Diary no 3 - Still MumblingTaff's Ramblings.....

mumblingtaff

Ended up cleaning the kitchen cupboards out (well overdue) and doing a pile of freshly washed ironing before it got too dry. Sat in the garden for an hour or so listening to the audiobook and took the dog to the park for a trot around.
Feel like I've just about managed to bore myself into doing some schoolwork tomorrow. The locksmith is coming in the morning to sort out the front door's iffy lock (using money from leftover euros to pay for it) but other than that I have no plans for tomorrow so I can get stuck into some work.
Going to watch the soaps and the JK Rowling thing this evening - rock and roll!9

mumblingtaff

Had a busy morning so far, have taken the dog to the park, dropped the dry cleaning off (will cost a fortune!), taken work shoes for reheeling, dropped off 2 bags of stuff at the charity shop, found the right light bulbs for the kitchen at last in the little shop that sells everything in the village, got some cash out and phoned the vet to order the dogs tablets to pick up on payday.

The locksmith rang to confirm and she's coming in about half an hour to sort the front door out.
I do need to do some school work today, time is slipping away now......

I'm also pondering my relationship with OH, he's in a grumpy leave me alone kind of mood again and to be honest I'm fed up of it. It seems to come in cycles every few months and I'm a bit tired of walking on egg shells and being intermittently ignored. It's almost 5 years now and although I don't want to get married or even live together I think I need a bit more of a commitment from him. When we were on holiday and he'd had a drink he said that he was perfectly happy as we were and couldn't see anything ever changing. I didn't comment or argue with him as I didn't want to spoil the holiday (he's a real sulker) so let it go but it's stuck with me. I'm 45 and part of me doesn't want the stress of it all and the other part thinks that I'm a grown woman and shouldn't be pandering to a man - it doesn't feel like an equal relationship a lot of the time. I know I can survive by myself (as long as I have the dog for company) and I'd eventually be ok. The complication is that we work together - I need to do some serious thinking. I'm totally financially independent of him ( good job, as he's rubbish with money even though he earns considerably more than me) and am fairly comfortable with a small mortgage and no debt (apart from the money for the holiday that he still owes me which is on the CC, my half was paid off straight away).
I think for the time being I'm going to just get on with my own life and do things that make me happy while I come to a conclusion.

Anyway, I have things to do so won't waste time worrying about it for now.

mumblingtaff

Forgot to add that I bought 3 Vue cinema tickets from Groupon last night for £12 - that will be a real saving when going to watch the films that I fancy that are being released over the next few weeks. Not bothered about going alone if needs be.

Also spent £11 on 3 books from Amazon that will be delivered on Thursday - used a bit of the leftover holiday money to treat myself. 2 thrillers and Davina McCall's book about her life and overcoming hurdles. Seemed quite apt somehow.....

The locksmith has been - took her 10 mins! I'm happy to use her as she's really professional, good at her job, has the best rates and is a woman in a man's world. £50, but I have a new lock, 3 keys and the knowledge the that door won't lock me out in the winter. All from the leftover euros so no "real" cost.

crazy_cat_lady

Hi MT :wave:
I had no idea that your other diary had gone - just presumed you were off enjoying your hols until you posted on my diary. So I've done some investigating and I've found you and subscribed.
Sounds as though you've had a pretty decent holiday all in all - congratulations with the GCSE results (I was devastated about ours as you know), and the brilliant weightloss this week. As for your OH, it's such a difficult decision to make isn't it? I don't know if he realises or fully appreciates what he has with you (similar to my dh I think) - either that or he's not good at showing it, or expressing himself. The good thing is that you are (as you say) a completely independent woman and you don't need him in your life so you can choose whether or not you want to keep him there. Lots of love to you xxx

mumblingtaff

Hi Cat, thanks for dropping in and for your words of wisdom regarding OH. Your situation has been much more difficult than mine and I can't draw comparisons but I know it's really hard to live with uncertainty and self doubt. Hope your OH comes out of his bad place again especially as you have to go back to work soon.

