LO was full of beans all morning so we decided to bring her to the local park that has a small pond with swans and ducks and we also had a load of bread that my FIL said we could use to feed the ducks. LO absolutely loved this and we were there for a good 2 hours. Feeding the ducks and running around the grass. For some reason the playground was close which I'm going to assume is to do with Covid. The park wasn't that busy either so all around it was great plus the weather was fabulous!
Not much else was done today to be honest. I put a wash out early this morning and they were dried quick enough. I made my OH his meals for tomorrow and really the majority of the day was spent pottering around and playing with LO. Safe to say now, I'm wreaked haha!
I also rearranged my banking account so now I have....
My day to day account which I get paid into
Car and Tax insurance account
House savings account
Christmas account
The money I had in my Rainy day funds, I transfered those back into my day to day account and I deleted my Rainy day funds. I was doing a little bit of searching and thinking last night and I felt with 3 savings account (teachnically) I was already proving that I could save and save constantly and with a rainy day account, I felt even though I was putting €10 in it each week, it was showing I was saving every little penny which genuinely isn't a bad thing at all, but I need to show I can live too and granted I know how to budget and I know how to live within my means but I also realised that I can't keep constantly worrying about how much I do and don't have and not enjoy myself. I am still going to stick to my Wednesday evening plan which is the day before pay day. Whatever I have left over, I can either put it all into the Christmas account, split between house saving and Christmas Account or I can add it onto my wages. My new idea is too just see how much I am left with and think realistically what's doable instead of having to feel guilty. That way I can just enjoy my wages and not feel like every penny is being transfered into savings and not every penny is being accounted for.
It's also nearing around the time I start my Christmas shopping and I could like to buy all the little niggly bits first before I go onto the major bits so when I transfered my money from my Rainy day funds, I went from €185.20 to €226.65 and that gave me a good boost to start buying the little bits. I plan on either going online or going to the shopping center (with a mask of course!) during the week to get the bits I need and it means I won't have to dip into my Christmas account until around November when I start to shop around for the good deals for my OHs and LOs presents. The niggly bits will be the likes of cards for who I want to buy for, vouchures and chocolates (which I'll hide so the OH doesn't see them!) . That will pretty much be the start of it and I'll have them done and out of the way.
I remember this time last year I was pretty much half way through my Christmas shopping and this year I'm only starting so I feel somewhat guilty but I'm not going to fall into the trap of leaving everything last minute so I've decided to take one day on my week off and focus on buying the niggly bits.
My OH has also informed me that he wants to paint the walls in the house. All the rooms and do the house up a little bit. Granted its a rented house BUT my FIL and OH have been living here for 8 plus years and it doesn't look homely whatsoever. When I moved in I asked to sprunch it up a little bit as it really does look like a house no one wants to visit with all my FIL clutters. He's an example of a hoarder. Bearing in mind the landlord doesn't have any interest whatsoever to even help us and we desperately need a new cooker so we've all decided to chip in and get a cheapy one. It's moreso to make the house a home and be proud when we have visitors instead of feeling like we live in a dump. Which we don't really but a lick of paint and a couple of decorations should make the house seem brighter.
So that's our little hobby for the next couple of weeks, it'll give us something to keep ourselves going instead of feeling like we are just saving and living a house we don't particularly like.
Sounds like you’ve had som realisations just like me this week. I’ve changed things up a bit so I too have more £ to enjoy for general living and fun!
I realised that I am saving constantly as it is and I save with the same bank so when the time comes to get a mortage I don't have to worry so I just taught you know what I don't need to deprive myself and constantly worry about what I do and don't have left over even when all is saved and paid for so I might as well enjoy my wages and buy whatever it is I want, guilt free which is both rare
I woke up this morning at 6am and shot out of the bed thinking I was late for work. My OH wasn't beside me so I panicked thinking he didn't wake me up on time (or he just didn't wake me full stop) and searched for my phone. The realization that I was actually off work was relieving to say the least! The slight heart attack I gave myself.
I sat in bed for 3 hours watching YouTube and the sheer bliss of knowing I didn't have to do much was amazing. I will admit, I felt like I should of been running around but I knew I didn't have to do much.
I eventually climed out of bed at 11am and made a coffee and stuck a wash on. My third load is currently rincing out. Its a wet and drery day so it'll be clothes on the clothes horse for about a day before I properly dry them on the radiator.
As my OH decided he wanted to do a couple of house DIYing, I decided to clean and wash out the cubards. My jaysis they were filthy. I even managed to clean out the cubard with the tupperwears and realised I had way to much! There's absolutely no need for me to buy anymore. Thats my contribution to the DIY until my OH gets his finger out to start the painting seeing as he has demanded he wants to do it all himself, off he goes. I'll be seeing how long it takes before he realizes that it's not as simple as throwing paint on a wall but anyhoo.
