Bricks Not Books

VintageHistorian

July OP - £25.33

July was the last month that we pay £15 a month interest. This month it drops down to a mere...£14.97  No wonder so many people are struggling. It's not like my wage has gone up by £15 a day. It hurts less because we were overpaying, to us it's not actually been that big a jump out of our accounts because the overpayments put us close to £700 a month anyway. But for those who suddenly need to find £300 a month? That's tough.

Took DS to the carboot again this morning. Managed to keep my purse closed this time. No real toys that were suitable for his age, nothing involving Thomas the Tank Engine, and he has quite a lot of books so I need to tone down my "Oh that's a bargain" thoughts when I see a pile of children's books to rummage through.

I did, however, buy two more items of clothing on Vinted for him last night. A long-sleeved top, and a jumper, both £1 each plus postage, and both next size up for him. I had a sort out of his clothing the other day and filled up another Really Useful Box, at which point Mr VH informed me that they may not fit in the loft as there are already a lot of boxes of baby clothes up there  Oops! So in September I might need to have everything brought down and have a big sort out so we can condense things down a bit. There are definitely we things we wouldn't want to keep in case of a 2nd child, but in the middle of newborn phase you just shove it all in a box to deal with later.

Still haven't bought anything for Mr VH for Christmas, but at last week's carboot I bought a gift for my other sister - a Friends "Central Perk" big mug. It was only 50p, hopefully she'll like it even if she doesn't actually drink out of it.

I've also made some Christmas purchases for charity. I've had to step back from being an area receiver for Christmas shoeboxes as we just don't have the storage space anymore (it's now DS's bedroom). Around here the foodbank and the local homeless charity do present collections for kids. Since I was buying more Really Useful Boxes on Amazon I also ordered 2 packs each of Crayola felt tips, Crayola colouring pencils, and Crayola Crayons, and several different aged colouring books. They can be popped away until donation points open and then I can put those in, along with anything else I spot in the meantime.

Right, I've had scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast. Time to go make another cup of tea and sort out a coffee for Mr VH. Dinner tonight will be nice easy oven pizzas.

Have a good weekend everyone!

f0xh0les

I remember one of the best Christmas presents when the kids were little,  was a big cardboard box, filled with blown up balloons in all colours.  Kept them amused for ages, good for hand eye co-ordination.  When they are little, they find joy in the smallest things.  I think we tied a string to one and took it for a walk to the park  (???).   They are lovely at that age.

VintageHistorian

Total OP for August - £22.17!

September is expensive this year  I've just paid £200 for road tax this morning, I've got a trip with my sisters to London next Saturday and still need to repay my sister for the exhibition ticket, and DS broke my glasses yesterday. Optician said they can't be repaired so I've had to buy a new pair, they should be ready at the end of the week. Existing pair are wearable but slightly lopsided and bloody irritating.

A few bargain wins in August. Got some vegan "Wibble" jelly sachets from Waitrose for free using Greenjinn, I've put those away to go in the foodbank reverse advent calendar (use by date is well into 2025). I've bought a secondhand Thomas the Tank Engine DVD boxset for DS for Christmas, and also got him a Thomas-themed dressing gown off Vinted but I'm not sure if I'm using that for Christmas or just regular winter prep.

Still not bought anything for DH though  Last year he had £75 worth of items that I'd only spent £45 on because I'd got so many bargains throughout the year. Must must must pay more attention this month. Actually I normally take DS out on Sunday afternoons so DH can clean with minimal interruptions but the autumn weather and earlier nights will soon put paid to that, so I might start taking DS for a wander around the shops occasionally, and then look out for bargains with him in tow.

DS is teething again but has been much happier this morning. You're right @f0xh0les it's a lovely age! I took him for a walk yesterday and we found a ginger cat that he and Mr VH see on their walks. It's a very friendly cat and must have recognised DS as it came up and rubbed against his legs, much to DS's delight as he stood there giggling and cooing at it

And now naptime is coming to an end so I need to get up and wake the snoozing pair. Dinner tonight is roast pork chops with potatoes, veg and gravy, and yorkie puds if I have any left in the freezer.

