Saving what I can

savingwannabe

That's not spending missus, that's an investment.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

riotlady

Too true! xD

riotlady

Today is my last child-free day! :eek:

Riotdude is at work all day and if I was left to my own devices I'd be bouncing around the house looking for things to do, so I'm going to the Metro Centre with my best friend for some lunch and window shopping.

Everything is all set and ready to go- so exciting!

savingwannabe

That's lovely. Enjoy it. Make the day last!!!!!

Happy shopping. :j Good luck for tomorrow.

riotlady

I had such a lovely day today Woke up to a letter through my door saying I've been given £180 tax rebate for last year- very convenient, right before going shopping xD We went for a very nice lunch in Wagamamas (£13), picked up a hoody for riotdude (£8) and a lampshade for the baby's room (£9).

I confess my plan to only window shop went awry when I spotted the perfect handbag in Radley, reduced from £50 to £40, so I thought I'd use some of the tax rebate money to treat myself I'll be good with the rest and put it in savings though!

savingwannabe wrote: »

That's lovely. Enjoy it. Make the day last!!!!!

Happy shopping. :j Good luck for tomorrow.

Thank you very much!

riotlady

Halloo! Thought I'd do an update!

I had a baby girl 5 weeks ago and am loving motherhood so far- although I don't have quite as much time to sit around doing surveys and the like as I thought I would!! xD

Financial updates-
- Have managed to knock another 100 off the overdraft, so nearly done with that and put 100 into the Christmas fund. Got my government bonus on my LISA so our house deposit is up to a grand total of £139. Every little helps!
- Work is !!!!ing up the deductions from my maternity which has been a nightmare to sort out but I think we're nearly there.
- Started receiving child benefit and have sent off my application for child tax credits so that's helping out with baby related stuff, although she's on Aldi formula and nappies so working out pretty cheap anyway
- We've restarted our Riverford veg boxes which is a bit of an indulgence on our budget, but we eat so much healthier when we get them and we both really enjoy them so I think if there's one area in life it's ok for us to splurge a bit, it's on healthy food?? Also it saves me having to do such a big shop with a baby and a pram.

savingwannabe

Hurrah for baby, I did wonder how you were getting on. :beer::j:T:A:)

I'm so pleased you have sorted out a bit more money from child benefit as that eases things a little. I cant believe the maternity pay has been messed up how do they think you are going to survive? hopefully it will be sorted v soon. This healthy food box thing sounds great too. Healthy food is good for us and makes us happy too.

Stay happy in the nice weather and have a good weekend.

Skint_yet_Again

Congratulations on the birth of your little girl Riotlady. Its surprising how much time and energy they take up so make sure you take it easy and don't try and do too much. Let Riotdude and any riotgrandparents take the strain Well done on still managing to save too.

riotlady

Hurrah for baby, I did wonder how you were getting on. :beer::j:T:A:)

I'm so pleased you have sorted out a bit more money from child benefit as that eases things a little. I cant believe the maternity pay has been messed up how do they think you are going to survive? hopefully it will be sorted v soon. This healthy food box thing sounds great too. Healthy food is good for us and makes us happy too.

Stay happy in the nice weather and have a good weekend.

Thank you! She's brought so much joy to all our lives.

I have no idea! It's like they think I have enough money to just throw away an extra £100 or so every month and I certainly do not! I shall persevere until it's fixed though- we've sorted 2/3 problems, so nearly there.

I hope you have a lovely time in the sun too! (and that it appears as promised!)

Congratulations on the birth of your little girl Riotlady. Its surprising how much time and energy they take up so make sure you take it easy and don't try and do too much. Let Riotdude and any riotgrandparents take the strain Well done on still managing to save too.

Thank you Hope everything is going well for you too Poor riotdude is working AND studying AND trying to look after me and baby so I'm trying to reduce the strain on him a little, really. My mums taking the baby overnight in June and we're going to go off to a beer festival with some friends so that'll be a nice break for both of us

riotlady

Money is a bit all over the place at the moment. Deductions on my maternity pay are still a bit of a mess- have to reclaim overpaid student loan once end of year payments have been processed, reclaim income tax one month after each payslip and NI is pretty much lost to the gods. Still waiting on tax credits to process. We are managing but I find it so hard to budget when I don't know what's coming in when



Other than that, life is really good! Trying to take advantage of the weather by sitting in the park on afternoons where I have nothing to do, and doing lots of walking to try and lose a bit of baby weight (would go a bit quicker if I laid off the chocolate but hey ho xD)



Tomorrow riotdude, baby and I are going to have a picnic in the park so will need to pick up a couple little bits for that, but then am aiming for a no-spend day on Monday.