Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

themadvix

Great bargain on the curtains NG!

newgirly

Hi Vix, I wish I’d got curtains up in our bedroom years ago, much cosier already 😊

Lazy afternoon yesterday, grazing on biscuits and toast a lot 🙄 need to get back to healthier eating (on a very strict budget).

Plans for today, take ds2 to his hospital appointment to check in his healing broken arm, bake a loaf in the bread maker as the one loaf I’ve made was terrible to see if it was my mistake or a problem with my old second hand bread maker. Do a few loads of washing and put on heated airier, I’m still persevering in the garden with airers under the overhang of the log cabin in the rain, time to spend money drying it! 

Wrap all the eBay sales and post, a few items sold at 99p which I’m upset about, I shan’t do that again but overall I’m happy I made the effort 🙂

Gather together all “stocking” presents for the kids, partners and dh and see how much I’ve already bought, it’s max budget £10 per stocking and not budgeted for in the Xmas saving pot, need a list of how many bits still need buying. 

themadvix

Should be good to dry outside today I think - forecast here is for 17 degrees and sunshine!

badmemory

This is probably telling you something you already know, but I have had a couple of disasters over time with my bread maker.  I used to have it near the back door & discovered the bread collapsed if I opened the door when it was cold outside, it also didn't rise if the yeast was even just a little out of date.  But the other which took some time to dawn on me, was using cold anything especially water.  I now use it warmed up & have moved it across the room.

newgirly

Hi Vix, it’s been quite dry and sunny here so I did hang it all outside again 😬

Hi badmemory, that’s very interesting I wonder if it was the yeast then? I used yeast I had delivered when it was full lockdown from a local cake making shop which were delivering flour etc. no date on it as it was in little plastic bags. I used a wholemeal tesc@ bread mix today and it’s turned out perfectly! No idea how much it cost though will have to check as it’s maybe a dear way of baking. 

Didn’t take ds2 to hospital as his wife did in the end, instead went to buy brown paper and bubble wrap for the eBay stuff and got stuck for an hour before I managed to turn around due to the oil protesters, everywhere’s been clogged up today. 

Only one item not paid for or posted, everything else is done. It would have been a no spend day but I’ve paid for DIL to have an eye test as she’s has a few issues and the doctor told her she should, I worried she may not due to the cost so I’ve sent her it, it will put my mind at rest too 🙄

Could take the £35 eye test money from the fleabay sales there’s probably enough but where’s the fun in that?! We are eating what’s in the freezer and ds2 and dil are housing for best friend this week, ds1 is out for dinner tomorrow night so we may be able to have low food spends for a few more days. 

Sorted out the stocking fillers, max spend of £10 per stocking and hopefully around 10 items each, over half way there so far! 

 

themadvix

Definitely the yeast if it’s from 2020 - it doesn’t last that long - it’ll be past it’s BB and that’s pretty much the end of its useful life.

badmemory

newgirly said:

 I used a wholemeal tesc@ bread mix today and it’s turned out perfectly! No idea how much it cost though will have to check as it’s maybe a dear way of baking. 

Whilst those bread mixes taste fine they almost like buying bread.  They have "stuff" in them.  There is even one make of flour that gives me the bloat, most don't provided I only eat it in moderation.  Which doesn't mean that they are not good to use to experiment with.  But as themadvix said, yeast from 2020 would definitely be the problem.  The BBE date on ones I've bought is usually less than a year..  I've also found that a tub lasts longer than sachets do.  No idea why.

newgirly

Thanks guys, I shall buy some yeast and make my own again I think, looked at the bread mix and they were £1 each for own brand which put me off a bit 😆

Its like an endless round of things trying to de-rail us from blasting this mortgage in two and a half years. Last night dh told me his mum wants to visit her home town of Valencia, and stay with her SIL and wants dh to take her in March when it’s the festival. He said he would take her in the past and she’s 82 and she wants to go before she dies (she is healthy but obviously not young)  There’s no swaying her as she’s ringing him at work almost daily at the moment about it!  So the question is do we: 

• Send dh just with his mum and stay in relatives flat 
• Go together with MIL and stay in relatives flat
• Book hotel away from relatives (this is both of our preferred option 😆) but it’s festival time so dear
• Tell MIL no - don’t think dh feels he can plus don’t think she would hear no! 

We also don’t know how big the flat is, as the Spanish relative has two adult daughters there too. The festival does sound really good , it’s a fire one I think with giant paper characters they burn in the streets. Looks like either way we need to “find” more money and I’m not sure  easy without messing with the plan…..

themadvix

That’s tricky - I don’t think the last option is a goer really. Would MIL be likely to contribute to costs? I think, rough as it may be, the first option is probably the best from an MF perspective. Or could she be persuaded to go at non-festival time?

newgirly

Morning Vix, I’m not sure yet I’ll have to ask dh. I did suggest non festival time to dh as it’s cheaper but I have a feeling she won’t want to do that! Just looked and a Hotel would be around the £500 odd mark for three nights right in the centre, how badly does he / we NOT want to stay with relatives he doesn’t know that well is the question I guess 😂