We will get this debt down & the savings up

Sun_Addict

Enjoy your time away 🙂

Newstartforme

Enjoy your break and hope boiler repaired quickly

Blackcats

Have a lovely holiday!

Newstartforme

@Makingabobor2 , hope all well with you x

Makingabobor2

Hello out there....I am back. We have been back a few days now, but trying catch up and get sorted out and am feeling a bit "out of sorts", like something may be brewing. DH started with a cold/bad throat at weekend, so could be that. He did a covid test this morning and all clear, but will do another one in a couple of days, if he still feels bad.  We had a great time away, but think the stress from just before we went, had a bit of an impact on me and didn't really enjoy myself for the first day or 2.  No extra money spent on top of what had already been paid for the break & what we took with us,  apart from a couple of beers for DH and £25 extra petrol. 
Think being away was good for us in the end, as we had a long chat, and think DH now realises how much I actually do and is a lot more onboard with everything and seems to want to be involved a bit more.  He even sorted out his motorbike insurance without me having to keep telling him it was due, and he found a better deal on C the M*rk*t, saving us £44, over his renewal quote. 

Boiler is fixed, but it wasn't actually the boiler, it was the pump. Pump had packed up,  ( it was about 30 years old at least, so had done its job) so the boiler was over heating and cutting out.  All sorted now and annual service done on boiler and gas fire. Good job we actually had money in the pots for it, £348 all together. Back in the old days, we would have panicked.   New pump is so quiet compared to the old one, and apparently much more efficient, only 60W, the old one was 95W. So over a month, I guess that could save us quite a bit.  I forgot to ask DD to nip round and turn heat on before we got back, so it was freezing when we arrived. Took about 24 hours I think for the house to feel warm, lucky we have gas fire in the lounge as well, but heat goes straight up the stairs...lol   Didn't take my coat off for about 3 hours....lol. Then we put 3 if those wheatpacks in the bed, that you heat in the MW and jumped in quickly with socks on....lol.
WFP arrived today, so that's a bonus. Not sure if we will need it for the energy, hoping not as we are currently £345 in credit. So plan is to hang on to it and if we don't need it, it will go to another pot. 

Tried to get online yesterday on laptop, and it worked for all of an half an hour, then shut itself down again. It was doing this a few times before we went away, and DH thought he'd cured it.  He had another look and says it might be overheating, according to what he can see....its all a gobbledygook foreign language to me....lol.  So he hoovered some muck from inside and apparently the core temperature looks better. I am also going to get one of those stands where the air can flow better...cheaper than having to get a new laptop. You may remember this is a 2nd hand one, gifted to me by MIL.  Also my mouse had stopped working just before we went away, so managed to get a good deal on a new one on the Big River Site, Black Friday deals. Hopefully that's it now for spending money. 
I have checked bank and all accounts looking good and pots are still going strong. Obviously as we had been away, there is still quite a bit left in House keeping pot for this month, this is week 3 of my 4 week period.  Had a Mr S delivery on Sunday, and was planning to pop to L*d! on Wednesday when I go to dance class, didn't feel like going to my Walkfit class today.  But now I'm not sure if I am brewing something, I may just get another OL delivery, from somewhere later in the week. Will have to look what I need, and see where is cheaper. Certainly not Mr A, as they are rubbish delivery in this area. 

Cashed out £6.45 from P/fc since we have been back, and managed to nab a few this morning, so waiting for them to approve. Had to decline a couple of big ones as they asked for you to have a working microphone, and it doesn't work on my laptop. One day, in the distant future I will treat myself to an all singing all dancing lap top!  Plan for the rest of this week, is to do as many studies/surveys as I can. 

So the rest of my day is ironing, hoover and steam the kitchen floor and then maybe start my new (CS bargain) jigsaw. Will see if there are any good podcasts to listen to while I am ironing. If I have time I also need to get the wool and knitting out. I knitted a blanket for DGS3 last year, and he tells me he has grown, and could I please add some more squares to it....lol.  I also need to get diary out and note things I want to do over the next few weeks. One thing is more decluttering, as being away made me realise just how few things we really need. So I am really going to be extra thorough and ruthless.  DH has got the Christmas decs down from attic for me and I an going to have another go at them. Every year I seem to get rid of some, but we still have 3 big storage boxes and a big black bin bag, apart from the trees. We really don't need all that. 
Then tomorrow's plan is to sit down and work out new plan for paying debts of quicker, while still saving. We have broken another £1K marker this month, so it is going down slowly, I just want it down quicker.  

