Hope,Promise and Opportunity

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Oh no didn't get as much as I planned done, but have spent my time wisely and cooked up meals for the coming week. 
Roast pork dinner with crackling for Mr BB and I had veggies roast potatoes, parsnips, sprouts & red cabbage with sultanas & garlic (Mr BB doesn't really like red cabbage, but it was in the veg bag this week, so pepped it up). Mashed potato for bubble & squeak & to go with something in the freezer. Lentil stew in the slow cooker. Cauliflower in a white sauce for cheese or to go with pasta. Used up lentils which have been hanging around for a while. 

Went out last night and spent a total of £8.30.
Caught the bus which cost £2.00 each way (special fare until March)
Drinks £6.30 half a cider & 2 lime and sodas. Got bought another half a cider by a pub landlord my friend knows. Back home on the bus. Mr BB had to drop & pick up with a 4 mile drive to our nearest town. 

Breakfast this morning. Mr BB's friend paid. 

Just prepped lunch for work tomorrow. Overnight oats is my go to. Need to get yoghurts, cornflour & bread from Mr AL's on way home. 

Winding down for bed now.
Will have to fit in the other jobs next week as sleep is a priority. 

Need to top up my Mr T's card to buy cat biscuits as I can't get them in B&M. Still 3% saving. 

Nanite

doingitanyway

I'm so glad you have a diary now! I'm subscribed, obviously
I'm the same with finance and decisions...
Glad the 60th birthday weekend was fun
Your food sounds lush as usual.
Wishing you a good week 

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Thanks DIA
Am still here, but not had a massive amount of time to post. Am just squeezing this post in before I go to bed at 9. Love listening to the consumer hour with Dean Dunham on LBC. 
Stupidly booked a 12 hour shift tomorrow 7.30-8.00 then another on Sunday 12-8. I work full time in another role too!!! Was going to be ok as I had this afternoon booked as annual leave. Brilliant. 
Oh no. Got to work today and a key member of staff had a sick child. We were short on staff anyway as the boss was off plus another 3 members of staff & one on long term sick. My student had a study day. Eeek, but us 5 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon all pulled together and ran the 2 groups. The other student was a star, in fact I think I need to nominate her for an award with the University.  I lead the exercises and cobbled together a talk. We had to complete an assessment and turn a person away. Another person was unwell and my colleague had to call an ambulance. 
In addition we had managed to get money and gifts together for a colleague who was 40 today as we only found out at the start of this week. I made her a chocolate brownie cake. 
Glad it's all now sorted.
Wonder what delights I may have tomorrow and Sunday? Then my full time job Mon-Fri. Glad next weekend is a 'free one'. Holding onto the 3 shifts to get a £200 bonus. 

Nanite

doingitanyway

You are working so hard. Hope you have something nice planned to reward yourself this weekend too.

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Still here.
So busy these last few weeks.
 
Worked yesterday. Was a 9-5 shift, but volunteered for a 7:30 start to help them out. In a 4 bed bay with 3 1-1 ladies. Very difficult as one lady kept getting up to walk and she was a falls risk. Managed to get 3 of them washed & dressed and beds changed on my own. Oh yes and weighed. It's on the go all the time, but because it is so different from my full time job and so intensive it doesn't feel too bad.
 
Went out with friends in the evening for 7pm. Lovely to relax in company. 

Free day today. Lovely weather so all washing on the line. 

Not had a huge amount of time for money saving input, but have downloaded a budget spreadsheet which I am slowly completing. Need to think it as work in progress. Once I know what we have I can plan much better. 

Another busy week then a free weekend, unless I book another shift on Saturday! We'll see. 
Mr BB is in the process of putting a new door on the room of doom so at least we can keep it closed. 

Going to catch up on postcard comps then bed. 

Phew!

doingitanyway

Budgets are a work in progress definitely.
All sounding busy but manageable.
Glad you are making time to chill too.

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Still determined to continue. 

Busy working Saturday shifts when I can. 

Went away to London for a gig. Shared the driving with Mr BB. 2 other friends came. £50 petrol used. Not too bad on spending as it was only food and drink. Already paid friend for tickets and overnight stay. 

Spreadsheet budget is up to date. Taking time to get used to it and not expect to know everything in 5 mins,even if it takes a few months.
 
Little things like topping up discount cards is working well.

Went to the charity shop to buy a scarf and ended up buying 2 plus 3 tops. Total £10.00. Total bargain. 

Cat had an abscess again. Couldn't book an appointment until Monday. Luckily it's burst and he is much better. Bathing it with salt water. Saved on vet costs, hopefully. 

Feeling tired now. Bed soon. 

doingitanyway

Charity shop bargains are great.
Hoping the cat is still ok?
You seem to be working hard but playing hard too 

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Still bubbling along. 

Cat is healing well. Had to go to vets for a medication check and they were happy with his face healing up. 

Caught what I thought was a cold while in London, but when tested was positive for Covid. Managed to get away with it all this time. Worked from home and caught up on things which have been left due to having as student and attending organised groups. Luckily it felt like a very heavy cold so wasn't confined to bed. 
Back to work on Thursday & then a half a day Friday. Now on leave for a week yippie. 

Made chocolate brownies for a fundraising evet in aid of a friend's granddaughter who has a rare learning disability.  Had to cook them twice as I left them in the oven too long the first time around!!! The second ones were great and the rejects are in the freezer. She managed to raise over £800 which was brilliant. 

Persevering on the budget sheet. Proving invaluable and keep telling myself it will take a while to get used to and will be useful for future planning. Interesting to find out what the damage is at the end of the month.

Felt ok so completed a core and body balance class. Thoroughly enjoyed it,but one of the class routine has changed so my body is protesting now. 

Have opened a Zopa savings account and getting to grips about locking some of it away for a better interest rate. Have looked at sinking funds online and will use this account for that. Better to be earning interest rather than in our current account. This too will take some time to get used to. Am a bit panicky as I don't want to lock it away and then need it. 


All good so far

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Oh my goodness. Time has flown by. 

Got a bit distracted with the joint purchase of a cottage with my Mum and Dad. Luckily they live next door. Nearly finished to rent out, phew. 

Now need to get back to the budget. Have been paying the mortgage on our property and the rental one so more wriggle room once the rent is paid. 

Head totally in the clouds. Firstly need to get an idea about what we are spending on things. 

Positive things- Have been using Zopa app and it is working. Squirrelling the money away to get some interest and knowing that there is a reserve stops me panicking about not having enough. Mr Boo Boo has been working on the cottage so has not been earning much lately so this used for topping up. 

Use a scheme introduced by work, to buy things at a small discount. Sometimes it is an e voucher or a card. For example, there is 5% off at Boots. So I top up the card with £30 but only pay £28.50. Great for cat food at B&M (6%) or groceries from Tesco (3%). Also good for last minute presents as the e voucher can be printed out quickly and put into a card.  

Keeping up momentum and awareness is the key. 

Onwards and upwards.