Myself and FIL had a lovely chat over coffee and he proposed that we should ask the landlord about buying this house in the future (maybe 2, 3 years). My eyes lit up. I do adore this house, although it needs some fine tuning here and there but generally it's perfect, the location is perfect with 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms, huge sitting room and kitchen. A couple of renovation processes down the road and the house would be amazing. I told him how much I currently have saved and he told me how much he has saved so overal it would be around the €15k mark which I will admit is better than nothing. I asked him if it was ideal as he is in his 70s and obviously getting a mortage at his age would he difficult so he told me that if I continuing saving for the next 2 years which most likely will see me at €20k and my OH follows suit then we could look at €40k in total as a deposit. I asked how this would work and he said he would gift myself and partner the amount needed, as he knows he wouldn't be able to put his name down on the mortage. We hmmmmed and ahhhhed for a bit and I told him if it's what he wants too do. My parents have also offered to gift me a sum amount when I reach €30k which could help immensely. I am hoping maybe next year, winter sometime, I could potentially ask my landlord if he has any plans on selling the house and that we are interested, if not well all isn't too lost as we still have a deposit and can have a look in the area we want but I think that's the first step in positivity as I know my FIL obviously won't live forever and personally I would love to see stability in his life rather than worrying about rent payments. I would love for him to enjoy his pension age, as much as he can annoy me at the best of times, he has myself and OHs interest at heart and knows how much we would love to buy a house. He's even said that he'll make a couple of changes himself along the way to help as in, help more, just stop being a grumpy man (believe me he would happily sit in front of the telly all day and give out!) and just enjoy what he has and to just know that myself and OH are doing what we can but we can't do it all in the house if he doesn't help. My FIL brought this conversation up himself so I think he's been thinking about it for a while. He's had a change of heart somewhere down the line and knows that I'm there for him 100% and willing to do my fair of helping too (hense why at the end of the conversation he asked for a left to his appointment this week. I knew there was a catch haha!)
I treated myself and OH to a take away last night from the fish and chip shop because we were exhausted and couldn't find the energy to muster up making a meal or even drag ourselves downstairs to cook beans and toast (which would of made more sense!) I spent €24.75 on the take away which I will admit was worth it. Usually I order loads and feel sick but it was lovely. Then it was bed early.
This morning I went onto my account and notice my health insurance came out 3 days earlier than expected. That was €44.52 and I was a little bit annoyed at this as I had plans to budget this out but the way I see it, it's out of my account now so I don't have to pay again until next month, probably the same date.
Total in my account now - €157.38.
Today was a Pj's and clean day with no plans of spending as I don't plan on going anywhere. Myself and OH are going to start Christmas shopping this week, Thursday I say, so we can start on the smaller stuff and get them done and over with. I'll look forward to that. He's also informed me that he's been saving to LO so wants to spoil them, naturally so he'll be on the hunt for fun stuff in Smyths and Argos.
LO is coming up tomorrow for the day so that's another day of playing and watching cartoons which I admit I probably enjoy more than they do!
My to do list for today.....
Clean cubards Wash and hang clothes on clothes horse Ring my mam and grandparents Clean kitchen (as I imagine it will be in a state after cleaning the cubards) Have a shower Enjoy my FILs dinner that he kindly offered to make me (he seems to be in good spirits today)
LO was up today and myself, OH and LO had such a lovely day. The weather was fab so we brought LO to a different park this time and brought a ball with us and LO had a great time. They got sick in the car on the way to the park which I believe it was caused by the fact that they drank their juice too quick and mixed in with the heat of the car, even though the air conditioning was on. We gave LO ten minutes to calm down and checked their temp and they were absolutely fine and was more upset that we weren't in the park quick enough. There wasn't a bother on LO when we were playing with the ball and even on the way home LO and my OH were chatting away so they seemed in good form.
Myself and my OH made a trip into Woodies to get the painting supplies and other items so we can get started on painting and brightening up the house a little bit. My OH would have a better idea of what to get so I just told him to buy it and I'll give him my half towards the stuff as I genuinely haven't a clue what to get. I was more interested in the three section bins that they had an I'm very tempted to buy but I held off! You know the bins with the 3 compartments? They were really big as well and fits in the kitchen rather than having three separate bins and often over filling.
Overal the total amount came too €134.46 in Woodies which included 3 large, and I mean large buckets of paint, paint brushes and rollers, tape and more bits that I wouldn't even know we needed. My OH wrote a list and stuck to it so he knew to look for the bargains and get exactly what we needed. My half totalled up too €40.
