Frump to Fab 2018 - Fabulous Dahhhhlings

Toni'sfriend

Goodness, LL, I'm tired just reading about all you've achieved today. Hope you manage to find a wee holiday somewhere. Iceland sounds fantastic.

I've had a little practice with my new travel straighteners and the're fine. Not as good as full size, obviously, but perfectly adequate. I've also bought a travel lady shaver. Charges the same as my
i phone and is small and light so perfect.

Trying really, really hard with the healthy eating. Couldn't resist they roast chicken and stuffing yesterday though. However, no chocolate, crisps, biscuits, cakes, etc and I have really cut down on the alcohol.

OK. Off to do a healthy dinner.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

LL you have a very bright future ahead of you. Pace yourself.Will it be dressmaking or keyboard lessons?

I went to the pub for a night of dancing on Saturday evening and to Karaoke on the Sunday evening. I had a really good time both nights, but all of the dancing I was doing has made me have a lot of pains but the painkillers I am taking are doing their job.

I persuaded my daughter to join CHILI so we will have even more films to watch at home and she gave me the Odeon e-ticket.

I just did the Groupon Odeon deal for 5 e-tickets as well for £25 as there are currently so many films that I really wanted to watch at my local Odeon and this was an affordable way for me to see them. :j:D

I now have a weekly income of £73.10 which is my assessment rate of ESA. It will undoubtedly be months before my ESA Appeal will finally be heard. All benefit for my 18 year old son has ended. As I knew what date this would be happening I did as much stockpiling of non perishable items as I could find room to store from my savings that were not my holiday savings. We should be okay for hopefully the next 8 months at least.

I now have £1389.25 in my holiday savings account.

lessonlearned

Wow....well done on the holiday savings, SUgarbaby. It's amazing what we can achieve when we put our minds to it but I have to say your budgeting skills are fantastic. I think it's brilliant the way you manage to source the going out deals too. This is something I need to work on.

I am going to enjoy throwing myself into the house renovations but I am aware that I need to also work on my social life. All work and no play would make Jill a very dull girl.:rotfl:

I know I have the skills to transform a house on the tiniest of budgets. I am pretty good in the kitchen, and can ace the charity shop dressing, now I need to turn my attention to going out and travelling on a budget. Both my DILs are brilliant at putting holidays together, they manage to find fantastic deals on high end hotels and holiday rentals. I must pick their brains.

And of course I have my rail card. I know flights can be cheaper but I really don't like flying very much and although coach travel is cheap I have heard that coach holidays abroad can be a bit rushed.

Cruises can be very good value for money when you get the deals but The downside to them is that you don't get long in port, it's only really a taster. What I would like now is to spend longer in one destination and take more time to explore. I was looking at both cruises and coach trips to Italy but realistically a day in Rome, Venice and Florence just isn't enough to to do them justice.

I am still thinking about a residential language course in Italy, say two weeks. But first I need to brush up my Italian so I can go as an intermediate rather than beginner. Some of the courses are aimed at the over 50s and include cultural activities, such as cooking, museums, wine appreciation etc. So a language school in Venice or Florence would be perfect, especially in the shoulder season. Cheaper, cooler and less crowded.

But first Iceland.......and maybe a few coach mini breaks in the U.K. I am also interested in activity or hobby holidays.....I think they are ideal for solos. I understand the women's Institute do them, something to look into.

SUgarbaby. .........to answer your question, dressmaking or keyboard.....the answer is both. :rotfl: dressmaking is a short 6 week course so that one first I think. Keyboard lessons would be open ended.

Back in a mo......

lessonlearned

Going back to budgeting.......

Yesterday I spent some time sorting out the utilities etc for moving. My council tax will be going up quite a bit - from Band A to Band D so about £400 a year increase. Yesterday I arranged to have a water meter fitted to my new house reducing my bill from £504 to around £200 (she couldn't give me an exact figure) and also shaving around £120 off my broadband package. I need to do my car insurance soon too but I reckon I can halve that too. So the savings there will more than cover the increased council tax.

My energy supplier has upped my payments for my new home but I think they have over estimated what my usage will be - especially if I do get a wood burner fitted but I'll leave it for now. I have built up some credit so wont have to worry about winter bills. I can't stand being cold (it makes my fibro worse) and, although I'm not extravagant or wasteful, I refuse to skimp on heating.

