Taking the scenic route from chaos to calm!!!

seahorsey

Morning!
Lovely day yesterday with DS and friends at the local children’s theme park. We have annual passes bought for £30 and go at least once a month so after 2 trips it’s a free day out. Took a picnic so total cost was £4.90 for two ice creams and an emergency juice as DS had guzzled all his. Happy with that for a full days entertainment!

Had a couple of item sell on eBay for £12, so once they’ve been paid for we’re off the mark with regards to the extra £230 for the month. I’ll pop down here now so I don’t lose track.
Extra pennies target £12/£230

Had a £5 off Iceland voucher, so have ordered all the frozen and drinks for the month. It’s free delivery too which is fab! I worked out we’d saved at least £15 compared to what we’d have paid at Morrison’s plus the extra £5 so £20 saved in total - happy with that!

Right better get a move on as I’m in work today and I’m far too comfy sat here with MSE and my cuppa!

seahorsey

Good morning!
Not a great deal to report in the last 24 hours, but thought I’d check in to keep the mind focussed.

Work yesterday really dragged, but got a few jobs done that had been lingering for a while, so all good.

I’ve had £11.54 become payable in TCB, so extra pennies target is £23.54 /£230 I have OH, Dad and MIL birthdays in next month and so the £230 will be carved up as follows - £100 pressie fund, £100 EF, £30 vets fees.

The Mr M vouchers from work are a no goer - any saving is pretty much wiped out by the £6 postage costs!!!! They do do discount on various e-gift cards (no postage ) so still worth bearing in mind for birthdays and Christmas shopping.

Good news OH has a small bonus coming from work, which will cover spending money for our holiday without having to rejig budgets and payments, massive weight off my mind.

Plans for the weekend, swimming lesson for DS, food shop, housework and probably a trip to the park.

Enjoy x

seahorsey

Morning!
Monday again already! Why is it the weeks seem to fly but payday still takes its time?

We’ve had a good weekend here. Managed to blitz the house yesterday whilst OH and DS were out, so we’re starting the week in a reasonably tidy place. The garden had a bit of tlc too before the rain came!

Money wise, made £7 on eBay, so currently at £30.53/£230 extra pennies fund. In theory that’s the dog jabs covered. Need to phone up and get them booked over the next couple of weeks, also need more meds for the pony (30 days to pay so will come out of next months pot).

Self care has once again taken a back seat over the last week and my 15 minutes a day ‘me’ time has been non existent- must change this as I can feel myself getting grumpier and grumpier as time goes on!

Plan for this week.....
MSE
1. List at least 10 items for eBay.
2. List fb items ( x3)
3. Start sorting for car boot (pencilled in for 2 weeks time)
4. Post eBay

Exercise
1. 2 x 3-4 mile runs
2. 2 x yoga
3. 2 x weights

Me!
1. Drink 2l water per day
2. Get my nose stuck into a good book
3. Set the timer for 15 minutes of daily me time......

Have a great week x

jwil

Good luck with it

seahorsey

seahorsey wrote: »

Plan for this week.....
MSE
1. List at least 10 items for eBay.done
2. List fb items ( x3)
3. Start sorting for car boot (pencilled in for 2 weeks time)
4. Post eBay done

Exercise
1. 2 x 3-4 mile runs
2. 2 x yoga
3. 2 x weights

Me!
1. Drink 2l water per day getting there - definitely improving
2. Get my nose stuck into a good book in progress
3. Set the timer for 15 minutes of daily me time...... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Have a great week x

Not as much progress on the to do list as I’d like! It’s been a mega busy week, so perhaps not the best one to re-boot my self care regime! Work days have been lng and stressful, literally getting home putting DS to bed within the hour, eating and then pretty much going to bed myself! Non working days have been hectic too this week, with very little opportunity or energy to get the exercise done. I am getting the steps in tho, so not all bad :rotfl:

Money wise, another £19 in the extra money pot, so now at £49.53 / £230. 2.5 weeks to go until payday so I need to up the game a bit. Still hoping to do a car boot next weekend - weather dependant so hopefully that will boost the pot a little bit.

Had a letter yesterday to say that our utilities deal is coming to an end. Done a few quick comparisons and should be able to save approx £20 a month. Not a massive amount but every little helps. Can’t switch until the end of July so will pop a reminder in my phone a week or so before to get the wheels in motion.

I’m using most of my personal spends this month to get ahead of the game a bit Birthday wise. A side from the 3 family birthdays, I have 2x friends, 2x friends kids and 2x DS friends to sort before the end of July! I’m half way there with both friends and 1 of the kids sorted. Just need to sort the other and pressies for the parties DS is attending. Once these are out the way I can turn my attention onto DS birthday and Christmas. Christmas wise majority is sorted. Just need main pressies for DS and immediate family. As I’m notoriously bad at saving, I may start buying vouchers next month to put aside.