My balance in my account is now €117.38.
Although I want to say I technically had a NSD, I went halves with my OH on the supplies so it counts. Which leaves me a little bit weary as what I should do towards the Christmas shopping on Thursday.
My Christmas Account has €278.26 in it at the minute and I was hoping to get the smller bits on Thursday, spending my wage money and letting my Christmas money build up until November so I can bulk by the bigger bits. I'm not sure yet what to do. I know exactly what I need to buy and I still have to keep in mind that I've to go food shopping on Friday so I can start my batch cooking on Saturday for when I return to work so as of right now I'm in the mind set of, rooting through my press and seeing what I can make and live off until the next pay day and potentially only need to buy the likes of yogurts and fruits. I've to write a list tomorrow of what I can make with what I have so I know what to buy in Aldi but for now I know what smaller bits I need to buy to stay the Christmas shopping and get those bits out of the way.
I'm not panicking too much as I know tomorrow will be a NSD as I'm dropping my FIL to an appointment and I've to get stayed on filling the holes in the wall and cleaning the walls down in the kitchen to prepare for the painting so I don't plan on going out to the shops.
My week off so far has been nice. One day I could be busy and the next I could be pottering around but it was nice to do things and not rush around. Mind you, I've done more washing than I would do when I'm in work I think that's more to do with the fact I know I am home so I can get the clothes washed and dried quicker and not have to worry about it for the day. Especially the cleaning, the house has been gleaming most days.
Ive plans to meet a friend on Friday early afternoon for a few hours. She has offered to make some homemade soup and of course, tea and a natter so I'm glad about that as I was worried she wanted to go out for a meal so as cheeky as it sounds, I don't have to worry about leaning myself short on money. With the whole restrictions going on, I've asked if she is okay with me dropping up and she says she hasn't been outside her house in about 2 weeks and said she is going to set up table and chairs outside her garden so we can keep a distant, of course no hugging. If the whether sees fit then I'm more than happy to do that.
My sleeping however. Only Jesus my body is loving the fact that I don't have to wake up at 4.30am which is both lovely but god love me when I've to go back to work but honestly I don't care. I'm just loving being able to just stay up (the latest is 11pm haha!) and lounge in bed until I see fit too. Tomorrow I plan on waking up a little bit earlier though just to get myself up and out of bed for the day rather than completely gluing myself to the bed until 11am and finding no motivation to do anything else.
I'm showered and dressed for bed like an old woman, my OH should be home soon from dropping LO to their mammies house and it'll be tea and Netflix for an hour or two, possible chat about the house and what we plan on doing.
Yesterday morning, afternoon, this morning and up until now has been busy!
I started washing down the walls in the kitchen yesterday. All 6 walls. They weren't dirty to the point where you couldn't see them but jesus the amount of grime and foods and dust on the walls that's accumulated over the years. My FIL has lived in this house for years and it's never occurred to him to clean the walls down. Even the ones in eye sight (wear the kettle is or the microwave) I spent the best part of 8 hours yesterday using sugar soap and a scrubbing pad to clean all the walls. I hoovered the corners of the ceiling and behind the presses and I swear I hoovered over 5 spiders(oooppps!). I ended up bring my FIL into the kitchen and asking him exactly what way he cleans up because as the walls were starting to brighten up, you could see its been years since anyone even taught about cleaning the kitchen properly. Obviously the surfaces were fine as everyday someone is cleaning up after they have finished eating etc but I was shocked. Even the radiators and skirting boards were in dire need of TLC. Safe to say the kitchen is beyond gleaming. I put poly fill into the holes that were in the walls (god only knows how they happened) I'm going to sand them down then my OH is going to start the painting. The deal was I was to start cleaning down the walls and fill any holes and seeing as I'm off work I taught I might as well do them this week and hopefully the OH starts painting soon.
It was a NSD and my FIL even bought me a bag of chips for all my hard work! OH was working late last night so when he came home he couldn't get over the difference of the walls and was considering leaving two walls unpainted as they genuinely look like they are newly painted that's his clean they look.
I was exhausted last night and crashed out.
This morning I put two loads in the wash and put them outside before I got started on cleaning the walls, skirting board and radiator in the hall, stairs and landing. I must say, one of the walls looks clear as day now so I think that wall might even get left out of painting and focus on the skirting boards and cieling. That only took me 3 hours as it wasn't too bad and there was two holes to fill with poly fill.
It feels good to get started on the DIY, or well do my part at least which is obviously going to be the cleaning part!
