5 months to emerge as a butterfly 6 April 2020 at 9:27AM edited 6 April 2020 at 9:50AM in Debt free diaries 888 replies 116.6K views

benbenandme

So, my energy usage for the last two months (March was before the latest price increase):

Electric: 
March - £58.64 ... 206Kwh
April -    £45.71 ... 161 Kwh

Gas:
March - £69.15 ... 924 Kwh
April - £36.63 ... 490 Kwh

So having the heating off in April (it wasn't on much in March either) and a conscious effort to have showers not baths and barely using the oven has made a difference to the gas usage. The electric is quite a big saving in Kwh too, that is mainly down to switching off the freezer in the garage and barely using the lights. So this month I have spent £45.71 & £36.63 & £21 (standing charge), plus VAT ... so approx £135? I'm currently paying £150 a month so assuming I continue at this usage for the summer months I'll be banking £15 a month. If I can keep finding £50+ a month extra from surveys etc and squirrelling that away then hopefully we will be able to have the heating on for a bit in the winter   

benbenandme

Morning all, wide awake this morning so I'm up and today needs to be a mega housework day (hoping the original hottie is coming tomorrow). I have stripped my bed and the first load is in the machine, the house is tidy it just needs a good clean.
Yesterday I bought a couple of bits online which are being delivered today (from household pot), I also had some plant pots delivered, there are 10 of them and they are all bright colours and hang on the fence. I have got some small plants to go in them so will get them planted up today too.

Ds is at work all day, I need to pop round and see Mum for a bit, other than that its mainly a pottering and catching up kinda day ahead, with hopefully a few surveys here and there to start up the new months savings.

benbenandme

House is almost clean and sparkly, just need to hoover my bedroom and mop the kitchen / conservatory floors. My parcels were delivered and I am happy with them, so no returns to sort there. I have sold another dress on Vinted so I need to go and get that posted, but that's another £8 for the gas / electric pot

Today I have started the hrt patches. It has also been a day where I've binged on rubbish for no reason other than I'm feeling lazy and I'm sat indoors. So no more excuses, from tomorrow morning I am back on it. 30 days of lots of water, lots of walking, and eating properly. 

No surveys about today, unlikely to be many tomorrow either as its a bank holiday. Not sure still if the original hottie is coming over or not, but I will need to go and get some veg and salad tomorrow. 

benbenandme

Today has been quite a chilled one, no original hottie visit today, hopefully I'll speak to him later and see if he's free tomorrow but as he has had a long weekend he'll probably be busy with work (self-employed). Anyway, I've been for a lovely walk in the forest with the dog, done some washing, generally mooched about a bit and am feeling quite chilled. So far its a nsd too

Blackcats

Glad that you've had a good day.
you probably don't notice how well you are doing - you've done a great job with DS - how fantastic that you can talk with him about saving some of his money.  You are on top of all your bills and running your house and I reckon your home must be very clean, tidy and organised.  Sometimes in the midst of day to day living it's easy to overlook achievements and progress.

benbenandme

Thanks Blackcats Today my broadband with Sky stopped, and when I checked the paperwork the new one with Plusnet isn't being connected until tomorrow, I felt totally lost with out it this morning (minimal data on my phone). Anyway, I messaged them on Twitter to see if they could bring it forward a bit. I did two loads of washing and a few little jobs - a mystery shop which I submitted on my phone which is £10 for the gas/electric pot, and I took my old Dyson to the local Dyson shop and they paid me £20 for it I bought it there originally (second-hand) for £90 and have used it loads, so £20 back is pretty good in my book and I don't use it anymore, I stick to my Henry, so that's £30 in total today for my gas/electric pot. I also moved £25 that I would normally pay my mobile bill with and put that in a pot for haircuts as I have transferred my clubcard points to cover my phone bill.
After that I went to a local country park for a walk and have done about 14,000 steps so far today. My eating has been good, my walking is getting back to where it was, things are looking better again right now

No visit from the original hottie but that's okay, I am happy to have a bit more time to get back in shape before I see him anyhow

Now tonight is a big footie game, if we win then we're back in the Premier league, if they win then they go above us with only one game left, I'm stupidly nervous already and will probably watch most of the game from behind a cushion

Spends today = petrol £58  (I only have a Corsa)  and £14 in Waitrose on bits. Off for a shower now so I can watch the football later and try and enjoy it

Drawingaline

You sound much more positive 😁

Blackcats

Good result for you and your team tonight.  I would say see you back in the premier League next season but who knows if my club will even be still in existence if the proposed sale can't be sorted. 😦

benbenandme

Thank you both, yes I do feel so much more positive over the last few days - I don't know if its the patches, the various tablets I'm taking, the walking / eating properly or if its all just psychological, but I'm happy to be feeling in a better place again but perhaps awaiting the down days again, we'll see

The football was fabulous, I'm pleased for the club to be back in the Premier League - financially its absolutely huge, but as a fan I actually prefer the Championship .. no VAR and not feeling like you're going to get battered every week But overall it's such a huge achievement for a little club like ours and it means we get to see Eddie back here next year, even if it is with Newcastle.

Today has been a busy day - I did an hours walking down the beach before work as I knew I wouldn't have much chance to do one tonight. I finish work at 4 but then had a meeting til 5.30 then straight into my online tutoring session. It's all extra money though so I'm not complaining. I've managed to stick to my proper eating and have hit my 20,000 steps for the third day in a row. I also did 5 minutes with the weighted hula hoop and loved it so will be doing more of that each day too. 

Spends today = £4 on a bread roll and soup for lunch, milk for the office (I can claim that back) and some cheese. I also bought 5 tomato plants from someone at work, her husband is a very keen gardener and always sells their extras, they are always great quality and as I eat baby plum tomatoes by the bucket load in the summer months it may hopefully save me some money, or at least may help me avoid trips to the supermarket where I will invariably buy loads more than I need. Right, early night for me as its been a long one today, night all x

benbenandme

Morning, the suns out and I've got a chilled weekend ahead Fingers crossed my trees are being cut down today - I've been saying that for the last few weeks but I've been assured they're definitely doing them today. We'll see!

Other than that its the last day of the football season, luckily we've nothing to play for so the pressure is off, I can just enjoy it for a change The house is tidy but I do need to whizz round and clean bits, I also need to get some food bits over the weekend, I've already got a veggie stew out of the freezer for dinner tonight which I'll have with some rice probably. I've done my 20,000 steps every day this week and have lost 4lbs I definitely feel I'm heading back in the right direction again.