2017 - moving life forwards

Poor_Single_lady

Welcome back Coastal. Glad the move went well. Looking forward to more updates but life is busy so don't worry too much. Sometimes we need time to focus. xxx

coastalchick

Last night was about £50 each which wasn't bad value considering all we had but could do without it!

Friend has just had a baby so that's going to be £21 each on a mulberry bush with personalised plaque/crate thing - idea being kid grows up alongside the bush. But we didn't get them a wedding gift and they've just bought a house so is kind of a gift to cover everything I guess.

BD just gone to get car from last night as we left it there and got a cab home. Feel I should run but far too hungover!!

Today is big shop and staying in tonight with the old net flicks/sky. Should have some money left over from this month's budget but will prob put that into separate account to pay for house stuff as we have a fair amount to get still.

Vets final check up was £42.87! But he now has the all clear thank god!!!

coastalchick

Big shop was a ridiculous amount (just under 150) we were trying to eat healthy but it's so expensive to do so. No wonder UK has an obesity problem, its much easier to eat rubbish.

This week has been good and bad. Gift for new baby ended up being £58 due to delivery. Car had to be serviced - £377 as needed a new battery. But not been serviced in almost 2 years so I suppose cost was justified. Bought wine on the way home (2 bottles plus milk) just under £20 but not yet opened it. Hoping to hang on until tomorrow but BD is out at band practice so I'm tempted by a glass whilst watching the good fight.

Get paid on Friday. We are 20th of each month except when falls on a weekend when it's the friday before. Means new month's budget starts on saturday. Hoping to have around £130 left over from this month's budget to shove in savings. Not sure whether to put it into an account which is for house stuff we need or put in long term savings. Maybe I'll divide between the 2. Wont have much left over in new month's pay as am paying back tax office at 422 a month up to and including september's pay. This month our mortgage repayment is more as it is a month and a half as it's first one and it's BD's birthday in a couple of weeks and want to get him a flying lesson.

Good news is I got the cat's insurers to change their mind and they are paying the claim in full!!!! Plus taking the exclusion off his policy meaning he is covered going forwards (though not much for rest of this year if that condition rears its head again as policy limit of 2k per condition annually). It does pay to argue and I do think I was right as there was a 2 month 4 year gap with no problems so how it could be said to be a pre-existing condition I failed to see (and they couldn't explain)

Am going to try to be more frugal generally in this month's budget and try to meal plan cheaply. We are away twice in this month's budget but that should come out of money in my holiday account.

Still worry about money all the time and constantly going over figures/future worries in my head - I do think it is taking over my life a bit and not really sure how to change that.

Poor_Single_lady

Very pushed for time but wanted to say quickly good news on the cat re the money and the recovery. xxx

coastalchick

managed not to spend anything yesterday - a first for a while. Unless BD got stuff for house on joint card which I don't yet know about.

Mis-read the figure for the car - was 337 so BD gave me £20 back as he paid - good as can go into savings.

Pay day today! Looking forward to setting aside the money for mortgage, bills etc then siphoning off everything else for the various savings pots.

Have a session with my old trainer this morning - 45 mins - £32.50. Going to go once a week to try to lose a bit of weight as have piled so much on. Walking to work and back every day which is 1hr 10 of walking a day as I can't run at the moment as my knee keeps giving way.

Then will grab something for lunch (never anything in the house on a friday!) and we need milk and will work on my book.

Tonight is "big shop" and quiet night in. Tomorrow night we annoyingly have dinner at one of BD's friends houses (I will drive) and sunday a bbq as one of BD's mates is back in town (again, I will drive).

I just long for a whole weekend of not having to see people for one reason or another. Sadly we don't have that until 9 June and then after that, October!!!!

One more week at work (4 working days) then a whole 11 days off! Cannot wait.

Read something really sad earlier. Someone who I am friends with on FB (so don't really know) posted that they had been prescribed 2 things and as it was £17, they could only afford 1 until pay day next week. I find that incredibly sad. They also often post about how they can't afford petrol. But this person does buy a Starbucks coffee every day. If I was properly friends with them I'd probably suggest if they cut out the Starbucks, they could afford a lot more in life. That must be £3 per day. Though I guess they might say this is one of their only pleasures.

coastalchick

have been to trainer even though couldn't find my gym stuff at first so almost had to cancel!! Feel much better after going even though it was hard! £32.50 for 45 mins is a lot though so think will just do for a few weeks then review.

Went to shop on way home and spent almost a tenner. BD will pay for some of this though. Got 2 x milks, vanilla hagen-daz (was on offer!), cheap version of cornettos and something for my lunch as no proper food in the house! Having a chippy tea tonight but that will be about a fiver each.

Really need to work on book today but am just exhausted as didn't sleep very well last night.

coastalchick

got a new tax coding today and so down another £27.17 per month. A bit annoying but I suppose that's life!! The £422 repayments to tax office are hitting quite hard at the moment. But not a lot I can do about that. At least I know it's only 4 more pay packets of pain!

Entered a free competition with Diet Coke to win a holiday. But unlikely to win!

Ordered some toilet brushes, a bathroom bin and a plastic shopping bag dispenser (our bags just clutter otherwise and this is wall mounted so will keep them out the way) - majority paid for with the amazon vouchers we got from credit card points, rest on card but BD has been nagging me to do this for a while so glad I've now sorted it!

Think we are watching top gun tonight!

coastalchick

didn't do big shop last night as couldn't face it and hadn't made a list. Went to b&q and got some chimneas and covers for them and a couple of other things BD needed for sorting decking. We had ordered some chimneas from amazon but they delivered them to Germany instead (!!!!!!?!) and we'd been waiting about 3 weeks or so! Contacted amazon and they said that seller had been removed and refunded us so the ones from b&q (plus the other odds and sods) were only a bit extra so pretty much already paid for.

