Forever Starts Now

starnac

Thanks both. 

KC I like that. "thank you, that will go into my chicken feed kitty" 

@South_coast I think you are right. People are struggling to get eggs so they are happy to contribute maybe. 

Energy bill came by email this morning. Figures are looking okay actually. The weather in June wasn't the best so I wasn't sure what to expect. For some reason our bill goes from the 5th June to the 4th July.

Electric used £17.94
Gas used £14.57

Electric sold back to the grid £83.94

Profit £51.43 

That is pretty good and now solidifies my thinking of reducing our DD. We currently pay £209 a month! That definitely seems high considering we used £32.51 this month. 

I know it's currently summer but the weather hasn't been great the past month and even if I drop it to £100 a month that still gives us £70(ish) to play with. 

starnac

Where has this torrential rain come from?? It's awful!

I amended our energy DD. They recommended I drop it to £169.35. After speaking to DH we both agreed to take it down to £100 and just keep an eye on it over the next few months. If it looks like £100 won't be enough we can always up it again. It was all done online and pretty easily so it wouldn't be a bother having to change it again. 

This weekend DH is working some extra shifts so that's a bit extra for us. I'm going to use the time either (weather dependant) in the garden, or prepping and (hopefully) painting the snug. Once that's painted we can move in the new-to-us sofa that's currently taking over the conservatory. 

Both the garden and the snug are jobs that need doing so I'm not sure whether I'm wishing for rain or not. If it keeps coming down like this though I may need to be building an ark!!

Karmacat

Good decision on the DD - as you say, you can always change it again.  Sorry the rain is so heavy round you!  Here, there's more than there's been for months, but its kind of steady.  Hope you don't get flooding problems!

starnac

We are on a hill so flooding *shouldn't* be a problem here KC. 

So the rain has been off and on here all day. When it is raining, it's torrential, when it's not raining, the sun is out. It's been weird. 

I hung up the kids' uniforms inside as I didn't trust the weather this morning and I'm glad I did. It should dry nicely inside even without the heating on. 

DS and I harvested the beetroot and we had quite a bit, decent sized too. I washed and roasted it and then pickled 5 jars' worth. Not a major harvest but I'm really pleased as it's the first time I've grown beetroot. I can be confident in planting more next year now. 

I pottered about in the garden between showers, tidying up, weeding, caning etc. I got a few small niggly jobs done outside so feel better about that. I still need to bake a cake to take to my mum's tomorrow for tea but I decided to have a sit down and a cuppa first.

EssexHebridean

The weather over the weekend was ridiculous wasn't it - I was in Gloucestershire and it went from bright sunshine to monsoon conditions in an instant several times! Friday meanwhile, once the rain had started, it just didn't stop for the rest of the day!  Glad you made the right call about the washing too - it's frustrating when you end up having to bring it in wetter than it started isn't it! 

I'm debating about changing our energy DD as well, but currently I'm veering towards leaving it where it is and hoping that the Octopods "moving home" service will work as well as they claim and enable me to simply transfer my credit over when we move. New house is with Eon and while I have no issues with them (one of the few providers I've not been with I think) I'd also far sooner return to Octopus as soon as possible. Fingers crossed it will be possible as it sounds like it's far easier done that way than having to faff about with a "normal" supplier change, and it will save me getting the credit returned and then needing to send it back to the energy account when we do change back.

starnac

Hi EH. We are with the Octopods too. We decided to change to DD mainly because we have nearly £400 in credit with them. We debated whether to claim that back or change the DD. We decided that the DD was affecting our bank account monthly while the credit wasn't. The money we save from the DD will go into the savings account for now before probably being used as an overpayment. The credit in the account can stay there til winter and we can see how much energy we use and how much it costs us. 

starnac

Morning all. Two days left of term after today and I am ready for them to finish. I love having them home from school and as they are getting older I want to make the most of the days I get with them. DD will be going into year 11 in September and DS into year 7 so I don't have many more summers with them before they leave and start their own lives. Don't get me wrong I am excited to see what they do and I want them to be independent and living their own lives but selfishly I want to make the most of the time I have with them living under my roof and "needing" me. 

On the money front, DH's car needs work. He thinks it needs new brake pads and disks so has booked it into a garage Saturday morning. It is currently sitting on the drive while he went to work in my car this morning. He has been quoted £150 by our local garage which I feel isn't bad but it may be more so I won't hold my breath yet. Thankfully we have money sitting in our car account to cover it, so we won't actually need to pay out for that. 

Some days I am so thankful to MSE and the Debt Free boards on here. Without them there is no way I would have a separate car account and I would be currently worrying about how much this work will cost. But present me is so grateful to past me for taking that advice and keeping up the regular payments into that (and others) account.

starnac

I'm working from home today. I have a poorly DD upstairs in bed. I'm trying to get as much done as I can before the summer holidays start so that I can ease back a bit at least for the first week. 

I had a bit of a look around the accounts and made a £200 overpayment. Woohoo! It feels good to have finally made an overpayment after what seems like (and probably is) months of not doing so. 

I have the dishwasher on while it's sunny and once that finishes I plan to put a wash on too. I'm not convinced there is enough sun here to do both at the same time  

I need to clear the snug as DH is buying the paint on the way home. We may be able to get the first coat on this evening if I pull my finger out and get it emptied and cleaned before he gets home. It will make the conservatory even fuller than it is now so it needs to be painted as quickly as possible so that I can have the conservatory back. It's my favourite place to sit and have my morning cuppa. 

Let's make a list then

Check banks
Overpayment
Dishwasher
Washing 
Empty Snug
Sweep floors in snug
Wipe down walls with sugar soap
Do work! 
Harvest courgettes
Something with courgettes for tea (any suggestions?)

Karmacat

That sounds a very productive day already, with much more planned - though sorry to hear your DD is ill.  How lovely your previous post sounds, wanting to make the most of your time with them while they're still with you - that's a wonderful, wonderful comment to read from a parent!

EssexHebridean

Oh poor DD - it's the worst missing the last few days of term just as everyone is in full holiday mode!  I don't think it's selfish of you at all to want to spend tie with them while they are still at least theoretically "children" either - you're never going to get this time again after all, so savour every moment! 

Courgettes - both Foxgloves and themadvix have posted links to courgettey recipes on their diaries lately if I remember rightly.