Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Oh my giddy aunt, it's chilly. I've got quite a wintery dress on with long sleeves, a hoodie & thick tights. I'm not even a particularly chilly mortal on the whole. I've been sitting at my desk for quite a while today & I hope to warm up shortly as I have some more physical tasks to do.
Hello Wednesday Pence-Wranglers,
Well, I identified early on this morning that there is a nasty smell in the house. Suspects have included the cats, the litter trays, Mr F's ancient hiking boots, the compost caddy.......but it's none of those, it's the kitchen sink. It was bleached out at the weekend, but there must be some gunk caught in the pipework since then. Intend to make a bicarb/vinegar plughole mix shortly & will be following it with a kettle of boiling water. Anyway, who wants to hear about stenchy sinks? Not me!
My Big Budget Day today. Reconciled April's budget - no nasty surprises there & I did find the anomaly from my mid-month check-in - it was to do with the ordering of transactions on my online bank statement meaning that something was in the correct place on the correct date on my actual statement as received in the post, but had not appeared on that date online when I checked. Set May's budget. Not able to show the Savings Pots as much largesse this month, mostly because Mr F's CC bill is higher than usual (he's obviously been buying birthday presents for his Beloved Budgeter-in-Chief) & because I have set aside money I'd normally pay into pots to pay for our annual gas appliance servicing. I still managed to pay our planned monthly £100 into Direct Saver (car replacement fund) & also paid 4 savings pots - Presents, appliances replacement (needs building back up after damn freezer saga), Meow fund & holidays. 
Received usual email reminder from Tentacled Energy People about them collecting our DD imminently - the amount is still the same, hasn't gone up, so I can only assume like others in this situation, that because we've entered the warmer months with a strong credit balance, they are perhaps not going to hoick up our monthly payment until we have used some of it up. 
After @Cranky40's recommendation re cashing out of survey sites regularly just in case of unforeseen scenarios of going bust, etc, I cashed out my April P*A earnings today - £36.45, which felt worth having. 
I am just waiting for the builders to finish (not back till next week as our availability is inconsistent over the next couple of days) then I'm going to have a quick tidy round. I need to fill a few jars in the pantry, do meal plans for this weekend & next week and hopefully make a start on the shopping list. Friends coming over tomorrow & although they are very casual & unfussy about the place looking pristine, I do feel I'd like at least to show the floor the vacuum, so I may get around to that too.
One of these days, I'll type something on here that is so exciting, you'll all think you've tuned into the wrong diary & will have to scroll up to check, lol!
Oh, I think that foetid smell is coming up the stairs now.......defo time to make that bicarb & vinegar eruption, as it's quite horrid.
Take care all,
F x

Sun_Addict

I hope you find the source of the smell and can get rid. 

My direct debit with 🐙 has stayed the same too. I’m also in credit- for now 😬

DawnW

Cold here too Foxgloves - fleece, jeans, thick socks and big cardi here!

Just been outside to cover up the potatoes which have emerged from their mounds / pots as there is the possibility of frost tonight. As well as being cold, it is extremely dry. Not sure what happened to all those April showers, but we certainly haven't had any round here - for ages!

EssexHebridean

And FINALLY I’ve caught up! 😁 Seen SO much of interest as I’ve been reading through but most of it is so far back you’d all think you were in a time warp if I brought it up again. The reading thing though as that’s more recent - another voracious and early reader here, and also to the frustration of teachers. We used to do a session a couple of times a week in infants/juniors where a book would be read a page at a time by each child going round the class - by the time it reached my turn I was invariably at least  7/8 pages ahead of where the class had got to and would then be told off for “daydreaming” when I was slow to take up the story out loud. 😬 Also got ticked off at home routinely for reading when I ought to have been doing something else (although I think secretly Mum in particular was rather proud of my bookwormishness!) and yep, another one here who if not allowed a book in certain situations would read whatever was to hand including cereal boxes, jars etc! 😂

In more recent subjects - wasn’t it ludicrously chilly again yesterday?! We spent half the day saying much the same - and had candles lit in the evening for the first time in a while. I see that the M3t 0ffice is suggesting that today may be a little warmer - I hope they’re right! 

I hope the vinegar/bicarbonate works on the smell - tremendously satisfying watching the gunk erupt out of the plug hole as it works, isn’t it! 

marionmgcars

Good morning everyone,  just catching up after being away for a few days.  Journey home was more successful as a money saver.  I prepared myself a small lunchbox, and some healthy nibbles for the journey.  I decided to stop every 30 miles on my country roads in the nearest lay-by and have a nibble, and get fresh air.  Also called at a lovely charity shop en route to drop in a few things, and bought a lovely tray for £1 - my treat for not munching on expensive and fattening rubbish.  

foxgloves

@EssexHebridean - Oh my goodness, fancy reading my mse ramblings & debtisodes from the beginning. Glad you found it of interest, anyway - there have been lots of topics of discussion over the years. Re early reading, yes, I well remember the frustration of speeding ahead with the in-class reading book then suddenly being asked to take over reading aloud & having to go back a chapter.

@marionmgcars - Well done for taking snacks for your journey. It does help concentration to have regular stops for a leg-stretch.

F

foxgloves

Well, I hope this doesn't cause anyone to spill their morning coffee, but on Wednesday night, I cracked & turned the heating back on!! I was wearing layers, had a crocheted blanket round me & a hot water bottle tucked up behind my back & I just couldn't get warm. We switched it back on with the thermostat at its usual 18. Despite it being the end of April, our house was 15.5 ° that afternoon.....probably not helped by having front window open for builders' power cable. We left the heating on yesterday as we had friends visiting, one of whom is so permanently cold, he'll sit in his coat in July, but we turned it back off in the evening..Just don't want to pay a penny more than necessary atm to enable credit building for October. Of course when I looked at the smart monitor, our gas use for the day was heading for £4 again, when it's been very much lower recently without any heating costs. It made me think that people who are used to having their thermostats set at 20°+ would do well to invest in some warm layers ready for Autumn. I may have mentioned this before, but I remember reading in a magazine that a single simple planet-friendly act is to buy a warm cardigan from a charity shop because it benefits the charity, gives a garment a 2nd life instead of it going to landfill & wearing it around the house will help that thermostat stay low or off. 
I may knit a versatile black cardi over the summer. I have a pattern for a waterfall-style one which I think would go with pretty much anything.
F x

Baileys_Babe

We lit our fire yesterday as the house was 13.5 and as the stove is cast iron it will still be emitting heat today 😊 the kettles were both on top for plenty of free hot water.

EssexHebridean

We’ve managed to resist the heating so far but have got candles lit in the front room this evening, and I’m ever so tempted to stick a microwave heat pack in the bed tonight, too! I saw something earlier than suggests at least the beginning of May is going to be positively wintery- which is a bit grim!

foxgloves

@Baileys_Babe - Free hot water has got to be a bonus!
@EssexHebridean - I don't like the sound of a grim wintery May. Agree that burning candles on an evening does make one feel warmer....probably psychological as much as anything, but hey, if it keeps the heating off....!
F