Cherry takes the reins

HairyHandofDartmoor

Your guinea pig sounds like my rabbit :rotfl:.

We've been having the heating on for an hour in the morning and three hours in the evening now it's a bit colder. We don't have it on in the daytime unless it's frosty outside to try and get our extortionate bill down :mad:.

Your travel plans sound very exciting .

Cherryfudge

Thank you Hairy, it is certainly exciting! Not going to happen for months yet, though (saving up for spending money in the meantime).

No run today - I had a nap instead. Dh had a run after work which he really enjoyed so perhaps I should have gone while the going was good. Tomorrow is earmarked for birthday and Christmas shopping, unless the weather is bad in which case I will pin my hopes on going on Thursday.

Nothing spent today as I cancelled piano and DH bought the tea. Still got £17-something of this week's housekeeping and as each no-spending day goes past, the same amount looks proportionately bigger, IYSWIM. However I think I may convert some of it into coffee while my favourite is on offer. I need to think about meals for the next two days: we have chicken to use up or freeze tomorrow so I think chicken casserole on Wednesday and maybe a golden oldie like corned beef hash on Thursday - then we're eating out on Friday (birthday meal) and we share a takeaway costing £5 every Saturday. The main expense, other than coffee, is going to be croissants and fruit juices for the birthday breakfast (tradition).

DH is safely back and has done some errands for me - so the house is now draped with laundry that I didn't want to carry on the train from Mum's old house and a small piece of broken furniture has gone to the tip. He's enjoyed his time away but he's pretty tired and has a conference for work all day tomorrow, then we have another meeting in the evening so I want to be organised and take the pressure off him tomorrow.

I really need a great big declutter here but am lacking the necessary oomph. The plan for the next few days is roughly:
Wednesday: shopping trip for DS's birthday and assorted Christmas stuff. I haven't really got my head around what. Will try to use fridge and freezer stuff for the casserole, hoping to make space for Christmas food.
Thursday: maybe more of the same, and repaint that Christmas present project. I'm rather amazed that I've got so far but there's a way to go yet.
Friday: birthday breakfast. During the day, make a cake, tidy up. Evening - meal out for birthday probably followed by cake at ours.
Saturday: back to work.

Not much MS stuff today apart from not having my piano lesson, and an extra hour at work for which I'll be paid. Actually between the two, that's not a bad MS effort.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to add: our lovely Hidden Identity isn't around today and I miss her already. Hidden, if you read this, love & hugs and I hope we hear from you again some day soon.

Eager_Elephant

Hidden's diary was deleted and she has started a new one with a new name.
I will PM you

Doobop

I was worried about hidden and wondered if that might have happened. Tell her hope she is ok.

Hope you don't mind me hijacking your diary Cherry.

Cherryfudge

Great that Hidden is back (cunningly hidden, lol) - thanks for checking in EE and Doobop.

Days off got swapped round as it was throwing it down today so I stayed in most of the time. I did manage a few groceries and coffee and picked up my prescription.

I am trying to sort out a multitude of payments I made on my CC... My habit of sorting things into budgets paid off different accounts is definitely not helping here. If I buy things from different budgets at the same time, it's really hard to trace what is what. I've paid quite a few strays (:eek:) today but there are sooooo many more to go through. This is why I shouldn't use a credit card: I'm so bad at keeping up regular repayments. I think all the money is there but it's taking out of the right pots that's so tricky. Perhaps, once it's all sorted, I should have one card per account and just set up DDs. Much easier.

The good thing is that it's showing me that I really do spend more than I thought. Sigh.

Well, it may take a few days to untangle all of it - strangely it's made a lot more difficult by the fact that I've made a number of payments over the last few months - it's difficult because it's not always clear which budget they were from due to multiple budgets being represented on receipts. I think when I get to a reasonable degree of resolution, I will just have to bite the bullet and pay the rest from the account that pays for food & mortgage, though this will decrease the amount available for mortgage overpayments.

Tomorrow is now a designated present-shopping day, and we have our first Christmas invitation! I never usually get these so I'm happy!

Spends:
Housekeeping £9.69
MS stuff:
More than minimum paid off CC.
YS veg from supermarket
'Free' dinner from leftovers and stores (chicken and chorizo casserole)
Confession time:
The CC account is a disorderly mess.

Cherryfudge

A very spendy day today. Anyone would think Christmas was coming.

Some progress made on the CC: I know exactly which repayments have been made against the food budget. Now I need

• a) to work out other 'food' (housekeeping) payments I made and
• b) pay them, then
• c) total up everything else.
• d) Work out which I've already paid of 'everything else' and
• e) pay the balance

Then having completed that little lot, I need to pay off religiously on the day I accrue costs. Today I made debit card payments so no chance of getting mixed up about them.

Anyway, much spending today, and I haven't by any means sorted everyone's present yet though I got some very low-cost stocking fillers (59p, 40p etc ) as well as some more costly ones (£7.99). I bought four items of clothing for myself but have just emailed the shop as I think I may have been overcharged. I can't prove it as the item isn't on their website and there's no ticket on the garment. However there is an almost identical one on the website at the price I thought I'd paid.

Some other little treats in there for me: a sit down with a cappuccino, plus a new diary (needed) and pen.

I also bought DS2's birthday presents.

Spends:
Clothing £42.48 (which I think should have been £36.48)
Housekeeping £6.15
Pets (sawdust) £9.99
Stationery £2.58
Gifts £71.51
Total 132.71
MS stuff:
Saved £8 + of train fare by getting up early and getting a lift with DS who was going there anyway.
Took a packed lunch and bottle of water.
A couple of Black Friday discounts
Sawdust has suddenly got £3 cheaper!
Some sale items
Discovered a discount basement place for stationery.

Cherryfudge

I seem to attract would-be refunds.

Firstly I still haven't asked the shop to take back the spray paint I didn't use.

Secondly there's the top I bought today that cost more than I thought it should.

Now I find that an online supermarket order that should have had a refund doesn't seem to have attracted one. It was 31st October. Does anyone know how long these things should take?

WannabeFree

Definitely should have had it by now! Chase them x

Cherryfudge

WannabeFree wrote: »

Definitely should have had it by now! Chase them x

Thanks! That's a phone call in the morning then!

WannabeFree

I think it usually takes 3-5 working days x