Keeping on the Straight and Narrow...

DancingInTheRain

End of month 'What We Owe The World' figures

Current scores on the doors are:

- Mortgage 31.12.21 was £46,415 now £43,400
- Credit Card 31.12.21 was £8,175 now £5,995
- DH Student Loan 31.12.21 was £5,285 now £4,480

WWOTW total 31.12.21 £59,875 now £53,875 £6,000 Reduction

Total 'Free Money' 2022 = £2854.10

beanielou

Looking good 

savingholmes

Glad your first week is going well. Nice if you already know your manager. Hopefully that will make settling in easier.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Sounds like a nice role, is it full time?
Excellent WWOTW reduction

DancingInTheRain

Hi @ohdearhowdidthathappen it's not quite full time - 32 hours, working Mon-Thu.

Currently enjoying my day off sat in a cafe watching the world go by, bliss! X

DancingInTheRain

Update on my missing in-post parcels, the one I sent got delivered 20 days after sending! 1 of the workwear bundles was delivered today. The items all look lovely, just need to try them on but hopefully I have the basics of a nice capsule work wardrobe there. The other bundle (containing a dress and a bag) I am waiting for is still goodness knows where but I'm feeling more optimistic it might turn up after seeing progress with the other items.

I'm so pleased I took time to have a coffee by myself on Friday morning as it's been non-stop since. Fri saw me attending a school meeting, picking some groceries up, collectng the boys from school then taking them to and from their Scout activities. My work equipment was also finally delivered. Finally sat down at 745!!! I got caught in a lot of heavy showers and felt chilled to the bone as a result so once the boys were in bed, I had a shower and got in to some comfy pj's to warm myself up and get cosy while DH cooked us a meal.

Saturday saw us taking the boys for their swimming lesson in the morning and then DH took DS1 to a football match at our local league 2 team, they went as part of an outing with DS1's football team and they got to go on the pitch before the match and meet the players & club mascot too which they all loved. While they were busy at football, I took DS2 to a soft play birthday party which he loved. I could've done with some earplugs though as the children were all on top screaming form 

DS1 then played in a match this morning, we all went to watch. Took the boys to McD's afterwards for a happy meal and then visited my sister-in-law to drop off her birthday card and gift. Thankfully got 2 loads of washing washed and pegged out before we went out this morning and they're all dry as it's been relatively dry and warm here today. Got most of the washing put away, just a few bits that need ironed, hopefully get those done tomorrow.

On the money front September free money pot has got off to a good start thanks to prolific, ipsos, vinted and a refund that's taken a while to come through. Total earned is £40.07. I've sent a small overpayment to the mortgage to round the balance down to £43,200 and shuffled money to the bills account ahead of the 1st day of the month payments heading out tomorrow.

DH and I are off 2 days this week to go to a concert that has been rescheduled due to Covid so we're looking forward to that (and a break from the kids as they're having a sleepover at Grandma's) We booked a Premier Inn rather than doing the 2.5hr drive back home and have got a pre-concert meal booked at a restaurant close to the gig venue so that will be a lovely treat for us both.

Planning ahead for half term, I've just bought tickets to take the boys to a local farm park they love as they are offering pumpkin picking alongside their usual activities. I'll take them to that on the Sunday as will be working most of the week. DH will be off work he's booked to take them for some extra lessons at their swimming school 2 days. We also have a family voucher for a local aquarium so if we need another activity that's there as a backup although it doesn't expire until the end of the year so might leave that for another time as the boys are quite happy having a couple of lazy PJ days, especially if the weather is rubbish.

beanielou

Enjoy your wee break 

DancingInTheRain

Thanks @beanielou we did enjoy our break. Sadly, the gig was cancelled due to illness, which was disappointing, but we enjoyed a lovely meal followed by a visit to a gorgeous bar where their happy hour lasted 3 hours  so we took advantage and enjoyed a few drinks. Had a look online to see if there were any other events on that we could go to and ended up at a tiny venue watching a really talented singer/guitarist so we got to enjoy some live music after all!

Felt a little delicate this morning so had a decent lie in before heading back home, gave ourselves plenty of time with the weather conditions being poor but no issues and we were back in time to pick the boys up from school. They'd had lots of fun at Grandma's, pretty sure they had a late bedtime as both looked exhausted so gave them an early bath/bedtime routine and they were both asleep by 7.

We were a bit 'tap happy' with the contactless card last night  but it was well worth it, we decided to put it on the credit card we booked the gig tickets on so that the refund would in turn pay for the drinks. Just checked and the refund is showing already so that worked out quite well

Back to work tomorrow, am anticipating a quiet one as I still have lots of reading/learning to do and my line manager is also on annual leave this week so I'm being left to get on with it although some other colleagues have been checking in on me too which is good. I have my car, laptop and phone now so it's coming together. Day off on Friday is looking like it's going to be as busy as last Friday so that will keep me out of trouble.

Ending on a free money update, total for September is currently at £62.88 so all heading in the right direction. One extra cost relating to the job this month has been to buy a booster seat for the company car so I can taxi the boys to and from school (we already had another spare we used when picking up our niece or DS's friends). I'll have to put fuel in the car at some point this month and possibly pay for some parking. I need to be strict on taking packed lunch, drinks, flask of coffee when I'm travelling for work to keep work related spending down. I'm hoping that any necessary spends can be absorbed from the budget but worst-case scenario will pop them on the CC and pay off when I get paid on the 28th. Basic plan for the last quarter of the year will be to use a little bit of my wage to increase our monthly budget and then to save the rest to build an EF as our savings are woeful at the moment. I'm anticipating my wages being inconsistent during this time as this month's wage will have a bit extra for the work I did in September, may be emergency taxed and again once I can join the pension scheme when I complete my probation period. Once I know exactly what my regular wage will be then we'll make a more structured plan for Q1 of 2023.

savingholmes

Glad you had a nice break even if it didn't quite go to plan. 

I'm assuming when you say free money in September you mean October?

DancingInTheRain

Thanks @savingholmes and yes, it should say October - I think tiredness is catching up with me