Got take away pizza last night - £24 including a salad. Much cheaper than going out and neither of us drank last night either plus we have leftovers (mine of course, BD gobbled all of his!) for lunch.

BD currently outside scrubbing second half of decking to repair it. Costing us a fair bit to do in terms of decking boards, treatment, paint etc but much cheaper than having someone come in to do it as BD is very handy DIY-wise. Really, the whole thing needs replacing as a lot of the underneath is quite rotten but because garden is north facing, the decking doesn't really get enough sun to dry it out so replacing with standard decking, the same thing will just happen again. As it's quite a vast area it would cost (I reckon) a couple of grand to replace so if same thing is just happen again it would be silly to do it. So, we are thinking of either replacing with TREX (which has 25 year guarantee and no treatment required) or patio but both would cost a lot and we are potentially thinking of extending that way in a year or two (if BD's flat sells, which is currently off the market and now rented out until July 2018) so would just be silly to go to cost of replacement. Trying to eek another year or two out of it, probably at a cost of around £300-500 all in (not yet totalled it up as BD been buying in stages) before making expensive decisions.

I'm off to do big shop in a mo. Luckily we don't need too much this week so should be (relatively) cheap at least. Then I'm going to finish tidying up (been doing a bit just now) and clean a bit, plus make a potato, asparagus and rocket tart for lunch, before working on my book. Tonight we are to BD's friends, a couple I don't really know, for dinner. Could do without it tbh as would much rather stay home. Same tomorrow with the bbq (though know the people at least). I just would like a quiet time!

Didn't have much (if anything, not yet calculated) to take over from this month's budget as forgot I needed some make up which I ordered last night plus a personalised card for BD's birthday. Add that to my share of pizza cost and it might be a few pounds if I'm lucky! Must be better this month!!

coastalchick

Shop was £94 in total. Much more than I thought it was going to be and didn't really buy any extras. So £47 for my share. Think it may have increased as bought some wine to take last night and some beers/meat for BBQ today. Got 5 x salmon fillets for a tenner though so that will do us for another meal week after next.

Made the tart - wasn't bad actually (BD raved about it so that's good) so we have leftovers for lunch today and BBQ for tea. Didn't manage to work on book yesterday as after tart making did a lot of cleaning and trying to find a blanket box online for putting on upstairs landing to keep all our spare bedding/towels in. It's still in big cardboard boxes at the moment and we'd like to get it unpacked if possible. Found 2 so need to get BD's view but he is still working on decking/making chimneas.

Then b**ts. Got 3 for 2 on travel size shampoo/conditioner/face wash as we go away week after next so needed those. Picked BD up some toiletries at his request but he pays for those. £5.39 on a new eyeliner (which was needed because my current one is running out).

Took some jeans back to shop (didn't fit as I am now fat).

Went to his friends last night and we both got horribly drunk. They are quite big drinkers and I was nervous as only met them once before. Food was great though and was a laugh. Taxi home and BD paid so think I owe him for that.

Drove there last night and parked at BD's mum's as she lives round corner. She will pick us up around 3 to go get the car then we will go to BBQ. I will drive. BD said he'd drive if I wanted to drink but I don't sleep well when I drink and have a busy week at work coming up (and only 4 days then off for 11 so really need to crack on) so I will drive and not drink. Plus it's his lad friends so he might want a few beers with them.

This week shouldn't need to spend much (other than stuff for house which is coming out of separate account which I have squirreled away). We will prob just need a milk top up at some point mid-week.

Some good news yesterday: my dad bets on the horses (he's very disciplined and only bets a set amount which he knows he can afford to lose, but overall he makes around 8k or more a year profit anyway) and whatever he wins he divides by 4 and he takes a quarter, quarter to my mum, quarter to me and quarter to my brother. Yesterday he won over £900 so nearly £250 coming my way! He is really very generous. He doesn't need to give us that but he always says it gives him pleasure as he knows we will spend it for our holidays or in my brother's case, getting his roof fixed!!

coastalchick

BBQ was fun. I drove and had diet coke. BD had 1 beer. Came home and shared a grab bag of maltesers, watched tv and went to bed at 830!

Neither of us slept very well, BD was the worst. He said his back was keeping him up after working on decking all weekend. So I phoned up and booked him in for a sports massage tomorrow and paid - £45. So much for not spending much this week! But don't want his back to be shot and he deserves it.

Free lunch at work today and it wasn't too bad as far as mondays go although shattered. Cook yourself thin carbonara for tea which will start in a mo. Tomorrow is lunch from stores then salmon and veg for tea.

Just sold cat scratching post (which he never used!) for £15 so will put that towards our hols next week.

3 more days then 11 off. Cant wait. This week is quiet in the evenings. Thank the lord. Though we have people round Sat night - dreading it a bit as they are big drinkers and just want a quiet life!

Insurance premium from old property was refunded today. As we'd taken it out in november then bought here in april was no longer needed so a refund of £208.57! Have split it with BD.

Oh and my tooting property may now have been sorted. Had a massive stress and panic as after spending a fortune extending the leasehold, the land registry wouldn't register the extension due to a weird charge on my title (which i knew nothing about and which neither the lawyers on my purchase or my extension advised me about). The lawyers that did the extension tell me they've managed to register the extension (though I don't yet have any paperwork!) and I got in touch with the firm who have taken over the firm that did my purchase in 2003. They contacted me today to say they think they've sorted it and the land registry had said it was a mistake and should've been removed in 2003! Thank god!!! that property is my pension and I have been SO worried about it.