, eggs, dairy. All long as it's flavoursome. I think this is why I'm having no luck with my slow cooker, god knows I've tried. It just seems to come out dry and a bit bland no matter how long I cook for or how many spices I use.

Examples of what we have for dinner now would be cheese and veg omelette, fluffy pancakes with crispy bacon, sausage and mash, avocado salad with mozzarella, jacket with different toppings and salad, macaroni cheese though this one takes closer to 45min, it's delish. I could really do with new recipes, it's easy to get stuck and keep repeating, like a bad record.

Love watching cooking shows, yesterday saw some delicious potato grattans with smoked salmon and cream cheese, looked amazing. Will try that.

Tonight I'm making potatoes dauphinoise with ? don't know what yet...