Well I've had a totally unproductive afternoon - pottered about a bit, had lunch and then felt suddenly exhausted. I sat down on the sofa and slept solidly for 2 hours - that's not like me. Have since taken the dog for a half hour walk to get some fresh air and wake myself up again but other than that done nothing. Hope I'm not coming down with something - I didn't sleep well last night, tossing and turning and thinking too much so hopefully I was just tired.

Going to have a bath and spruce myself up a bit - will make me feel more human.

mumblingtaff

Had a fairly good evening - OH came over (unplanned) and spent the evening with me chatting and then spent the night. He's working today so left quite early. It's restored my faith a little but we're not out of the woods yet. We'll see....

I'm going in to work today as my laptop isn't working and I need to get stuff done, don't know how long I'll be there but it will be at least half a day.

Just checked the banking as its payday tomorrow and all is ok - will get there without being overdrawn or using the contingency money - only just, but considering I've been on two holidays this month and have been off work all summer I'm happy with that. The holiday fund is depleted right down to £60ish now but everything was paid for in cash and I've not needed to dip into savings. I'll build it up again each month and hopefully manage to do the same next year.
I need to build up the house and garden savings account too, ready for the bedroom redecoration later in the year.
The main savings account is looking healthy and consistently growing each month and I've got £200 in the Xmas account which will get to £300 by the time the season comes. I only put £25 in each month but it all adds up and pays for the extra food and things needed for the visitors and the presents for family.
I still have the majority of the student loan refund squirrelled away too - I'm using some for suit shopping this week and when I know how much is left over I'll distribute between the savings accounts and pay off the tickets I've bought for events (about £60) which were put on the credit card for security when buying.
I'll do a new budget for September tomorrow when I get paid as I'm unsure how much I'll get (there may be a small amount of overtime paid).

Better get the dog out for a walk and then shower etc and get myself in to work.

mumblingtaff

Had a bit of a frustrating morning at work - took the IT man 2 hours to fix the laptop which appeared to work ok so I set off to do the suit shopping at lunchtime thinking I'd be home in a couple of hours and could work all afternoon/evening. At home it just doesn't work
Means I'll have to spend the next 2 days in the office just to get urgent stuff done for next week as I have no idea when it works and doesn't and can't rely on being able to work at home on the weekend. Pain in the ar*e......

I did buy lots of work clothes though - will need to try it all on again at home to see whether I still like it all but it all looked ok in the changing rooms. Included in the haul is a navy trouser suit, a black and white flecked jacket and black trousers, a navy patterned dress, a coral blazer, 2 patterned shirt tops, 2 camisole type tops for under suit jackets, a black and white fancy blouse, big knickers for under the dress (!), 2 pairs of shoes (navy and black) and a new work handbag. Looks quite a lot now I've written it down!!! I've also ordered the same trouser suit in black and a dress and jacket suit from next to be delivered tomorrow as they didn't have the right size in the shop and I'd like to see them on - will only keep one of them.
Providing I still like it all I should be kitted out for a while - it's like having a school uniform as I don't wear any of it anywhere else. Suppose I have to look the part now though with my promotion and most of my work clothes are looking decidedly tatty.
All paid for using the student loan refund money - there's still £360 of it left which will go into savings for now.

I did pick up my payslip while in work which has allowed me to do the budgeting for September. No overtime paid, apparently that was last month .....whoops didn't notice, it was only £100 though.

I've budgeted the following...
£200 groceries (will hopefully be less as its only 4 weeks worth of shopping)
£300 spending money (£75 a week)
£65 dogs tablets
£120 hair ( 2 visits, one at the beginning and one at the end of the month, the 2nd might not be needed, depending on re growth of grey roots)
£20 slimming world subs
£50 petrol (put in today as there was virtually nothing in the tank)
£100 council tax
£1255 direct debits and standing orders
£50 next bill

There's nearly £700 left over, all of which is allocated to various savings accounts. I've also paid off what's left of mine on the credit card, OH is transferring the money he owes me this evening, so that's a nice zero balance again.
The savings accounts have had £100 into the holidays account, £100 into the house and garden account, £25 into the Xmas account, £300 into general savings and finally £150 into a contingency fund (which still has another £200 in it).
All in all it looks quite financially healthy at the moment - the aim for the next few months will be to save up for redecorating the bedroom, replenishing the holiday account and building general savings whilst not using the credit card for anything that won't be paid straight off again.
I think I've given myself plenty of leeway in the budgets for September so barring any mishaps or emergencies I shouldn't need to dip into any savings /contingency money for anything.