Have a good week everyone!

beanielou

Ginger cats are joy 🐱🐱

ruby_eskimo

Well done on the Christmas prep.  This time last year I'd bought all my gifts, this year I haven't even given it a thought 😆  Hope there aren't any more unexpected spends this month and I agree ginger cats are great!

VintageHistorian

Worked yesterday but am on annual leave this week, hooray! Going to spend a lot of money, booooo!

Okay, maybe not a "lot" of money, depends on how it goes. We're taking DS to the zoo with the in-laws, my idea so I've booked and paid for the tickets (they do a lot for us so I'm happy to cover the cost). I'm going to take DS to a toddler group on one day, and we'll also take him to soft play as he's now able to climb so can be much more involved with it all.

We're also going to take some stuff to the tip, and I want to have a clear out of DS's clothing from the past 18 months and sort out what I can sell and what can go to the charity shop. I might put any cash from selling towards a Disneyland Paris Fund 

I have finally made some progress on Mr VH's Christmas gifts! I've bought three tins of nice instant coffee which were on Clubcard offer or on Shopmium, and also a packet of biscuits that were on Clubcard offer and also on Shopmium, so double discount. I have also spotted some cherry chocolate in a Co-Op but will wait and see if that goes on offer before buying.

Right, better go book some zoo tickets. Dinner tonight is toad in the hole, have a good week everyone!

VintageHistorian

Okay so it was infact an expensive week  But it was also a lovely one so nevermind the cost. And it includes 2 toys and 2 books for DS for Christmas, some more coffee and biscuits for DH for Christmas, three new tops for DS as he's had a growth spurt and is now well in the 18-24 month clothing range, and a few treats for me and DH such as nice Costa Coffee sandwiches.

We didn't go to softplay in the end as there was no parking spaces free so we took him for a walk in a nearby park, so that was one saving 

I have managed some decluttering, although things are now mostly waiting in bags to go to the charity shop or the tip. I have stuck the "Free please take" box out the front this morning since it's not raining, for the first time all week, so hopefully someone will decide they really want a baby bottle we never used for DS, or some plant pots for their seedlings, or a box of Oxo stock cubes that hit their BB date next month.

I am also making great progress on DS's clothes clearout. I have sorted out a box every night this week so we now have three boxes full up with just clothes, and two boxes that are empty. I need to photograph a few quick wins for selling at work (or at least I hope they'll be quick wins), finish off the rest of the boxes, and then start sorting out bundles of clothes to list on the work mailing list or on FBMP.

I need to go and get DS and DH up from their afternoon naps in a moment I was planning on taking DS to a nearby town for a walk around but me and DH have been talking about how to improve storage in a few areas of the house so I'm tempted to take DS to a nearby Home Bargains to look for some storage. Buuuut I also feel I should save that for a rainy day activity, especially since we are coming to the end of carboot season and I've taken DS out most Saturday mornings to a local one, might need an indoor rainy/chilly day visit instead.

Dinner tonight is cheap and cheerful oven pizzas. Have a good weekend everyone!

VintageHistorian

Total OP for September: £24.84, all made up of Tilly Tidies as I've done very little on the side hustle front recently.

Things I haven't done:
- Listed any of my "quick wins" through the selling space at work
- Taken anything to the charity shop.
- Actually finished the clothes sorting for DS as I got the boxes mostly done and then ran out of mental bandwidth for it and now it's just an annoying problem every time I open the office door.
- Got rid of anything through the "free please take" box, no one else wants my crap either.
- October money shuffle, EDF haven't generated my bill as I think their platform is having weekend maintenance (I don't have a direct debit).

Things I have done:
- Booked a slot at the tip for next Saturday so at least next weekend things can leave the house.
- Sorted out my finance spreadsheet so it's fresh for October even if not fully filled in.
- Made some soup for DS and Mr VH. Mr VH enjoyed it yesterday and DS finally consented to try it today after his main lunch and seemed to like it, so he'll have more tomorrow.
- Torn out some recipes from my BBC Good Food magazines, will take them into work this week and leave them in the staff kitchen so others can help themselves (obviously with a warning on to say some recipes are missing).

