Ready for the next stage!

atrixa

Ooh, caravan park sounds good fun. Me and bf were meant to go to one for his birthday a few years back, but we ended up in a lockdown instead. I love the amusement arcades they tend to have at those places.

riotlady

Yeah, hopefully they shouldn't need doing again for a while as I only go into work once a week so I'm not doing a huge amount of miles really. 

Yes, love an arcade! I'm not sure how mini will feel about it though- she's a total magpie for money (although thankfully doesn't yet know the difference between 2p and a pound) but absolutely refuses to spend it. I think if we got change for the machines she'd just want to keep it all! xD 

Had to spend 10p at work today to buy a plastic fork from the canteen as I forgot to take one with me. Then £10 on oven pizzas and bits in Sainsburys on the way home- pricey for one meal but riotdude was angling for a takeaway so I probably saved us £15 or so! 

Skint_yet_Again

lol at the thought of mini hoarding her 2p’s 😂 fakeaway night is a good compromise and still a good saving

MovingForwards

I keep my own cutlery and a couple of cups in my desk, perhaps look on 3bay or in a charity shop for a kfs. If you've a dedicated work bag you could keep them in it.

Long may mini keep up her love of saving, she'd be set up for life.

atrixa

I don't think I've ever been to a work canteen that charges for plastic forks! Feels a bit stingy unless it's to discourage plastic use?

riotlady

It is a bit stingy, I saw one of the ladies from the canteen later and she said she wouldn’t have charged me except that her boss was right there xD 

We’ve had a bit of a rubbish weekend here- my dads been in hospital, I’m feeling really ill, mini’s behaviour has been terrible, the in-laws came round somewhat unexpectedly and we had to scrabble to cook lunch- so we’re all at the end of our rope and looking forward to a fresh week. 

However one nice thing has happened financially- a previous pension has got in touch saying I can just withdraw the money as I was only enrolled briefly, so I should be getting £300 from them soon! I said to riotdude we’re quite lucky with things like this (random tax rebates and the like) and he pointed out how many times we’ve been in horrible situations because someone else made a mistake (I’m looking at you, student finance!) so it’s all a matter of perspective I guess! I do think it’s nice to take the glass half full approach though 

MovingForwards

These things tend to come together, hope you and dad feel better soon and mini is just picking up on the unsettled vibe.

How much would you get if you transferred it to another pension? Having a refund means tax and employer contribution is deducted, whereas a transfer keeps the tax off it and the employer contribution follows too.

riotlady

That’s interesting MF, the letter doesn’t say so I might have to ring to find out. I don’t think I was paying much tax at the time as I would have been earning close to or under the threshold? 

I think I’d probably rather have the £300 to go in the house deposit fund rather than a bit more in my pension anyway- my new job has quite a generous DB scheme and I’ve got another 30-40 years of working yet, whereas the need for housing is a bit more pressing. Hopefully in a few years when that’s sorted and we’re not paying a fortune to nursery we can up contributions a bit or open a SIPP.  

riotlady

It has been an exhausting week! My parents are kindly giving us their old bed (a kingsize) so have spent today breaking down the old one to take to the tip and cleaning and rearranging the rest of the bedroom furniture. I had hoped to see my parents tonight but there’s a sickness bug going round mini’s nursery so we’re playing it safe just in case she’s harbouring anything.

I had an exciting email from one of my uni lecturers who I worked on a research project with. She’s applied for funding for a new project which will need a research assistant for a few hours a week and she thought I’d be good for it. None of its for definite yet but it’s flattering to be thought well of! Bit wary of taking on too much but it would be an exciting thing to be involved in and a little extra money for the house deposit so I’ve said I’ll send my CV over. 

Tomorrow mini has a friend’s birthday party in the afternoon so think we’ll have a quiet morning and pizza and chips for an easy lunch. Sunday the new bed is arriving so we’ll be assembling that. 

I feel like this year is starting to go fast! Can’t believe it’s nearly Valentines already (although riotdude and I have agreed no presents as we both have birthdays in November and then it’s Christmas and by Feb we’re a bit burnt out on present buying!) 

atrixa

I know what you mean, the weeks are just flying by!

The research project sounds interesting, do you know how long the project would run for yet?