I have a couple of things booked in for September - the Val McDermid book reading thingy next week and a Smiths tribute band on the 15th - both of which are already paid for and so will only need a bit of spending money. I also have three cinema tickets paid for (the Groupon offer) and 3 new books coming tomorrow so I should have plenty to keep me fairly occupied throughout the month - who am I kidding.... as soon as work kicks in again my life will be manic

mumblingtaff

Morning! Had a good sleep and woke up fairly early at 6am. Got up and checked the bank and my salary has gone in so I've made all the transfers and payments listed in the last post and rechecked my sums. Everything is now all organised and I'm sorted for the coming month. I must be quite sad and geeky as I feel a huge sense of satisfaction after doing this It makes me happy to be organised - all bills paid and I know where I am money wise for the month. It's nice to see the savings growing and stability in my finances at last.
The first standing order for my sister's therapies has also gone out so I'm happy she'll be able to continue with activities that make her feel better and relax her (things like massage, reiki, hydrotherapy that really help her cerebral palsy - still fuming that she has to pay now even though it's been free for years, even if it's only £5 a treatment it's a lot for her from her disability allowance, so she can now have 2 treatments a week).

Going to withdraw £20 for slimming world subs for the month and keep separate to general cash and £70 spending money for the coming week.

Will think about a shopping list for the weekend, will try to use up what's in until then so there's fresh food for when I go back to work. I'll look through the pile of slimming world magazines for inspiration. I have a budget of £50 a week for all food, dog food, household stuff, toiletries and anything else you buy from the supermarket. Might do a big shop this weekend to stock up a bit as the cupboards are looking quite bare, especially now I've tidied them out.

Going to have to knuckle down and get some work done today - time is running out.....
Will also see if I can get the dog an appointment at the vet for this evening - his mouth seems to be bothering him a bit (still eating like a little piggy though) and his breath is yukky at times. I have to go to pick up his usual tablets so could kill two birds with one stone.
Need to do some exercise other than aged dog walking too - can't let that slip.
My new books should be delivered to the local shop from Amazon today too - looking forward to having a look at them. The suits ordered should arrive today too - will have a trying on session at some point.

Feeling quite organised - all I need to do is crack on with work so I'm ready for Monday.....

mumblingtaff

Had a really productive day - thankfully the laptop worked on the remote server and I could work from home and not go into school. I've managed to sit down for 7 hours with a 30 minute lunch break and get the results review report done, the development plan written and three quarters of a subject review document finished. Chuffed with that as all but one of the big jobs are out of the way now. Just the action plan to go and a team PowerPoint to write and I'm ready - or near enough anyway.

Walked the dog for half an hour in the park for some fresh air and exercise after working all day - the sun has come out and it's quite nice now, was thundering earlier!
Picked up the Amazon hooks on the way home - they all look really good, will start one in the bath later, before going over to OH's this evening. I've also been listening to Stephen Fry's autobiography whilst walking the dog for the past few days - very entertaining, he's such a clever man.
I've managed to read 7 real books and listen to 2 more over the summer holidays -was hoping for 10 in total, but I'll start one of the new ones today and will just about get there!

The diet has gone ok over the past few days, if you don't count a couple of glasses of wine, but I've counted them into my syns so hopefully they won't do too much damage.

Tomorrow will be quite busy - I have to carry on with work in the morning, then pop to the vets at lunchtime, pick up the dry cleaning and a pair of shoes from the little M&S then have my hair done at 1.45. It's desperate - really grey roots and needs a good cut. Might go mad and have a new style - have looked at lots of pictures, will see what the hairdresser thinks, he's brutally honest! I'm always there for over 2 hours so it will be late afternoon by the time I'm home and then it will be time for the next dog walk.
The suits from next have also been delivered - not looked at them yet, need a mammoth trying on session either tonight or tomorrow.

Going to have a little sit down and then wallow in the bath for a while after a light tea.

crazy_cat_lady

You're always on the go MT. I feel so lazy when I read how much you're always doing...