I'm so tired now. Just got to make sandwiches for the week and have a shower. Might put laundry away, but that's not essential.
My spare room is now cat-free. That's the gateway to being able to have guests again, and then to be able to have a lodger. That's a really big deal.
Frustratingly, Tesco didn't have the porridge I like. Also it's gone up in price. I like the sachets of porridge with fruit, but they only had golden syrup. I'll try Morrison's tomorrow. They don't seem to stock the frozen pizza I like anymore either. Grr.
Been a busy day, but mostly positive. Car now fixed, so I can stop worrying about the wheel seizing up. Ate the last of the big batch of ratatouille for dinner with some crackers/brie/old figs that need using. Had some bonding cat-nap time with new kitty in front of the TV, then I went to get porridge and also some new baby gifts for my friend from Morrisons. Have made lunch ready for tomorrow and set the dishwasher running. Bin has gone out. Spendy day, but productive.
Took lunch to work, but then I fell off the wagon. I bought cake for staff at a place I work at a lot, as they had been having a bad day. I called to ask about something and they were on hold to the police, so pretty sure that's what most people would call a bad day, although it's not all that uncommon in my line of work.
I've been moving wardrobe stuff from my old room to my new room this evening. All part of Operation Lodger Prep. I hope I will get to have a look round some charity shops this weekend after work, as I need a mirror for my bedroom now I have moved.
I've had a look at my accounts, and overall financially I have probably been treading water for the last two and a half months. The money has shuffled about between this account and that, so there is a bit more in savings but the credit card balance is also a little bit higher than the 14/8/22, although similar to 1/8/22.
It's probably not really fair to judge mid-month against the 1st of the month, and of course I have paid nearly £500 in car repairs in that time, but I'm taking this as a moment of frustration. Stupid expensive cars and stupid expensive houses. B&Q and Screwfix and Toolstation and the local DIY shop have had a lot of my money as well in the last couple of months.
I'm going to go and take my sulk upstairs and get ready for work.
Thanks @MrsCatz for stopping in. I appreciate the support, especially when I am getting frustrated with myself as I am genetically impatient.
Nothing to report today. I sat on the sofa with NewCat and read a book yesterday evening and had sofa naps because I didn't want to go to bed yet.
I've got overtime this weekend, so that is helpful. I really hope everything goes smoothly, as the work I am covering is all a little bit fraught at the moment since the project is coming to an end.
I've been a bit out of the loop with work, overtime, some intense days of training this week and then concentrating on doing things with my evenings instead of just sitting at the computer. It has felt really productive.
I did some maths this morning. I only take home about £200 more per month on my basic pay at the moment than I did when I was a student. Admittedly my work hours are much more reasonable, and I'm not borrowing it in the form of a student loan, but that is still really ridiculous.
I've been taking action in the last few days. I've got myself a cashback credit card, and a new bank account. One of the be paid to switch kind. I've also decided to give money dashboard a go. I used to use ynab, but then it got too expensive. I miss the daily tracking element, so I'm trying this.
Today is payday, and the start of no-spend November. I'm not taking money to work. I've got a night out at the weekend, fireworks night, and a DIY weekend this month, but otherwise I don't want to be buying other than groceries, petrol, and possibly bargain furniture to help me organise the house.
No spend at work has happened so far. I've got a lunch date with a friend tomorrow, but we've agreed to do packed lunch rather than eating out.
I've been to the supermarket for bread and fruit, and I treated myself to some toilet cleaning product. I moved in here 6 months ago and the downstairs loo has awful limescale. It looks OK for about 10 seconds if I bleach it, but then it just looks bad again. Fingers crossed this stuff does something magical overnight.
In other good news, of the £220 I was due to get back from work and friends, only £50 is outstanding and I am expecting that any time now. I managed to find a great hallowe'en costume in the charity shops in town as well, so that is both eco and pocket friendly.
No spends at work continues well. I have not taken my purse all week, and instead remembered my sandwiches. I promised myself a very boring treat if I manage it for two weeks.
The toilet cleaning stuff made an impact, but I'm going to give it another blast. Some of the scale was floating around in the loo in big sheets like a bit of old loo roll.
I've totted up the month so far, and it is looking like I've made some good progress at last. The original plan was that if I didn't have to repair the car, house or cat I would be clear in about three months. Then I had to pay for a bunch of stuff for the house, cats and car. There are bound to be more surprises to slow me down in the future, but it will be OK in the long run.
Replies
My spare room is now cat-free. That's the gateway to being able to have guests again, and then to be able to have a lodger. That's a really big deal.
Frustratingly, Tesco didn't have the porridge I like. Also it's gone up in price. I like the sachets of porridge with fruit, but they only had golden syrup. I'll try Morrison's tomorrow. They don't seem to stock the frozen pizza I like anymore either. Grr.
I've been moving wardrobe stuff from my old room to my new room this evening. All part of Operation Lodger Prep. I hope I will get to have a look round some charity shops this weekend after work, as I need a mirror for my bedroom now I have moved.
Hope everyone else has had a happy hump day
It's probably not really fair to judge mid-month against the 1st of the month, and of course I have paid nearly £500 in car repairs in that time, but I'm taking this as a moment of frustration. Stupid expensive cars and stupid expensive houses. B&Q and Screwfix and Toolstation and the local DIY shop have had a lot of my money as well in the last couple of months.
I'm going to go and take my sulk upstairs and get ready for work.
De-lurking to say I am following. I think you are doing really well, and we have all bought a friend a cake when something has happened.
Nothing to report today. I sat on the sofa with NewCat and read a book yesterday evening and had sofa naps because I didn't want to go to bed yet.
I've got overtime this weekend, so that is helpful. I really hope everything goes smoothly, as the work I am covering is all a little bit fraught at the moment since the project is coming to an end.
I did some maths this morning. I only take home about £200 more per month on my basic pay at the moment than I did when I was a student. Admittedly my work hours are much more reasonable, and I'm not borrowing it in the form of a student loan, but that is still really ridiculous.
Today is payday, and the start of no-spend November. I'm not taking money to work. I've got a night out at the weekend, fireworks night, and a DIY weekend this month, but otherwise I don't want to be buying other than groceries, petrol, and possibly bargain furniture to help me organise the house.
I've been to the supermarket for bread and fruit, and I treated myself to some toilet cleaning product. I moved in here 6 months ago and the downstairs loo has awful limescale. It looks OK for about 10 seconds if I bleach it, but then it just looks bad again. Fingers crossed this stuff does something magical overnight.
In other good news, of the £220 I was due to get back from work and friends, only £50 is outstanding and I am expecting that any time now. I managed to find a great hallowe'en costume in the charity shops in town as well, so that is both eco and pocket friendly.
The toilet cleaning stuff made an impact, but I'm going to give it another blast. Some of the scale was floating around in the loo in big sheets like a bit of old loo roll.
I've totted up the month so far, and it is looking like I've made some good progress at last. The original plan was that if I didn't have to repair the car, house or cat I would be clear in about three months. Then I had to pay for a bunch of stuff for the house, cats and car. There are bound to be more surprises to slow me down in the future, but it will be OK in the long run.