Walking into another chapter ...

benbenandme

Glad I'm not the only one who mooches on Vinted for too long. This week I seem to be mooching on there and listening to the Lucy Letby podcasts. That case seems so strange, utterly chocking but just strange, so I wanted to hear more detail of the evidence. The podcasts are very listenable and quite short so can do in chunks.

benbenandme

Morning, £5 from a matched bet

benbenandme

Morning, bed stripped and in the machine, dry washing folded to be put away, porridge eaten, coffee drunk and half an hour weeding done in the front garden (yet again!). It's clouding up a bit now so am glad I got another bit out the way, 

benbenandme

Food shopping done, chicken in the oven, Bedding has dried on the line, been ironed and is back on the bed smelling gorgeous Cup of tea time now with Super Sunday x

benbenandme

Morning, managed  a nice lie-in this morning, although slightly worrying as I'm back at work next week so need to be getting back into my normal habits! Last night I made chicken stock in the slow cooker overnight, so have sorted that out this morning and am waiting for it to cool so it can go in the freezer. That will be used to make soup or risotto.

Nothing much planned for today, the sun is out at the moment so maybe a nice walk in the forest with the dog later x

benbenandme

The dog and I have been for a walk up the forest, we went to one of our usual spots that normally is quiet but being a bank holiday weekend in a tourist area it was heaving, so we didn't stay too long. He doesn't need far these days, he's 12 now and only little, so he gets tired much quicker now. I picked a few blackberries, probably only enough for a day or two's porridge, but it's a start

EssexHebridean

I struggle enough getting back into normal habits again after a bank holiday weekend so goodness knows what it must be like after a full summer holiday! 

benbenandme

The first week back is a struggle , lots of early nights always needed  

This morning I have made a batch of sausage rolls for ds and his mates who are off to football, 8 hour roundtrip ... so I have the house to myself again. I've also done a prolific survey that will earn me £9.50

Yesterday I switched from Shell Energy to Octopus, it is a similar tariff but can then go onto their tracker tariff. I wanted to get away from Shell, haven't found them remotely helpful in the past. I have used Beanielou's referral and hopefully we will both get a £50 credit on our accounts x

benbenandme

Today has been another mooching kind of day, I have just completed the market research zoom thing, £80 on its way to me

benbenandme

So today is yet another wet and grey day here. I am popping into work for a bit this morning to get a few bits sorted before we go back, nothing much else planned other than that today. Yesterday I did start looking at holidays for ds and I - we were meant to go in 2020 but then covid hit and it was cancelled. I had the money returned and squirrelled it away so we could rebook after lockdown but then the boiler packed up and the shower broke and it got used up. I have managed to save up £1000 towards another holiday but haven't yet booked one. There are a couple of ideas - next year is ds' 21st birthday , we both dislike Christmas, so am thinking of going away around one of those times. Christmas would be great but as we like cruises I'm worried that the sea could be choppy at that time of year. I will chat to ds today if I see him and get his thoughts. 

Potential cruises at either time are currently approx £1200 each for 2 weeks, I have most of my share saved already, I would contribute to ds' share, either as birthday or Christmas present (Xmas would be around £150, birthday £500 as its a big one), he would need to cover the rest. 

The idea of going away at Christmas appeals to me as we could save a couple of weeks heating costs, wouldn't need to buy a tree or all the Xmas food, and would escape the monotony of Christmas Day - I know I'm a bah humbug but I don't enjoy it. 

Anyway, getting to the point ... my next savings pot is underway! The £80 I earned last night will go straight into the holiday fund, I have £18 in prolific which will also be added. I also have around 100 euros somewhere that we had ready for the last holiday, that will be handy spending money when the time comes!