Hopefully when the walls are painted, we can look into getting cheap and cheerful flooring to get rid of the awful lino that's laying around. Often rented accommodations can come with some questionable decor but if I'm paying a decent price for a rented house then I supposed I'm to accept that decor isn't exactly going to be nice. The flooring won't be extravagant but just nice enough to gave the house a homely feel seeing as we're going to be living here for a while longer.
Saturday I plan on clearing the walls in the bathroom and my bedroom and downstairs bathroom and that's pretty much the main rooms done that need to be done.
The sitting room however is a different story and I think it'll take a day to even convince my FIL to sort out what he does and doesn't want before I even start cleaning the walls. He's such a hoarder to the point where I've found things hidden and when I ask him about it he'll act like he hid stuff on purpose when it's a case of he didn't even know had these random things. Although I love him to bits, he really does hold onto the most pointless things that have no meaning or he'll happily take things off other people and it's more crap in the house. Even if he sees anyone else clean the sitting room he's starts walking around and pacing up and down to make sure you're not throwing anything out.
It's Christmas shopping this evening and I've written my list. I know exactly what I need to get and who to buy for so I don't plan on losing the run of myself. OH said he's going to take an early leave today so we can head out, it'll be nice to just hang out as well and do something different. Granted it won't be for hours as he'll be stress out with the amount of people that could be out and about but either ways, it'll be nice to get out of the house for the evening at least.
With all the major bits done today, my plan is to have a shower and probably watch Netflix until OH comes home.
It's been a couple of days due to the fact that I've just been lazy to write in my diary. Ooopppsss.
Thursday Christmas shopping was fun I have to say. My OH started and finished LOs Christmas/Santa presents so they are done and dusted and it actually feels good to get their presents out of the way as my OH was at an absolute lost as to what to get them but safe to say, they were spoiled.
I spent €41.33 in Penneys and bought my FIL jumpers, pj's for my auntie and pj's for my Mam. It wasn't the last of the Christmas bits but it was a start anyways. We didn't go out too late but it seems like the majority of the shops in the shopping center were closing early so we didn't get to do a good browse or find any good deals but I was happy enough with what I had purchased so far. I was hoping to get a little bit more but sure Christmas is ages away so I can easily buy something throughout the week.
My total amount in my account on Friday was €76.05.
I visited my friend on Friday afternoon and we had some lovely cakes and tea sitting in her front garden. Thank god the weather wasn't too bad. The sun was beaming but you could feel the cold breeze but it was really nice to sit and chat and just enjoy being outside. I was there for a couple of hours and I was feeling very full after eating all the sweets and cakes!
I popped into Argos after visiting my friend as I had a present reserved that I wanted to buy LO for Xmas. That was €20.66. It's something I know they will love and I like to buy an extra something from myself so they don't think daddy just buys them presents. Although they are only 2 and a half, I still wanted to buy a little something.
Total in my account now €55.39.
I haven't even started my weekly food shopping yet. Usually I do it on a Friday but honestly these last few days, I haven't had the mental patience to even bring myself to go into the shops or even think about what I need to buy or what I want to make. Its like all motivation has gone out the window.
I'm visiting my Mam today who said she's more than happy to have me in her house. I asked if she'd okay with the restrictions and although she is cautious, she's of the mind set that if we keep our distance and I bring my own cup then I'll be fine. Just once I don't visit my grandparents for the next week or so. I've been face timing them and they seem in great spirits.
I was planning on leaving my shopping until Monday after work and let the remaining of my wages sit in my account until then so I can figure out exactly what I need as I know ill just end up making something with things I already have rather than buying more food.
I have to say this week off flew by and I would happily have another week off. Even if it ment I had no money! I thoroughly enjoyed my lie ons and I know come Monday morning there will be no talking to me haha!
It's been a couple of days due to the fact that I've just been lazy to write in my diary. Ooopppsss.
Thursday Christmas shopping was fun I have to say. My OH started and finished LOs Christmas/Santa presents so they are done and dusted and it actually feels good to get their presents out of the way as my OH was at an absolute lost as to what to get them but safe to say, they were spoiled.
I spent €41.33 in Penneys and bought my FIL jumpers, pj's for my auntie and pj's for my Mam. It wasn't the last of the Christmas bits but it was a start anyways. We didn't go out too late but it seems like the majority of the shops in the shopping center were closing early so we didn't get to do a good browse or find any good deals but I was happy enough with what I had purchased so far. I was hoping to get a little bit more but sure Christmas is ages away so I can easily buy something throughout the week.
My total amount in my account on Friday was €76.05.
I visited my friend on Friday afternoon and we had some lovely cakes and tea sitting in her front garden. Thank god the weather wasn't too bad. The sun was beaming but you could feel the cold breeze but it was really nice to sit and chat and just enjoy being outside. I was there for a couple of hours and I was feeling very full after eating all the sweets and cakes!
