Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

themadvix

I thought they looked Siamesey, but I didn't realise you could get colourful ones! They are gorgeous

newgirly

TallGirl, it did take a while for them to settle together, they still have the odd nip at each other but spend most of their day cuddling up or the older one follows the younger one around watching her do naughty stuff 😂 

Bit of spending done today, local tesc@ express for pancake bits for them all as well as some peshwari nans to go with the lentil Dahl I made today which was so tasty! Took Aunt for her laser eye surgery and then to visit mum and got a few loads of washing dry while the heated airer was free. 

Also finally got my gas/elec bill for jan, it’s not updated on the website , so another long phone call and chat with two new different people about the big bill - £420 for just electric in one month 😱 way more than it should be, all other readings in line, tests done by switching it off and no meter movement, no way it should be this and they agreed that and the only outcome is yet again get a smart meter and when they fit  will check if the old one had an issue. I’m 99% sure this won’t happen and they won’t get back to me as so far it’s a different answer each person I speak to. 

So I guess the direct debit will be put up soon which is annoying, especially when we are so conscious with energy, no tumble dryer, low energy everything, slow cookers, airfryer, I even ditched the kettle for an energy saving one cup thingy. 

CathT

That's a scary electric bill, hope it's easily sorted without too much of a knock on effect on your direct debit. 

newgirly

Stressful week, it seems like everything is not going great at the moment 😩 I think my menopausal anxiety is very much not helping with palpitations now joining the list of things to stress about! All this not helped by still having an atmosphere between the boys after their wardrobe argument, a stressed out dh who I’m bickering with, a large electric bill, a cat with an upset tummy, and then to top it off the shower leaked and flooded the hallway again (happened a few years ago) it didn’t bring the ceiling down this time but we have had to have a plumber in today who took the ceiling down to fix the problem ☹️ it will have to be plastered and tiled back up in a couple of months when it’s all fully dry. No idea of the cost yet, but it’s the builder next door to the factory so it will hopefully be cheaper than it would have been. 

Aside from that everything is great 😂

Money wise I’ve overspent as usual and getting to the end of the month will be tricky but hopefully not impossible 🙂

Looking for the positives:

I caught up with a lovely friend on Thursday, took her and her dd who is recovery from an operation some lunch and she gave me a nice bunch of flowers

Flowers from dh on Valentine’s Day. 

Saw best friend Friday who is always good for mood lifting 😬

Sold another two items on vinted, total is now £194

Got a stunning evening dress on vinted for £2.50 for holiday

Dd just messaged to say she is off for a couple of days next week along with step DGD so we are going out somewhere 😊 ❤️

killerpeaty

Just caught up, sounds like you've had a bit of a time of it! 

Congrats on the vinted sales.

My understanding is that you have an offset at the moment which means that you draw on it if needed? It's good to have back up plans if the worst were to happen.

newgirly

That’s right KP, will be doing everything I can not to have to use it but we are very lucky to have a back up plan. Now it’s getting closer, the fairly random 33 month timeframe I set at the start has become a bit of an obsession really, I can’t go past it 😳

themadvix

Oh NG, not the ceiling again! How frustrating! (And sympathy on all the rest too, especially upset cat tum 😏).

 We have faith - you’ll hit that 33 month goal one way or another!

Jessy103

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time, NG. Hope all improves soon x

newgirly

Thanks Vix and jessy 🙂

Was supposed to be taking mum out to the shops but had a tummy upset so a lazy day catching up on some washing indoors. Went through some emails and noticed I’d not put a bid in for a cabin upgrade for the cruise still, we hadn’t decided whether to or not but I’ve bid the minimum price of £300 for both of us to upgrade from an inside cabin to a sea view (on this particular ship the cabin is a lot larger and has a window with a seat). I’m unsure if we do get it that I will go for it and pay as it’s a lot of money still at the moment, it is however much cheaper than booking that cabin originally. I don’t know we will decide nearer the time, it looks like we won’t be going away for a night or two near my birthday now, so I could use the vinted money towards it.

Just sold a dress on vinted and it’s a dear one (relatively speaking!) £16 😬 so I’m now at £210 whoop whoop! 🥳 still lots to sell and I’m gradually reducing prices, plus more bits to list, I need to hit £300 now, if we don’t win the bid I shall book a night away later in the year so it’s a win win really. 

Food budget is down to £75 😱 I’ll do a small top up shop tomorrow and get some chicken for a curry and pilau rice/Nan from Lidl, then maybe a pasta bake another night with some chorizo for dh if I can find some cheap, homemade pizza another night as we have everything in for that. I’ve been living on toast and cereal lately, for various reasons really 🙄 so I will buy some healthier bits for me tomorrow too, if we run out of food budget money I’ll move some from the holiday pot as I’m feeling run down and not very motivated, must do much better next month with getting into a healthy cooking and eating routine again. 

themadvix

As I was reading above I was thinking that maybe (while not exciting) perhaps you should use the vinted money to help the food budget… Glad to see you’re going to do something like that - good, healthy food is more important however tempting that extra night away is (although I’d definitely go for an outside cabin every time). 

Hope you feel better tomorrow x