DD's accountability thread

DD265

We got there just after 11 and though the car parks were very busy, it wasn't too bad inside until about 12.30. Not great for browsing though as there were so many people trying to get around (or stood in the way). OH got a few of his presents sorted, I got his card and some gift wrap. I did say if we need to we can go out again next weekend, but I really hope we don't have to. :rotfl:

This afternoon we saw our friends and met their new baby - I can confirm that there are still no signs of broodiness on my part, and definitely none on OH's who wouldn't even hold her! - and went out for a pub tea. OH paid but it wasn't too expensive.

There was a local event which we missed, but the noise of the fireworks at 8pm was excessive. One of our cats is still hiding under the sofa and won't be coaxed out yet. I don't want to spoil the fun for everybody, but I do wish they'd move to silent fireworks.

Got a works lunch tomorrow (all paid for) which I'm looking forward to. :beer:

beanielou

Enjoy your lunch

redmel1621

You are so organised. I'm really impressed with your planning and lists and I am sure 2019 will be a great year for you; I'm sure you will get another good chunk paid off the debt

I need to do more wrapping tonight, as I can't really remember what we have and haven't bought. I'm hoping once I have wrapped a few bits, I will be able to see the woods for the trees and I'm also hoping that I am completely done with Xmas.

I'm find YNAB to be amazing. I only have 4 days left of my trial, but want to ask if they will extend it. I'm going to say I want to try it with DH before purchasing it as it won't work if we can't both use it. I really can't afford to buy it 3 days before Christmas anyway.

DD265

Thanks Redmel, I just wish I was as good at getting things done off my lists as I am at making them. :rotfl:

One more day of work to go and I am really looking forward to over a week off. We're going to be cleaning and tidying this weekend (and at a family party) then packing will commence.

I didn't have to pay for the disputed filling in the end; given the nature of it he did it in white cement on the NHS yesterday but the practise manager wasn't prepared to cover the cost and I had originally agreed to dispute it after the fact before the dentist said same NHS course. It turns out that the locum dentist put white composite filling on top of an existing amalgamate filling - I gather not the done thing! I'm in two minds about whether to complain, although I don't expect to get anything out of it.

I am in a lot of pain today but I think it might be muscular. In 2015 I fell and hurt my jaw, so when having dental work for example it can spasm and lock and is extremely painful. The left side, which is by far the worst, was numbed yesterday for the filling, so I didn't notice during the treatment. Additionally I've wrenched my neck a couple of times today which points to something being wrong. Massaging the jaw muscles virtually gets rid of the pain entirely. I'm going to see both the chiro and dentist tomorrow for emergency appointments.

I'm a bit reluctant to see the dentist again because he thinks I may need a root canal and crown. I have a tooth that didn't form properly in the first place and the filling in it is pretty close to the pulp. My dentist has recommended I see a specialist to have it done; he reckons about £500 for that and the same again for a white crown on top. This is obviously extremely bad timing given a house purchase, so I'm desperately hoping that the pain is indeed muscular! In the mean time, I've a new savings category in my budget.

I can't say for certain that I could've stopped these teeth issues, but I know I didn't do everything I could have for the health of my mouth when I was younger, so I'm paying for it now. I think it'll be worth me keeping a high dental budget going forward.

DD265

Merry Christmas everybody! :beer:

I am not on the drink, for I am on antibiotics and prescription strength codeine. It became apparent that I do have an infected tooth and said tooth is earmarked for extraction with a specialist, probably in mid-late January. Thankfully on the NHS, and in addition the dental practise are intending to refund me for the two fillings I had done privately in March where the locum made a mess. That £250 will go straight into the crown pot as I want to build that up quickly. I haven't had to push for this; the dentist spoke to the practise manager after I left last week and argued my case. She had rung on Thursday but we have no signal in the office, and her voicemail said she finished that day for Christmas, so I'll speak to her in the new year.

Despite the discomfort I enjoyed the curry we had for lunch today, though my appetite is limited and chocolate is tricky unless it's soft so I am losing weight albeit not of my own free will.

Very pleased with my presents, both received and gifted. We got some money and a voucher which will go towards house-stuff. My sister found me a cardigan and jumper in the charity shop (funnily enough I own the exact jumper upstairs already, she knows me well!), and my husband bought me, amongst other things, some heated fingerless gloves as my hands get so cold when I work from home. Some of the presents I gave got really great reactions so I'm made up with that.

No news on the house front; our solicitor said he'd get the documents to us over the break and we have a meeting on the 3rd January. I've not done much the last few days - either been curled up in bed or on the sofa - but hoping to make a good start on packing this week, as well as chilling out.

DD265

DD265 wrote: »

My 19 things to do before 2019 list.