I popped into Argos after visiting my friend as I had a present reserved that I wanted to buy LO for Xmas. That was €20.66. It's something I know they will love and I like to buy an extra something from myself so they don't think daddy just buys them presents. Although they are only 2 and a half, I still wanted to buy a little something.
Total in my account now €55.39.
I haven't even started my weekly food shopping yet. Usually I do it on a Friday but honestly these last few days, I haven't had the mental patience to even bring myself to go into the shops or even think about what I need to buy or what I want to make. Its like all motivation has gone out the window.
I'm visiting my Mam today who said she's more than happy to have me in her house. I asked if she'd okay with the restrictions and although she is cautious, she's of the mind set that if we keep our distance and I bring my own cup then I'll be fine. Just once I don't visit my grandparents for the next week or so. I've been face timing them and they seem in great spirits.
I was planning on leaving my shopping until Monday after work and let the remaining of my wages sit in my account until then so I can figure out exactly what I need as I know ill just end up making something with things I already have rather than buying more food.
I have to say this week off flew by and I would happily have another week off. Even if it ment I had no money! I thoroughly enjoyed my lie ons and I know come Monday morning there will be no talking to me haha!
It's not a long post so happy Saturday 😊 X
You’re more organised than I am ha. Haven’t even considered Christmas yet...
Seeing what you can make out of supplies sounds a good money saving shout!
Replies
LO was full of beans all morning so we decided to bring her to the local park that has a small pond with swans and ducks and we also had a load of bread that my FIL said we could use to feed the ducks. LO absolutely loved this and we were there for a good 2 hours. Feeding the ducks and running around the grass. For some reason the playground was close which I'm going to assume is to do with Covid. The park wasn't that busy either so all around it was great plus the weather was fabulous!
Not much else was done today to be honest. I put a wash out early this morning and they were dried quick enough. I made my OH his meals for tomorrow and really the majority of the day was spent pottering around and playing with LO. Safe to say now, I'm wreaked haha!
I also rearranged my banking account so now I have....
My day to day account which I get paid into
Car and Tax insurance account
House savings account
Christmas account
The money I had in my Rainy day funds, I transfered those back into my day to day account and I deleted my Rainy day funds. I was doing a little bit of searching and thinking last night and I felt with 3 savings account (teachnically) I was already proving that I could save and save constantly and with a rainy day account, I felt even though I was putting €10 in it each week, it was showing I was saving every little penny which genuinely isn't a bad thing at all, but I need to show I can live too and granted I know how to budget and I know how to live within my means but I also realised that I can't keep constantly worrying about how much I do and don't have and not enjoy myself. I am still going to stick to my Wednesday evening plan which is the day before pay day. Whatever I have left over, I can either put it all into the Christmas account, split between house saving and Christmas Account or I can add it onto my wages. My new idea is too just see how much I am left with and think realistically what's doable instead of having to feel guilty. That way I can just enjoy my wages and not feel like every penny is being transfered into savings and not every penny is being accounted for.
It's also nearing around the time I start my Christmas shopping and I could like to buy all the little niggly bits first before I go onto the major bits so when I transfered my money from my Rainy day funds, I went from €185.20 to €226.65 and that gave me a good boost to start buying the little bits. I plan on either going online or going to the shopping center (with a mask of course!) during the week to get the bits I need and it means I won't have to dip into my Christmas account until around November when I start to shop around for the good deals for my OHs and LOs presents. The niggly bits will be the likes of cards for who I want to buy for, vouchures and chocolates (which I'll hide so the OH doesn't see them!) . That will pretty much be the start of it and I'll have them done and out of the way.
I remember this time last year I was pretty much half way through my Christmas shopping and this year I'm only starting so I feel somewhat guilty but I'm not going to fall into the trap of leaving everything last minute so I've decided to take one day on my week off and focus on buying the niggly bits.
My OH has also informed me that he wants to paint the walls in the house. All the rooms and do the house up a little bit. Granted its a rented house BUT my FIL and OH have been living here for 8 plus years and it doesn't look homely whatsoever. When I moved in I asked to sprunch it up a little bit as it really does look like a house no one wants to visit with all my FIL clutters. He's an example of a hoarder. Bearing in mind the landlord doesn't have any interest whatsoever to even help us and we desperately need a new cooker so we've all decided to chip in and get a cheapy one. It's moreso to make the house a home and be proud when we have visitors instead of feeling like we live in a dump. Which we don't really but a lick of paint and a couple of decorations should make the house seem brighter.
