EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

Cheery_Daff

Excellent work there, and that's a stunning installation!

Maybe I'm just a bit tipsy but I'm still trying to work out a pub chain named after a meteorological condition and an eating utensil 😂😂😂😂 Coming up with all kinds of combinations, none of which are right and all of which are amusing me 😂

Scottiedog_3

Ends with "spoons "? 

Cheery_Daff

😂😂😂😂😂 of course 😂😂😂 all mine were ending with forks and knives and spatulas 😂😂😂

EssexHebridean

Took me ages to work out how to describe it too!

The globe thing was absolutely beautiful - I'd love to have been in there a little later after it had got properly dark to see it fully illuminated, too. 

Anyway - here we go with November then! As a reminder, (as they're on the previous page now) my monthly financial aims were:

- start to build towards a 1 month buffer in the food account
- meal plan - always aim be a full week ahead 
- start to reduce use of CC - no personal stuff for example
- keep an eye on electric use particularly once the heating goes on! 

- surveys > my 0% card, cash out OnePoll, and cash out prolific at least twice…
- my 0% card to be sub-£230 by the end of the month (currently at £311 - monthly payment is £40)
- watch spends generally and apply MSE principles
- aim for zero food waste 
- use baths at night rather than showers first thing particularly once the clocks change and the cheap rate finishes earlier. I need to be in the shower before 6.55am on hair-wash days. 

We're realistically teetering on the edge of needing heating on now - it was below 18 degrees when we got home last night, and had crept up above that after being in for a short while, having the oven on etc, but not far above. I suspect the hallway storage heater will need to go on in the next few days, then we'll see how soon after that we need the front room one added. One thing is that once the heating is on the dehumidifier will be far more effective overnight too. We will probably try to run that three nights a week through the winter. 

I actually cashed out Prolific again shortly after writing that earlier post - so the 0% card is now sub-£300. I'm already back at £5.xx paid on Prolific too. I think cashing out OnePoll this month is really doable as long as I keep a close eye on it and do what comes available, although as we all know getting close to cashing out can sometimes mean no surveys appear for weeks, so we will see! the other sites are likely to be just more of the same - nothing else is particularly close to a cash-out I don't think. (I have just had a little flurry of OnePoll stuff though - an original 50 point survey, then a "second part" which was optional but another 50, and then their standard 10 point ratings option at the end to - so that was a bonus! 

Food/shopping - should be low this week. We're about over the weekend so I will be aiming to do some batch-cooking then I think, probably a big pan of bolognese sauce for a start. The week just gone was higher than I expected but that's partly due to household and storecupboard bits, plus cheese purchasing. (And cheese is clearly essential, so...) That lot totalled £22 of a £30 spend. Will be aiming for no more than £15 for this week's supermarket trip which will be next weekend. 
Meal planning is also in hand - I roasted squash last night for tonight/tomorrow so tonight's pasta should be as quick as cook mushrooms and chorizo together while the pasta is boiling, throw in the squash & some soft cheese, season, mix in the pasta and job done. A quick to prepare meal for a Monday night is definitely a winner.

Banking: MrBoss will be paying me shortly so I can do the money shuffle later. A quick look at San-Tan-Der suggests that all the usual payments for the first of the month have gone OK - and we also have our first (part) month's cashback figures there - a 12p loss last month when the £2 fee is taken into account but that excludes all the early-in-the-month stuff as the account wasn't fully active until the 11th so hopefully once it is a full month that will start to show a small profit. (If not then realistically we will probably look to switch the account elsewhere once the switch incentive is paid out). 

The new bread maker arrived yesterday (dumped on the doorstep by Hermeez while we were out, naturally, what else would you do with a £200 item eh?!) and we tried it out last night with a rapid loaf - something we've never been impressed with from previous machines. Gamechanger from the panasonic though - it bakes a loaf in 2 hours that is not only merely edible but actually really tasty! Looking forward to trying out some of the other programmes now, but so far very VERY impressed. This machine is the one we've wanted for a very long while - yes it's expensive but it's also very well spoken off and we're hoping it will last well too. 

girlatplay

*pops head out of lurkdom*

Just want to say how inspiring I find your posts EH.  Thank you.

*disappears back under the blanket*

EssexHebridean

Oh GAP how lovely to see you delurked! I'm always thrown when someone uses the word inspiring about stuff I do in any way - it all feels a bit haphazard and "bitty" from the inside so it's good to know that it's useful to others regardless! 

My personal money shuffle is now done with the usual amounts being shifted into the "pots" for clothes, fun, presents etc. Must remember that I no longer have the £100 buffer in there, although as I'm hoping for rather lower spending this month that should hopefully not be an issue. With the clocks changing I think the tendency may well be to slide back into hermit-mode anyway! 

I might even set myself a NSD target for this month to - what do we reckon? I'm traditionally rather rubbish at them, or at least rather rubbish about counting them...in fact I have a lot of days when I spend nothing I think and previously have tended to count things that really I probably oughtn't count as actual "spends". Today will be, and I have to be honest, I can't think of any reason why most of the rest of this week can't be too... OK - let's go for an attempt at 18 NSD's. 

No particular plans for the month now until the very last weekend when we will be heading to Birmingham for the Good Food Show and to meet up with a couple of friends as well. I suspect there will be a couple of trips to the rugby club through the month though, so that comes with an attached beer-bill - we may also go out for a couple of days at weekends too so likely to be at least tea & cake there. 

milann

I’ve just found your diary and off to do some reading……

EssexHebridean

milann said:

I’ve just found your diary and off to do some reading……

Welcome aboard - usual rules, kettle is on, feel free to grab a biscuit...! 

savingholmes

Love the installation picture. 

You seem to be progressing well with your goals - but as important tend to be upbeat - which helps...

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, exciting breadmaker news! Hoping to retrieve ours when we have somewhere to put it. Good shuffling there too! Very impressed with your target NSDs - I've never been able to manage them but they do seem effective!