And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

pinkypig

Hazelnutty wrote: »

OMG that sounds heavenly, PP! I do love a staycation. Coffee and time to read the newspapers or go for a walk just feels like such a luxury. Or popping into town and being able to have a good nose around the charity shops. It does you good. Whenever I have those experiences I then say, I must build this kind of destress time into my everyday life but I never seem to manage it. I am getting better at actually taking weekends and holidays (one of many positive influences of OH) but something every day to slow down a sec would be great.

Hiya Nutty :wave:

It's great isn't it? I do love going away but often find by the time I'm back home I'm really tired so a few staycations are brilliant for relaxing
Your OH sounds lovely . Time with your loved ones is always a good investment :)
Do you get half term?

pinkypig

Morning :wave:

Feeling very relaxed having slept until 7.15 and then had a coffee and reading in bed:). Dad was a bit tetchy last night but DD came for an hour and we eventually got him settled. Once he was engrossed in a film I got some of my writing assessments marked.
My planning for the first two weeks back is done and my other assessments are up to date so I'm going to have the easiest half term I've had in years:D
Today's plans include some exercises classes ( I get unlimited classes for my £24 a month so I might as well take advantage), cutting back some shrubs as they are collecting the green bins tomorrow and I fancy some cooking and am thinking maybe Christmas cakes - we'll see.

Need to get a wriggle on or I'll be late for my first class!

Happy Tuesday to you

PP xx

pinkypig

Evening :wave:

Failing miserably with keeping my diary up to date:o. Too busy doing very little:rotfl:

In money news it's pay day tomorrow but my month end isn't officially over until the 28th so I've one more grocery shop and one more car refill to go. The budgets are looking pretty good although I'm unlikely to be under and grocery may be a touch over. I've had a very thrifty holiday taking picnics and coffee out and about, socialising at home with bulk buy wine and freezer batch cooks. In fact, apart from a grocery spend on a large pumpkin for soup, milk and some sweets for my dad it's been a ns holiday. It's also been great, fancy that!


My 6 days of thrifty staycation have included;

Two hill walks with picnics using bread and wraps from the freezer and hm scones and cake from stores.
A more sedate country walk
Two trail runs through the woods
A spin class, kettle bells and Pilates using monthly membership
A cooking day - soup, curry, Christmas cakes and chocolate cake
Lots of reading
Several bubble baths
Lots of sleeping - past 8 o'clock the last two mornings :eek:
Started each day with coffee in bed:)
Watched two box sets (one gifted, 1 cs:money:)

I've had such a nice time and without it putting a dent in my MF plans

Today's small steps to success and wellbeing included;

Drank enough water

Went for a run

Laundry up to date

Flu jab booked

Meeting with pensions advisor arranged

Cheap, healthy eats from cupboards and freezer

Meal plan and shopping list done.

Off to catch up on TGBBO before bed:)

Happy Thursday to you:):)

PP xx

pinkypig

Morning :wave:

It's so cold :eek: The heating is now on for an hour in the morning and 2.5 hours at night so it feels nice and warm. I've set the thermostat at 18.5 which seems right for us but I've no idea if that's considered miserly or extravagant:p. I'm going to start lighting the woodburner in the mornings on Sat and Sun and the evenings we are all in when it gets colder.

Today is getting organised for my return to work day. I doubt I'll achieve it all but I do like a list:D

Roast pumpkin for soup, curry and tagine. Roast seeds for snacks

Ice birthday cake

Food shop

Cheque into current a count

Fill green bin

Meet friend for coffee, drop off birthday pressie and some hm jam

Photos for eBay

Repair hem on winter coat and belt loop on jeans

Sort out utility cupboard so I can fit the Christmas cakes in

Sort out present stash and see what I need for Christmas gifts (hopefully not many as I've got loads:))

Spin class

Visit dad

Repack freezer and do inventory

Car insurance and recovery renewals or switch to new provider


Best get cracking :eek::eek:

PP xx

Karmacat

What a wonderful description of your staycation! Love it

pinkypig

Morning :wave:

The sun is shining :j.

I managed a few things off yesterday's rather unrealistically long list, namely;

Roasted a huge pumpkin but still need to turn it into meals

Did the food shop for £32.56 so I'm over budget on the month but not by much

Did car insurance, no saving but at least I know my insurer is the cheapest. They were also bri!liant when I had to make a claim through no fault of my own. I found national breakdown with the same level of cover for £25 rather than the £78 renewal I was offered so I was pleased with that:)

Did a spin class

Had coffee and a catch up with a friend and delivered birthday gift.

Got two stains off the bedroom carpet

Coloured my roots with 1\2 a HB hair colour (50p:money:) and trimmed my layers - look and feel much better as a result

Iced birthday cake

Sorted out the utility room cupboard and put the Christmas cakes away until feeding time:). I've no brandy so I'm going to use sherry and hope for the best!

Visited dad

Had a nice dinner and catch up with the kids

Today my aim is to ;

Spend the day with dad

Make pumpkin 100 ways :rotfl:

Put mincemeat in the sc so it has a couple of months to mature before I need it

Pay cheque into the bank

Finish marking writing assessments

In money news I've been paid:j. Yesterday included some spends other than grocery as I went to the cs. I got dad some dvds and myself a book, a gorgeous beach cover up and a very posh cheese knife and cake slice and some good quality utensils to replace the last of my not so good ones so £4 spent.

My October variable spends were;

Grocery £134.60/£132

Personal £25.45/£44

Fuel £106.31/£140

My only other spends have been some home repairs , car insurance and breakdown which were budgeted, about £20 on gifts including ingredients for hm ones so a pretty good month. I tightened my belt due to a gap in rent but it's actually felt ok as I'm well entrenched in watching my unnecessary spends these days. It took a long time to break spendy habits but goodness am I glad I did. Life's actually significantly better and my finances are much healthier so win/win:). Wish I'd worked that out 30 years ago :rotfl:

Happy Saturday to you:)

PP xx

wishingthemortgaheaway

Oooh.
Mincemeat in the slow cooker. Good plan!

We have whiskey Christmas cakes at ours and I'm starting to feed it this weekend, as soon as I'm home.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Pinky, I've never 'done' a pumpkin before.
Do I just shove it in the oven to roast whole? Then chop & slice etc?
Then how do I 'do' the seeds so we can eat those too?

Many thanks
Wish.

pinkypig

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

Pinky, I've never 'done' a pumpkin before.
Do I just shove it in the oven to roast whole? Then chop & slice etc?
Then how do I 'do' the seeds so we can eat those too?

Many thanks
Wish.

Hiya Wish :wave:

I chop It into small chunks, leaving the skin on and then season, spray with oil and roast. I then just chuck it in soup,curry tagines etc.

I wash the seeds and remove any flesh/stringy bits , spray with oil and season with salt and smoked paprika and roast in the oven until they are golden. I then turn the oven off but leave them in overnight with the door closed to dry them out properly otherwise they're a bit chewy. I eat them as a snack, out them in salads or in hm bread:)

Hazelnutty

That's an amazing grocery bill, Pinky! How do you do it?