So that's our little hobby for the next couple of weeks, it'll give us something to keep ourselves going instead of feeling like we are just saving and living a house we don't particularly like.
Happy Sunday 😊 X
I sat in bed for 3 hours watching YouTube and the sheer bliss of knowing I didn't have to do much was amazing. I will admit, I felt like I should of been running around but I knew I didn't have to do much.
I eventually climed out of bed at 11am and made a coffee and stuck a wash on. My third load is currently rincing out. Its a wet and drery day so it'll be clothes on the clothes horse for about a day before I properly dry them on the radiator.
As my OH decided he wanted to do a couple of house DIYing, I decided to clean and wash out the cubards. My jaysis they were filthy. I even managed to clean out the cubard with the tupperwears and realised I had way to much! There's absolutely no need for me to buy anymore. Thats my contribution to the DIY until my OH gets his finger out to start the painting seeing as he has demanded he wants to do it all himself, off he goes. I'll be seeing how long it takes before he realizes that it's not as simple as throwing paint on a wall but anyhoo.
Myself and FIL had a lovely chat over coffee and he proposed that we should ask the landlord about buying this house in the future (maybe 2, 3 years). My eyes lit up. I do adore this house, although it needs some fine tuning here and there but generally it's perfect, the location is perfect with 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms, huge sitting room and kitchen. A couple of renovation processes down the road and the house would be amazing. I told him how much I currently have saved and he told me how much he has saved so overal it would be around the €15k mark which I will admit is better than nothing. I asked him if it was ideal as he is in his 70s and obviously getting a mortage at his age would he difficult so he told me that if I continuing saving for the next 2 years which most likely will see me at €20k and my OH follows suit then we could look at €40k in total as a deposit. I asked how this would work and he said he would gift myself and partner the amount needed, as he knows he wouldn't be able to put his name down on the mortage. We hmmmmed and ahhhhed for a bit and I told him if it's what he wants too do. My parents have also offered to gift me a sum amount when I reach €30k which could help immensely. I am hoping maybe next year, winter sometime, I could potentially ask my landlord if he has any plans on selling the house and that we are interested, if not well all isn't too lost as we still have a deposit and can have a look in the area we want but I think that's the first step in positivity as I know my FIL obviously won't live forever and personally I would love to see stability in his life rather than worrying about rent payments. I would love for him to enjoy his pension age, as much as he can annoy me at the best of times, he has myself and OHs interest at heart and knows how much we would love to buy a house. He's even said that he'll make a couple of changes himself along the way to help as in, help more, just stop being a grumpy man (believe me he would happily sit in front of the telly all day and give out!) and just enjoy what he has and to just know that myself and OH are doing what we can but we can't do it all in the house if he doesn't help. My FIL brought this conversation up himself so I think he's been thinking about it for a while. He's had a change of heart somewhere down the line and knows that I'm there for him 100% and willing to do my fair of helping too (hense why at the end of the conversation he asked for a left to his appointment this week. I knew there was a catch haha!)
I treated myself and OH to a take away last night from the fish and chip shop because we were exhausted and couldn't find the energy to muster up making a meal or even drag ourselves downstairs to cook beans and toast (which would of made more sense!) I spent €24.75 on the take away which I will admit was worth it. Usually I order loads and feel sick but it was lovely. Then it was bed early.
This morning I went onto my account and notice my health insurance came out 3 days earlier than expected. That was €44.52 and I was a little bit annoyed at this as I had plans to budget this out but the way I see it, it's out of my account now so I don't have to pay again until next month, probably the same date.
Total in my account now - €157.38.
Today was a Pj's and clean day with no plans of spending as I don't plan on going anywhere. Myself and OH are going to start Christmas shopping this week, Thursday I say, so we can start on the smaller stuff and get them done and over with. I'll look forward to that. He's also informed me that he's been saving to LO so wants to spoil them, naturally so he'll be on the hunt for fun stuff in Smyths and Argos.
LO is coming up tomorrow for the day so that's another day of playing and watching cartoons which I admit I probably enjoy more than they do!
My to do list for today.....
Clean cubards
Wash and hang clothes on clothes horse
Ring my mam and grandparents
Clean kitchen (as I imagine it will be in a state after cleaning the cubards)
Have a shower
Enjoy my FILs dinner that he kindly offered to make me (he seems to be in good spirits today)
X
LO was up today and myself, OH and LO had such a lovely day. The weather was fab so we brought LO to a different park this time and brought a ball with us and LO had a great time. They got sick in the car on the way to the park which I believe it was caused by the fact that they drank their juice too quick and mixed in with the heat of the car, even though the air conditioning was on. We gave LO ten minutes to calm down and checked their temp and they were absolutely fine and was more upset that we weren't in the park quick enough. There wasn't a bother on LO when we were playing with the ball and even on the way home LO and my OH were chatting away so they seemed in good form.
