Mrs. P's Savings, Paying Off CC, being more organised diary

EssexHebridean

Aww Mrs P that sounds like a lovely lunch - glad you had a wonderful time! 

MrsPorridge

No NSD yesterday as bought milk and caster sugar from our local farm shop.

Spent at least a couple of hours looking at our budgets again and doing a YNAB style approach (without the app or software).  I have calculated all our bills for next year.  Most are on DD, but we do have things we pay annually e.g. heating oil and car tax and car insurance.  I am now going to put the car stuff onto DD.  Have worked out the costs for the heating oil and approx repairs costs for car and motorhome and will save each month for those.  We bank with Nationwide and you are able to have small accounts set up which you can name as you want to.  I have now set up quite a few of those to save certain amounts each month.  This will start in January.  I estimate it will take a year or so till its full functional, but hopefully I will be far more organised by this time next year.  I think budgetting is like losing weight, it doesn't happen overnight sadly

Once DH gets his state pension in May things will be an awful lot easier.

NSD today.

I made some home made soup - carrot and squash for lunch together with sausage rolls.  Tonight we are having Southern Fried chicken ready meal type thing from Sainsbogs.  Have had it before and its quite tasty.  I do like home made cooking, but now and again its nice to kick back with convenience food!  Because we live in a small village, we can't get take away delivered so have to go out to get it, which can be a bit of a pain.  Only takeaways we have are Thai (about 8 miles away) and Chinese and Indian about 12 miles away.  We do have a fish and chippie in the village though, but its only open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays now and will close completely from Christmas to Feb half term.

EssexHebridean

We’ve budgeted by using “savings pots” for years - and it really does work wonderfully, particularly once you automate it so the transfers just go automatically. I think most banks have the “e-savings” style accounts now too - where started doing it it really was a good reason for staying with N’wide as they were one of the few that offered it - the interest rates were even reasonable then, too! Oh how times change… 😆

on car costs we’ve settled on £165 a month as a reasonable amount to put aside for our two - although with both now being newer we theoretically could probably drop that, we’ve decided to leave it be and eventually the excess that builds up will get shuffled over into another account which will be a fund to put to the purchase of future vehicles - although hopefully those are a good way off yet! That monthly amount covers everything aside from fuel - tax, insurance, MoT, servicing, tyres, even stuff like screen wash & wiper blades and any other repairs that crop up.

MrsPorridge

Another NSD today.

Weather has been lovely and sunny.  I managed a load of washing, put it on the line, but it didn't dry.  Did a bit of tidying up in the garden and it looks much better for it.

Had a lazy afternoon sewing and listening to The Thursday Club Murders audiobook by Richard Osman, I am really enjoying it and will be getting the sequel when I next get my Audible credits next month.

MrsPorridge

Checked our accounts with DH this morning- that is something we are now doing together every week.  

Will be an NSD today.

Porridge with fruit for breakfast.  Lunch will be tuna toasties.  I have made up using a tin of tuna, chopped onion, grated cheese and some mayo to bind together.  Its nice, we have had it before.

This afternoon Mickey the Mangle is coming out and I will make some fresh pasta.  We will have that tonight with a gammon slice chopped up as "spaghetti" carbonara.  Strictly speaking I think its linguine as I don't have a spaghetti attachment on Mickey only a linguine one

Very damp here today, am really glad I got out into the garden for a few minutes yesterday.

I love quiz shows, so quizzie Monday is always a favourite, Mastermind followed by Only Connect - another favourite is starting tonight Masterchef Professionals, so I'll be glued to the box tonight - but will be sewing at the same time, so I don't feel so guilty.  I'm now hand quilting the border of my Peter Rabbit quilt.  Then I just need to use the machine to put the binding on and its finished, should be another 2 weeks or less hopefully.  Once that is done, I have another one waiting in the wings!  I've also got a few Christmas sewing projects I'm working on alongside.

MrsPorridge

No NSD today as I met a friend for coffee.  Haven't seen her for a year - was lovely to catch up. We both said we wouldn't leave it as long next time......

On way home popped into Sainsbogs and got a few basics.

Toast for breakfast - liquid lunch on coffee and hot choccie!  Tea tonight is pukka pie with coins - sliced potatoes fried and some veggies.

MrsPorridge

NSD Today.

Lunch will be cheese and baked bean toasties.  DH has cooked the beans so most of the liquid has evaporated - we call them campfire beans.

Tea tonight will be pizza.  So not much healthy eating going on today

Finished hand quilting my quilt, so now need to get the border on which will probably be over the weekend.  DS is with us till tomorrow and is using my craft room as his office.  

Have got my next project ready, lots of embroidery to do before I even start to make it up into a quilt.

Already done a quick hoover round.

another_casualty

I love beans stuck to the pan . Can't bear them cold 🤮although I know people who do.
Everything still sounds good mrs P 😼

EssexHebridean

MrEH likes his beans cooked to the point of stodgy - I'm less of a fan. 

Dairy, carbs and pulses in the mix there Mrs P - sounds alright to me! 

WinterWarrior

I love a spoon of cold beans when they are going in the pan! Cheesy beans is the thing I don’t like. I like beans now and again, I love cheese a lot, but the two combined… 🤢