Curbing the ridiculous

BellaLasagna2018

I enjoyed reading your former diary, even if I don’t think I posted once. I’ll keep sending reading this one virtual good vibes. 

Good luck with your house hunting! 

RebeccaPearson

I started typing this yesterday and never finished so am going to post what is hopefully my last "bad" post for a while!

So, another spendy(ish) afternoon.  Petrol (though not sure how much as DH did and he doesn't keep receipts).  Around £30 on food shopping and still cat litter to get.  But that's it now.  Big line under this month's spending.

I'm back at work now so am at least earning again.  Pay day tomorrow and will be nice to have a full month's pay as I can't remember when the last one was!  Have to put the nursery fees aside then hoof the rest over to DH who will pay everything else this month.  He gets paid on 25th.

One hard to avoid temptation now I'm back at work is the coffee shop between the car parking and work.  Friday I bought a latte and pain au chocolate which was £4.50 in total but because I am going to try to lose weight, I am going to have a word with myself if I find myself wandering in as I walk past the wafting smell of coffee and pastries! 

The other financial drain is that there is also a shop in between work and the parking area.  I will oftentimes have to pop in there for milk on the way home.  So I must stop myself from buying anything else whilst in there!

RebeccaPearson

@foxgloves - you talk a lot of sense - thank you!  @BellaLasagna2018 - thank you!

@southern_chick - thank you.  Yes, we did have a list (I think it was about 27 items) of why we sold including the shared driveway which was a major source of frustration.  And when we were under offer on the house which fell through, we went through that list and discovered that the new house ticked all bar one of the 27 or so items we were moving for.  So from that point of view, it was definitely the right decision.  I guess it's more the timing I'm frustrated at - that we have ended up in a worse (albeit hopefully temporary) situation and it's now been a year.  I think it's also that we didn't capitalise on the huge rise in house prices given when we sold ours but have been beasted by it since on our onward purchase!

Anyway, DC have been unwell in various forms for the last 10 days and so we have had very little sleep.  DC2 woke again at 130am last night and I am now up as I have to leave house somewhere between 0710 and 0725 today depending on whether he is well enough to go to nursery or whether he is going to my MIL.  We are both just exhausted.  One of the female bosses at work (no kids) said on friday "oh well it's the weekend at least you'll be able to have a lie in".  Oh how I laughed!

RebeccaPearson

I did it!!!! A NSD!!!!!!  Took my lunch from home to work.  Avoided coffee shop and didn't go out at lunchtime.  Had meant to take a diet coke in with me, forgot, and talked self out of spending 80p on one from the vending machine.  Proud of self for that.

DC2 got sent home from nursery lunchtime.  They have both been unwell and being sent home so much which is so disruptive.  Thankfully DH and MIL have been picking up the slack given it's been my first few days back.

Dinner was from stores tonight and we watched Vigil.  Now off to bed hoping for a decent nights sleep (very unlikely).  Oh avoided a glass of wine tonight too (even though DH had cracked open a beer for himself which normally makes me want a drink) but thought of the pennies I'd save by not having any wine and saving it for later in the week/weekend.

southern_chick

Well done on the NSD and resisting the wine. Baby steps 😁😁 xx

BellaLasagna2018

I struggle with resisting the wine, so very well done on that! 
I forgot Vigil again on Sunday, but never mind, there is always tomorrow evening! 

The housing market is completely crackers at the moment. Let’s hope it settles down soon. 

RebeccaPearson

So today won't be a NSD as it's actually my birthday! (3 course cooked birthday supper was instead of going out but at weekend so we could both drink)  DH is taking me out to lunch with the kids but he forgot to book the restaurant I wanted so now we are going to one which is more expensive and not as good(!).  ANYWAY!

We need cat litter, milk and kitchen roll from shops also.

Taking the kids to the park in a minute and I will go for a run as I need to get some exercise before eating a big lunch and wine.  DH bought me a fit bit, parents sent me a cheque for £300(!) and have a £50 amazon voucher from DH's dad.  So a good set of present.  My present from the kids hasn't arrived yet - hoping it's nice photos of them or a mug with them on or something like that I can take to work!

Cheque will probably just go into house fund and no doubt the amazon voucher will just be spent on nappies/wipes etc!

Dinner will be from stores.  

So I'm also part of a local book selling group - all books £2.  Which on the face of it sounds great as I do tend to buy a lot of new books (another thing which will stop now!) and so to sell them all on for £2 will be good.  But it is SO MUCH HASSLE organising collection - as people can't seem to do it easily or quickly!  Anyway, I've decided to hoof off a few I have hanging around and then take one lot of £2 and see how long I can keep buying books with the same £2 for (i.e. buying one off there for £2, reading it, selling it for £2, then buying another book for £2 and so on!).

I did used to let my MIL and SIL borrow them but I got fed up of getting them back looking like they'd been on a 2 week holiday after they'd then lend them out tp every tom !!!!!! and harry!

RebeccaPearson

Don't know how much lunch was as DH paid.  

Got milk (x2), cat litter, kitchen roll, 2 x yum nuts (in lieu of birthday cake so cheaper), bread, 2 x raspberry mojitos in cans, and 4 x squeezy yoghurts for DC1 (for his nursery lunchboxes).  I'd say that the only non-essentials were the yum nuts and mojitos so if we hadn't bought those then we would have saved £7.50.  But it is my birthday and we would have got a birthday cake which would have been more expensive than £3.50 for the 2 yumnuts.  So I suppose only £4 was non-essential.  Total was £19.33.

This month I am literally writing down every penny we spend (well, I spend as DH might buy things when I am not there).  I mean like, not just £x on weekly shop in x supermarket, but literally, like "milk - £x", etc.  And then going to have a column for "essential" or "non-essential" so that at the end of the month I can add up both to see exactly where we are going wrong (erm, I think I already know - raspberry mojitos!).

Neither DC can go to nursery AGAIN tomorrow as DC2 has had to have ANOTHER covid test.  If we get his result first half of tomorrow and he's negative, I'll get DH to take DC1 in for the afternoon.  It's SO disruptive.  DH is having to WFH a lot and don't think his work are very happy.  It will be my turn next time.

A friend has just asked me to go for a drink friday night.  Don't really want to as it is ££ but not seen her in ages.

RebeccaPearson

Yesterday was not a NSD again sadly though didn't do too badly.  Took my lunch in and a diet coke so didn't do any non-essential spending at least.  DC's needed more medicine - nurofen and calpol, obviously both essential, then 2 x packs of WW bars at £2.25 each.  Now, you could argue that the WW bars are non-essential but I'd disagree as I am trying to cut down and those will stop me eating other rubbish (and stop me buying chocolate from the vending machine at work which is 80p a bar!).

Then our child thermometer isn't working properly, so again, with kids it is essential to have one of these so ordered one at £10.62.

Today I need nappies and wipes so is not going to be a NSD again!  Supposed to be having a playdate with a friend today but I think it will be cancelled as still waiting on result of covid test for DC2, plus he's still not well.  

Also supposed to be viewing a house at lunchtime but it's an open viewing and we are just not sure if it is for us anyway - DH doesn't really want to view.

astrocytic_kitten

The office vending machine used to be my downfall on a regular basis!