Shipshape and Bristol Fashion

MagicCat

So... it's been over a month since I've managed to post  Not great times to be honest, I've sort of gone back to my default of being overwhelmed and giving up, which obviously helps nothing, so trying to get back to planning and budgeting and posting.

Thanks very much for stopping by @Bluegreen143 and @QueenJess, hope you're both doing well, will have to catch up on your diaries.

Good news - the mice have gone. Hooray!
We have painted M's room, just v plain and neutral as she's a bit little to have any colour preferences, but at least it's nice and clean for her.

Challenges - S has had a very bumpy start at school. We're waiting for various assessments for possible ASD/sensory issues, referrals for some things should have been made by healthvisitor before lockdown, but it seems it hasn't been, so we're starting again with the school nurses. Sigh. His behaviour at home has really deteriorated, which is wearing.
M has had a bit of a difficult time at nursery, basically they've said the an only do half-day for her because of some issues. Which leaves DH still trying to WFH and do childcare when I'm working, his work are not impressed. We could look for a alternative, but all round here seem to be not taking new children or have a long wait, and no guarantee it will be any different. On the plus side it's cheaper.

We have the window quotes, it £420 but the awful rain has shown more leaks, this time from a velux window so that may need doing as well.

Car had MOTand service - got through with 2 budgeted for tyres, but service has identified some work that's going to need doing in the near future, it's pricey. Car is 12 years old, so we're wondering if this is the start of lots of things being needed, and if so if money would be better spent on a replacement. Only we don't have much money and really need the car for my work!

To add yet another thing to the list, the washing machine is on the blink, making a terrible noise and not cleaning properly. It's 10 years old and we had it repaired about a year ago.

So with all of this I've really taking my eye off the ball with meal planning etc. Need to focus more, with all this definitely can't afford to be wasting money!

Hope everyone is ok, it's such difficult times. Frustrating though all my challenges are, I have to keep reminding myself that basically we're all ok and that's what matters.

QueenJess

Keep your head up.  As you say, everyone is fine, which is the most important thing.  Keep going.  I always find this time of year difficult as there is so much expense and the end of summer.  It'll get better 

You could create yourself some weekly meal plans and save them, so you can just reuse them at a later date when you are just too busy with everything.  Also lots of batch cooking when you have more time so you can pull things out of the freezer on the days you have no time/can't be bothered.  My freezer meals are great as I often have a day a week when I just can't be bothered to cook!

Bluegreen143

Hugs @MagicCat! It sounds like things are quite tough for you right now. It’s very understandable that meal planning etc isn’t quite top of your agenda right now and it’s definitely OK to cut yourself some slack. 

That’s really rubbish re nursery and must be tough for your husband. Does it mean that your nursery bill will be lower so the extra saved there can subside any increased grocery spending (silver lining perhaps?). I think most childcare settings aren’t taking new children, at least here it’s the same, so I bet you’re not the only ones in that boat. Sorry that S is having some issues with school - hopefully all the referrals etc go through quickly and you can get any support you need.

MagicCat

Thanks very much @QueenJess and @Bluegreen143, I really appreciate the support.
The school nurses have been excellent, really efficient and kind - the Health Visitors are so overworked, it's not their fault but unless there's an actual safeguarding issue they don't seem to have any time for anything. So referrals in progress, who knows when we'll get any appointments, particularly with everything going on at the moment, but it's a start. 
I need to have a good look at our budget again and come up with a plan. I've been working on meal plans - monthly is an amazing idea, I've found it much easier to have a framework for the whole month but it's a bit of a work in progress at the moment.
Hope everyone is ok and keeping safe and well. 

MagicCat

No much to report, but I do feel I've made a bit of progress- I've done a big master meal plan for the month which i'm finding easier to follow and I'm planning to do a big monthly Aldi shop to hopefully bring the weekly online totals down. I've also done some tidying and decluttering which always makes me feel calmer!

We have a telephone assessment for one service booked for DS next week, still waiting on other referrals. We're having to go and get him from school a couple of times a week which isn't great but school are being very supportive.

I had some great excitement last week and thought I'd lost half a stone - until DH asked me what had gone wrong with the scales as he'd gained weight over night! He changed the battery and I was back where I started - nice for a couple of days though!

QueenJess

MagicCat said:

No much to report, but I do feel I've made a bit of progress- I've done a big master meal plan for the month which i'm finding easier to follow and I'm planning to do a big monthly Aldi shop to hopefully bring the weekly online totals down. I've also done some tidying and decluttering which always makes me feel calmer!

Good work!  My little brain can't contemplate a whole months worth of meal planning, but I do admire people who can do that.  Tidying/de-cluttering is always good..  I always find it makes me feel better 

Bluegreen143

Well done on the mealplan! Bet it feels good to take some of the daily decision making away.

Your weight loss story made me laugh! That’s the sort of thing that would happen to me if I was brave enough to weigh myself 😂

Bluegreen143

@MagicCat wanted to pop on and say hi! How are you doing?

MagicCat

Hi @Bluegreen143 thanks for popping in, it's really kind of you to think of me.

It's been a crazy few months (I know it has for everyone with ongoing lockdowns and everything being so awful) and something has happened which has completely thrown off all our plans and expectations - I'm expecting baby number 3 at the end of June. It's a bit of a shock as DS and DD took a lot of time and planning and this little one has come along despite precautions...but we are very excited, if a bit apprehensive about how we're going to manage!  But we have all the baby stuff we could possibly need, and with all the positive news about vaccinations my mum is hoping she will be able to help out once I'm back to work which will hopefully bridge the gap until DD gets her free nursery hours and mean we won't have two lots of nursery fees.

In money saving news, I've been keeping up with the meal planning although online shopping rather than Aldi to avoid getting out too much.  We did the windows and fingers crossed the leak is gone, and we have had to have the boiler repaired (pump replacement and a few other parts) which has pretty much wiped out the savings. We have also had to replace the car, so have a credit card on 0% for this, we are paying off each month so shouldn't incur any interest, and the cost of repairing the old car were really high so this seemed the best option.

So that's the past few months! I've been just focusing on the day to day stuff really - saving where I can and bringing bills down, doing some surveys etc, but I really do need to get back to the bigger picture.

I hope everyone is well - how is the new job going @Bluegreen143?  Spring is coming (despite the rain here today!) and I'm looking forward to positive times to come.

QueenJess

Oh wow - congratulations on the baby    Although unplanned, it sounds exciting!

Bridging the gap for nursery fees makes perfect sense.  My fees are more than the mortgage!  I've no idea how people manage to have two in nursery at the same time with full fees, although I guess it wouldn't be normally for more than a year.

Great you are still food planning and I understand about the online shopping.  I haven't been to a food shop since this time last year (although I send DH instead).  So much of money saving is just the little day to day things/choices anyway, so hopefully when you get a chance to look at the bigger picture it will look better