Once I'm established in my new home I shall be looking at switching banks and chasing the best savings rates. Also as each renewal comes up I will be shopping around for the best deals.

I also intend to stock up on non perishables.....partly because I like to prepare for the winter but also because prices are rising due to the weather. And of course none of us knows what the Brexit effect will be so like a good girl guide I shall "be prepared". :rotfl:

All the savings I make will go to my adventure fund.

maman

We're very mse on here today! Martin would be proud.:money:


I'm amazed that you manage to live well and save sugarbaby. That really is some feat.:T


Sadly there's not much out there on good savings account deals LL. The majority of High Street banks have rushed to add interest to loans and mortgages but not to savings accounts.:mad: For smaller amounts of regular savings the best deals are on the savings plans attached to current accounts. For parking larger amounts then fixed deals are best but they're not great, not even keeping up with inflation.


What are you planning to do with dressmaking skills LL? I'm quite handy with a needle and used to make clothes for myself and DDs when they were at school. In recent years though I mainly just make a few soft furnishings, repairs or alterations.


I need to nip out later and pick up a click and collect gift for my DGD's birthday so no major fabbing needed. Tomorrow is the first Autumn Term dance class and Thursday I'm meeting a couple of friends for coffee so I'll try harder then. It's still warm, dry and sunny here so no thicker clothes needed yet.:)

lessonlearned

Well I've just had a nap.....:rotfl: after my early start this morning I'm absolutely shattered. I keep waking up insanely early and of course it catches up with me later in the day.

Re the sewing.....I used to sew a lot but got out of the habit. I'll definitely want to try some soft furnishings, not sure about whether or not to actually make garments from scratch, nice fabric is very expensive now, more probably a case of tailoring off the peg ones to fit properly and maybe refashioning charity shop buys.

Re the savings.....savers rates really are abysmal aren't they. As you say not even keeping pace with inflation so it's probably not conducive to keeping a lot of cash anyway.

I have some money in stocks and shares ISAs which are doing well but of course they are more risky than ordinary savings accounts, so I'm being a tad cautious. Having read some of the savings threads on here I think I will use Martins drip feed method of holding some money in those linked current accounts you mention and then siphon it off into linked regular savers accounts. That's probably about the most lucrative way of doing it without putting funds at risk.

However after playing around with mortgage calculators this morning I have decided I shall probably overpay my mortgage. I will be on a five year fix so I can only repay 10per cent per year but I think it's worth doing. I've worked out that in 5 years time I might even have reduced my mortgage enough to pay it off when the deal ends using some of my savings. It sounds complicated but I'm sure it works out well....(if I have my maths right:rotfl:).

I could have bought the house outright but it would have been a bit of a stretch and I wouldn't have felt comfortable reducing my savings so much......not at my age.I think it's different when you are young and have time to rebuild your savings pot.

I'm hoping that a combination of a small mortgage, overpaying and allowing my savings pot to grow a bit more means I can redeem the mortgage in say around 5 to 8 years and still keep a decent retirement fund for drawing down in later years. Trying to have my cake and eat it too.

What a pity I wasnt this savvy when I was 30. :rotfl:

maman

When I used to sew LL, I made myself a lot of pencil skirts for work plus school dresses for my girls and even a couple of bridesmaids' dresses. More recently I've just made the little girls (my DGDs) outfits for when they had costume days at school. The other year I made a whole set of Nativity costumes (including animals:eek:) for my DD's class. That was a bit of a cheat though as we bought a load of cheap coloured pillowcases from Asda and customised them with tails etc. so grey for the donkey, white for the sheep etc.:D


I was reading somewhere that when people like Waity Katie and Samantha Cameron say they're wearing High Street fashion, say a dress from Zara, what they actually have on is the chain store dress but it's been taken apart and refitted by a seamstress. You'll be in good company.:)


I was ashamed of myself the other morning. I had to be out well before 9 so I had a quick shower and just moisturised my face.:o It must be months since I last did that quick wash and go. Today I've made up for it and creamed myself all over including my feet.:D


Dancing tonight. I think the weather's still good enough for a summer skirt so that's the plan although I thin I'll take a cardi with me just in case.:)

lessonlearned

My DS2 went from being the scruffiest grungiest art student ever to a now very snazzy dresser (apart from his workwear when he looks like a tramp). He bought himself a couple of style books and educated himself on how to dress well on a very limited budget.

