Viking's Diary

Viking_mfw

Thanks all three. Good advice!

shangaijimmy

Pad and paper, 4 questions, starting from the top:

1. What will happen if you do?
2. What will happen if you don't?
3. What won't happen if you do?
4. What won't happen if you don't?

Technique that has worked for me in the past, but question 3 & 4 can be difficult...

Viking_mfw

shangaijimmy said:

Pad and paper, 4 questions, starting from the top:

1. What will happen if you do?
2. What will happen if you don't?
3. What won't happen if you do?
4. What won't happen if you don't?

Technique that has worked for me in the past, but question 3 & 4 can be difficult...

Excellent strategy, thanks. Although I did get my shorthand for the questions mixed up briefly and have to start again!

Refund from utilities has come through this morning and also payment from musical bird, so a swift OP of £118.52 to start the week! Rest of the refund is being split between PBs and ISA but will need to get debit card and computer out for those. 

Off to post fleabay sales this morning. Mrs Salad Dodger has come up with the slogan "cash for clutter" for the decluttering thread and it's jolly motivating!

Viking_mfw

Feeling a bit itchy as for the first time this month I have no prospective money for OPs - i decided it made sense to wait for the cheap fees on fleabay so haven't listed any more. Better find something to be doing! 

Viking_mfw

Well, that was a silly way to feel as I realised there are various things heading this way and also I have some cash to pay in. However, in light of the possibility of moving I'm funnelling the money into savings rather than OPs until we know what we're doing. More stuff packed up for Musical Bird and WBBooks this afternoon, and my husband has done some of his stuff too. I am definitely feeling the lure of decluttering. Listed a few more things on FB marketplace and gumtree and hoping they'll sell, but I am also packing up some future listings for fleabay. 
Having looked in the other city we have naturally realised that the best houses for us are just outside our budget! Isn't it always the way...

savingholmes

Well done on decluttering. Sympathies on house budget - I know that feeling

Viking_mfw

Well I have been continuing to enjoy window shopping for houses in the possible city. Found one only a few miles outside with an acre of land and an 18metre (!) greenhouse which seems ideal, but realistically we need to be in the city so I can walk to work and so that DH and the DSs can access community. Shame. But given I haven't even applied for the job yet...

Have had a few things collected by various folk and therefore out of the house. I listed a few things on fleabay today but have more to go, and also some for fb/ gtree. Best MSE moment today was asking on fb for socks for DS1 who urgently needs the next size up, and getting a lovely bagful. Not only do I save the money and the planet, I also don't have to go to a shop to pick up a click and collect. 

DH has also decluttered some things to music magpie and to WBB, so I am getting a nice referral bonus from that. I need to go pay in some cash next week so that I can shift it into PB savings before the end of the month. At the moment things are looking relatively healthy from our frugal January which is good. I did buy steak and a chicken to roast which rather hopped up the spending as I like organic meat for welfare reasons. But even so I think we've only spent about half our normal food budget for the month. That will go down a bit as I need to order some cat food. 

Picked up a few Olio items this afternoon so we had lovely home made garlic bread with our pasta and tomorrow I am going to try to make lettuce soup - much to DH's disgust. 

debtfreeoneday

Awesome work on the decluttering. 

Viking_mfw

Thanks to everyone who has mentioned tax returns recently as I finally remembered to do mine. It was very frustrating as though the tax return itself was very simple (and I only struggled a little to work out where to enter the working from home allowance!) the system kept logging me out, which then meant I had to keep going back to go through the multi factor authentication. It also logged me out when I pressed submit, and I now realise that is exactly what happened last year when I thought I had submitted but then turned out not to have, and got a fine, even though I'd paid the tax. ANYWAY it is now done, although I have not persuaded the system to let me pay what I owe yet - mostly returning child benefit. I think you can do that without logging in though so I shall have a go when I have regained my patience. Because my current account was looking healthy because of no-spend January I had hoped to put some money into savings from it - but then the tax bill has wiped it out. I was feeling down about this but realise that's a bit silly as the money would have had to come from savings if I hadn't had it handy. It's all swings and roundabouts. 
I also finally tried to track down where my clubcard points were going... took a while but I have now spoken to a nice lady on the phone who says she is going to sort it all out. I hadn't changed my address, plus the email address had homtail not hotmail as part of it.... and there is some other error on the account which needs sorting as well. Anyway, I am now dreaming of vasty fortunes in clubcard vouchers coming my way. I suspect the truth may be less exciting. 
We're having our Burns Night Supper tonight, having bowed and had our first takeaway of 2021 last night. It was very welcome and fed nicely into a film night with DH - we watched Ava which is suitably full of murders etc. Who says romance is dead, eh?
DH has been chopping up wood in the garden for the fire so it is roaring away which is lovely and snuggly. 

savingholmes

Well done on tackling the frogs... Enjoy your burns night celebration