NST August - AB's Amazingly Aware August Challenge

Bobarella

Hi Turtles

Welcome back Dolly, hope your hols were lovely?

Academia - thank you for the kind words.

The Only Girl - I'm sorry your sleep pattern is so messed up. It must be so difficult trying to do the night shifts and then not. Great about your £30 credit! And thank you too for the lovely kind words.

Calling - Your powering through the repayments this month! :T hope you are ok.

Today was busy at the shop. Answered prayers and all that. :A My lovely OH came down at lunchtime and fitted the new part needed to stop the infurnal noise. He is truly amazing. Silence has never sounded so good!

Progress on the debt today was £5 PAD to CC1 taking it to just £49 to clear. I used my payout from COS to do that.

Had a fantastic win on the YS shopping front last night. Won't bore on but highlights included a 1.5kg bag of white potatoes for 35p and several bags of spinach for 20p each.

Anyway sorry to rush off but have a small tired boy to get to bed.

Love to all

Bob

Fmess

Evening all,

SFD achieved here today Feeling positive about being under 7k and being so close to being 50% debt free.

Not heard about the holiday so think it's a case of packing just in case! I've never been on a last minute type holiday before and it's quite nerve wracking!

Thank you for your congratulations

dolly84

Hi all.

Whilst I was away I received a £120 refund of over payments from co-op energy (it was no mean feat getting this out of them though), also I had overestimated my fuel budget this month (did it to be on the safe side) so I had an extra £60 plus £4.64 left over from another budget so I paid off my Next bill and my Debenhams store card plus £52.30 to the credit card which I have been using recently.

I did a Lidl shop yesterday and really stocked up for the week, I have £10 left in my food budget which will hopefully go to the credit card next week (my new budget starts on Wednesday).

We didn't spend all the cash we took on holiday so that plus some other money is going into the bank today to be paid into the holiday piggy bank attached to my current account so we already have a good amount for holidays next year (we have a caravan so our holidays are quite inexpensive).

DH is off work today, not sure what our plans are but hopefully we will keep it cheap.

Bob - good news about your days trade, hope it keeps going up for you.

Hugs to others who need it.

Bobarella

Dolly - that's a fantastic rebate! Wow!
I have one more month of owing First Utility and then we can go back to our usual DD instead of £105 a month:eek: I can straight away allocate that to repayments.
Thank you too

Calling14

Fmess well done on getting under 7k you did that quick.

Mothernerd hope you are having a better day today.

Was flooded with msgs, phone calls, gifts yesterday glad my pooch was so popular. Weird thing more weepy today been fine last few days.

So cross with myself stuffing up my spreadsheet, been reviewing my payments and can't see making my stretch target this month. Going to take me all my time to keep myself afloat. Found a cheaper car insurance will look properly at the policy details later, saving me at least 40 pounds.

Had 12 pounds back from quidco and 20 pounds back from medicash today, helping solve my problems a bit.

Try not to spend today but I need washing up liquid, see what I can wash out of it lol.

Bob how comes you don't pay rent for a few months? Just trying to work out my budgets next 3 months. September could be heavy one, dentist appt and got a lot of problems.Luckily got NHS one max charge 330.00

I try to do Amara's 100 day challenge on here and always set my target to pay back too high, was close this time 42 pounds short. So will keep the same figure 1000 next time.

Dolly -sounds like a good holiday when you come back with money.

I want a break and having no ties now, a week away would be heaven.

Going for a walk to the bank before rain appears, looks black here.

Have a lovely Friday everyone x

dolly84

Well we nipped into town and paid the cash into the bank. We had to call at Tesco to get some passport photos done for DS to renew his football signing on papers so £5 there plus the £10 signing on fee, I had allocated £15 football subs this month but we haven't needed to pay so that money has covered todays spend.

DS has been looking for a hat for a while and I saw one in Tesco for £8, I showed him it and it fit and he liked it so decided he would buy it. We went to the self checkout but it wouldn't scan, the SA there gave it to a guy who disappeared for an age, when he finally came back he said he couldn't find a price for it and had been told to give it to DS for nothing. We couldn't believe it, this never happens to me. It was bizarre though as the tag said £8. He took all the tags off so DS could wear it, that kid can't spend money at all, if he spends a £1 he finds a £1 straightaway:rotfl:.

I got some wellies in the sale at Tesco £16 down to £5 and a hoodie for DS for £8:eek:, not what I had planned for the morning really.

DH then decided we all needed a Mc'donalds for lunch - so being cheap didn't really pan out - £23 spent there:eek::eek:.

Bobarella

dolly84 wrote: »

DH then decided we all needed a Mc'donalds for lunch - so being cheap didn't really pan out - £23 spent there:eek::eek:.

I dont know whether they do it in your area, but here I regularly find bus tickets with a free McD promotion on them, which we use. It enables you to have 1 big mac, 1 fries for £1.98. They are fine about taking 2 coupons per transaction, so normally, OH, me & son (who is still small enough for a happy meal) can eat for under £10. We normally do end up buying 2 drinks in there to make up the meal as it were, but still talking maybe £12 for lunch for 3.
We dont do it often, maybe once a month? As a treat. Anyway, maybe worth you investigating?

Bobarella

Calling14 wrote: »

Bob how comes you don't pay rent for a few months?

My landlord at the shop wanted paying over 10 months not 12. Im not sure why. But its how we have always done it. Hes incredibly flexible though, I have had months where I cant make the full amount, so I have ended up doing it over 12 months anyway. But this year Im on target. So I get 2 months off at £750 a month. Which is really something I am looking forward to.

My business rates were over 10 months too until they relaxed that and said 12 was ok. I also have several other bills that wont allow 12 months. My business insurance is expensive as heck because they insist on 10, both the music licences want paying over 3 and 6 months respectively. I wish I could ask my customers to pay up front


I am sure you are feeling the after shock now, it always tends to take a bit of time to process a massive change, especially when your lovely dog was part of your life so long.
Why not try for a short break? As you rightly say, you have no ties now & maybe the break would do you good?

dolly84

Bob - I have some Mc'Donalds meal deal vouchers on the back of some cinema tickets but they are for restaurants further away and we were just in our local town and it was a spur of the moment thing. If we had planned it it would have been worth going further afield.

This afternoon we have been to a museum, I have wanted to visit for a while but it is in a city centre which I hate driving in so DH came and he drove. We had tickets for free entry for the kids so it was £8 each for me and DH and £2 parking, this came from the 6 week holiday budget - not much of that left now. We were going to go cycling but it keeps looking like it is going to throw it down here, hopefully we will get to do that tomorrow.

academiablues

Hello lovely turtles! Today I am thankful for my work being flexible, so I could squish all my work into a few hours and spend the afternoon asleep. I am so glad I'm on leave next week, I haven't taken any leave since February really and that was silly of me as I always end up "burning out."
Dolly, your son's hat find is fab, stuff like that doesn't tend to happen to me either!
We're nearly through August, everyone - how are your budgets doing? Have you got more money left than you thought - if so, where is that money going? Have you got less - if so, do you know why? Perhaps you're right on target, which is always fab
Hope all turtles have a good weekend.