Simple living in the country - back to basics

Karmacat

The NY reassessments have made you much more conscious, from what you're writing, so that's great.  Hope the bath helps.

Cheery_Daff

Thanks both 😊

Forgot to say, a small MSE win this afternoon. There was a queue to pay for parking where we visited this afternoon (just £1 for 2 hours) so I used the pay online link - which insisted it was free for 12 hours! I was definitely using the right reference number, so I took advantage and got free parking. My friend was most perturbed as he'd already paid cash, but I did tell the other people in the queue...

So that offset some of the parking I paid for this morning!

Cheery_Daff

Evening again chums

In keeping with Uber Frugal January, I have done some matched betting housekeeping, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to realise it needed doing

I have subscriptions with both Team Casino and OddsMonkey, and I pay both monthly (£14.99 and £17.99, so £32.98 a month). They come out of the MB bank account, so I don't track in YNAB (far too complicated) - but I also haven't been tracking in the OddsMonkey profit tracker either.... so the MB bank account has been slowly diminishing without these payments being recorded anywhere. 

So, in the interests of being more transparent, I decided to start including them in the profit tracker (so if I make £50, then take off the payments, I'll only have made £17.02 profit). 

Anyway, while I was at it, I checked the annual payment plans for both, and they are substantially cheaper, so I've switched. 

Team Casino has gone from £14.99 a month (£179.88 a year) to £134.99 a year, saving £44.89 a year
Oddsmonkey has gone from £17.99 a month (so £215.88 a year) to £150 a year, saving £65.88 a year

Total saving £110.77 a year

Both payments will go out later this month, so I've put them both in the profit tracker. Sadly this means my January balance sits at minus £234 Not sure I'll get that back into positive figures this month but I'll give it a go! 

But it does mean that the profits for the rest of the year will be more accurate, and it's quite a saving, so I'm counting it as a success. 

No fiddling with the normal banks required - this is a separate MB account that the direct debits come out of, and there's enough in there to cover both payments anyway. 

Right, best go and play with the Happy Wheel for a while to try and get back into a positive profit balance  

Cheery_Daff

Morning chums 😊

Well, I had to get up for another bath last night to ease the pain 🙄 but then after that I did sleep well, and even got up this morning and went to the gym! Not early enough really, and it meant I didn't start work til 10, but I'm at home today with no meetings so a bit flexible.

Mr Cheery is nipping out later to the town with the bank - but can I find that cheque from the power cut??? No, I cannot. Where on earth did I put it?! Somewhere safe, I imagine 🙄🙄 It'll turn up eventually, but what a nuisance! 

Had a message from the kitchen geezers - they're going to chase granite guy for me since he's not bothered replying to my text 🙄

Had the invoice for the electric water heater as well - £510 😮 which is more than I'd thought, since he did say the heater itself only cost £200 I think... But still. I'm pleased it's done, and we have hot water at this end of the house now. Another thing ticked off the list, and it can come out of the remaining kitchen fund.

Monday Finances today, but it's payday tomorrow, so I might swap it round and have Admin Tuesday today instead 😊

EssexHebridean

Great news on the hot water front even if it did cost a bit more than you'd thought - and the money was there for it after all, which always helps!  Good plan to get the kitchen geezers onside in relation to the granite as well. Honestly - what does he think he's playing at! 

Hopefully the cheque will turn up ahead of MrC going out! well done for getting to the gym, as well. You're ahead of me on that game this year - I still need to go and sort my membership out! It'll be after this weekend though now as I've not got many chances to get there this week anyway. 

Bluegreen143

After about a year of reading it I’d finally got to the end of your diary… then discovered you started a new one 😆 have subscribed. Good luck for your 2022 goals, especially the renewed focus on your wellbeing.

Love your Monday finances/Tuesday admin and have been trying to do Money/Admin Mondays myself, but perhaps I ought to split the financial stuff and general admin like you do to make it more achievable 😅

badmemory

Harking back a couple of days (I've been away from my computer - nothing sinister) for your journey back have you considered gaspacho soup.  It wouldn't need a thermos & in this weather it will surely keep cold enough in the boot without & is quite warming even though served cold - skip the croutons obviously.

Cheery_Daff

Thanks EH! About time I sorted the gym, I've been going swimming about once a month for a few months - and hence paying about £35 a time for the privilege 😮😮

Cheque won't turn up today - I've stopped looking to focus on work 🙄

Bluegreen143 said:

After about a year of reading it I’d finally got to the end of your diary… then discovered you started a new one 😆 have subscribed. Good luck for your 2022 goals, especially the renewed focus on your wellbeing.

Love your Monday finances/Tuesday admin and have been trying to do Money/Admin Mondays myself, but perhaps I ought to split the financial stuff and general admin like you do to make it more achievable 😅

Crikey, well done on ploughing through all that drivel! 😮 To be honest I mostly don't split them very consistently- but it does give me a day to catch up if something doesn't happen on the Monday 😂

badmemory said:

Harking back a couple of days (I've been away from my computer - nothing sinister) for your journey back have you considered gaspacho soup.  It wouldn't need a thermos & in this weather it will surely keep cold enough in the boot without & is quite warming even though served cold - skip the croutons obviously.

An excellent suggestion, and one which I would take up if I could in any way abide tomato soup 🙄😂😂

Cheery_Daff

Another thing ticked off the list - I've booked a smear test for a couple of weeks time. Had the letter before Christmas and kept only remembering in the evening when the docs was shut.

Annoyingly, work has shifting some things round, and now I have to go into the office Tues, Wed AND Thursday this week! Outrageous. Also means I have to shift counselling again, as the thing I'd shifted it for is the same thing that's been moved and is now in the way again. Might just cancel it this week and start again next week. 

Going to carry on work til 6 I think, since I didn't start til 10 after the gym. Then this evening:

* stir fry for tea
* roast veg and make cous cous for work lunches
* make breakfast muffins if Mr Cheery has replaced all the bananas he ate
* make smoothie for breakfast tomorrow (I made today's the night before and left it in the fridge, and it was fine)
* pack bag for tomorrow - need to leave at 7am
* banks/YNAB
* happy wheel
* maybe put some washing on - still working through the backlog of bedding from when the builders were here.

That'll do i reckon!

hb2

That sounds like plenty for one evening Cheery!