Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

[Deleted User]

I feel for you over the washing, Elizabeth.


We had distant relatives staying with us from Saturday morning until yesterday evening. A husband and wife and a male and female teenager so all beds used. Plus, I've never known so many fresh towels used in such a short space of time:eek:. I don't even like these people and the only time DH and I ever visited them they weren't particularly hospitable:(. They practically invited themselves to stay with us too. They had huge appetites despite the teenagers having so many food preferences (not allergy-related, just fads IMO) and catering for them all was an expensive nightmare. I literally jumped up and fist pumped the air as their car turned out of the drive:j:j:j


I did the first load of washing as soon as they'd gone last night ready to hang out first thing this morning but it rained overnight and is still raining so no chance of getting anything dry today. Certainly don't plan to have big wet towels draped all over the house to dry and the tumble dryer is making a weird screechy noise. I put off calling in a repair man last time I used it as, with the better weather coming up, I thought I could get away with leaving it off for a few months and save my pennies. Probably, with the British summer being what it is, it was a bad choice:(. It still works but I'm worried about damaging something so the repair ends up being really costly. Now I'm debt-free I'm like you, HH, and won't spend anything if I can save it instead.


Sorry about the moan:o. I hope everyone else is having a better day than me:beer:

HairyHandofDartmoor

elizabethhull wrote: »

Absolutely.
When DD2 was in the phase of needing to be driven home from town, I always made sure she asked the guys if they needed lifts, as much as the girls from our area or thereabouts. Statistically, the guys were more likely to get embroiled in a fight or be assaulted on their way home than the girls, and it's only a bit of petrol to make sure someone else's son is safe.

Over the weekend, DGS wet the bed (first time at our house), and DD2 had a folliculitis 'episode', so 2 lots of sheets to wash when I'd only just put clean bedding on !! Poor DGS sat in his birthday suit on the bed (around 11pm), and looked utterly miserable, didn't want a cuddle, was obviously really tired, didn't want anything, so DD2 came downstairs. After a few minutes there was pathetic-sounding crying, and when she went up he wanted a cuddle and reassurance it was all fine. In the morning all was bouncy happiness again !!

Hoping you're feeling better, HH. It's very gloomy round here today, but still warm enough for putting washing out.

Thank you Elizabeth . We always try to help the DC's friends if they need it and I agree that young men can be just as vulnerable and they are all someone's child.

I'm glad DGS recovered so quickly, children do seem to become ill quickly and recover quickly. I wish I recovered as quickly!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Noella wrote: »

I feel for you over the washing, Elizabeth.


We had distant relatives staying with us from Saturday morning until yesterday evening. A husband and wife and a male and female teenager so all beds used. Plus, I've never known so many fresh towels used in such a short space of time:eek:. I don't even like these people and the only time DH and I ever visited them they weren't particularly hospitable:(. They practically invited themselves to stay with us too. They had huge appetites despite the teenagers having so many food preferences (not allergy-related, just fads IMO) and catering for them all was an expensive nightmare. I literally jumped up and fist pumped the air as their car turned out of the drive:j:j:j


I did the first load of washing as soon as they'd gone last night ready to hang out first thing this morning but it rained overnight and is still raining so no chance of getting anything dry today. Certainly don't plan to have big wet towels draped all over the house to dry and the tumble dryer is making a weird screechy noise. I put off calling in a repair man last time I used it as, with the better weather coming up, I thought I could get away with leaving it off for a few months and save my pennies. Probably, with the British summer being what it is, it was a bad choice:(. It still works but I'm worried about damaging something so the repair ends up being really costly. Now I'm debt-free I'm like you, HH, and won't spend anything if I can save it instead.


Sorry about the moan:o. I hope everyone else is having a better day than me:beer:

Noella your distant relatives sound AWFUL :eek:. Next time they want to visit I would be 'busy' because they sound like ungrateful users to me. You can be too kind and some people don't deserve it.