Think James Bond but for pennies rather than Saville Row prices. Maman, like you mentioned re Kate etc, one of the tips in the style book was getting things to fit properly. It said if you can't afford bespoke, then if necessary buy the best quality you can off the high street then get a tailor or seamstress to make any necessary alterations.

He is 6ft 3 and when, stripped down, looks like an advert for Oxfam so his clothes have to be very slim fitting. Recently he has struck gold with Next for suits, jackets etc. - no alterations needed. He has managed to pick up suits, jackets and casual trousers at knock down prices in the sales, so has stocked up. Whenever I visit the M&S outlet store at McArthur Glenn I always scour their men's dept for white pure cotton very slimline shirts. They usually retail for around the £50 mark but because they are so slim fitting they often go to the sale bargains. Last time I snaffled some up for £7. He was dead chuffed. :rotfl:

He has just sent me some pictures of himself and his girl in Oz. It's warm but not too hot. I have to say he looked very stylish, proper leather shoes, chinos and a nice fine knit sweater. A real "English Gent" look rather than the Gawd awful clothes that many Brits wear abroad......no football shirts, baggy shorts, sandals and socks for my boy. :rotfl: no tattoos and thankfully the student piercings and nose studs have all gone and healed over. I have to say I really hated his "face furniture" stage but thankfully it didn't last long. A couple of semesters.

It's glorious here. I have done some more packing, some paperwork and have been sitting out in the garden. I still have a gentle tan so an hour or so in this warm sun has topped it up nicely. Other than eye make up and a slick of lippy I don't need face make up at the moment.

Still haven't had my hair cut......I have decided that I'm going to try and grow it a bit. It looks a bit straggly so I will need a trim soon. And as Winter is Coming (Game of Thrones reference there, lol) I think I might have some colour put in. I didn't bother Last year because of the Amazon trip - the sun bleaches it in days so it would have been a waste of money. It's still white from the summer so I might try and hold out for a few weeks yet.

Hope you are all having fun.

lessonlearned

Good Morning Lovely Ladies

Well this morning I'm dropping off a set of keys at the estate agents. Only 4 more sleeps......getting excited now.:D. All the fears and doubts are gone, the butterflies have gone back to sleep and my tummy is behaving itself.

I can do this. :rotfl:

There's not much more I can do now till the weekend so I'm going to have a browse round some charity shops today. Not sure of window sizes for the new house (pretty big) but I might see if I can pick up some curtains, either to use S temporary curtains or use the fabric for upholstery projects, cushion covers etc. Just see what's out there.

Apparently the vendor is leaving all the curtains and blinds - they aren't very thrilling but they will do for a few weeks whilst I sort myself out. It's probably only the dust that's holding them together......they've been up for years and I doubt they have ever been washed or cleaned. I'll just hover them in situ to get the worst off the dust off to start with. Anyway, the big curtains will make good drop cloths for when I start painting. Lol.

And, although I don't "need" any more clothes, well who knows what baragains might be out there.......

It was lovely earlier but seems to be clouding over. I think they've forecast rain so without further ado I am off out.

Although I could do with an inch off the ends off my hair it is starting to look better. Growing out the layers is tricky and it can be hard to persevere when it looks like rats tails (one of my mums expressions) :rotfl: but I think the worst is over.

maman

My mum used to use the 'rats' tails' expression too.:D


I was thinking about your comments on sewing/dressmaking LL. I realised that in the years we've lived here I've gone from making all the curtains in the house to none at all! That was partly circumstances as I reached a point where although I was working silly hours so had no time I was earning more than enough to pay to have them made. However, the main reason now is that in a number of rooms I don't have curtains. We have wooden blinds in the study, dining room and guest room. It's a look I like and makes the rooms look more spacious. In the bedroom I have white blinds and lace panels on the curtain rail for decoration but nothing else in the other rooms.


I went dancing last night, out for an hour long brisk walk this morning and later I'm walking to a friend's. I just can't believe how glorious the weather is so I'm determined to make the most of it and, although I've been having a few twinges in my knees and feet I'm going to keep up the exercise.:)