I'm sure there's other things I've done but I can't remember them

I'm now trying to get spending back under control after last month's splurge. I managed to take lunch to work every day this week, but did end up buying biscuits from the shop several times. I will hopefully avoid that this week as I bought a packet of chocolate hobnobs and although they now call to me from my desk drawer, I should be able to restrain myself from eating more than 2 a day (except on Friday, when I had 3 as it was the end of an insanely busy week and I was feeling worn out and hormonal, an extra hobnob was very welcome).

I have managed to hold off on buying new storage options for the house. We want to move Mr VH's bathroom cleaning bits to the top shelf of the airing cupboard where he can get them easily and DS can't. We have a plastic box in the kitchen that currently houses teatowels and other bits but it takes up a lot of room on the windowsill. I was going to get a smaller tub for the kitchen, but then remembered I bought some when Wilko had their closing down sale, so I dug them out of storage and picked one. It's much smaller but if you roll up the teatowels they'll fit fine.

Unfortunately the box that used to be in the kitchen has a layer of dirt and dead bugs on the bottom of it I might leave that for Mr VH to clean out before it goes in the airing cupbaord. We also need to work out what to do with the three bottles of part-used cleaning products that have been living in it for years and haven't been touched in over 7 years. Pretty sure they were ones I brought with me from London, which were in my parents garage for 18 months before we moved here. They're never going to be used and I think any cleaning power they had is long gone, but at the same time I don't want to just chuck them down the sink.

Christ this adulting malarkey is hard!

Dinner tonight is chicken and parma ham pasta. Have a good week everyone!

ruby_eskimo

Well done on still making an OP passively, all those tilly tidies will make a difference in the end.  Not sure I can offer any advice on the cleaning products but I'd make an effort to just try and use them up depending on what they are of course.

VintageHistorian

I think I have logged into my bank account more this month than at any other time this past year. Mostly because more small amounts have gone in and some larger amounts have gone out and needed to be balanced with savings transfers, but that has meant more Tilly Tidies this month.

Big spend this month has been a new car seat for DS. He has suddenly shot up in height this month (Mr VH measured him at the beginning of October and then measured him again a few days ago so we know it's not just in our heads) and is now at the very upper limit for his current car seat. The new one has been ordered from John Lewis and should clip into the base we currently have (they're by the same company).

Growth spurt has also meant a little look on Vinted for some more new clothes. I've bought 3 new tops in size 2-3 years (he's almost 19 months), but one is actually a Christmas top. I've favourited a bunch of others so I can look at buying some more next month after I've been paid. Getting 18-24 month ones on his torso is tight but do-able so we're not desperate.

I have also very nearly finished Christmas shopping for DS, after buying a wooden London bus for him, also from John Lewis. Budget for him is £100, I've spent £59.26 and that's without the Thomas the Tank Engine dressing gown (not sure whether to give that at Christmas). The original cost of everything before sales/not second hand is £96.68 as it includes a Thomas boxset which seems to be horrendously expensive if bought new, at least according to Amazon. I want to look in The Works for a few books that can be divided between Christmas and birthday but can't see me going over £65 in total, so we'll pay at least £35 into his Junior ISA over Christmas too.

Still haven't finished sorting DS's clothes. Still haven't taken things to the charity shop. But I have to work tomorrow and will get Monday off in return. We're taking DS to get new shoes so I'll try to remember to take the charity shop bits with us then.

Did a talk to a ladies group the other night so that's £44 into my S&S ISA, and cashed out £9.67 from Prolific which went to the mortgage. I also got £55.63 from TCB but that bulk of that was car insurance cashback so I'm going to stick that back in the car account to help towards next years costs. Also had a sale on eBay, money from that went into the holiday pot.

Tomorrow night's dinner will be a takeaway as I'm not cooking after working an extra day. Sunday night I'm going to attempt a chicken and cider pie with ready-made puff pastry which has been in the freezer for well over a year. The recipe is actually chicken and cider crumble but I figured a pastry lid would work just as well.

Have a good weekend everyone!