Easter 2025 I’m coming to get you!

[Deleted User]

Hettyhound, you are doing brilliantly already. To smash the £1000 mark this year is a real achievement. :beer: Really enjoying your diary and it's giving me the motivation to continue. You are going to have a blast at carfest and thoroughly deserved:T

Hettyhound

Nice day today. The sun was shining and I got the washing dry, patio swept and grass cut. Did a bit of cooking including some banana and chocolate granola using bits from the cupboard and a very ripe banana. Not made it before and it was so easy and smells really good, will sample some for breakfast. My bike has been serviced so now has new handlebar grips, tyres, seat post, everything has been greased and lubricated, tightened and adjusted and it rides lovely. Very happy and well worth the spends.

Good news tonight; I’ve won on the premium bonds for the first time in over a year! Only £25 but it’s better than a slap in the face with a wet fish :rotfl: I have mine set up to be reinvested and I also discovered you can now buy a minimum of £25 so I did! I’ll re do my finances and see if I can spare £25 a month and set up a standing order. My original plan was to get emergency fund to 1k then top up my PB to 5k which I will still do but then might see about a little side line of a 25 standing order while I pay off the mortgage.

beanielou

Good news on the win

Hettyhound

Been to Mr Marks shop this evening to collect a parcel, not for me obviously! Hadn’t been able to order the sandals he really wanted online as out of stock in his size but tonight found a pair in the shop so I’ve bought them and will take one pair back at the weekend. I also managed to get the PE plimsolls I get him from there for next school year. He’s got such narrow feet he needs the ones with Velcro rather than the elastic inserts. I was looking last night for his school uniform which I think I’ll get ordered and then it won’t coincide with the horrendous holiday club bill :eek: I had a quick look in the sale items at the above mentioned shop but luckily wasn’t inspired :grinheart

Hettyhound

Item returned and uniform ordered so that’s something else sorted out. Sports day today so had to take a days holiday. Made the most of this morning by gardening, still loads to do but at least the hedge is trimmed and some veg that was in pots planted in the ground. I’ll get some manure and feed them as it’s a particularly poor piece of ground. I really don’t like things at school as I just feel I don’t fit in and I’m always there on my own. I’m sure my boy feels it too when he looks at all the mums and dads and grandparents at these things but he rarely says anything. Still I went and supported him, but not as enthusiastically as the “pushy brigade”; we like to be more individual than that and support everyone for their efforts rather than focusing on the outcome. Maybe that’s why I feel like I don’t belong in a school gate clique......

Expensive month already and not even a third of the way through! He’s got his drama play on Saturday and then he’s giving it up. He really hasn’t wanted to go for a few weeks and I’m not sad at his decision. The £9 per session will more than pay for his guitar lessons from September. So on Saturday I have to take him to the other side of town, hang around for an hour and a half and then pay £3 to get in:mad:

Applied for a job last night and will do another tonight, just plodding along otherwise...:)

[Deleted User]

Fully get you on the school playground stuff and I'm not on my own. Best thing about son moving to high school is that I'll no longer have to avoid or come across the playground cliques of mums and dads who seem to justify their own existence by bigging themselves and their kids up at every turn. To be fair there's a lot of very nice people too but they often get lost in the crowd. I don't miss the playground politics at all. Good luck with the job application!

Hettyhound

Mortgage direct debit day so my mortgage is now £60,786.18. My daily interest for June works out as £4.52, a drop of 6p per day since May. I’ve just worked out I’ve paid off £19,163.82 since I took my mortgage out 44 payments ago. I will move another marble today as I’ve dropped into £60k, by Septembers payment I should be into the 50s . Got 3 job applications in and 1or 2 more to do. Accepted a couple of hours extra work next Wednesday in my old department showing my replacement how to do a large task that only happens once a year. Only problem is it will go through my salary so by the time I see it I’ll be lucky to see a tenner! Still better in my pocket. Just done the third of a set of three Prolific surveys so will get the terminal bonus added as well. I set up a PayPal account so I can get my money out so once I hit £20 will withdraw and send it off to the mortgage.

Very expensive month and I’ve no idea where all the shopping money has gone, I will have to take some more out for the last couple of weeks of the month as it’s nearly holiday club so I need to do him a pack up. Just collected the school uniform I ordered and bought a new water bottle so I only have his school shoes to get in August and then he’s done. His PE bag and school rucksack will do another year, they just need a bit of a clean up. Feeling really weary at the moment, think it’s lack of sleep but need to start looking after myself more; easier said than done I’m afraid. Meeting with an emotional learning support assistant today after school as they are working with my boy to help with some emotional issues which I’m bearing the brunt of, apparently she has an action plan for me, fingers crossed.

Just noticed my tomato plants have started to get flowers

Hettyhound

Plodding along. It was the boy’s drama play yesterday; he definately doesn’t want to go anymore which I’m relieved about. That money will more than pay for his guitar lessons, there’s always something to pay out for. We are going to make some worry dolls for him today out of pegs and scraps and then I’m going to make him a worry monster to keep them in, might even make some for myself, I seem to have plenty of worries. We have been planning our days out for the summer holidays most of which are fairly cheap and cheerful including picnics and ice cream :T this does exclude Carfest obviously

I discovered water snails in my pond yesterday :rotfl: Really happy as it means a) the pond environment is good and b) they will deal with pond debris. Isn’t it amazing how these things just appear? I need to start making a plan for planting round the edges but need to do that on the cheap so small plants that can grow into the space.

Waiting for Prolific to pay out the £10 that’s still awaiting review and then I will cash out £25 to go off the mortgage. Happy Sunday everyone, hope it’s good for you

beanielou

Have a happy Sunday:)

savingholmes

Just caught up on your diary. Good luck with the job hunt. Congrats on all the over payments.