Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

newgirly

No sure if it’s the lactose or the actual cocoa content, or the fat to be honest. Probably eating much smaller amounts would help 😆

Ds2 text to say he was driving to work today, turned out he booked and had his first driving lesson 😁 £48 for 90 mins ouch! Glad he’s finally getting round to it, probably helped by dil working now so a bit more money coming in. 

Ramouth

I feel for you on the stomach front - it took me years to find out which were my trigger foods - made harder by sometimes being able to get away with it and sometimes not.  I suspect stress levels are a factor as well as amount of trigger food eaten.  

Excellent news that DS2 had starting driving but ouch to the cost!  Will you be required for practice or will dil get the pleasure?  Some of the worst argument me and partner have ever had were when I was learning.

earthgirl2

I only figured out my sensitivity (gluten) because ds2 was losing weight at an alarming rate, so I did a food diary for him, figured out it was gluten then had an ahhh moment when I realised I was also not happy with gluten.

jotting down a diary might help, it only took me 4 days to spot the pattern with ds2 but everyone is different. 

newgirly

Hi earthgirl, that’s quick to realise what it was, I’ve not kept a diary, I’ll start when I get back from holiday and cutting things out by turn, at the moment I’m just trying to eat very plainly and lactose free which has been working until I ate loads of chocolate 😆

Hi Ramouth, I think stress doesn’t help, I’ve often been away when it’s happened or going through a bit of a stressful period. 

Ds2 will be getting practice with dil thank goodness not me 😬

Bonfire night at my parents last night, which as always has a small element of terror involved 😆 the have a huge garden but set them off 10 ft from the patio where we were, I’m usually cowering in the kitchen anyway, I just wish they would ban the things for anyone to buy, one of our local schools did a laser display instead which I thought was a good idea. 

We came home to the neighbour yelling at some man on the pavement for her bedroom window, then he started ranting at us that she let her dog use the grass verge to go the the toilet when she clearly has a back garden (she always picks up as I see her) so we ask if she’s ok, she says he’s been banging in her door (it’s 10pm) and frightened the life out of her. Dil asks if she’s ok so he starts shouting at her, “why do we have two cars on our drive it’s ridiculous” So he comes up the drive and dh has a go telling him to get off. I got them all in and said leave it he’s clearly very drunk, dh thinks he’s a neighbour further along the other side, it’s all very strange! 

South_coast

It's all go at NG Towers 🤣!

newgirly

It sure is 😆

Not much happening today, dd asked us for a pub lunch last minute but we declined as I’m tired and was trying to pack, plus we are both a bit broke! Then friend turned up for a cup of tea for a bit. 

Just had a look at the finances and all is ok for the first month of the end of year three month challenge: 

•  £392 to cruise balance pot for Aprils trip
• £1340 mortgage op
• £99.96 balance in Norway spending pot (hopefully I don’t need this as dh paying!) 
• £78.68 /£550 spent on cc since Nov 2nd 
• £213 paid off the washing machine 0% finance to finish it early - hooray! 
• £69.84 personal spending pot - gets topped up every 20th by £100pm 

To do list for this week: 

• Pack my case, dh done (2 cases already and we usually travel super light 😱) 
• Wrap small stockings 
• Wash Xmas bed clothes ready for when we get back 😬
• Try and open a new hsbc currency account as seen on mse for free money - expires tomorrow! 
• Join those survey sites 😊 

newgirly

Just popping back to say how easy it was opening the hsbc accounts, have also gone through tcb which was showing £55 but I’m sure you won’t get both cash amounts! Worth ten mins effort though hopefully 😬

newgirly

I did something rather wasteful yesterday and after taking mum for breakfast (neros croissant and coffee with 25% off using meerkat daily code) I then met best friend for a brie and cranberry Costa sarnie (she paid) and then I bought myself a very expensive slice of walnut cake for £3.85 😱 I never do that, it was good and I really fancied it but still……

Today I’ve a few hours work for dh to do which is good as I have to wait in for the washing machine repair engineer, one of the interior plastic things broke off and it’s only a few months old. I’ve just had a text to say it will be from 8.40am to 10.40 which is good, I hate waiting for people to turn up! 

newgirly

Washing machine as easily fixed hooray! Work for dh completed too. Annoyingly mums Xmas present ordered from Pandora (instore as they didn’t have in stock) has shown as delivered today which it hasn’t been, more irritations to sort out. 

Grocery/petrol budget is on track so far this month, £113 odd spent so far, which is on the nail more or less for what I should have spent in the last six days. Plus I snuck in some M&S Colin chocolates for one of the Xmas table presents we need to buy, I used to buy all the table presents for everyone each year, now I buy for just two 😬

I joined new vista tonight for surveys, will look at others when I get the chance 🙂 I think it will help me reduce spending a little, surveys always made me question stuff I was spending on as they took so long to  do 😆 I’ve also realised (after packing today) that I need to buy less clothes and reduce what I’m not keen on or doesn’t get worn. Perhaps I need some kind of clothing challenge, the thought of that does make me shiver a bit as although I don’t spend loads but i do love buying clothes 🙄 perhaps a set budget for the year and an attempt to buy mainly second hand 🤔 

craftingmad

Delurking to say I'm up for a clothing challenge too. I rarely buy clothes for me these days but I seem to have a huge pile mounting up in our bedroom so I need to get rid of some.

Your progress is so inspiring and I really look forward to reading your updates - thank you x