I hope your drier doesn't have anything too serious wrong with it. We woke up to heavy rain but the sun has come out this afternoon.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I haven't been posting much because of my horrible cold as reading for too long gives me a headache . Not that I have much to report .

Yesterday I sat on the sofa all day and watched an entire series of Shakespeare and Hathaway which was the type of undemanding cosy tv I was in the mood for. All I did apart from that was chat to DS1's friend (who went home last night and is going back to uni today) cook dinner and put the dishwasher on. I literally did nothing else all day . Oh I did cash out £5.35 from PA and send it to the Christmas fund which is now over £100 :money:.

Today I'm planning a repeat of yesterday only this time I'm watching Fortitude. I have put some towels on to wash so need to hang them up and will cook dinner tonight. Apart from that I'm planning on resting as I feel too tired to do anything else . At least I haven't been spending much. Yesterday was a NSD and today will be too as I won't be leaving the house.

In money news the awkward client paid today :T so we transferred 20% into the VAT account, I set up an account for DH and bought him £50 of premium bonds, and we also added £500 to DH's EF. Apart from that the money is earmarked for June's living expenses. So now we just need to earn July's.

We have £200 left of May's budget and only need to buy food tomorrow, so any left will be diverted to the Christmas account, or possibly to go towards paying the accountants for the work we need them to do in June.

I hope everyone has a good Tuesday and is feeling more energetic than I am!

redofromstart

That is good news, I did wonder if you would have to fight for your money.

I'm suitably lethargic too - all full of half term colds here.

milann

Rest and tv sounds like just what the doctor ordered :beer:

teafor2

You've been doing so much physically and mentally both at home and work lately that I think a couple of quiet days on the sofa watching some TV is just the thing you should be doing.

So glad to read the client has paid up, that must be a worry off your mind. You're really on top of all the money and allocating it to the relevant places. Do you have a Christmas target or are you just trying to get as much in as you can?

Take care of yourself. xx

beanielou

Glad that the client has paid.
Hope that you are on the mend soon.

foxgloves

Summer colds are horrid, aren't they? I always think that in winter, you can just wrap yourself up in hand knitted blankets & sit by the fire. I can remember when I got flu in June a few years ago.... it just felt bizarre hacking away like an ancient sheep, feeling at death's door while everyone else seemed to be outside enjoying a heatwave! Hope you feel more lively soon.
F x

[Deleted User]

I second (and third) what others have said about being glad you got paid and how well you're doing allocating money to your various 'pots':T. I hope you'll be feeling better soon and have more energy. What a shame to have to spend your holiday on the sofa but, as you said the other day, at least you're not having to miss work. I think I know how much you'd have hated having to do that.


I know what you mean about sometimes just needing cosy, undemanding TV programmes. I once did a reading challenge on Goodreads and one of the catagories was to read something from the Rory Gilmore challenge. I hadn't a clue who Rory Gilmore was:o but after a quick Google found she was one of the main characters in an American TV series called Gilmore Girls. Strangely, some of the episodes were being re-run on Freeview so I watched one and became well and truly hooked. Not normally my sort of viewing but it was fast-paced, quirky and had such a wonderful feelgood factor. I can't get enough of idealised, small-town America. The episodes I managed to catch were completely out of sequence though. I recently saw the very final episode after Rory has graduated from Harvard and lots of other loose ends are tied up but I still haven't seen years of earlier ones. There were 7 series made.


Long story short (well, not very short:o) I was dropping some stuff at a charity shop recently (determined NOT to buy anything there as I'm on a permanent decluttering mission) and lo and behold there was the complete 7 series box of DVDs for only £5:j. I had to buy it, would have been rude not to;). Now I plan to watch it all in sequence and will do whenever I need something undemanding to watch. Doesn't matter that I know the ending as it's not like a thriller series where the baddie is only revealed at the end:rotfl:.