Right I’m going to finish my cuppa and get the day started. Have a great weekend all x

seahorsey

Good morning! I don’t think it’s stopped raining all night and checking the forecast this morning it doesn’t look like it has any intention of stopping until Thursday night :eek: We’ll all be building an ark at this rate!

So I need a massive kick up the backside. Since I last checked in my EF has depleted from £250 to £0. So so cross at ourselves. We overspent on a birthday day out with family and also on food and household goods. We also had some unplanned minor maintenance done on the house (in fairness given this downpour we’re having it was money well spent as the rain would have made the damage a whole lot worse). So EF is a big fat £0

You live and learn.....I’ve learnt I cannot be trusted in the likes of Home Bargains! 2 trips over the weekend one for gift bags and one for toilet roll has resulted in the best part of £30 being parted with :mad: I should have just called in the village supermarket and paid the extra £1 or so on each - I’d have still been £20 better off! Also the weekly Aldi topped up by Mr M. isn’t necessarily working for us - 2 lots of temptations that we’re struggling to say no to. The day out as well, as lovely as it was, was a lot more than we would typically spend. It was a fantastic day, with lots of great memories but I do need to budget for these adhoc days out - they don’t pay for themselves :rotfl:

So, big slap on the wrists, pull the socks up, tighten the belt and on we go. Would like to finish the month with £100 in the EF. Still planning to do a car boot over the weekend and have a few decentish items to get on fb. It is doable but we also need discipline.

So plan of action for 2 weeks in a MSE survival mode!
1. Sell, sell, sell
2. No spends from joint account Mon -Fri
3. Lunches for next 2 weeks will be left overs - nothing will be bought solely for pack up.
4. Meal plan and stick to it - shop accordingly
5. Both cars have 3/4 tank of fuel - make this last until payday

jwil

Good luck with it

seahorsey

Morning! It’s still looking pretty grim out there this morning. Cannot believe the amount of rain we’ve had!

We’ve a day at soft play planned with one of DS friends - spending money will come out of my personal spends, I’m determined not to touch the joint account until the food shop at the weekend.

Another £11.99 in sales taking total up to £61.52 / £230 long way to go but it all helps.

Two lots of good news in the seahorsey house this week. Firstly DS has a place at the local preschool starting September. He is more than ready (me on the other hand not so much so!) and it’ll mean I have 6 hours a week to get on top of housework and life in general. We’ve discussed what I’ll do work wise when he starts school full time and have decided it’s in the family’s best interest for me to remain part time. Less holiday cover and afterschool cover to arrange and potentially pay for, less housework and errands to run at weekends - therefore more quality family time and a less stressed Mummy. Yes the additional money would be nice, but it’s debatable how much we’d actually see given childcare arrangements, increase in tax, NI and pension payments.
Second bit of good news, OH has been offered a new role at his current place. More responsibility and more money. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him and could potentially be the making of him career wise. My very rough calculations show an extra £250 a month in his take home pay. No idea as yet as to when this would start, but likely to be in the next couple of months.

Right best get moving - the mornings running away!

jwil

Congrats to OH :T

seahorsey

Thanks Jwil

It’s finally stopped raining!!! Spent most the day yesterday at soft play with DS. Had cash from personal spends so the joint account remains untouched this week. He had a fab time and ran off as shed load of excess energy, so all good!

£25 in sales today, takes the total to £86.52/£230 - it’s creeping up gradually. The car boot pencilled in for this weekend looks likely to be postponed until next as the weather is still looking a bit grim. Definitely want to get it done sooner rather than later tho. Got so much to get rid of!

In my effort to get organised for July’s birthdays, I realised I’d made a bit of a error. I’d bought my friends daughter a Topshop voucher - I didn’t realise at the time they were in trouble. Anyways, I’ve managed to spend the voucher on a bag for her (reduced from £27 down to £10- bargain!). I went to collect it from store yesterday and I’m sure she’ll love it. Whilst in town, popped in boots. They’ve got some men’s gift sets at half price for Father’s Day. Managed to pick one up for my friends son for Xmas using my points, so that’s another pressie crossed off the list.

In switching to a more cash based approach, I’ve found myself with loads of £2 coins and 20ps. I’d started collecting earlier in the year, but dipped into them for various things. Going to restart collecting again and put them towards DS birthday and Christmas. I’ve collected 8 x £2 coins in the last couple of days so off to a decent start.

Best log off for now and get on with some decluttering........