The Final Furlong

doingitanyway

Reading your diary Dottles1 but at the very beginning so back tomorrow when I have caught up. For now I am just waving hello

Dottles1

Waving back at you Doingitanyway and welcome.
Had a lovely catch up with my friend and much laughter as usual. She sees the absurdities of life in the same way as I do. Coffee and a lemon scone followed by a mooch around the Christmas decorations. They were mostly very expensive with some having a tenuous link to the festive season but hey ho, each to their own. I did, however pick up a tree decoration for my great grandson with his name on it, purely because his name is not common and it is unusual to see it included on these things. His mum will be pleased with it so £2.99 well spent.
Also....how wrong was I about the pansies/violas ? 2 trays of 20 for £12 so my friend and I bought 2 between us so 20 violas for £6 each -bargain I say. I enjoyed the meal last night too, good company and delicious food all at a reasonable price. It was good to catch up outside
of work particularly with one person who I have known for about 16 years and has moved away so I don't get to see him often. We all agreed to try and do it again before Christmas rather than buying presents.
So yesterday was quite a spendy day but worth it. I don't have anything much booked now until I go to London at the end of the month and that is all paid for already so will only be food and oyster to cover. We stay with a friend who lives there and is quite central so that helps a lot with the costs.
Another good thing that happened yesterday was that I have some unexpected private work for today which will bring in an additional £60 to help with the vet bill.
Feeling very positive and grateful this morning.
Dottles x

clearmydebts

Dottles1 wrote: »

Waving back at you Doingitanyway and welcome.
Had a lovely catch up with my friend and much laughter as usual. She sees the absurdities of life in the same way as I do. Coffee and a lemon scone followed by a mooch around the Christmas decorations. They were mostly very expensive with some having a tenuous link to the festive season but hey ho, each to their own. I did, however pick up a tree decoration for my great grandson with his name on it, purely because his name is not common and it is unusual to see it included on these things. His mum will be pleased with it so £2.99 well spent.
Also....how wrong was I about the pansies/violas ? 2 trays of 20 for £12 so my friend and I bought 2 between us so 20 violas for £6 each -bargain I say. I enjoyed the meal last night too, good company and delicious food all at a reasonable price. It was good to catch up outside
of work particularly with one person who I have known for about 16 years and has moved away so I don't get to see him often. We all agreed to try and do it again before Christmas rather than buying presents.
So yesterday was quite a spendy day but worth it. I don't have anything much booked now until I go to London at the end of the month and that is all paid for already so will only be food and oyster to cover. We stay with a friend who lives there and is quite central so that helps a lot with the costs.
Another good thing that happened yesterday was that I have some unexpected private work for today which will bring in an additional £60 to help with the vet bill.
Feeling very positive and grateful this morning.
Dottles x

Sounds like a really nice day. Sometimes spendy days are unavoidable but great news it was worth it and also that you had some private work!

doingitanyway

I am all caught up. You are doing so well and you have a lovely balanced life that is frugal but still allows for life's pleasures too. I feel like such a worry-wart-stress head in comparison! Coffee, a lemon scone and a mooch. What more can one ask for?

