Travelling On

Karmacat

Plans for yesterday went awry, I gave myself permission to have a slow day though I did manage to cook some coconut loaf cake, I love the texture. 

So this morning, I was trying to catch up, and book a Waitrose delivery, for foodie gifts I've realised I need, and there were two slots for this Wednesday!  Then I pressed one of them, and it had gone 🤣 and by the time I got back to the booking page, the other one had gone too 🤣  So I'll be pootling along there some time this week when it stops raining: crystallised ginger, chocolate reindeer, 100% fruit jams and blissful red onion marmalade are all on the list   Extra furoshiki will be required for that!  Recycling frozen veg bags will also take place.

Two little presents I have in-house still aren't wrapped - this needs a lot of input the first year, there's no doubt!  Worth it, though.

I'm just starting to review the year - I hadn't kept up with my big list of 167 items to do 🤣😲 and its surprised me how many I did because they needed doing, mostly the financial ones that I thought were new ideas 🤣 so I'm happy about that.  

Karmacat

Very little money stuff going on, though credits to my current account are quite a lot this month: my own French money, £1711 for E2000, normal state pension £740.60, £500 from the government as part of the cost of living crisis relief, another £10 from the government because ... don't know, did they miscalculate something? .... and £66 from my energy provider.  At that rate, I might stick another thousand into premium bonds.

My own focus is still on the furushiki, though I've still not bought the stocking filler presents for my sister, I'm stalled till I get those, probably tomorrow.  Likewise, I'm decluttering what I can, and I just had a big win: I had a 4kg bag of white rice, unopened, BBE June 2022 - I've only used half of a similar bag, and this one would be unuseable by the time I finished.  So I took it to the food bank down the road, warning them it was over its BBE, and they took it gladly!  Very pleased with that.

taka

Karmacat said:

... another £10 from the government because ... don't know, did they miscalculate something? ...

The £10 is your Christmas bonus! 🎄
https://www.gov.uk/christmas-bonus 

themadvix

taka said:

Karmacat said:

... another £10 from the government because ... don't know, did they miscalculate something? ...

The £10 is your Christmas bonus! 🎄
https://www.gov.uk/christmas-bonus 

Don’t spend it all at once!! 🤣

Karmacat

Thank you taka!  I hope you're well.

madvix - exactly my thought 🤣 though its better than a slap in the face with a wet kipper 🤣  With thanks to Ace Rimmer.

taka

I am thanks! I kick around on MSE but I am usually days / weeks behind so rarely post these days. 😆

badmemory

That £10 originally used to pretty much pay for Christmas dinner when it started.  Now it barely pays for the veg.  They should stop it really but for £10 it isn't worth the flak they would get.  To be honest I think they have just overlooked it & if they get in again then it will stop.  But then I am sure their mates will miss the tenner!

beanielou

Yes, when the 10 quid Christmas bonus was introduced it was actually worth something.
Along with the 25p per week people over 80 get on their pension!

Karmacat

I'll stop sniggering at it 😋 but I'll continue to laugh 🤣 I just googled it - it started in 1972 🤣 and yes, £10 then was completely different.  I went to college in 1973, and my room, all bills and all meals except Mon-Fri lunch was £9 a week.  And we thought it was expensive.  That's what £10 was in 1972/73.  Coo!

Anyway, I *will* buy those premium bonds today, and once I've checked what my credit card bill will be, I'll probably send some to an easy savings account.  Thank heavens I can do it online.  Otherwise - I'm working on my list of "stuff to do" - of course, I did maybe 30% of my options, and I've added more, but that's okay, I get a sense of the rolling wave - my living standards are better because of the work I've been putting in, even though there's so far to go  

Karmacat

I didn't do the tasks I had planned, but I did buy the stocking filler presents for my sister, at Waitrose - 100% fruit jams, and proper maple syrup.  

I also just bought myself a gift card for Asda at topcashback.  £50 of shopping, I get a £2.50 pressie, and there's 80p normal cashback 🤣 it's riches, I tell you.  And I've managed to remember to shop there sometimes, so I now also have £5.52 payable, and £1.02 pending 🤣  That's enough, I'm done, I'll do the premium bond thing tomorrow.