Oh yes...DH took car for MOT this morning, all passed, but a few advisories, including 2 tyres. So may be a litle bit more money spent there, but we do have a car maintenance pot that is paid into weekly, so that should cover it. He said that a couple of the advisories were just rubbing down some pipe and applying grease.....good job he can do these jobs himself. 

Dinner tonight is chicken and veg soup with yesterday's left overs. 

Newstartforme

Glad you eventually enjoyed your break , hope you feel better soon , so many different virus type illnesses doing the rounds..

Makingabobor2

Well, my "will it, won't it cold", decided to come out good & proper on Sunday, and I can't shift it. Not had a cold like this for years, just constant runny nose and sneezing, even my eyes are streaming, and my muscles in my arms and legs ache. Now its starting to run down my throat and make me cough, which is making my insides ache,  so I've really had enough of it already. Was sure I would wake up this morning feeling better. Hopefully I will tomorrow. Had to miss WalkFit yesterday, and looks like I will be missing dance class tomorrow. Also had to cancel my regular thyroid blood test yesterday.  Did a covid test and it was negative, but I don't feel up to going out and wouldn't like to pass it on to people. Will have a nice hot shower or bath in a bit, and see if that helps. I'm taking the vitC with zinc, so should feel better by tomorrow I would think. 

On the MSE front, not been up to much. Done  few studies/surveys, but even looking at laptop is wearing me out. Hopefully will feel more up to it later. Hoping for some Y/!*ve ones, as I only need another £4 to cash out.   Next Monday is pension day and start of new 4 week budget period, so lots of money moving then.  

Joined the MSE Advent thread, and so far I have got the Christmas mugs out yesterday, and today I rummaged in the box of decs and found the Christmas coasters. Might put an ornament out later as well. Also I want to write a list of Christmas baking and cooking that I want to do once I feel better.  Christmas cards are written, we don't send many, so will get them posted this week. Also need to decide what to send my dad. Last year, I gave him a couple of books, but turns out he'd read them and just wanted to tell me how good the book was that my nephew gave him. So for his birthday I sent him a book token, but he hasn't even read the books he got with that yet.  He has more clothes than he knows what to do with ( my sister even sent some of it to the homeless shelter the other week), he doesn't eat chocolates or biscuits, he buys himself red wine every week, so that isn't a treat anymore. He can't go out, so no point sending him voucher for a pub etc, he doesn't listen to CDs or watch DVDs. Doesn't do puzzles or anything, He has enough mugs and "useful" things to stock his own shop. So really I have no idea. His eyesight is getting worse as well, so he reads on his kindle more now so he can enlarge the text. He has more money in the bank, than me and my sister added together, so he doesn't really "need" anything. Its just so hard when they get old. A couple of years we decided not to exchange presents as it seemed silly, I would be buying him something he didn't really want, and he just sent us £20 between us. But then all he did was ring me up and gloat about what other people had given him....even though half of it he then gave away.....tins of biscuits etc

Anyway, I am off for a bath now, as I am sick of sitting here sneezing

Sun_Addict

There's always one awkward gift recipient to buy for - ours used to be MIL. One year we spent loads making her up a hamper full of treats we knew she enjoyed. Her response was it was nice but don't bother doing it again!

I hope you feel better soon, rest up and take care. 

foxgloves

That cold sounds like a stinker. Look after yourself & hope it starts to clear up very soon x

Makingabobor2

Sun_Addict said:

There's always one awkward gift recipient to buy for - ours used to be MIL. One year we spent loads making her up a hamper full of treats we knew she enjoyed. Her response was it was nice but don't bother doing it again!

I hope you feel better soon, rest up and take care. 

Yes, there'a always one, or in our case 3...lol DH's parents are even harder....don't read, listen to music or watch films, don't eat fancy food, have no hobbies & way too many clothes & too much " tat"...lol. One year we bought them a voucher for an afternoon tea. They left it till it was just about to expire & then said weather was too hot when they went, traffic was bad & they didn't like the food!