Walking into another chapter ...

WinterWarrior

Happy new diary ⭐️

benbenandme

Morning all, thanks for following me here / coming along for the ride

New Years Eve - the final day to get bits and pieces in place ready for the year ahead, which includes finishing off any Christmas food that's still laying around. I thought I'd done really well with that, I didn't overbuy to start with and had done a good job of clearing all the chocolates, but then someone gave me a gift that comprised 5 different sized boxes, each full of goodies; vanilla fudge, truffles, popcorn, shortbread fingers and something else that I've forgotten. Of the 5 I love the shortbread and the fudge, I'm working through the fudge today and will have dome shortbread later (4 packets of it), the rest will be taken into school and left in the staffroom where it will be demolished in seconds

My plan today is to double check all my various bank accounts / money pots, double check all my plans are in place, have a final whizz through the housework, then an afternoon on the sofa with Soccer Saturday, then tonight I am meant to be seeing my friend who I meet up with regularly (not the original hottie, he has his kids this weekend). However this friend does have form for cancelling last minute, so it will either be a fun filled evening of giggles with him or a quiet night in for one, which will mean I can get up early and get my first walk of the New Year done

Oh and I need to go and get a radiator key and bleed them as I can hear water gushing through the one in my room (it isn't even on).

benbenandme

Right money has been checked and moved as appropriate. I have set up a few new standing orders into my various pots and streamlined them further. The extra money from Decembers pay has been split as follows:

£250 - balancing the overspends this month (Christmas and a little bit of sale shopping etc)
£110 - gone into the savings for my brother *
£560 - gone into my general savings pot

My brothers savings - when I bought my house my brother lent me £30k which I am saving up to pay him back. So far I have saved £20k (the £110 above means it is up to a nice round £20k). The £560 has gone into a savings pot I had this year, that now has £1743 in it. This will only be touched if I really need anything that isn't covered elsewhere in the budget (didn't dip into it this year so hopefully it can just sit there). 

I have set up a new pot in Monzo which will be extra savings in 2023 - this will be any money that comes from: matched betting, surveys, quidco, overtime, 2 x council tax non-payment months etc. This money won't be dipped into and will be going towards my brothers fund. 

pennywisepoundstupid

Happy new diary and Happy New Year xx

pixiechick99

Happy new diary to my favourite MSE pal😊
Yours is the only diary I still follow!

benbenandme

Aww thank you Pixie xxx

Christmas cheese, crackers and chutney have finally been demolished. An afternoon of vegging on the sofa ahead for me

Sarahwithlove

Happy new diary! I hope 2023 is full of happiness and postivity for you

dangers

Happy new diary/happy new year 

benbenandme

So the football was pants Enough about that already  ...

I've had a lovely hot bath with my new bath oil, I put on a face sheet I was given for Christmas and a hair mask which I'm leaving on for a while longer. More thoughts while I was in the bath ... I am not one for clutter, I like to think I am quite good at clearing stuff out and can't be doing with nick-nacks everywhere, but was thinking about a conversation with a friend who is currently in rented accommodation between house moves, and 95% of their stuff is in storage. She was saying it's amazing how little stuff you actually need, how freeing it is not to be surrounded with stuff. This is something I've agreed with for a long time but it's still very much a work in progress to clear stuff. So another aim for the year, just a general direction to go in rather than a full on resolution, is to be much more ruthless about stuff in my home. For example, my airing cupboard - I have tonnes of bedding, spare towels (standard towels are in the bathroom, these are for drying the dog, mopping up washing machine leaks etc). Can't believe I've just written that, I don't think I've ever even had a washing machine leak ... loads of spare blankets / sheets etc for just in case situations. Situations that really don't ever happen ... 

Likewise I have a drawer in the kitchen for utensils. It is rammed, and the potato masher is forever getting jammed. I regularly use the kitchen knives, the spatulas, the masher, the garlic press, the peeler, the tin opener ... but that is about it. I don't ever use the chopsticks, the 3 corkscrews (I don't even drink wine, but one will suffice?), the huge soup ladle thing, and whatever else is chucked in there. So I will work my way around my house, drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard. Some things will get chucked / charity shopped etc, some things will be purposefully used up - looking at the mountain of body lotions etc in one cupboard. When I sorted under my bed this week I have a big pile of wrapping paper, bows, ribbons etc - I literally only wrap Christmas presents, birthday / wedding gifts etc go in gift bags. So, if it was stuck in a storage container would I bother to go and get it or would I manage without it? That will be my thought process
 

TallGirl

Happy New Year love a new diary.