Pay for the future and not the past

MissRikkiC

The children woke up early today and my husband was taking the day off (he stayed up super late to watch the Super Bowl and so was still asleep for half the morning) so we’ve been able to do some lovely things together. I’ve spent 3 hours in the garden and so close to being on top of the garden project. 

Back in 2021 we dug up the entire one side of the garden and split it. Half for the children spread with bark and half for growing veg in raised beds which I started out by placing on top of weed supressing fabric and chip stone. I was a newbie and so didn’t know to use the soil (duh!) and also stacked the pallet collars we used as raised beds 2 high, filling layer 1 with breeze blocks from the wall I knocked down in my kitchen then filling layer 2 with about 100l of compost each. Would’ve cost a fortune looking back! We have 13 collars and so initially I had 6 and some at the front of the house but in order to increase growing space I needed to take them down a level, empty each of compost, take out the breeze blocks, remove the chip stone, rearrange the collars, cut out the weed suppressing fabric, turn the ground over, add the compost back in and replace the collars where I wanted them! Such a rookie mistake I made but today I’ve mostly done it all. There were plenty of worms doing their job so It can’t have been soo bad but I’m sure it’ll be better now. 

My daughter helped, scooping the compost in and out, filing some pots, playing in the garden and generally just keeping herself occupied whilst my boy slept which has been lovely. Feeling very content, 

redofromstart

That sounds lovely with your DD in the garden.

Compost to fill raised beds is just silly money and (in my experience anyway) you only realise this half way through when you have spent your budget for a couple of inches of useable soil so you can only plant shallow rooted stuff!
   

MissRikkiC

Yep totally agree @redofromstart It’s not terrible price wise at our local garden centre but for the amount I needed it would’ve been alot! 

A spendy day today as I had a private medical appointment but it was well worth the cost, since the NHS wait is 18 months as well as a visit to a gorgeous town with an excellent coffee shop. I treated myself to coffee (oat milk) and a pastry, scoffed the lot then realised the pastry would’ve had butter in of which I can’t eat at the moment and so felt very guilty. My boy has already started to come out in a rash on his belly  


I’ve emptied my spends now to get a nutri bullet on Amazon warehouse with the extra 30% off. I’ve had 2 over the last 10 years but used them often and they wear out! It’s this instead of the extra £100 for the bigger ninja item that blends as well; or a bundle for the blender as well as the 10 in 1 or whatever it is. I can’t afford that yet anyway so I’m bridging the gap. 

I asked DH to pick up some bits from the shop too. Toilet roll namely but oil, bananas etc to last us through to next Friday. I still think we will all need milk by then which means another shop, so the budget is already blown but still less than we usually spend. Hoping to stick within another £10 if possible before next Friday which will mean approx £270 on food this month. 

Most of these spends are accounted for which I’m pleased about but felt like all I’ve done today is tap my card. 

Walked into a very empty fridge (honestly fresh wise there was spring onions, broccoli and a green pepper!) and somehow managed to rustle up dinner however I need to seriously plan for the next 10 days and hope I asked DH to get a couple of things I can utilise.

redofromstart

I am on my second nutribullet and really like it - not so much for smoothies but pulverising nuts, and making fine sugar or batters. I'd replace it again if the £ was right and we were ok for cash.

MissRikkiC

It was definitely a purchase I don’t regret, I had the funds and it was immediately put to use twice today. 

Spends today have once again been more than planned, however I have a new mum friend and I treated us to tea and cake at the farm. It was actually the nicest brownie I’ve ever had, Dairy free and inadvertently gluten free but just like a chocolate nutty marshmallow. Will have to come from another pot for the time being. 

Dinner was a Tuscan bean stew with mash which was very tasty, plus there are left overs. The oven will go on tomorrow so ill try and get a cake and a loaf in there too to fill it. 

Suffolk_lass

I don't have any of the modern appliances of this sort. I use a coffee grinder I have had for forty years (that is also the base of my liquidiser) to make caster sugar and I use the big liquidizer I bought for £25 from Sainsbugs, for soups, and the small old one for milkshakes (a couple of scoops of icecream with a dash of fruit syrup and a dash of milk so it just sludgifies)

MissRikkiC

I have a hand held blender for soup and other bits but I do love the nutri bullet. I have a dedicated coffee grinder which I now wouldn’t be without but I’d not use it for anything else despite its price tag. Actually because of its price tag. 