Myself and my OH made a trip into Woodies to get the painting supplies and other items so we can get started on painting and brightening up the house a little bit. My OH would have a better idea of what to get so I just told him to buy it and I'll give him my half towards the stuff as I genuinely haven't a clue what to get. I was more interested in the three section bins that they had an I'm very tempted to buy but I held off! You know the bins with the 3 compartments? They were really big as well and fits in the kitchen rather than having three separate bins and often over filling.
Overal the total amount came too €134.46 in Woodies which included 3 large, and I mean large buckets of paint, paint brushes and rollers, tape and more bits that I wouldn't even know we needed. My OH wrote a list and stuck to it so he knew to look for the bargains and get exactly what we needed. My half totalled up too €40.
My balance in my account is now €117.38.
Although I want to say I technically had a NSD, I went halves with my OH on the supplies so it counts. Which leaves me a little bit weary as what I should do towards the Christmas shopping on Thursday.
My Christmas Account has €278.26 in it at the minute and I was hoping to get the smller bits on Thursday, spending my wage money and letting my Christmas money build up until November so I can bulk by the bigger bits. I'm not sure yet what to do. I know exactly what I need to buy and I still have to keep in mind that I've to go food shopping on Friday so I can start my batch cooking on Saturday for when I return to work so as of right now I'm in the mind set of, rooting through my press and seeing what I can make and live off until the next pay day and potentially only need to buy the likes of yogurts and fruits. I've to write a list tomorrow of what I can make with what I have so I know what to buy in Aldi but for now I know what smaller bits I need to buy to stay the Christmas shopping and get those bits out of the way.
I'm not panicking too much as I know tomorrow will be a NSD as I'm dropping my FIL to an appointment and I've to get stayed on filling the holes in the wall and cleaning the walls down in the kitchen to prepare for the painting so I don't plan on going out to the shops.
My week off so far has been nice. One day I could be busy and the next I could be pottering around but it was nice to do things and not rush around. Mind you, I've done more washing than I would do when I'm in work I think that's more to do with the fact I know I am home so I can get the clothes washed and dried quicker and not have to worry about it for the day. Especially the cleaning, the house has been gleaming most days.
Ive plans to meet a friend on Friday early afternoon for a few hours. She has offered to make some homemade soup and of course, tea and a natter so I'm glad about that as I was worried she wanted to go out for a meal so as cheeky as it sounds, I don't have to worry about leaning myself short on money. With the whole restrictions going on, I've asked if she is okay with me dropping up and she says she hasn't been outside her house in about 2 weeks and said she is going to set up table and chairs outside her garden so we can keep a distant, of course no hugging. If the whether sees fit then I'm more than happy to do that.
My sleeping however. Only Jesus my body is loving the fact that I don't have to wake up at 4.30am which is both lovely but god love me when I've to go back to work but honestly I don't care. I'm just loving being able to just stay up (the latest is 11pm haha!) and lounge in bed until I see fit too. Tomorrow I plan on waking up a little bit earlier though just to get myself up and out of bed for the day rather than completely gluing myself to the bed until 11am and finding no motivation to do anything else.
I'm showered and dressed for bed like an old woman, my OH should be home soon from dropping LO to their mammies house and it'll be tea and Netflix for an hour or two, possible chat about the house and what we plan on doing.
X
Yesterday morning, afternoon, this morning and up until now has been busy!
I started washing down the walls in the kitchen yesterday. All 6 walls. They weren't dirty to the point where you couldn't see them but jesus the amount of grime and foods and dust on the walls that's accumulated over the years. My FIL has lived in this house for years and it's never occurred to him to clean the walls down. Even the ones in eye sight (wear the kettle is or the microwave) I spent the best part of 8 hours yesterday using sugar soap and a scrubbing pad to clean all the walls. I hoovered the corners of the ceiling and behind the presses and I swear I hoovered over 5 spiders(oooppps!). I ended up bring my FIL into the kitchen and asking him exactly what way he cleans up because as the walls were starting to brighten up, you could see its been years since anyone even taught about cleaning the kitchen properly. Obviously the surfaces were fine as everyday someone is cleaning up after they have finished eating etc but I was shocked. Even the radiators and skirting boards were in dire need of TLC. Safe to say the kitchen is beyond gleaming. I put poly fill into the holes that were in the walls (god only knows how they happened) I'm going to sand them down then my OH is going to start the painting. The deal was I was to start cleaning down the walls and fill any holes and seeing as I'm off work I taught I might as well do them this week and hopefully the OH starts painting soon.
