Atrixa's Saving Diaries

savingwannabe

Wonderful news on decorating!!!!! Oooooh a pet, how lovely. Happy undie shopping. It is nice to treat yourself to lovely things. You have worked so hard you deserve it! Try to rest a bit i cant believe all the things you have planned.

Skint_yet_Again

Yay to finishing the bedroom. Boo to landline provider & roofer. I treated myself to new underwear recently after losing weight as my pants kept falling down 😳😆

Can’t help with the kitty hunt as we have a dog but maybe you can get blankets / fleece / throws (if you need any)from the charity shops when they reopen. Our local animal charity shop has beds & scratching posts etc too. B&M are good for bowls & toys. 

MovingForwards

No holding you back with decorating and soft furnishings!
T have 25% off clothing, might be worth a look or see what other supermarkets have, especially just for around the house.

Cats

I've never insured one, always had moggies and paid vet bills as and when required.
They take over sofa, chair, bed or wherever you let the access. 
I picked a tilted / raised bowl set from 3bay, under £6. TomBo got one months ago for her. Means we can swap the tray out to wash and have bowls to rotate for cleaning.
Not all cats like / use scratch posts, I tend to buy a welcome coca mat and let them destroy it, spray or drop some cat nip on to it. 
Cat trees are not really designed for adults, but there are plenty of guides about how to make one DIY! TomBo is on about doing a cat run round the upper part of the walls of all the flat, must stop him watching those YT videos!!
Blankets I usually hand over my old ones, or ones which I no longer use. Fold it and put it on the sofa seat, roll another up and do an O on top of the other.
Food depends on whether you want to go down raw feeding, expensive or supermarket. Some are grateful and eat anything, others are fussy and only like one brand.
Toys are again down to the cat, some like the balls with bells on, some like the dangling on a stick, some like boxes to jump in, others are happy to shove rolled up newspaper around the room. Grab a set from the pound type shop and see what they take to.
There are plenty of cat shelters around, usually I just do an internet search and my county, it's also worth checking FB as some of the smaller shelters only use that.

I've spoken enough, but if you want any more information, let me know 😃 (cat mom for 27 years)

atrixa

Thanks for the tips! I'm looking into insurance now and the only thing that concerns me is sky high vets bills if something serious happens. I could easily make a sinking fund for any routine stuff. I'm getting an older housecat, most likely so I'm thinking the age would work against them health wise, but if they aren't outside they're less likely to be injured or pick up bugs? I'll keep reading into it, I know loads of people don't insure them and they do just fine. 
Good to know about the cat trees. I like the look of those radiator seat things, I know cats like warm things.
I've got my feet up at the minute- I've stripped the horrible textured wallpaper off the landing and the stain block has been applied to the living room. Smells appalling!

MovingForwards

The age goes against them with insurance, p3t p1an are highly recommended, but they are not cheap; they do rolling annual policies. Other insurers tend to do annual policies like car and home insurance.

Because I've nearly always had house cats, I've never bothered having them jabbed, I've only ever had to worm once. Flea treatment I only do a couple of times a year.

With the radiator beds, wait and see what cat you end up with. I wouldn't risk one for mine due to her weight.

We buy bulk cat litter, wood pellets and it's about £7 for 30L, P. at H0me. Litter trays again can be picked up from pound type shop or supermarket. I've never used the contained box type, only ever the tray and we put paper / card down as a liner; tried the liners but none of my cats over the years have got on with them.
Puppy pad or the plastic hall carpet protector goes under the litter tray.

(Read through the marriage and relationship section as it has a pet section within it).

Close the door in the lounge and open up windows everywhere, some should go and it will prevent a headache.

savingwannabe

The weather is heating up a little so hopefully you can open the windows but try to go for a walk to get fresh air outside too. I am still impressed at how many of you are decorating in this weather! I like cats but am allergic. I do love doggies though. lol. Have a good day.

atrixa

Thanks! I've submitted an application to adopt a cat through a perfect (purrfect?) match system, so hopefully I'll hear back relatively soon. I've put a kitty (sorry) aside for adoption fees and other cat start-up costs. I'll definitely have a look at that pets section.
Other money stuff- I got a letter though from my energy supplier saying that they would be raising the prices, so I did a quick comparison on the MSE tool and switched. I get £57 bill credit, green electricity and a cheaper rate. I'd not heard of the company before but the customer service rating is good and they've been around for about 6 years. Only negative point is that the direct debit amount changes depending on the season which is a shame, I do prefer a fixed price.
Roofers contacted me yesterday, work should be starting next week on the porch roof and chimney. I'm glad I didn't have to chase. 
Landline provider are still messing about with my line. Beyond a joke now so I'll be complaining some time next week and asking for a full breakdown of what they're actually doing.
Decorating- all I'll be doing this weekend is filling and sanding the landing wall. It's not in great condition so it might take a few rounds like the living room did. I'm debating whether to remove the textured paper from the staircase altogether or just paint over it. It's in good condition except for where they rewired the light switch. I suppose there's no hurry. It took a few coats of the damp seal, but the stains around the chimney breast are now gone.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

savingwannabe

Ooooh the online adopting sounds lovely I didn't know this was even possible. Wow. Well done in being proactive about the switch. I hope the landline company sort themselves out. Hurrah for builders and excellent decorating. It sounds like hard work wishing you a sunny happy weekend!!! 

MovingForwards

Good luck with the adoption, please keep up updated, I wouldn't be without one!
A lot of the newer suppliers do variable DDs for gas and electric, it's only the big established ones who can afford the risk of fixed DDs.
Complain to your phone company by email, keep a paper trail in case you need to escalate it.
Leave the hallway, see what your thoughts are in a few months. Being totally honest I don't even notice it in my flat.

atrixa

Will do I've just had my welcome pack from the new supplier and it's actually a fixed DD across the year, so MSE had their info wrong there.
I think I'll just paint the stairway white to brighten it up a bit, then in a few years time on the next decorating cycle, I'll rip the paper off when I have more energy for it. I've just sanded the top of the stairs again. I think I'll do one more fill and sand, then paint it weekend after next.
Spent £26 at Mr M's today. £16 was on a pair of jeans as my old pair have disintegrated in the crotch area.
I'm making a batch of vegan chilli tonight and that will be my tea for most of the week