I’ve been reading through other peoples diaries and it got me thinking that I’m not sure I use mine for what it’s intended. Usually it’s just a brain dump of a lot! Rather than my spending diary or rather mostly MS stuff!

I always feel a bit In limbo I guess, as whilst the end end goal doesn’t change, the process often does. Maybe that’s the case for most, but due to the ever changing nature I find there isn’t the same structure or routine of posting etc. 

For example, between Febs pay and August Pay, I will be paying the minimum on the debts and instead chucking all of our available disposable income at getting stuff done to the house which are all needed or will be needed for longer term goals. Would any one be remotely interested in those bits? They’re not likely going to be very MSE other than doing lots myself? 

I guess the more frugal I can be between now and then frees up more available funds to do those things with but they don’t really have a budget/target so anything extra will likely go into those jobs instead. Am I better setting a limit and then excess can go towards debt? I’m not asking so much as thinking out loud but if anyone does have wisdom please share. 

Maybe those headings i mentioned a few days back are a good place to start, regardless, as they highlight the spends, the trying, the fails and I can reflect on them. I may need to add to the headings for good MS news/bad MS news. 

Like yet another price increase at the nursery, but possibly pay award:inflation increase in April?

Stuff to ponder. I did say I might start over …. Hmmmmm

KajiKita

Hi @MissRikkiC 😊 

I’ve read your whole thread here and I hope you don’t mind me commenting? 

FWIW, I think it is definitely worth posting about the process. I’ve learned a lot from reading about other people’s ‘process’ as much as their actual numbers here. 

Yes, I would definitely be interested in reading about the work you are doing in your house, how you are budgetting it, whether you manage to stick to that budget, where you manage to minimise or cut costs (by reusing materials that you are taking out - for example we are currently filling a concrete block ‘skip’ which will become a patio outside French doors with the old, dangerous concrete paths around the outside of the house and various other rubbish). 😊

KK

Blackcats

Hi MissRikkiC - I find your diary really interesting.  I thought your headings were good - a balance of wins and slightly less than a win.  Like @KajiKita I'd be interested in the house upgrades.

MissRikkiC

@KajiKita Absolutely don’t mind, I just know that I waffle away that’s all. I’ve just back that last post and it’s less articulate than I’d like 😅 

I’ll answer directly to your specifics though since you’ve asked. As you have read, I used the breeze blocks which were in the dividing wall in our kitchen (that I knocked down) to partially fill the double height planters in our garden. They’ve since been removed and are now stacked wide and high between ours and the neighbours garden. This is because the bottom corner of the garden is under a big tree, butted up to a fence and the panel right underneath is totally bust, so having the breeze blocks making a temporary/med term wall (that can’t be seen) might deter the dog from chasing the neighbours cat into next door/open field. 

I will list all of the jobs which need doing and try and allocate a cost to them. Most of these things are costly as they’re the things we left until last, such as a new front door (the seal, holding the glass in gets so hot in the summer it starts to melt!) and the conservatory doors at the back need replacing (they have so much condensation in between the panes). They’re all things which will help us sell the house in the future and make it a nicer place to live in the mean time so I do think need doing. 

I’m not sure of that how much salvaging I can do with materials etc however the conservatory doors could be used as cold frame glass. There is original 1970s brick work in the lounge which all needs to come out and that chimney breast wall will need plastering (I can’t do this myself!), the downstairs toilet (current job) is also the original and has ceased to work. We have replaced a part once but it’s really not much cop hence replacing the toilet unit and sink (imagine teeny tiny corner sink like you’d find in an old pub) and redecorating. 

There are definitely some smaller jobs such as making storage space where the original airing cupboard at the top of ours stairs originally housed an emersion tank. It was all boarded out around it (not much space mind you) however it all had to come out when we got rid of our back boiler central heating so it left a huge 6 ft wide by 3 ft deep space (thankfully with doors on) which has become a dumping ground for everything. 

There is a cupboard at the bottom of the stairs which looks so naff and really isn’t fit for purpose which needs removing and recreating. This will make life easier for us with 2 children as we haven’t really any where good to store multiple hats and costs and blankets and pram covers and the likes. 

I could quite honestly go on and on and on. 

That might be enough light reading

I’m going to round up the weekend with the headers I had and start afresh with them tomorrow.