It was a NSD and my FIL even bought me a bag of chips for all my hard work! OH was working late last night so when he came home he couldn't get over the difference of the walls and was considering leaving two walls unpainted as they genuinely look like they are newly painted that's his clean they look.
I was exhausted last night and crashed out.
This morning I put two loads in the wash and put them outside before I got started on cleaning the walls, skirting board and radiator in the hall, stairs and landing. I must say, one of the walls looks clear as day now so I think that wall might even get left out of painting and focus on the skirting boards and cieling. That only took me 3 hours as it wasn't too bad and there was two holes to fill with poly fill.
It feels good to get started on the DIY, or well do my part at least which is obviously going to be the cleaning part!
Hopefully when the walls are painted, we can look into getting cheap and cheerful flooring to get rid of the awful lino that's laying around. Often rented accommodations can come with some questionable decor but if I'm paying a decent price for a rented house then I supposed I'm to accept that decor isn't exactly going to be nice. The flooring won't be extravagant but just nice enough to gave the house a homely feel seeing as we're going to be living here for a while longer.
Saturday I plan on clearing the walls in the bathroom and my bedroom and downstairs bathroom and that's pretty much the main rooms done that need to be done.
The sitting room however is a different story and I think it'll take a day to even convince my FIL to sort out what he does and doesn't want before I even start cleaning the walls. He's such a hoarder to the point where I've found things hidden and when I ask him about it he'll act like he hid stuff on purpose when it's a case of he didn't even know had these random things. Although I love him to bits, he really does hold onto the most pointless things that have no meaning or he'll happily take things off other people and it's more crap in the house. Even if he sees anyone else clean the sitting room he's starts walking around and pacing up and down to make sure you're not throwing anything out.
It's Christmas shopping this evening and I've written my list. I know exactly what I need to get and who to buy for so I don't plan on losing the run of myself. OH said he's going to take an early leave today so we can head out, it'll be nice to just hang out as well and do something different. Granted it won't be for hours as he'll be stress out with the amount of people that could be out and about but either ways, it'll be nice to get out of the house for the evening at least.
With all the major bits done today, my plan is to have a shower and probably watch Netflix until OH comes home.
Happy Thursday 😊 X
Thursday Christmas shopping was fun I have to say. My OH started and finished LOs Christmas/Santa presents so they are done and dusted and it actually feels good to get their presents out of the way as my OH was at an absolute lost as to what to get them but safe to say, they were spoiled.
I spent €41.33 in Penneys and bought my FIL jumpers, pj's for my auntie and pj's for my Mam. It wasn't the last of the Christmas bits but it was a start anyways. We didn't go out too late but it seems like the majority of the shops in the shopping center were closing early so we didn't get to do a good browse or find any good deals but I was happy enough with what I had purchased so far. I was hoping to get a little bit more but sure Christmas is ages away so I can easily buy something throughout the week.
My total amount in my account on Friday was €76.05.
I visited my friend on Friday afternoon and we had some lovely cakes and tea sitting in her front garden. Thank god the weather wasn't too bad. The sun was beaming but you could feel the cold breeze but it was really nice to sit and chat and just enjoy being outside. I was there for a couple of hours and I was feeling very full after eating all the sweets and cakes!
I popped into Argos after visiting my friend as I had a present reserved that I wanted to buy LO for Xmas. That was €20.66. It's something I know they will love and I like to buy an extra something from myself so they don't think daddy just buys them presents. Although they are only 2 and a half, I still wanted to buy a little something.
Total in my account now €55.39.
I haven't even started my weekly food shopping yet. Usually I do it on a Friday but honestly these last few days, I haven't had the mental patience to even bring myself to go into the shops or even think about what I need to buy or what I want to make. Its like all motivation has gone out the window.
I'm visiting my Mam today who said she's more than happy to have me in her house. I asked if she'd okay with the restrictions and although she is cautious, she's of the mind set that if we keep our distance and I bring my own cup then I'll be fine. Just once I don't visit my grandparents for the next week or so. I've been face timing them and they seem in great spirits.
I was planning on leaving my shopping until Monday after work and let the remaining of my wages sit in my account until then so I can figure out exactly what I need as I know ill just end up making something with things I already have rather than buying more food.
I have to say this week off flew by and I would happily have another week off. Even if it ment I had no money! I thoroughly enjoyed my lie ons and I know come Monday morning there will be no talking to me haha!
It's not a long post so happy Saturday 😊 X
Seeing what you can make out of supplies sounds a good money saving shout!
August 2019: £28.8k
November 2020: £0 (0% interest)
My debt free diary: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77330320#Comment_77330320