1) Catch up on filing (scanning and shredding)
[STRIKE]2) Take out life insurance[/STRIKE]
3) Finish knitting Cushion No.4 - On to the last ball of wool
[STRIKE]4) Declutter kitchen[/STRIKE]
5) Declutter horse sale items
6) Declutter MLP sale items
7) Declutter wedding sale items
8) Declutter misc sale items
[STRIKE]9) Finish reading 'A Discovery of Witches' trilogy[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]10) Get/make how-to guide for rebuilding cat tree when we move[/STRIKE]
11) Lose 4kg
12) Do the hand washing
13) Take cat vaccination cards to vets for update
14) Get blackout linings put in spare room curtains
15) Manage 19 NSDs - 7/19
[STRIKE]16) Declutter bedrooms[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]17) Declutter living room[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]18) Pack away seasonal clothes[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]19) Cash in Premium Bonds account[/STRIKE]

The weightloss is a bit mixed now - there's a side effect to the codeine which isn't conducive to weightloss! I keep putting the hand washing off as the clothes horse is in use for clothes that have been through the washing machine, so I've bought an over-bath clothes dryer to remove that excuse.

I've been thinking about our finances for next year. I would love to get us living on just my income, and using OH's for savings/paying down debts. I don't think this will be feasible for a few months because there are so many unknowns in terms of what our bills will be once we've moved etc.

I think the first step towards this is going to be a fresh start in YNAB. That's quite daunting, because of the aforementioned unknowns. But realistically, the history of how much I've spent on fuel the past two years isn't going to help me moving forward. I need new averages and categories and goals.

Once we're settled I think we need to discuss having both of our salaries paid into the same (joint) account, then having small portions moved out into our individual accounts for spending money. This feels like a major shift in how we handle our finances and honestly, I'm not 100% sure I trust myself to work that way. Right now I don't dip in to the joint account for personal spends though, so hopefully that mindset sticks. As long as we don't close any accounts, it would be easy enough to reverse.

Next job on my list though is to declutter the sale items.

DD265

Sale items still not decluttered - but we've no plans this weekend so still plenty of time.

We got paid today (instead of Monday) so I've done January's budget which feels a little tight. £200 into savings, £300 to the credit cards and almost £200 to 'annual expenses' such as car insurance, tax and gifts/parties. Even though I've effectively run out of money for December, my account balance is still reasonable because those medium term pots are building up.

I also noticed today that my savings account is higher than my take home pay - I can enjoy that feeling whilst we wait to pay the deposit on the house. :rotfl:

I've got a hair appointment and waxing, and whilst I had about half of that budgeted I've ended up using that pot in the run up to Christmas, so that was £150. I'm going to give up the waxing and go back to epilating so this will be the last session. I can't yet bring myself to give up having my hair dyed and embrace the grey hairs coming through but maybe I need to shift back to a lower maintenance colour so I can spread the appointments further apart, or even dye at home.

Still need to return those jeans (must check the deadline) and also pick up my clothes dryer from Argos. I'd ordered a box for the TV on eBay which was meant to be ready for collection today, but they only just despatched it. Will go to Argos tomorrow along with the charity shop (to donate!) and tip.

I am reminding myself that January is going to feel particularly bad financially because it's that month after Christmas with 5 weekends but also there are just so many unknowns with us buying the house. Told OH about my goal to have us living on one salary and he seems up for the idea, but has agreed that maybe it's one for 2020.

So tentative goals for 2019 are:

1) pay off MBNA credit card - £5500 - would like to do Barclaycard to but £8k feels like it's pushing it
2) overpay 1% of mortgage - £1500
3) emergency fund up to £1000 - £400 to go as of today

Will have a think and confirm over the weekend.

beanielou

I ise John Freda foam to colour my hair at home.
I find it fab

DD265

I'd be looking at LIVE Ultra Brights right now :rotfl:

Will see how the budget settles and decide from there; my next appointment after January will be in March so that should give me enough time to make a decision. January might be a cheaper one anyway; it barely needs a trim (maybe the fringe) and I think it's just one all-over colour rather than highlights plus colour this time. But I've budgeted for the expensive one, just in case.

Feeling the urge to spend in the boxing day sales. Not on anything in particular either. We were in a shopping centre yesterday but to eat and go to the cinema - no time for shopping and they were all shut when we finished. I can scratch the retail therapy itch by going to do the food shop, and picking up the Argos order.

Thought I'd got a really good deal for Feliway from Pets At Home but I hadn't, so that'll be an Amazon order going in. We have two diffusers currently plugged in, and a spare refill. We'll need two more diffusers for the new house (as there's an overlap) and I'll get another refill, then in theory we have 90 days worth give or take. The diffusers seem to sell well second hand and once we've moved we should only need the two. Expensive stuff, but it does help. We're also going to need more biscuits (cheapest on Amazon), litter and food (both Zooplus). There we go, shopping spree scheduled.

Just tweaked my YNAB categories; I set up a new 'Savings 2' category group and moved a few medium to long term goals in there, as well as some that are totally discretionary. That means I can focus on the stuff that really matters and it's less overwhelming.

I haven't had a signature in ages but I'm going to run one for 2019. I plan to track my debt repayments, my mortgage over payments and my no spend days. I think it'll help me stay motivated.

beanielou

I dident rate the Feliway at all.
All cats are different.