Family home on the (distant) horizon - savings diary

*little.squirrel*

Left work a bit earlier than usual last night because it was quiet. I was annoyed because I'd already taken a break so only ended up working 4.5 hours, but actually I really needed the sleep. Especially since E is sleeping so badly just now. I thin it's the potty training; she's doing really well but is refusing nappies at night so she is waking a lot and isn't settling very easily. I feel guilty that perhaps she wasn't quite ready for it but there's no going back now.

Picked up some discounted jigsaws on Friday that I've thrown into the generic present box. Didn't cost too much and will do for birthday parties later in the year. Needed milk and bread yesterday but no time for town so just nipped to the local shop. So expensive though! I bought milk and then just made bread when we got home. I'm still not getting the loaves quite right so need to keep trying.

Going to sit down with DH and plan meals for April. We didn't have a good plan this month so I think it resulted in extra spending. Plus, being out of routine in one place really impacted everything else. We need to try better with breakfast and lunch going forward, and to eat better. I'm thinking green smoothies for breakfast might be a good start but need to find a recipe that actually tastes good!

A few eBay sales this week but nothing too exciting. I need to take more photos and get more stuff loaded, as ever. And that sodding Dyson. Ha! DH is going to clean it before I list it so I'll ask him to do that today.

Been mulling over the water bill. It seems pretty high at £120 a month, although we don't pay for 4 months apparently. I'm wondering if we could get a meter fitted and that would bring the cost down. We live in a rental though so not sure if a meter is allowed? I'll need to check. We have just agreed to extend the contract here for another 12 months. We have to pay for that but I'd rather have the security of knowing we can stay that long. A month to month contract would be fine if we didn't have the kiddos but I certainly don't want to take the chance we get notice to leave right before Christmas, for example!

Alexland

Ouch £120 per month sounds about 3x too high for water. We had a meter fitted shortly after moving into our current house and despite us each having a shower in the morning and our son having a bath at night the cost reduced substantially.

*little.squirrel*

Alexland wrote: »

Ouch £120 per month sounds about 3x too high for water. We had a meter fitted shortly after moving into our current house and despite us each having a shower in the morning and our son having a bath at night the cost reduced substantially.

We've never had to pay for water separately before so I didn't realise it was that high. I'll look into a meter and then broach the letting agents. There's two adults and two small kiddos so I don't imagine we use that much.

rawr_

Alexland wrote: »

Ouch £120 per month sounds about 3x too high for water. We had a meter fitted shortly after moving into our current house and despite us each having a shower in the morning and our son having a bath at night the cost reduced substantially.

£120 :eek: that sounds way too high! I know theres only two of us, but we pay £14 a month, and that's with running a dishwasher!

*little.squirrel*

rawr_ wrote: »

£120 :eek: that sounds way too high! I know theres only two of us, but we pay £14 a month, and that's with running a dishwasher!

£14 a month! Ok, I'll definitely look into it.

Finally a beautiful day here. And the first day of the Easter hols. A long trip to the park this morning. One of my friend's older kids is a bit rough though so I'm not sure how much time we will spend with them over the next two weeks. At one point he just pushed C off his bike when he was cycling beside him. I don't consider myself overprotective but I also don't want my kids getting hurt.

Got the washing hanging out so hopefully it will dry. Nipped to the local shop for milk, again. The kiddos are just drinking it by the pint just now! I'll need to order extra from Tesco to keep in the freezer so I don't have to keep paying over the odds nearby.

Feeling bad about messing up the budget this month. We have still managed to save a lot but I'm annoyed that I seem to be missing around £100. I know I used a bit more cash than usual because of all the visitors but I didn't think it was that much! DH also annoyed so I'm confident we will get back on track for April. I'm stretching out our last few ££. I haven't declared a savings total for March yet just in case I have to take any back out. DH gets paid on Friday though so I really don't see any reason that should happen.

Ordered C a toy for his Easter basket one eBay but then realised that estimated delivery isn't until the 4th April! Grrr. I'm hoping it comes sooner since I paid for it straight away yesterday. Fingers crossed.

Ah, the sound of fighting. :eek: An argument over the cushions on the couch, apparently....

*little.squirrel*

Whoop, whoop! Instead of taking money out of the savings account, I've got some more to add in. DH just got expenses returned from January to the tune of £142. Yay!

*little.squirrel*

Haha, shouldn't have got excited so quickly. Dentist appointment this morning that I had budgeted for, but I didn't realise an appt with the hygienist is more expensive than the dentist. And then I had to pay half of my next appointment up front! So I only budgeted £21 and ended up paying £61. Well, fortunately the expenses are coming in before month end!

I did just cash out £10 on qmee though and I've also got some eBay earnings to transfer from PayPal too. I'll add those in before the end of the month to boost the savings figure.

AimHigh

Definitely agree that £120 seems faaaaar more expensive than it should be! Crazy money for a water bill!

With regards to you not being sure where that £100 went this month, may I suggest you keep some form of spending diary? You may already be doing so but I can't remember and am too lazy to scroll back through

I have a funky spreadsheet where I record everything I spend - might be a bit OTT but it certainly helps a) spot where your money seems to be going and b) allow you to keep your budgets updated.

AH

Alexland

*little.squirrel* wrote: »

Haha, shouldn't have got excited so quickly. Dentist appointment this morning that I had budgeted for, but I didn't realise an appt with the hygienist is more expensive than the dentist. And then I had to pay half of my next appointment up front! So I only budgeted £21 and ended up paying £61. Well, fortunately the expenses are coming in before month end!

At my dentist the hygenist list price is also £40 but when booking the main dentist appointment I always enquire if there are any offers on the hygenist (in a way that implies I wouldn't otherwise be interested) and they have so far always reduced the cost by a tenner if I pay by card on the phone. I get it done every year with the checkup as its a lot cheaper than having tooth problems.

Alex

cashbackproblems

why are you posting about you running out of bread this is not the place for it and makes it boring for people to read. If you already own a home dont forget you will have to pay higher stamp duty so worth selling your flat