foxgloves

Dottles2 - I am convinced that coffee & scones are actually therapy!
F x

Dottles1

They absolutely are Foxgloves, and delicious too, I've never had a lemon scone before but would highly recommend. Clearmydebts, it makes me smile that I now consider a total spend of just under £20 (Idid treat my friend to her coffee and scone as she is a very supportive pal) as a spendy day, just shows how a mindset can change.
Thanks for your kind words Doingitanyway, however, despite appearances, I'm not always calm. I can feel overwhelmed at times but have learned that when that happens, to break everything down into small chunks and tackle one at a time. This helps me to feel I'm progressing and makes it all seem do-able. For instance Christmas has been niggling away at me but I have other financial priorities to sort first so I'm ticking off the ideas I have had so far such as buying a restaurant voucher for my GS and his GF (they live together) instead of 2 individual gifts. It is actually more enjoyable looking for one present that each person will really like and I can spend a bit more on say a really nice bath oil that is beautifully wrapped rather than worrying about whether I have spent enough
I have spoken to the family to let them know I will be doing Christmas on a budget and they are all fine with it. It's just me, I think I still have a hangover to when I got divorced and couldn't afford much for each of my kids and in the first year not even a tree. I think that it is time to get past that as it was over 20 years ago
I had a revelation the other day. I have heard Foxgloves talk about debt being other peoples money rather than ours to spend and I suddenly realised that the same can be said for utilities, mortgage/rent, council tax etc. All of that is money owed for things that I have used and so a chunk of my wages does not actually belong to me. So rather than feeling that I am generously handing my hard earned cash over I am repaying a short term debt. I may be late to the party with this thinking but better late than not at all I say!!
I have done my budgets for this month, balanced the "jfp" card and written a meal plan so off to do my "big shop" once I've had a coffee. I should then be able to manage a couple of NSD's. I've joined the challenge for November and set myself a target of 12 for this month and as I'll away at the end of Nov I will have to plan these in.
Other tasks today will be to walk both dogs (I have friends dog back for the weekend), put some stuff on FB to sell, sort through and declutter paperwork and consider if I have enough materials to decorate the office.
Well none of that will get done with me sitting here, tail feathers need a good shaking.
Have a good Saturday all
Dottles x

Chrystal

Your post really cheered me up... so thank you. X

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hi Dottles

Loving your posts and positivity - i've subscribed

Dottles1

So glad that my ramblings cheered you Chrystal and welcome StripeyTightsSpottySocks, what a fab name.

Well a good day was had yesterday. A total of £37.11 spent on groceries which covers 2 weeks of meals and some items to carry over into the following weeks and some meals to batch cook in there too. I should easily be able to come in on budget this month so long as I don't slip up and call in at the shops after work. The key is in the planning so with that in mind I have red kidney beans soaking for chilli tomorrow (a batch cook) and have had HM toad in the hole with onion gravy today as it has been wet and chilly out.
I have planted the violas in the pots and some free narcissus bulbs that I got last month under the apple tree in my wildlife patch. I have also uploaded a few more items for sale on FB so I'll see how they go. I still haven't started to go through paperwork but must make a start tomorrow as it's becoming a frog.
Tilly is going in for her dental work tomorrow but should be home again in the evening so long as she is ok after the anaesthetic. She had to have a bath before she goes in so we've had fun as she ran around the living room like a puppy, rolling on the carpet and tossing the towel about. I think she forgets she is getting to be an old girl now.
This month is going to be a tight one but should be achievable.
Budgets set are:

Groceries - £100
Personal spends - £100
Petrol - £60

I'm off in a minute to take friend's dog home before she gets back from London then I'm snuggling up in front of the box for the evening.
Sleep well all
Dottles x

Dottles1

Tilly is lying on her blanket on the sofa feeling a bit sorry for herself but it's mostly the after effects of the anaesthetic. She has had all her front teeth out and hopefully she will be more comfortable once she has healed. The vet bill ended up costing £435.55, I had budgeted for £350 based on the estimate but this morning I agreed to them giving her fluids during the procedure to keep her more comfortable as she is quite an old girl so have another £85.55 to find. The plan was to put it on my JFP's card but couldn't find the pin number for it and so it all had to come out of my current account. I have juggled £200 from the holding account, which was set aside for the card payment on the 11th,and £140 from the emergency fund so If I borrow the remainder from my business account that will cover it. I need all outgoings to appear in the banking app now so I can see where that leaves me and what I need to claw back this month.
This is where I can start to feel a bit overwhelmed but I know I'll be ok once I see it all in black and white. Realistically it is only the £85.55 that was not accounted for which is do-able if I set my mind to it and though putting it all on the card would have given me more time, it's not the end of the world. I think the negative feelings come from not feeling in control more than anything.
I have made a good start on sorting through the paperwork this morning and have put some more items to sell on FB. There doesn't seem to be much interest at the moment but I have a couple of more seasonal things that may be more successful.
Yesterday was the first NSD of November but today was not as I had to put petrol in the car and buy some ibruprofen gel. However, the next three days are looking good as I'll be at work and have lunch planned to take with me.
I am going to have a shower and make Tilly some scrambled eggs then get ready for tomorrow as I'm covering an extra class for a colleague so need to read her email to see what is planned.
See you all tomorrow
Dottles x
I am