Giving every £ a job

EssexHebridean

Will you begin now to set aside oddments of money here and there against next year's council tax to see how much you can "reduce" that by by the time the bill comes along in April? 

I can't believe how fast your retirement is coming round now - and only having 4 more working days before it arrives is incredible - how exciting! Great that the part time working has helped to manage the transition as well. 

foxgloves

4 days! Wow, how quickly that time has sped by!
Re kitchen cupboards....I can't see I'm an inspiration to anyone on that score - Pantry still not done, jars everywhere, inc stored on floor next to the cat food. But I am thinking through various improvements. Mr F is going to help me move some furniture today as part of getting the kitchen ready for autumn. 
Worst cupboard atm is the one under the sink. Can I find the will to tackle it today! I'll see.
F

Blackcats

Thank you all for your kind retirement comments.  Its been nearly a year since I dropped to part time working which has flown by but this last month is crawling very slowly.  

@EssexHebridean - I am going to try to get ahead with next year's council tax payment.  Our income will be slightly less than it currently is until the start of March so I'm going to be resourceful with money saving and money making.  I am going to re-start my AMG pot (not a fancy Mercedes AMG pot) it's my Accumulation of Marginal Gains pot.  I'll have a ponder about how much to set as a target.

We've had a busy couple of weeks with events and shows - OH found 2 Oyster cards in his junk drawer that covered our travel into London which was about as MSE as that evening got but it was a charity fund raising event and was a wonderful evening.  

This week I'm determined to finish a cardigan I'm knitting for a granddaughter.  I'm a reasonably competent knitter but very incompetent and lazy about the actual sewing up etc of the finished garment.  I used to bundle up the various pieces and look imploringly at my mum who would brilliantly construct the garment for me.  I need to be a big girl now and do it myself - with the help of u tube.  I've got one more sleeve to set in and seam, then all it needs is for any odd ends to be tidied up and then gently pressed. I can do this! 

I had an email from Hargreaves landowner earlier offering a bonus £25 when opening a savings account with £10k or more.  As I am lucky enough to have maturing savings accounts that were funded by my pension lump sum I'll be able to do that.  If the £25 can be accessed rather than invested i could use it to get AMG pot going again.

PennysIntoPounds

That's great you're in a position to take advantage of that, £25 in the pot is indeed not to be sniffed at! If you don't already have Quidco, if you sign up via the MSE link and make a £5 purchase before the end of this Thursday, you get £25 cashback (eventually!)

savingholmes

Good luck on the piecing the knitting together. The first time is always the hardest. Is there anyone else who can help?

Lot of communities have knit and natter type groups... 

Well done on the CT. Like your AMG pot. I'm sure you will make the money stretch. Sounds like you are off to a flying start.

lucielle

Sounds like you’ve got your ducks in a row, as my mum would say. Hope your 4 days goes quickly. 

L

CRANKY40

Sewing things together is my least favourite bit about knitting too. I've watched some youtube clips so I'm better at it than I was. 

I hope that you enjoy retirement. I'm between jobs waiting for an operation and my "to do" list seems to have expanded to fit the time available so I'm never bored 😁

foxgloves

And mine! Love the knitting but defo not the sewing up. That's one of the best things about sock-knitting - just 2 ends per sock to darn in at the end & no sewing!
F

Blackcats

Thank for that great tip  @PennysIntoPounds - I think I've just managed to sign OH up to £co and make a purchase.  The spend was actually something I needed to buy for my dad so, fingers crossed, the £25 will arrive eventually.  I'm already a £co member so needed OH to join up.  He is blissfully unaware of the £25 that I've just earned for him (us)
Thanks @savingholmes - my mum used to love her weekly stitch n !!!!!! meeting with her cronies.  I've found a local-ish wool shop that looks like it has some groups. I'm going to have a look on Saturday.
thanks @lucielle - the ducks are certainly starting to line up
@CRANKY40 - I hope your operation comes through soon for you.  

@foxgloves - I know you are an expert sock maker but they seem very difficult to me.  Is there a very simple pattern for beginners you could recommend?

well I've done it - the cardigan is all sewn up - it has front edges, picot hems and collar and 2 sleeves that seem to be in the right place.  There a few imperfections but overall it looks ok.  Just a few ends to sew in and it needs to be pressed but it is done and I'm really chuffed with myself.

Dealt with the storage container drawer today - how do lids and containers become permanently estranged from each other?   Where do they go?  Perhaps they've run away with the odd socks.

savingholmes

Congratulations on piecing the item together. 

It sounds like things are coming together for you even if odd socks and container lids elude you.